The lands of silence

by Sir Clements R. Markham

Nordenskiöld

The Swedish expedition, which was equipped at Gothenburg in 1901, was intended to investigate the geology of the south-west part of the South Shetlands, where fossils were first made known by Captain Larsen, and to complete and rectify the topography. The command was given to Dr Otto Nordenskiöld, an eminent Swedish geologist with Arctic experience, and a nephew of Baron Nordenskiöld. With him was associated another distinguished geologist, Gunnar Andersson, who was to join after the first year. The ship, named the Antarctic, was commanded by Anton Larsen, who as already stated had done splendid work on the east coast of Graham Land. With him was Lieutenant Duse of the Norwegian army as cartographer, and Lieutenant Sobral of the Argentine Navy joined at Buenos Aires as magnetic and meteorological observer.

Leaving Gothenburg in October, 1901, the Antarctic, after putting into Falmouth, reached the Falkland Islands on the 1st January, 1902. Proceeding to the South Shetland Islands it was decided that Nordenskiöld should winter as near the fossil-bearing island of Sir George Seymour as possible. A sheltered position was selected on the neighbouring Snow Hill Island, where the house was set up and provisions, instruments, and other necessaries landed. The party consisted of Nordenskiöld, Ekelof the surgeon, the Argentine Lieutenant Sobral, a very useful person named Bodman, and two seamen. May and June were months of storm, but the rest of the winter was safely passed, and in October Nordenskiöld, who had obtained some dogs at the Falkland Islands, started on an expedition to the south. He was just a month away, but did not get as far south as the Antarctic Circle. Later in November he made two journeys to Seymour Island to collect fossils, with very important results.

The Antarctic returned to the Falkland Islands, whither Dr Gunnar Andersson had arrived. Taking him on board, Captain Larsen spent some time in exploring South Georgia, and then proceeded to Tierra del Fuego, entering the Beagle Channel. The needs of the Antarctic were supplied at the Argentine settlement of Ushuaia while Andersson explored the interior. The course was then south, passing Deception and Trinity Islands, and surveying the Orleans Channel. The ultimate destination was Nordenskiöld’s winter quarters, to take all on board and return. But Dr Andersson wanted to undertake some exploring, and was landed at Hope Bay, at the extreme north-west end of Graham Land, in order to reach Nordenskiöld by land. His companions were Lieutenant Duse and a seaman. Insuperable obstacles intervened to prevent the completion of their journey, and they returned to Hope Bay, where they built a stone hut. The abundance of penguins and seals prevented any danger from starvation or scurvy, and Dr Andersson found that the locality was rich in fossils.

The Antarctic had left in order to embark the party with Nordenskiöld, but she was beset off Joinville Island, drifted away, and underwent great pressure in the pack. This continued, her ribs were broken and she began to sink, but there was fortunately time to get all the boats out and fill them with provisions and stores before the ship foundered off Paulet Island. The shipwrecked crew pulled to the shore and Captain Larsen established winter quarters and built a stone house. In the spring Dr Andersson and his party succeeded in reaching Nordenskiöld’s winter quarters, and a little later Captain Larsen manned a boat and went to Hope Bay only to find Andersson and his comrades gone. He then went on to Nordenskiöld’s winter quarters, where he found both parties all well.

When the Nordenskiöld expedition did not return after the first winter, grave anxiety was felt. The Argentine Government ordered their naval attaché in London, a young officer named Julio Irizar, to obtain all the necessary equipment, and then to proceed to Buenos Aires and take command of a relief ship. He came to me for advice, and the able Antarctic Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society, Mr Cyril Longhurst, gave him all possible assistance with regard to equipment. After visiting Norway for furs and other gear, he sailed for Buenos Aires and took command of the Uruguay relief ship. On the 8th November, 1903, he arrived off Snow Hill Island, and took all the Swedes on board with their valuable collections. Thence proceeding to Paulet Island he ultimately found the shipwrecked crew, and all were taken safely home. Captain Irizar conducted his relief expedition with remarkable skill and ability from start to finish.

The geographical results of the Nordenskiöld expedition were the surveys which completed our knowledge of the intricate topography of the south-western part of the South Shetlands, correcting former work of Ross and d’Urville, and discovering much that was new. The geological results were of great importance, for they point to the connection of Graham Land with South America at a recent geological period. Graham Land and most of the islands belong to the region of folding and of Andine eruptives. The rocks are plutonic and, according to Nordenskiöld, belong or are closely related to a peculiar type of eruptives characteristic of the American cordilleras throughout their length. Ross Island and Vega Island are volcanic, composed of basalt and lava flows. Paulet Island also contains cones of eruption.

In the fossils of Hope Bay, Dr Andersson discovered a very rich Jurassic flora, consisting of conifers, mare’s tails, and ferns in profusion. In abundance of species Hope Bay far surpasses all Jurassic floras hitherto known in South America. They are fresh-water deposits. The Seymour and Snow Hill formations are Cretaceous. There are many ammonites, cephalopods, bivalves, and trunks of fossil wood in the sandstone; there are also birds, and a mammal belonging to the Tertiary period. On Cockburn Island there was a curious conglomerate of pecten shells, formed on basaltic tuff in Pliocene times.

In Jurassic times the land must have been covered with rich vegetation in a mild and uniform climate. At Hope Bay the fresh-water lake flora has close affinity with the contemporaneous floras of India and Europe. After the Cretaceous surface was lifted above the sea level, mountain ranges were formed. The South Shetland Islands were once a clearly-marked mountain range parallel to that of Graham Land, and the Gerlache channel was a longitudinal valley.

During the Miocene period there were violent eruptions causing a great accumulation of volcanic tuff. The fauna of this period was closely allied to the Miocene fauna of Patagonia. On Seymour Island five new genera of fossil penguins and the large cetacean, Zeuglodon, were found in the Tertiary beds; also the impressions of large and very distinct leaves of an Araucaria, a beech tree, and ferns.