Sure enough, there was a small ship, only about a mile offshore.
Macklin dashed to the lookout bluff, tearing off his Burberry jacket as he ran. There he tied it onto the halliard of the oar that served as their flagpole. But he was only able to hoist it part of the way up before the halliard jammed. (Shackleton saw the signal at half-staff and his heart sank, he later said, because he took it to be a sign that some of the party had been lost.)
Hurley gathered up all the sennegrass he could find, then poured over it some blubber oil and the two gallons of paraffin they still had. He had a hard time lighting it, and when it finally ignited - almost with an explosion - it produced more flame than smoke.
But no matter. The ship was headed toward the spit.
Wild, meanwhile, had gone to the water's edge and was signaling from there the best place to send in a boat. And How had broken open a tin of precious biscuits and was offering them around. Few men, however, stopped to have one. Even so rare a treat held little appeal in the excitement of the moment.
Macklin returned to the hut and lifted Blackboro to his shoulders, then carried him to a position on the rocks near Wild where he might better see the thrilling sight.
The ship approached to within several hundred yards, then stopped. The men ashore could see a boat being lowered. Four men got into it, followed by the sturdy, square-set figure they knew so well - Shackleton. A spontaneous cheer went up. In fact the excitement ashore was so intense that many men actually were giggling.
Within a few minutes the boat was near enough for Shackleton to be heard.
`Are you all right?' he shouted.
`All well,' they replied.
Wild guided the boat to a safe place among the rocks, but because of the ice around the spit it was impossible to make a landing, so the boat was held a few feet off.
Wild urged Shackleton to come ashore, if only briefly, to see how they had fixed the hut in which they had waited four long months. But Shackleton, though he was smiling and obviously relieved, was still quite noticeably anxious and wanted only to be away. He declined Wild's offer and urged the men to get on board as quickly as possible.
Certainly no great urging was needed, and one at a time they jumped from the rocks into the boat, leaving behind them without a second thought dozens of personal little items which only an hour before had been considered almost indispensable.
One load was rowed out to the Yelclio, and then a second.
Throughout it all Worsley had watched anxiously from the bridge of the ship.
Finally he logged: `2.lo All Well! At last! 2.15 Full speed ahead.'
Macklin wrote: `I stayed on deck to watch Elephant Island recede in the distance ... I could still see my Burberry [jacket] flapping in the breeze on the hillside - no doubt it will flap there to the wonderment of gulls and penguins till one of our familiar [gales] blows it all to ribbons.'
The Yclclio sails into Punta Arenas, Chile, with all of the crew of the Endurance safe on board
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I could never adequately express my appreciation to all the people who contributed to this undertaking. But here, in alphabetical order, are those to whom I am particularly grateful:
William Bakewell of Dukes, Michigan.
Charles W. Ferguson of Chappaqua, New York.
Margery and James Fisher of Northampton, England, co-authors of Sliack'leto>> and the A,,tarctic, who generously made available to me a great deal of the material they gathered in the preparation of their excellent and exhaustively researched life of Shackleton.
Charles J. Green of Hull, England.
Commander Lionel Greenstreet of Brixham, England, first of all for granting me many hours of his time, then for graciously permitting me the use of his two very detailed diaries and for answering many questions by letter.
Miss Evelyn Harvey of NewYork City, for her patient criticisms and advice.
Walter How of London, England.
OPPOSITE Shackleton, in the foreground, yith Hurley and his equipment, aloft the mast of the Endurance
Dr Leonard D. A. Hussey of Chorley Wood, Hertfordshire, England, who supplied much helpful information, both in person and by letter.
Miss Joan Ogle Isaacs of London, who put in many long weeks of research with me.
Dr Reginald W. James of Cape Town, South Africa.
A. J. Kerr of Ilford, Essex, England.
James Marr of Surrey, England, who generously made available to me Frank Worsley's diary of the Caird boat journey for which I am especially grateful.
The editors of The McGraw-Hill Book Company, notably Edward Kuhn, Jr.
I)r J. A. Mcllroy of Aberystwyth, Wales.
Miss Edna O'Brien of Scarborough, NewYork.
Maurice T. Ragsdale of Chappaqua, NewYork, who read the manuscript and offered some sage advice.
The late Miss Cecily Shackleton, who, before her death, graciously granted me the use of her father's diary and many of his personal papers.
The Scott Polar Research Institute of Cambridge, England, who made available to inc the following manuscripts:
i. Frank Worsley's Endurance diary, 1914-1916 (S.P.R.I. ms 296).
2. Frank Worsley's James Caird (navigational) diary, April-May, 1916
(S.P.R.I. ms 297).
3. R. W. James's diaries (S. P. R. I . ms 370).
4.T. H. Orde-Lees's draft account of the Eiidiiraiicc expedition (S.P.R.I. ms 293). Typescript.
I am particularly grateful to Harry G. R. King and Miss Ann M. Savours of the Scott Polar Research Institute for their many hours of help and the interest they took in this project.
Arnt Wegger of the Framnaes shipbuilding firm of Sandefjord, Norway, and also Lars Christensen, Aanderud Larsen, Mathias Andersen and many others in Sandefjord who provided me with blueprints, pictures and all available information concerning the Eiidiiraltcc herself, in addition to much information about South Georgia.
Sir James Wordie of Cambridge, England.
Finally, I should like to single out three individuals to whom I am especially indebted.
The first is Paul Palmer of Ridgefield, Connecticut, without whose enthusiasm, encouragement, and help this book alight never have been written.
The second is Dr Alexander H. Macklin of Cults, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, to whom I owe a debt that is difficult to express. Not only did he supply me with his own and other diaries, but he provided me with a detailed account of the boat journey to Elephant Island. His generosity, his objectivity, and most of all his patience over a period of many long months during which he painstakingly answered my numerous questions never faltered once. I called upon him for help much more than I had right to.
Finally, of my wife, I can only say that her contribution went above and beyond the call of duty.
*Though Shackleton bought the Endurancce for $67,000, the Framnaes shipyard today would not undertake to build a similar vessel for less than $700,000 - and the cost might well rule to $ 1,000,000, they estimate.
* The American explorer Adolphous Greely spent the years 1881-4 in the Arctic. Seventeen of his twenty-four men died of starvation when their relief ship failed to reach them.
*For some reason, James omitted the last portion of the quotation: `Man proposes, God disposes.'
Endurance, Deluxe Ed: The Greatest Adventure Story Ever Told by Alfred Lansing Page 30