Chapter 13 - THE RETURN OF THE SUN
Scott's Last Expedition
- The Journals of Captain R. F. Scott
Contents
and Preface Chapters:
Chapter 1
| Chapter
2 | Chapter
3 | Chapter
4 | Chapter
5 | Chapter
6 | Chapter
7 | Chapter
8 | Chapter
9 | Chapter
10 |
Chapter 11 |
Chapter 12
| Chapter
13 |
Chapter 14 |
Chapter 15
| Chapter
16 |
Chapter 17 |
Chapter 18
| Chapter
19 |
Chapter 20
| Appendix
Summary
(2 pages) of the Terra
Nova Expedition |
The Men of
the Expedition
Thursday, August 3
We have had such a
long spell of fine clear weather without especially low temperatures
that one can scarcely grumble at the change which we found on
waking this morning, when the canopy of stratus cloud spread
over us and the wind came in those fitful gusts which promise
a gale. All day the wind force has been slowly increasing, whilst
the temperature has risen to -15°, but there is no snow
falling or drifting as yet. The steam cloud of Erebus was streaming
away to the N.W. this morning; now it is hidden.
Our
expectations have been falsified so often that we feel ourselves
wholly incapable as weather prophets--therefore one scarce dares
to predict a blizzard even in face of such disturbance as exists.
A paper handed to Simpson by David, [28] and purporting to contain
a description of approaching signs, together with the cause
and effect of our blizzards, proves equally hopeless. We have
not obtained a single scrap of evidence to verify its statements,
and a great number of our observations definitely contradict
them. The plain fact is that no two of our storms have been
heralded by the same signs.
The low Barrier temperatures
experienced by the Crozier Party has naturally led to speculation
on the situation of Amundsen and his Norwegians. If his thermometers
continuously show temperatures below -60°, the party will
have a pretty bad winter and it is difficult to see how he will
keep his dogs alive. I should feel anxious if Campbell was in
that quarter. [29]
Saturday, August 5
The sky has continued to wear a disturbed appearance, but so
far nothing has come of it. A good deal of light snow has been
falling to-day; a brisk northerly breeze is drifting it along,
giving a very strange yet beautiful effect in the north, where
the strong red twilight filters through the haze.
The
Crozier Party tell a good story of Bowers, who on their return
journey with their recovered tent fitted what he called a 'tent
downhaul' and secured it round his sleeping-bag and himself.
If the tent went again, he determined to go with it.
Our lecture programme has been renewed. Last night Simpson gave
a capital lecture on general meteorology. He started on the
general question of insolation, giving various tables to show
proportion of sun's heat received at the polar and equatorial
regions. Broadly, in latitude 80° one would expect about
22 per cent, of the heat received at a spot on the equator.
He dealt with the temperature question by showing interesting
tabular comparisons between northern and southern temperatures
at given latitudes. So far as these tables go they show the
South Polar summer to be 15° colder than the North Polar,
but the South Polar winter 3° warmer than the North Polar,
but of course this last figure would be completely altered if
the observer were to winter on the Barrier. I fancy Amundsen
will not concede those 3°!!
From temperatures our
lecturer turned to pressures and the upward turn of the gradient
in high southern latitudes, as shown by the Discovery Expedition.
This bears of course on the theory which places an anticyclone
in the South Polar region. Lockyer's theories came under discussion;
a good many facts appear to support them. The westerly winds
of the Roaring Forties are generally understood to be a succession
of cyclones. Lockyer's hypothesis supposes that there are some
eight or ten cyclones continually revolving at a rate of about
10° of longitude a day, and he imagines them to extend from
the 40th parallel to beyond the 60th, thus giving the strong
westerly winds in the forties and easterly and southerly in
60° to 70°. Beyond 70° there appears to be generally
an irregular outpouring of cold air from the polar area, with
an easterly component significant of anticyclone conditions.
Simpson evolved a new blizzard theory on this. He supposes
the surface air intensely cooled over the continental and Barrier
areas, and the edge of this cold region lapped by warmer air
from the southern limits of Lockyer's cyclones. This would produce
a condition of unstable equilibrium, with great potentiality
for movement. Since, as we have found, volumes of cold air at
different temperatures are very loath to mix, the condition
could not be relieved by any gradual process, but continues
until the stream is released by some minor cause, when, the
ball once started, a huge disturbance results. It seems to be
generally held that warm air is passing polewards from the equator
continuously at the high levels. It is this potentially warm
air which, mixed by the disturbance with the cold air of the
interior, gives to our winds so high a temperature.
Such
is this theory--like its predecessor it is put up for cockshies,
and doubtless by our balloon work or by some other observations
it will be upset or modified. Meanwhile it is well to keep one's
mind alive with such problems, which mark the road of advance.
Sunday, August 6
Sunday with its usual
routine. Hymn singing has become a point on which we begin to
take some pride to ourselves. With our full attendance of singers
we now get a grand volume of sound.
The day started overcast.
Chalky is an excellent adjective to describe the appearance
of our outlook when the light is much diffused and shadows poor;
the scene is dull and flat.
In the afternoon the sky
cleared, the moon over Erebus gave a straw colour to the dissipating
clouds. This evening the air is full of ice crystals and a stratus
forms again. This alternation of clouded and clear skies has
been the routine for some time now and is accompanied by the
absence of wind which is delightfully novel.
The blood
of the Crozier Party, tested by Atkinson, shows a very slight
increase of acidity--such was to be expected, and it is pleasing
to note that there is no sign of scurvy. If the preserved foods
had tended to promote the disease, the length of time and severity
of conditions would certainly have brought it out. I think we
should be safe on the long journey.
I have had several
little chats with Wilson on the happenings of the journey. He
says there is no doubt Cherry-Garrard felt the conditions most
severely, though he was not only without complaint, but continuously
anxious to help others.
Apropos, we both conclude that
it is the younger people that have the worst time; Gran, our
youngest member (23), is a very clear example, and now Cherry-Garrard
at 26.
Wilson (39) says he never felt cold less than
he does now; I suppose that between 30 and 40 is the best all
round age. Bowers is a wonder of course. He is 29. When past
the forties it is encouraging to remember that Peary was 52!!
Thursday, August 10
There has been very
little to record of late and my pen has been busy on past records.
The weather has been moderately good and as before wholly
incomprehensible. Wind has come from a clear sky and from a
clouded one; we had a small blow on Tuesday but it never reached
gale force; it came without warning, and every sign which we
have regarded as a warning has proved a bogey. The fact is,
one must always be prepared for wind and never expect it.
The daylight advances in strides. Day has fitted an extra
sash to our window and the light admitted for the first time
through triple glass. With this device little ice collects inside.
The ponies are very fit but inclined to be troublesome:
the quiet beasts develop tricks without rhyme or reason. Chinaman
still kicks and squeals at night. Anton's theory is that he
does it to warm himself, and perhaps there is something in it.
When eating snow he habitually takes too large a mouthful and
swallows it; it is comic to watch him, because when the snow
chills his inside he shuffles about with all four legs and wears
a most fretful, aggrieved expression: but no sooner has the
snow melted than he seizes another mouthful. Other ponies take
small mouthfuls or melt a large one on their tongues--this act
also produces an amusing expression. Victor and Snippets are
confirmed wind suckers. They are at it all the time when the
manger board is in place, but it is taken down immediately after
feeding time, and then they can only seek vainly for something
to catch hold of with their teeth. 'Bones' has taken to kicking
at night for no imaginable reason. He hammers away at the back
of his stall merrily; we have covered the boards with several
layers of sacking, so that the noise is cured, if not the habit.
The annoying part of these tricks is that they hold the possibility
of damage to the pony. I am glad to say all the lice have disappeared;
the final conquest was effected with a very simple remedy--the
infected ponies were washed with water in which tobacco had
been steeped. Oates had seen this decoction used effectively
with troop horses. The result is the greater relief, since we
had run out of all the chemicals which had been used for the
same purpose.
I have now definitely told off the ponies
for the Southern Journey, and the new masters will take charge
on September 1. They will continually exercise the animals so
as to get to know them as well as possible. The arrangement
has many obvious advantages. The following is the order:
Bowers Victor. Evans (P.O.) Snatcher. Wilson Nobby. Crean
Bones. Atkinson Jehu. Keohane Jimmy Pigg. Wright Chinaman. Oates
Christopher. Cherry-Garrard Michael. Myself & Oates Snippets.
The first balloon of the season was sent up yesterday by
Bowers and Simpson. It rose on a southerly wind, but remained
in it for 100 feet or less, then for 300 or 400 feet it went
straight up, and after that directly south over Razor Back Island.
Everything seemed to go well, the thread, on being held, tightened
and then fell slack as it should do. It was followed for two
miles or more running in a straight line for Razor Back, but
within a few hundred yards of the Island it came to an end.
The searchers went round the Island to try and recover the clue,
but without result. Almost identically the same thing happened
after the last ascent made, and we are much puzzled to find
the cause.
The continued proximity of the south moving
air currents above is very interesting.
The Crozier Party
are not right yet, their feet are exceedingly sore, and there
are other indications of strain. I must almost except Bowers,
who, whatever his feelings, went off as gaily as usual on the
search for the balloon.
Saw a very beautiful effect on
my afternoon walk yesterday: the full moon was shining brightly
from a quarter exactly opposite to the fading twilight and the
icebergs were lit on one side by the yellow lunar light and
on the other by the paler white daylight. The first seemed to
be gilded, while the diffused light of day gave to the other
a deep, cold, greenish-blue colour--the contrast was strikingly
beautiful.
Friday, August 11
The
long-expected blizzard came in the night; it is still blowing
hard with drift.
Yesterday evening Oates gave his second
lecture on 'Horse management.' He was brief and a good deal
to the point. 'Not born but made' was his verdict on the good
manager of animals. 'The horse has no reasoning power at all,
but an excellent memory'; sights and sounds recall circumstances
under which they were previously seen or heard. It is no use
shouting at a horse: ten to one he will associate the noise
with some form of trouble, and getting excited, will set out
to make it. It is ridiculous for the rider of a bucking horse
to shout 'Whoa!'--'I know,' said the Soldier, 'because I have
done it.' Also it is to be remembered that loud talk to one
horse may disturb other horses. The great thing is to be firm
and quiet.
A horse's memory, explained the Soldier, warns
it of events to come. He gave instances of hunters and race-horses
which go off their feed and show great excitement in other ways
before events for which they are prepared; for this reason every
effort should be made to keep the animals quiet in camp. Rugs
should be put on directly after a halt and not removed till
the last moment before a march.
After a few hints on
leading the lecturer talked of possible improvements in our
wintering arrangements. A loose box for each animal would be
an advantage, and a small amount of litter on which he could
lie down. Some of our ponies lie down, but rarely for more than
10 minutes--the Soldier thinks they find the ground too cold.
He thinks it would be wise to clip animals before the winter
sets in. He is in doubt as to the advisability of grooming.
He passed to the improvements preparing for the coming journey--the
nose bags, picketing lines, and rugs. He proposes to bandage
the legs of all ponies. Finally he dealt with the difficult
subjects of snow blindness and soft surfaces: for the first
he suggested dyeing the forelocks, which have now grown quite
long. Oates indulges a pleasant conceit in finishing his discourses
with a merry tale. Last night's tale evoked shouts of laughter,
but, alas! it is quite unprintable! Our discussion hinged altogether
on the final subjects of the lecture as concerning snow blindness--the
dyed forelocks seem inadequate, and the best suggestion seems
the addition of a sun bonnet rather than blinkers, or, better
still, a peak over the eyes attached to the headstall. I doubt
if this question will be difficult to settle, but the snow-shoe
problem is much more serious. This has been much in our minds
of late, and Petty Officer Evans has been making trial shoes
for Snatcher on vague ideas of our remembrance of the shoes
worn for lawn mowing.
Besides the problem of the form
of the shoes, comes the question of the means of attachment.
All sorts of suggestions were made last night as to both points,
and the discussion cleared the air a good deal. I think that
with slight modification our present pony snow-shoes made on
the grating or racquet principle may prove best after all. The
only drawback is that they are made for very soft snow and unnecessarily
large for the Barrier; this would make them liable to be strained
on hard patches. The alternative seems to be to perfect the
principle of the lawn mowing shoe, which is little more than
a stiff bag over the hoof.
Perhaps we shall come to both
kinds: the first for the quiet animals and the last for the
more excitable. I am confident the matter is of first importance.
Monday, August 14
Since the comparatively
short storm of Friday, in which we had a temperature of -30°
with a 50 m.p.h. wind, we have had two delightfully calm days,
and to-day there is every promise of the completion of a third.
On such days the light is quite good for three to four hours
at midday and has a cheering effect on man and beast.
The ponies are so pleased that they seize the slightest
opportunity to part company with their leaders and gallop off
with tail and heels flung high. The dogs are equally festive
and are getting more exercise than could be given in the dark.
The two Esquimaux dogs have been taken in hand by Clissold,
as I have noted before. He now takes them out with a leader
borrowed from Meares, usually little 'Noogis.' On Saturday the
sledge capsized at the tide crack; Clissold was left on the
snow whilst the team disappeared in the distance. Noogis returned
later, having eaten through his harness, and the others were
eventually found some two miles away, 'foul' of an ice hummock.
Yesterday Clissold took the same team to Cape Royds; they brought
back a load of 100 lbs. a dog in about two hours. It would have
been a good performance for the best dogs in the time, and considering
that Meares pronounced these two dogs useless, Clissold deserves
a great deal of credit.
Yesterday we had a really successful
balloon ascent: the balloon ran out four miles of thread before
it was released, and the instrument fell without a parachute.
The searchers followed the clue about 2 1/2 miles to the north,
when it turned and came back parallel to itself, and only about
30 yards distant from it. The instrument was found undamaged
and with the record properly scratched.
Nelson has been
out a good deal more of late. He has got a good little run of
serial temperatures with water samples, and however meagre his
results, they may be counted as exceedingly accurate; his methods
include the great scientific care which is now considered necessary
for this work, and one realises that he is one of the few people
who have been trained in it. Yesterday he got his first net
haul from the bottom, with the assistance of Atkinson and Cherry-Garrard.
Atkinson has some personal interest in the work. He has
been getting remarkable results himself and has discovered a
host of new parasites in the seals; he has been trying to correlate
these with like discoveries in the fishes, in hope of working
out complete life histories in both primary and secondary hosts.
But the joint hosts of the fishes may be the mollusca or
other creatures on which they feed, and hence the new fields
for Atkinson in Nelson's catches. There is a relative simplicity
in the round of life in its higher forms in these regions that
would seem especially hopeful for the parasitologist.
My afternoon walk has become a pleasure; everything is beautiful
in this half light and the northern sky grows redder as the
light wanes.
Tuesday, August 15
The
instrument recovered from the balloon shows an ascent of 2 1/2
miles, and the temperature at that height only 5° or 6°
C. below that at the surface. If, as one must suppose, this
layer extends over the Barrier, it would there be at a considerably
higher temperature than the surface Simpson has imagined a very
cold surface layer on the Barrier.
The acetylene has
suddenly failed, and I find myself at this moment writing by
daylight for the first time.
The first addition to our
colony came last night, when 'Lassie' produced six or seven
puppies--we are keeping the family very quiet and as warm as
possible in the stable.
It is very pleasant to note the
excellent relations which our young Russians have established
with other folk; they both work very hard, Anton having most
to do. Demetri is the more intelligent and begins to talk English
fairly well. Both are on the best terms with their mess-mates,
and it was amusing last night to see little Anton jamming a
felt hat over P.O. Evans' head in high good humour.
Wright
lectured on radium last night.
The transformation of
the radio-active elements suggestive of the transmutation of
metals was perhaps the most interesting idea suggested, but
the discussion ranged mainly round the effect which the discovery
of radio-activity has had on physics and chemistry in its bearing
on the origin of matter, on geology as bearing on the internal
heat of the earth, and on medicine in its curative powers. The
geologists and doctors admitted little virtue to it, but of
course the physicists boomed their own wares, which enlivened
the debate.
Thursday, August 17
The
weather has been extremely kind to us of late; we haven't a
single grumble against it. The temperature hovers pretty constantly
at about -35°, there is very little wind and the sky is
clear and bright. In such weather one sees well for more than
three hours before and after noon, the landscape unfolds itself,
and the sky colours are always delicate and beautiful. At noon
to-day there was bright sunlight on the tops of the Western
Peaks and on the summit and steam of Erebus--of late the vapour
cloud of Erebus has been exceptionally heavy and fantastic in
form.
The balloon has become a daily institution. Yesterday
the instrument was recovered in triumph, but to-day the threads
carried the searchers in amongst the icebergs and soared aloft
over their crests--anon the clue was recovered beyond, and led
towards Tent Island, then towards Inaccessible, then back to
the bergs. Never was such an elusive thread. Darkness descended
with the searchers on a strong scent for the Razor Backs: Bowers
returned full of hope.
The wretched Lassie has killed
every one of her litter. She is mother for the first time, and
possibly that accounts for it. When the poor little mites were
alive she constantly left them, and when taken back she either
trod on them or lay on them, till not one was left alive. It
is extremely annoying.
As the daylight comes, people
are busier than ever. It does one good to see so much work going
on.
Friday, August 18
Atkinson lectured
on 'Scurvy' last night. He spoke clearly and slowly, but the
disease is anything but precise. He gave a little summary of
its history afloat and the remedies long in use in the Navy.
He described the symptoms with some detail. Mental depression,
debility, syncope, petechiae, livid patches, spongy gums, lesions,
swellings, and so on to things that are worse. He passed to
some of the theories held and remedies tried in accordance with
them. Ralph came nearest the truth in discovering decrease of
chlorine and alkalinity of urine. Sir Almroth Wright has hit
the truth, he thinks, in finding increased acidity of blood--acid
intoxication--by methods only possible in recent years.
This acid condition is due to two salts, sodium hydrogen
carbonate and sodium hydrogen phosphate; these cause the symptoms
observed and infiltration of fat in organs, leading to feebleness
of heart action. The method of securing and testing serum of
patient was described (titration, a colorimetric method of measuring
the percentage of substances in solution), and the test by litmus
paper of normal or super-normal solution. In this test the ordinary
healthy man shows normal 30 to 50: the scurvy patient normal
90.
Lactate of sodium increases alkalinity of blood,
but only within narrow limits, and is the only chemical remedy
suggested.
So far for diagnosis, but it does not bring
us much closer to the cause, preventives, or remedies. Practically
we are much as we were before, but the lecturer proceeded to
deal with the practical side.
In brief, he holds the
first cause to be tainted food, but secondary or contributory
causes may be even more potent in developing the disease. Damp,
cold, over-exertion, bad air, bad light, in fact any condition
exceptional to normal healthy existence. Remedies are merely
to change these conditions for the better. Dietetically, fresh
vegetables are the best curatives--the lecturer was doubtful
of fresh meat, but admitted its possibility in polar climate;
lime juice only useful if regularly taken. He discussed lightly
the relative values of vegetable stuffs, doubtful of those containing
abundance of phosphates such as lentils. He touched theory again
in continuing the cause of acidity to bacterial action--and
the possibility of infection in epidemic form. Wilson is evidently
slow to accept the 'acid intoxication' theory; his attitude
is rather 'non proven.' His remarks were extremely sound and
practical as usual. He proved the value of fresh meat in polar
regions.
Scurvy seems very far away from us this time,
yet after our Discovery experience, one feels that no trouble
can be too great or no precaution too small to be adopted to
keep it at bay. Therefore such an evening as last was well spent.
It is certain we shall not have the disease here, but one
cannot foresee equally certain avoidance in the southern journey
to come. All one can do is to take every possible precaution.
Ran over to Tent Island this afternoon and climbed to the
top--I have not been there since 1903. Was struck with great
amount of loose sand; it seemed to get smaller in grain from
S. to N. Fine view from top of island: one specially notices
the gap left by the breaking up of the Glacier Tongue.
The distance to the top of the island and back is between
7 and 8 statute miles, and the run in this weather is fine healthy
exercise. Standing on the island to-day with a glorious view
of mountains, islands, and glaciers, I thought how very different
must be the outlook of the Norwegians. A dreary white plain
of Barrier behind and an uninviting stretch of sea ice in front.
With no landmarks, nothing to guide if the light fails, it is
probable that they venture but a very short distance from their
hut.
The prospects of such a situation do not smile on
us.
The weather remains fine--this is the sixth day without
wind.
Sunday, August 20
The long-expected
blizzard came yesterday--a good honest blow, the drift vanishing
long before the wind. This and the rise of temperature (to 2°)
has smoothed and polished all ice or snow surfaces. A few days
ago I could walk anywhere in my soft finnesko with sealskin
soles; to-day it needed great caution to prevent tumbles. I
think there has been a good deal of ablation.
The sky
is clear to-day, but the wind still strong though warm. I went
along the shore of the North Bay and climbed to the glacier
over one of the drifted faults in the ice face. It is steep
and slippery, but by this way one can arrive above the Ramp
without touching rock and thus avoid cutting soft footwear.
The ice problems in our neighbourhood become more fascinating
and elusive as one re-examines them by the returning light;
some will be solved.
Monday, August 21
Weights and measurements last evening. We have remained surprisingly
constant. There seems to have been improvement in lung power
and grip is shown by spirometer and dynamometer, but weights
have altered very little. I have gone up nearly 3 lbs. in winter,
but the increase has occurred during the last month, when I
have been taking more exercise. Certainly there is every reason
to be satisfied with the general state of health.
The
ponies are becoming a handful. Three of the four exercised to-day
so far have run away--Christopher and Snippets broke away from
Oates and Victor from Bowers. Nothing but high spirits, there
is no vice in these animals; but I fear we are going to have
trouble with sledges and snow-shoes. At present the Soldier
dare not issue oats or the animals would become quite unmanageable.
Bran is running low; he wishes he had more of it.
Tuesday, August 22
I am renewing study of
glacier problems; the face of the ice cliff 300 yards east of
the homestead is full of enigmas. Yesterday evening Ponting
gave us a lecture on his Indian travels. He is very frank in
acknowledging his debt to guide-books for information, nevertheless
he tells his story well and his slides are wonderful. In personal
reminiscence he is distinctly dramatic--he thrilled us a good
deal last night with a vivid description of a sunrise in the
sacred city of Benares. In the first dim light the waiting,
praying multitude of bathers, the wonderful ritual and its incessant
performance; then, as the sun approaches, the hush--the effect
of thousands of worshippers waiting in silence--a silence to
be felt. Finally, as the first rays appear, the swelling roar
of a single word from tens of thousands of throats: 'Ambah!'
It was artistic to follow this picture of life with the gruesome
horrors of the ghat. This impressionist style of lecturing is
very attractive and must essentially cover a great deal of ground.
So we saw Jeypore, Udaipore, Darjeeling, and a confusing number
of places--temples, monuments and tombs in profusion, with remarkable
pictures of the wonderful Taj Mahal--horses, elephants, alligators,
wild boars, and flamingoes--warriors, fakirs, and nautch girls--an
impression here and an impression there.
It is worth
remembering how attractive this style can be--in lecturing one
is inclined to give too much attention to connecting links which
join one episode to another. A lecture need not be a connected
story; perhaps it is better it should not be.
It was
my night on duty last night and I watched the oncoming of a
blizzard with exceptional beginnings. The sky became very gradually
overcast between 1 and 4 A.M. About 2.30 the temperature rose
on a steep grade from -20° to -3°; the barometer was
falling, rapidly for these regions. Soon after 4 the wind came
with a rush, but without snow or drift. For a time it was more
gusty than has ever yet been recorded even in this region. In
one gust the wind rose from 4 to 68 m.p.h. and fell again to
20 m.p.h. within a minute; another reached 80 m.p.h., but not
from such a low point of origin. The effect in the hut was curious;
for a space all would be quiet, then a shattering blast would
descend with a clatter and rattle past ventilator and chimneys,
so sudden, so threatening, that it was comforting to remember
the solid structure of our building. The suction of such a gust
is so heavy that even the heavy snow-covered roof of the stable,
completely sheltered on the lee side of the main building, is
violently shaken--one could well imagine the plight of our adventurers
at C. Crozier when their roof was destroyed. The snow which
came at 6 lessened the gustiness and brought the ordinary phenomena
of a blizzard. It is blowing hard to-day, with broken windy
clouds and roving bodies of drift. A wild day for the return
of the sun. Had it been fine to-day we should have seen the
sun for the first time; yesterday it shone on the lower foothills
to the west, but to-day we see nothing but gilded drift clouds.
Yet it is grand to have daylight rushing at one.
Wednesday, August 23
We toasted the sun
in champagne last night, coupling Victor Campbell's name as
his birthday coincides. The return of the sun could not be appreciated
as we have not had a glimpse of it, and the taste of the champagne
went wholly unappreciated; it was a very mild revel. Meanwhile
the gale continues. Its full force broke last night with an
average of nearly 70 m.p.h. for some hours: the temperature
has been up to 10° and the snowfall heavy. At seven this
morning the air was thicker with whirling drift than it has
ever been.
It seems as though the violence of the storms
which succeed our rare spells of fine weather is in proportion
to the duration of the spells.
Thursday, August
24
Another night and day of furious wind and drift,
and still no sign of the end. The temperature has been as high
as 16°. Now and again the snow ceases and then the drift
rapidly diminishes, but such an interval is soon followed by
fresh clouds of snow. It is quite warm outside, one can go about
with head uncovered--which leads me to suppose that one does
get hardened to cold to some extent--for I suppose one would
not wish to remain uncovered in a storm in England if the temperature
showed 16 degrees of frost. This is the third day of confinement
to the hut: it grows tedious, but there is no help, as it is
too thick to see more than a few yards out of doors.
Friday, August 25
The gale continued all
night and it blows hard this morning, but the sky is clear,
the drift has ceased, and the few whale-back clouds about Erebus
carry a promise of improving conditions.
Last night there
was an intensely black cloud low on the northern horizon--but
for earlier experience of the winter one would have sworn to
it as a water sky; but I think the phenomenon is due to the
shadow of retreating drift clouds. This morning the sky is clear
to the north, so that the sea ice cannot have broken out in
the Sound.
During snowy gales it is almost necessary
to dress oneself in wind clothes if one ventures outside for
the briefest periods--exposed woollen or cloth materials become
heavy with powdery crystals in a minute or two, and when brought
into the warmth of the hut are soon wringing wet. Where there
is no drift it is quicker and easier to slip on an overcoat.
It is not often I have a sentimental attachment for articles
of clothing, but I must confess an affection for my veteran
uniform overcoat, inspired by its persistent utility. I find
that it is twenty-three years of age and can testify to its
strenuous existence. It has been spared neither rain, wind,
nor salt sea spray, tropic heat nor Arctic cold; it has outlived
many sets of buttons, from their glittering gilded youth to
green old age, and it supports its four-stripe shoulder straps
as gaily as the single lace ring of the early days which proclaimed
it the possession of a humble sub-lieutenant. Withal it is still
a very long way from the fate of the 'one-horse shay.'
Taylor gave us his final physiographical lecture last night.
It was completely illustrated with slides made from our own
negatives, Ponting's Alpine work, and the choicest illustrations
of certain scientific books. The preparation of the slides had
involved a good deal of work for Ponting as well as for the
lecturer. The lecture dealt with ice erosion, and the pictures
made it easy to follow the comparison of our own mountain forms
and glacial contours with those that have received so much attention
elsewhere. Noticeable differences are the absence of moraine
material on the lower surfaces of our glaciers, their relatively
insignificant movement, their steep sides, &c.... It is
difficult to convey the bearing of the difference or similarity
of various features common to the pictures under comparison
without their aid. It is sufficient to note that the points
to which the lecturer called attention were pretty obvious and
that the lecture was exceedingly instructive. The origin of
'cirques' or 'cwms,' of which we have remarkably fine examples,
is still a little mysterious--one notes also the requirement
of observation which might throw light on the erosion of previous
ages.
After Taylor's effort Ponting showed a number of
very beautiful slides of Alpine scenery--not a few are triumphs
of the photographer's art. As a wind-up Ponting took a flashlight
photograph of our hut converted into a lecture hall: a certain
amount of faking will be required, but I think this is very
allowable under the circumstances.
Oates tells me that
one of the ponies, 'Snippets,' will eat blubber! the possible
uses of such an animal are remarkable!
The gravel on
the north side of the hut against which the stable is built
has been slowly but surely worn down, leaving gaps under the
boarding. Through these gaps and our floor we get an unpleasantly
strong stable effluvium, especially when the wind is strong.
We are trying to stuff the holes up, but have not had much success
so far.
Saturday, August 26
A dying
wind and clear sky yesterday, and almost calm to-day. The noon
sun is cut off by the long low foot slope of Erebus which runs
to Cape Royds. Went up the Ramp at noon yesterday and found
no advantage--one should go over the floe to get the earliest
sight, and yesterday afternoon Evans caught a last glimpse of
the upper limb from that situation, whilst Simpson saw the same
from Wind Vane Hill.
The ponies are very buckish and
can scarcely be held in at exercise; it seems certain that they
feel the return of daylight. They were out in morning and afternoon
yesterday. Oates and Anton took out Christopher and Snippets
rather later. Both ponies broke away within 50 yards of the
stable and galloped away over the floe. It was nearly an hour
before they could be rounded up. Such escapades are the result
of high spirits; there is no vice in the animals.
We
have had comparatively little aurora of late, but last night
was an exception; there was a good display at 3 A.M.
P.M
Just before lunch the sunshine could be seen gilding
the floe, and Ponting and I walked out to the bergs. The nearest
one has been overturned and is easily climbed. From the top
we could see the sun clear over the rugged outline of C. Barne.
It was glorious to stand bathed in brilliant sunshine once more.
We felt very young, sang and cheered--we were reminded of a
bright frosty morning in England--everything sparkled and the
air had the same crisp feel. There is little new to be said
of the return of the sun in polar regions, yet it is such a
very real and important event that one cannot pass it in silence.
It changes the outlook on life of every individual, foul weather
is robbed of its terrors; if it is stormy to-day it will be
fine to-morrow or the next day, and each day's delay will mean
a brighter outlook when the sky is clear.
Climbed the
Ramp in the afternoon, the shouts and songs of men and the neighing
of horses borne to my ears as I clambered over its kopjes.
We are now pretty well convinced that the Ramp is a moraine
resting on a platform of ice.
The sun rested on the sunshine
recorder for a few minutes, but made no visible impression.
We did not get our first record in the Discovery until September.
It is surprising that so little heat should be associated with
such a flood of light.
Sunday, August 27
Overcast sky and chill south-easterly wind. Sunday routine,
no one very active. Had a run to South Bay over 'Domain.'
Monday, August 28
Ponting and Gran went
round the bergs late last night. On returning they saw a dog
coming over the floe from the north. The animal rushed towards
and leapt about them with every sign of intense joy. Then they
realised that it was our long lost Julick.
His mane was
crusted with blood and he smelt strongly of seal blubber--his
stomach was full, but the sharpness of back-bone showed that
this condition had only been temporary, daylight he looks very
fit and strong, and he is evidently very pleased to be home
again.
We are absolutely at a loss to account for his
adventures. It is exactly a month since he was missed--what
on earth can have happened to him all this time? One would give
a great deal to hear his tale. Everything is against the theory
that he was a wilful absentee--his previous habits and his joy
at getting back. If he wished to get back, he cannot have been
lost anywhere in the neighbourhood, for, as Meares says, the
barking of the station dogs can be heard at least 7 or 8 miles
away in calm weather, besides which there are tracks everywhere
and unmistakable landmarks to guide man or beast. I cannot but
think the animal has been cut off, but this can only have happened
by his being carried away on broken sea ice, and as far as we
know the open water has never been nearer than 10 or 12 miles
at the least. It is another enigma.
On Saturday last
a balloon was sent up. The thread was found broken a mile away.
Bowers and Simpson walked many miles in search of the instrument,
but could find no trace of it. The theory now propounded is
that if there is strong differential movement in air currents,
the thread is not strong enough to stand the strain as the balloon
passes from one current to another. It is amazing, and forces
the employment of a new system. It is now proposed to discard
the thread and attach the instrument to a flag and staff, which
it is hoped will plant itself in the snow on falling.
The sun is shining into the hut windows--already sunbeams
rest on the opposite walls.
I have mentioned the curious
cones which are the conspicuous feature of our Ramp scenery--they
stand from 8 to 20 feet in height, some irregular, but a number
quite perfectly conical in outline. To-day Taylor and Gran took
pick and crowbar and started to dig into one of the smaller
ones. After removing a certain amount of loose rubble they came
on solid rock, kenyte, having two or three irregular cracks
traversing the exposed surface. It was only with great trouble
they removed one or two of the smallest fragments severed by
these cracks. There was no sign of ice. This gives a great 'leg
up' to the 'debris' cone theory.
Demetri and Clissold
took two small teams of dogs to Cape Royds to-day. They found
some dog footprints near the hut, but think these were not made
by Julick. Demetri points far to the west as the scene of that
animal's adventures. Parties from C. Royds always bring a number
of illustrated papers which must have been brought down by the
Nimrod on her last visit. The ostensible object is to provide
amusement for our Russian companions, but as a matter of fact
everyone finds them interesting.
Tuesday, August
29
I find that the card of the sunshine recorder
showed an hour and a half's burn yesterday and was very faintly
marked on Saturday; already, therefore, the sun has given us
warmth, even if it can only be measured instrumentally.
Last night Meares told us of his adventures in and about
Lolo land, a wild Central Asian country nominally tributary
to Lhassa. He had no pictures and very makeshift maps, yet he
held us really entranced for nearly two hours by the sheer interest
of his adventures. The spirit of the wanderer is in Meares'
blood: he has no happiness but in the wild places of the earth.
I have never met so extreme a type. Even now he is looking forward
to getting away by himself to Hut Point, tired already of our
scant measure of civilisation.
He has keen natural powers
of observation for all practical facts and a quite prodigious
memory for such things, but a lack of scientific training causes
the acceptance of exaggerated appearances, which so often present
themselves to travellers when unfamiliar objects are first seen.
For instance, when the spoor of some unknown beast is described
as 6 inches across, one shrewdly guesses that a cold scientific
measurement would have reduced this figure by nearly a half;
so it is with mountains, cliffs, waterfalls, &c. With all
deduction on this account the lecture was extraordinarily interesting.
Meares lost his companion and leader, poor Brook, on the expedition
which he described to us. The party started up the Yangtse,
travelling from Shanghai to Hankow and thence to Ichang by steamer--then
by house-boat towed by coolies through wonderful gorges and
one dangerous rapid to Chunking and Chengtu. In those parts
the travellers always took the three principal rooms of the
inn they patronised, the cost 150 cash, something less than
fourpence--oranges 20 a penny--the coolies with 100 lb. loads
would cover 30 to 40 miles a day--salt is got in bores sunk
with bamboos to nearly a mile in depth; it takes two or three
generations to sink a bore. The lecturer described the Chinese
frontier town Quanchin, its people, its products, chiefly medicinal
musk pods from musk deer. Here also the wonderful ancient damming
of the river, and a temple to the constructor, who wrote, twenty
centuries ago, 'dig out your ditches, but keep your banks low.'
On we were taken along mountain trails over high snow-filled
passes and across rivers on bamboo bridges to Wassoo, a timber
centre from which great rafts of lumber are shot down the river,
over fearsome rapids, freighted with Chinamen. 'They generally
come through all right,' said the lecturer.
Higher up
the river (Min) live the peaceful Ching Ming people, an ancient
aboriginal stock, and beyond these the wild tribes, the Lolo
themselves. They made doubtful friends with a chief preparing
for war. Meares described a feast given to them in a barbaric
hall hung with skins and weapons, the men clad in buckskin dyed
red, and bristling with arms; barbaric dishes, barbaric music.
Then the hunt for new animals; the Chinese Tarkin, the parti-coloured
bear, blue mountain sheep, the golden-haired monkey, and talk
of new fruits and flowers and a host of little-known birds.
More adventures among the wild tribes of the mountains;
the white lamas, the black lamas and phallic worship. Curious
prehistoric caves with ancient terra-cotta figures resembling
only others found in Japan and supplying a curious link. A feudal
system running with well oiled wheels, the happiest of communities.
A separation (temporary) from Brook, who wrote in his diary
that tribes were very friendly and seemed anxious to help him,
and was killed on the day following--the truth hard to gather--the
recovery of his body, &c.
As he left the country
the Nepaulese ambassador arrives, returning from Pekin with
large escort and bound for Lhassa: the ambassador half demented:
and Meares, who speaks many languages, is begged by ambassador
and escort to accompany the party. He is obliged to miss this
chance of a lifetime.
This is the meagrest outline of
the tale which Meares adorned with a hundred incidental facts--for
instance, he told us of the Lolo trade in green waxfly--the
insect is propagated seasonally by thousands of Chinese who
subsist on the sale of the wax produced, but all insects die
between seasons. At the commencement of each season there is
a market to which the wild hill Lolos bring countless tiny bamboo
boxes, each containing a male and female insect, the breeding
of which is their share in the industry.
We are all adventurers
here, I suppose, and wild doings in wild countries appeal to
us as nothing else could do. It is good to know that there remain
wild corners of this dreadfully civilised world.
We have
had a bright fine day. This morning a balloon was sent up without
thread and with the flag device to which I have alluded. It
went slowly but steadily to the north and so over the Barne
Glacier. It was difficult to follow with glasses frequently
clouding with the breath, but we saw the instrument detached
when the slow match burned out. I'm afraid there is no doubt
it fell on the glacier and there is little hope of recovering
it. We have now decided to use a thread again, but to send the
bobbin up with the balloon, so that it unwinds from that end
and there will be no friction where it touches the snow or rock.
This investigation of upper air conditions is proving a
very difficult matter, but we are not beaten yet.
Wednesday, August 30
Fine bright day. The
thread of the balloon sent up to-day broke very short off through
some fault in the cage holding the bobbin. By good luck the
instrument was found in the North Bay, and held a record.
This is the fifth record showing a constant inversion of
temperature for a few hundred feet and then a gradual fall,
so that the temperature of the surface is not reached again
for 2000 or 3000 feet. The establishment of this fact repays
much of the trouble caused by the ascents.
Thursday,
August 31
Went round about the Domain and Ramp with
Wilson. We are now pretty well decided as to certain matters
that puzzled us at first. The Ramp is undoubtedly a moraine
supported on the decaying end of the glacier. A great deal of
the underlying ice is exposed, but we had doubts as to whether
this ice was not the result of winter drifting and summer thawing.
We have a little difference of opinion as to whether this morainic
material has been brought down in surface layers or pushed up
from the bottom ice layers, as in Alpine glaciers. There is
no doubt that the glacier is retreating with comparative rapidity,
and this leads us to account for the various ice slabs about
the hut as remains of the glacier, but a puzzling fact confronts
this proposition in the discovery of penguin feathers in the
lower strata of ice in both ice caves. The shifting of levels
in the morainic material would account for the drying up of
some lakes and the terrace formations in others, whilst curious
trenches in the ground are obviously due to cracks in the ice
beneath. We are now quite convinced that the queer cones on
the Ramp are merely the result of the weathering of big blocks
of agglomerate. As weathering results they appear unique. We
have not yet a satisfactory explanation of the broad roadway
faults that traverse every small eminence in our immediate region.
They must originate from the unequal weathering of lava flows,
but it is difficult to imagine the process. The dip of the lavas
on our Cape corresponds with that of the lavas of Inaccessible
Island, and points to an eruptive centre to the south and not
towards Erebus. Here is food for reflection for the geologists.
The wind blew quite hard from the N.N.W. on Wednesday night,
fell calm in the day, and came from the S.E. with snow as we
started to return from our walk; there was a full blizzard by
the time we reached the hut.
CHAPTER XIV -
PREPARATIONS: THE SPRING JOURNEY