On December 9th the Terra Nova entered the pack in 65° 5′ S. and 178° E. There was a long detention, unlike the fortunate voyage of the Discovery, and it was not until December 30th that the ship was extricated in 71° 30′ S., having had to force her way through 370 miles of ice. On January 3rd, 1911, Cape Crozier was sighted, the ship entered M’Murdo Sound, and on the 4th she was off the winter quarters at Cape Evans, 14 miles north of the Discovery’s winter quarters. The landing was at once commenced. In a week the house, stores, coals, animals, and equipments were all on shore. In a fortnight the house was built and habitable, and in three weeks everything was ready for the depôt journey.
A Tilted Berg, showing the old surface inclined to the left
Typical Bergs. Terra Nova in distance
One part of Captain Scott’s plan was that Lieut. Campbell should explore King Edward VII Land with Dr Levick, Mr. Priestley the geologist, three men, and two ponies. The Terra Nova, now commanded by Lieut. Pennell, accordingly took the party with their house and stores, leaving M’Murdo Sound on January 26th, but unfortunately no landing could be found at King Edward VII Land. Lieut. Pennell then took them to Balloon Bay, where there is a landing on the barrier, but the place was found to be already occupied by Amundsen’s party. Campbell, in consequence, gave up the plan of landing there, and returned to Cape Evans and left the ponies. He then went on in the Terra Nova, intending to land at Smith Inlet, or as near Cape North as possible. But once more fortune was against him, the ice prevented the ship from approaching the land, and the whole coast back to Cape Adare was found to consist of inaccessible ice cliffs. Ultimately the party were landed in Robertson Bay, where they wintered. Sledging was attempted, but the ice near the coast proved too rotten to be trustworthy, and no exploring could be done in the direction of Cape North. On January 8th, 1912, the Terra Nova arrived and took the party on board, landing them again near Mt Melbourne with six weeks’ sledging rations only. But grave misfortune was in store for them. The ship was prevented by dense pack from picking them up again and they were forced to winter, living in an ice cave with little besides penguins and seals for their food. These great privations were met with the greatest fortitude and cheerfulness, and in October they started with their sledge, reaching Cape Evans safely November 7th, 1912.
After landing Campbell’s party, Lieut. Pennell again shaped a course to the westward, and discovered a long line of new coast beyond Cape North, from 68° 30′ S. and 158° 15′ E. to 69° 50′ S. and 163° 29′ E. On March 8th the Terra Nova was beset, and from March 20th a S.W. gale took her to Stewart Island. After being thoroughly overhauled and repaired the ship was chartered by the New Zealand Government to survey the channel between the north point of the North Island and the Three Kings Islands, 38 miles to the N.W. The survey occupied three months, and Lieut. Rennick drew the resulting chart, since published by the Admiralty. In the next winter Lieut. Pennell conducted another survey for the New Zealand Government, this time of Admiralty Bay, the chart being drawn by Lieut. Rennick. “It was a great thing,” Pennell thought, “to have such long and continuous work for all hands during the winter.” Lieut. Wilfred Bruce was a most valuable addition to the executive staff on board, and Mr. Lillie was indefatigable as a collector. Very valuable lines of deep sea soundings were taken southwards from New Zealand, and a large biological collection was made. Indeed the Terra Nova made no unimportant addition to the results of the expedition.
Captain Scott was meanwhile preparing for one of the greatest feats in man-drawn sledge travelling that has ever been achieved, comparable with the splendid journeys of M’Clintock and Mecham. There was much to be done and no time to lose. A great depôt had to be laid out during the autumn, a hundred and thirty miles to the south. Scott started on January 25th from Cape Evans with 12 men, 8 ponies, and 26 dogs, with 14 weeks’ food and fuel (5385 lb.), 3680 lb. of compressed fodder, 1400 lb. of dog biscuit and 15 sacks of oats.
The journey was along the coast of Ross Island, passing the well-remembered places and the great hut at the Discovery’s winter quarters. The first depôt was formed in 77° 55′, to the S.E. of Cape Armitage, called the home depôt. This was “Corner Camp.” On the 12th February the party passed Minna Bluff, and rested at Bluff Camp; on the 15th the place for the final depôt was reached in 79° 28′ S., where 2181 lb. of provisions were deposited. This was the “One-ton Depôt.”
In returning, a short cut was attempted by Scott with the dog teams nearer the coast, where the ice turned out to be heavily crevassed. On the 20th February they covered 35 miles. Next day they were about 12 miles inshore from Corner Camp. The men were running by the sledges. Suddenly Dr Wilson shouted “Hold on to the sledge,” and as he spoke the whole team of dogs sank through the snow down a crevasse, and hung by their harness far down the abyss. Scott hauled the sledge clear and anchored it. The dogs were howling dismally. Two had dropped out of their harness and landed on a snow bridge far below. Cherry Garrard brought the Alpine rope they had with them; the sledge was unloaded, and run across the gap. The dogs were then hauled up two by two until eleven of the thirteen were recovered, the other two loose ones being on the snow bridge 65 ft. down the chasm. Scott made a bowline in the Alpine rope and was lowered down. He reached the bridge, fastened the first dog to the rope, which was hauled up, and then the second. Lastly he himself, with some effort, was hauled to the surface. It was all the other three could do, the cold being intense and their fingers badly frost-bitten. Scott of course was in great danger, but he had insisted upon going down. It was characteristic of him that “he wanted to take such a good opportunity of examining the sides of a crevasse.”