Shackleton's Heroes
Page 15
|| ‘Evans’ would be Lieutenant Evans and ‘Wilson’ was Dr Edward Wilson; both members of Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition.
** ‘Sten’ would be Stenhouse and ‘Irvine’ would be Irvine Gaze.
Chapter 7
‘I THINK THE O.M. HAS A GOOD SOLUTION’
May 1915: The six men at Hut Point wait
MACKINTOSH, JOYCE AND Wild made few diary entries at Hut Point in May although Hayward continued to write, usually focused on their prospects of going to Cape Evans. Joyce made a note of the severe blizzard that took the Aurora away from Cape Evans. Hayward and Joyce mentioned that Wild fell into the sea and Wild made a comment on the relationship between the men in the hut, and on Mackintosh’s behaviour. He was very critical of Mackintosh’s ideas on how to make a dash to Cape Evans. His diary note for May is the only one, by any of the men, that mentioned any friction in the hut.
Hayward:
2 May: Another lovely morning. Sea-ice very promising indeed. 2 more days will see us on our way to C. Evans providing weather continues favourable. 5 May: Topping morning. Skipper & I had a walk towards C Evans ice seems pretty good & we expect to get away shortly. We afterwards killed a couple of seals & hauled in the skins, Jack lent us a hand.1
Joyce:
9 May: A blizzard sprang up which lasted 4 days. The velocity at times 70 to 100. As a rule when the wind is Southerly the temperature rises, but in this case the temp dropped 20 to 20 below zero. The hut temp was well below zero even alongside the blubber stove the water was frozen. One had to keep in their sleeping bags for warmth.2
Hayward:
18 May: We are all more or less experts at draughts, having made a board & using pieces of sugar and biscuit for men. Time passes quickly this way. Went for a walk this afternoon, the Aurora Australis was really magnificent to-night.
19 May: Had our usual walk. Wild distinguished himself by falling through the ice into the ‘ditch’ (sea) luckily we were not far from the Hut.3
Joyce:
Late May: Towards the end of May Wild + I went north a couple of miles over the ice which had been frozen for 3 days. Found it bearable, on rounding the point on our return Wild fell through a seal hole which was snow covered. The temperature being almost 20 below, he was stiff as a board before I got him to the hut which was only 150 yards distant on.4
Wild:
24 May: Everybody has had a go at me (except the Captain) for making too much noise so I thought I might as well start the log again. We have been here two months & nobody knows the date so I am guessing it. The people who have been keeping their logs are all different. We have been keeping eight hour watches & I believe when they do another watch they sometimes fancy it is another day & that has put them ahead a bit.
I managed to fall in the pond the other day & went through the ice up to my waist. Joyce was with me, we were about a mile away from the Hut & the temp was about 30° below, so you can bet I soon made tracks back as fast as possible.
Of course I’ve got no other clothes here so it wasn’t much of a joke. Hayward lent me a pair of his pants and Jack supplied a sweater.
I knew the Skipper had a combination suit so asked him for a loan of it, till mine were dry. He wouldn’t lend it to me said it was frozen. Joyce and I cleaned the sledges yesterday and the combination suit fell out of the Skipper’s bag as dry as a bone.
He and I are sharing one bag in the hut and he didn’t even ask me if I would turn in to keep warm while my clothes were drying, but calmly turned in himself and went to sleep.
He has got some daft ideas about getting back to the ship. One, he wants to start back himself or with one companion & try to walk back taking nothing with them. If it comes on a blizzard he says they will lie down & cover themselves with their Burberrys until it’s over. I don’t know what he means. He has got all sorts of impractical schemes.5
(Twelve months later Mackintosh would actually put these ideas into practice.)
I can’t understand the people here at all; they’ve got no business down here at all. I don’t know what they come for (with one or two exceptions) I mean the people on the ship as well; they’ve got no sense of humour at all.
I’ll give just one instance. The other morning they were howling because they couldn’t sleep, so in a jocular way I said, ‘of course not, you get too much sleep’. Then Jack sat up with a most ferocious & eyes sticking out like hot pegs sort of look, ‘who are YOU to say I’ve had too much sleep’. I had to laugh. I couldn’t help it.
I suppose the light (or absence of it), food & dirt made us all bad-tempered.6
June 1915: The six men leave Hut Point for Cape Evans
By the end of May, the sea-ice was starting to become firm, and with a full moon to give them some visibility, Mackintosh, Joyce, Wild, Hayward, Jack and Cope planned to trek the thirteen miles to Cape Evans, on 2 June. Joyce noted some of their difficulties as they made the crossing, which may have been similar to those encountered by Mackintosh and Hayward some twelve months later, when these two men again attempted to walk from Hut Point to Cape Evans.
Hayward:
Surface good & we passed Tent Island 5 miles from our destination about 8 o/c pm, having replenished ourselves with biscuits, & shouted at frequent intervals. About 3 miles from Cape Evans picked up a flag giving instructions as to course arrived at Hut 10.30 pm.7
Joyce:
1 Jun: Mack + I went North + found the ice bearable, so decided to trek tomorrow weather permitting. Cape Evans is 13½ miles to the North.
2 Jun: Under weigh for Cape Evans the moon shining brightly had not been trekking more than an hour when the moon became obscured and this was unfortunate. A large formation of ice 8 miles from Hut Point juts out from Mt Erebus to the West for 5 miles and is about 1 mile wide.
Unfortunately through the darkness we trekked right into the churned up ice around the Glacier which placed us in an awkward predicament as we were liable to fall through the ice. Our sledge overturned several times. After a struggle we managed to get out to the West. A huge mass loomed up which was Inaccessible Island.
It is very weird sledging in total darkness. Wild said: ‘I think I can hear dogs barking’ so we listened and sure it was – so when it is calm one can hear miles over the ice. When Wild heard the first bark we must have been 5 miles away. Eventually we made Cape Evans.
The dogs gave us a great welcome although there were only 6 of them. They made enough noise for 20. Arriving at the Hut the inmates came out + wondering why the dogs were making such a noise. We found the Padre, Gaze, Richards + Jack.8
(The large formation of ice Joyce mentioned is Glacier Tongue. Inaccessible Island is a small 300-foot-high island approximately 1 mile to the south-west of Cape Evans. Joyce mentions six dogs but there were only five: Oscar, Con, Gunner, Towser and a female, Nell, who did not go out to Mount Hope.)
June 1915
There were now ten men at Cape Evans, where conditions were significantly better than at Discovery hut. They were fortunate to have made the crossing safely so early in June, in light of the changing state of the sea-ice that were still occurring. Richards and some of the others at Cape Evans thought that they took a considerable risk in making the crossing as a water stretch had been opening up consistently between the two huts during blizzards.9
The men were satisfied with the sledging efforts of their first season. Six of them, Mackintosh, Joyce, Wild, Spencer-Smith, Hayward and Richards, would form the Mount Hope Party of 1916. The other four, Stevens, Cope, Gaze and Jack, would assist with the early sledging but they would not participate in depot-laying after early January 1916.
The loss of the Aurora was the most significant news for the new arrivals.
Hayward:
2 Jun: We found Smith, Gaze, Stevens & Richards in residence & heard from them that the ship after various incidents both hazardous & uncomfortable had been frozen in for a week (about) but on the 7 May a bad blizzard came up & the ship was blown out of the Sound carrying awa
y in the process 6 wire hawsers & 1 heavy chain cable all made fast ashore & dragging her anchors.
She has not been seen or heard of since & we can only hope for the best, that is that she has been blown clear of the ice-pack & made her way to Hobart in which case we shall not see her till next January when she will come down to our relief, we cannot feel very hopeful however as when she went out her engines were undergoing repairs & instruments & her wireless gear unshipped.
At the best we are ten men who have to relieve Shackleton at the Beardmore Glacier 400 miles distant without any equipment to speak of but luckily Scott left sufficient stores in the Hut here to relieve us from any immediate anxiety in this respect.10
Wild:
2 June: Cape Evans. We have got here at last, after a bit of a struggle. We ran out of tobacco at Hut Point so the first thing we wanted when we got here was a smoke & a drink.
We got both I’m glad to say & then we had a great disappointment we found out that the ship had been blown away on the 11 May so we are only a little better off than we were at Hut Point. However I suppose we will get over it alright.11
Joyce:
2 Jun: On entering we could not see for quite a long time the acetylene light was too strong so we had to put on snow goggles. The hut looked like a Palace. A lovely coal fire was burning + the hut party looked very clean. Our party looked like scavengers.12
When we arrived and found the ship gone, oh my! As it was the only clothes I had was a signet shirt, Drawers, 2 Pairs Socks, Pair finesscoe, 1 Cardigan. What a prospect to look forward to. I think the worst hit of the lot is no tobacco.13
We had been out practically 129 days laid depot to 80° + travelled 288 miles. A good breaking in for the coming sledging season.14
The winter routine at Cape Evans
From his diary we can see that Mackintosh was clearly in charge, the expedition leader. He outlines their daily routine and tells us his concerns, including the need to be ‘civilised’. We learn of a (poorly attended) religious service, and of the ‘luxuries’ at Cape Evans, compared to Hut Point.
Darkness had now set in for twenty-four hours but the winter was a busy period for all the men. As it was at Hut Point, the search for seals took up a great deal of their time and when they were visible on the ice, the men would make every effort to kill as many as possible and store the blubber and the meat. Water was obtained by digging out chunks of ice from a clean ice supply and sledging them to the hut where a large container was kept filled on the cooking range.15
Richards was left to do much of the scientific work over the winter months. He occupied himself with the construction of a dust counter for estimating the amount of dust in the air. He also started recording soundings and temperatures, observations on the rate of formation or dissolution of freshwater ice in the sea and the rate of removal of ice by evaporation.16
Mackintosh:
5 Jun: The day after my arrival here I gave an outline of our situation and explained the necessity for economy in the use of fuel, light, and stores, in view of the possibility that we may have to stay here for two years.
We are not going to commence work for the sledging operations until we know more definitely the fate of the ‘Aurora’. I dare not think any disaster has occurred.
Meanwhile we are making all preparations here for a prolonged stay. The shortage of clothing is our principal hardship. The members of the party from Hut Point have the clothes we wore when we left the ship on 25 January. We have been without a wash all that time, and I cannot imagine a dirtier set of people. We have been attempting to get a wash ever since we came back, but owing to the blow during the last two days no opportunity has offered.
I would like to state how indebted we feel to Capt Scott’s British Antarctic Expedition for the supply of stores that have been left here and for which we are now reaping the benefits, in fact but for them we would be in a poor way.
Four of us, myself, Stevens, Richards, and Spencer-Smith, have breakfast at 7 a.m. The others are called at 9 a.m., and their breakfast is served. Then the table is cleared, the floor is swept, and the ordinary work of the day is commenced.
At 1 p.m. we have what we call ‘a counter lunch,’ that is, cold food and cocoa. We work from 2 p.m. till 5 p.m. After 5 p.m. people can do what they like. Dinner is at 7.
The men play games, read, write up diaries. We turn in early, since we have to economise fuel and light. Night-watches are kept by the scientific men, who have the privilege of turning in during the day.17
13 Jun: I took the opportunity, the first one I have had, as my clothes I have taken off – of having my first wash for 139 days. Stevens also cut my hair & whiskers, with the result I felt much warmer – I wonder if anyone has had more dirt come off them. It really makes one feel much better. Stevens has given me a hair brush so now that I can brush that, which will be another luxury. I feel we are gradually getting civilised.
Smith held Holy Communion using the dark room as a chapel, where he had rigged up an altar. I suspect this is the first occasion in which Communion Services have been held on the shores of the Antarctic. Unfortunately I was the only member of the congregation.18
My thoughts of the fate of the ship are so constant that I find myself dispirited – which I strive to fight against. I miss the services of an officer, although these are a sterling lot of chaps, it requires an intermediary.19
Hayward: ‘2 Jun: Such a treat having a spring mattress on my bunk & slept like a log.20
‘5 Jun: An impromptu sing-along provides entertainment indoors during the day & bridge does the same for eve.’21
He tells his Ethel:
21 Jun: Of course one is never idle & it would be erroneous to think that I have done as little as my note might imply. There is always something to occupy ones attentions. Incidentally since my return from sledging amongst other things I have read the following books:
Edmond Thackeray
The Mill on the Floss Geo Elliot
It’s never too late to mend Chas Reader
The Virginian Owen Wister
Robbery Under Arms
No 5 John St
Kipps H G Wells
The City of Beautiful Nonsense
The Wales of Gordon
White Fang Jack London
For the term of his natural life.22
22 June 1915
The 22nd June is ‘Christmas Day in winter’ in Antarctica and it was a day of celebration, which the men enjoyed immensely.
Hayward:
Mid Winters Day Tuesday 22 June 15: Had a jolly good day. Fine dinner Christmas Pudding etc, etc, etc. Afterwards potato race (with tins of milk as potatoes), putting the tail on the donkey and many other dangerous & exciting parlour adventures. Thoroughly enjoyed it all.23
Spencer-Smith:
We drank to the King and the Boss and then sat around singing shanties, particularly improvised. These included ‘Ranzo’, ‘the Yankee Ship’ (Blow boys blow), ‘Farewell, Spanish maidens’ (We’ll rant and we’ll roar), ‘Grace Darling’, ‘Pull for the Shore’, and other fragments.
Cope told one or two stories and recited ‘The German at the phone’ … the last revellers went off to bed at about 3 leaving Cope & self on watch to clear up.
If only the ship is safe somewhere – God keep them and bless them, as he has kept and blessed us too.24
Late July 1915
Mackintosh called a meeting for a discussion of future plans. Richards remembered that all the men agreed that the number one priority was to place food depots for the six men of Shackleton’s party at least as far south as the Beardmore Glacier, and at every degree of latitude northward from there.25 Their planned journey from Cape Evans (at 77° 38´S) to the gap location at the foot of the Beardmore Glacier (at 83° 30´S) and their return would be almost 800 miles. However, the total distance to be travelled would be closer to 1,500 miles as they planned to make a number of trips out and back to fully stock the depots that had been laid in February and Marc
h.
Mackintosh’s diary note of 26 June gives us an idea of his leadership style – by consensus rather than strict or dogmatic instructions.
Mackintosh:
I gave an outline of the position and invited discussion from the members.
Several points were brought up. I had suggested that one of our party should remain behind for the purpose of keeping the meteorological records and laying in a supply of meat and blubber. This man would be able to hand my instructions to the ship and pilot a party to the Bluff. It had been arranged that Richards should do this. Several objected on the ground that the whole complement would be necessary, and, after the matter had been put to the vote, it was agreed that we should delay the decision until the parties had some practical work and we had seen how they fared.
The shortage of clothing was discussed, and Joyce and Wild have agreed to do their best in this matter. October sledging (on the Barrier) was mentioned as being too early, but is to be given a trial. These were the most important points brought up, and it was mutually and unanimously agreed that we could do no more … I know we are doing our best.26
Hayward tells us more of their plans:
Discussed sledging arrangements for the relief of Shacks.
Resulting as follows:
Start 1 Oct.
4 Trips to bluff to be made & from there to 83.30 South.
Getting back approx middle of March.
A stupendous undertaking & as the Skipper says if accomplished will be almost a record of S. Polar travel. Of course we must all realise that we are up against a stiff proposition but can only wait see & do our damndest.27