THE SWEDISH EXPEDITION
Sails in the _Antarctica_--Argentine Co-operation--First Antarctic
Fossil--Building the Winter Station--A Breezy Corner--Electric
Snow--A Spare Diet--New Year Festivities--The Missing Ship--Relief
that never Came--A Devastating Nip--Castaway--The Unexpected
Happens--A Dramatic Meeting--Rescued.
The expedition to explore the land lying in the Antarctic region to the
south of South America, which, under the international arrangement of
1895, was allotted to Sweden, was placed under the command of Professor
Otto Nordenskjold, with whom was associated Professor Johan Andersson,
both members of Swedish Universities. The steam barque _Antarctica_,
Captain C. A. Larsen, who had already had considerable experience in the
Polar regions, was selected as the vessel in which the expedition was to
proceed to the field of operations. The original plan was for the
expedition to leave Europe in 1901, and to be back in Sweden by May
1903.
The detailed plan was to leave Sweden as early as possible in the autumn
of 1901 for the South Shetlands, whence the vessel was to go to the east
coast of the land known to lie to the south of those islands.
Penetrating as far to the south as possible, a station was to be
established at any convenient point and a party of six left there, with
the necessary stores, apparatus, and equipment, to spend the winter,
while the ship was to return north to the Falkland Islands and spend the
winter with the remainder of the expedition carrying out scientific
investigations at Tierra del Fuego and South Georgia. On the arrival of
spring the _Antarctica_ was to pick up the members of the expedition who
might be in Tierra del Fuego and South Georgia and proceed south to the
winter station, take on board the members who had passed the winter
there, and return at once to Sweden.
Unfortunately for the successful carrying out of the plans, the summer
of 1902-3, in the Antarctic regions, was the coldest and the worst for
ice conditions that has ever been recorded, and the expedition, instead
of being able to carry out the plans laid down, experienced, instead, a
series of unexpected happenings which was fatal to the exact working out
of detail, but was rich in exciting and romantic episode. The Frozen
South, like the Frozen North, will not yield its secrets to the first
comer who demands them. The resources of the ice world, at either pole,
are too vast to be overcome without a fierce and prolonged struggle.
Instead of one winter, the Swedish expedition spent two in the ice
region, while, during the second, all the members of it were living on
the ice, though as three separate parties, each within a few miles of
the other, and all, more or less, ignorant of the proximity of their
comrades. The peculiar circumstances under which they became separated,
their experiences during that time, and the dramatic manner in which
they were reunited and rescued, will form the chief incidents of the
following pages.
Leaving Sweden on October 17, 1901, the _Antarctica_ proceeded to South
America, where, at the request of the Argentine Government, a
representative of that country, in the person of Lieutenant Sobral, of
the Navy, joined the expedition. In return for this courtesy the
Argentine Government offered to do all it could to assist the
expedition. How magnificently it carried out its promise will be seen
later.
Early in January the ship was amongst the ice, making her way as fast as
she could to the neighbourhood of Erebus and Terror Gulf, where it was
hoped a suitable site would be found for the winter station. The state
of the ice, however, was not favourable to this scheme, and, by the time
Seymour Island was sighted, it was evident there was little chance of
working into more southern latitudes. Nearly ten years before Captain
Larsen had visited this island, and had taken from it specimens of
fossil wood and molluscs, the first fossils ever discovered in the
Antarctic.
Before landing on it and seeking for more geological specimens, the
leader determined to try whether there was any chance of penetrating to
the South from a more westerly longitude. The ship was turned on to a
westerly course and kept on it until the beginning of February, but as
no opening was to be seen through the ice to the south, her head was
turned to the east once more, and she returned to the neighbourhood of
Seymour Island. On February 10 the vessel was in Sydney Herbert Bay,
which formed the hitherto unvisited part of Erebus and Terror Gulf. As
it was obviously impossible to get farther to the south, Nordenskjold
decided to establish the winter station on one of the islands in this
vicinity.
A brief visit to Seymour Island did not reveal the wealth of
fossil-bearing strata that was expected. Paulet Island was visited and
an interesting circular lake was discovered, lying in a circular range
of hills. The banks of the lake bore ample evidences that at one time
there had been great volcanic activity at the place, and the lake was
evidently formed in the hollow of the extinct crater. The place did not
appeal to them as a site for the winter station, and, as further
journeys revealed another island on the other side of Seymour Island,
where there was a beach which appeared to be sheltered from the
southward, the point whence the most violent winds blew, it was decided
to build the hut there.
The _Antarctica_ anchored in the bay opposite the beach and rapidly
unloaded the camp equipment. When everything was almost landed, a
movement in the ice at the mouth of the bay compelled the ship to stand
out into open water, so the party of six, who were to spend the winter
on the island, hastened ashore, where they had their hut to build and
all preparations to make without the help, which had been counted upon,
of the crew of the vessel. But this did not weigh heavily upon them, and
they set to work with a will. In the course of a week, the _Antarctica_
was able to get into the bay again and to land the remaining stores; but
by that time the hut was up and the adventurous six were almost settled
down to their routine work.
A day or so after landing, Nordenskjold discovered that the island they
were on--named Snow Hill Island--was peculiarly interesting from a
geological point of view, for he found fossils of ammonites, a token of
ancient life of the region which alone would have made the expedition
memorable.
During the first month of their sojourn, the party were fully occupied
in organising their scientific work and in taking preliminary trips
through the island. At an early date they satisfied themselves that
Admiralty Bay is a Sound, and that the portion of the continent
extending to the vicinity was more in the nature of a group of scattered
islands, with deep sounds passing between them, than a continuous
stretch of mainland. The microscopical examination of the soil revealed
the presence of numerous bacteria, while the examination of the waters
showed that the lower forms of life were well represented. On the land
there were abundance of penguins, seals, and migratory birds; but
otherwise there was an absence of the animals found throughout the
Arctic regions.
On one point they had reason to be dissatisfied with the position
selected for the station. At the time the site was chosen it was
believed that they would be well sheltered from the force of the gales.
The reverse was found to be the case. Gales came from the south-west for
days together and blew with a velocity that was astounding. On one
occasion a large bag of fossils, left on the steps of the hut, was blown
yards away; while on another, a barrel of bread was carried off, and a
whale-boat was lifted over a second boat and flung against a mass of
ice, a distance of twenty-one yards. When the boat was found, after the
storm had abated, it was lying keel upwards, with the greater part of
one side smashed in. The oars, thwarts, and inside planks were scattered
and broken, even the zinc plating being stripped off and blown away.
A curious phenomenon was observed during the progress of these gales.
The air became saturated with electricity to such an extent that the
metal parts of the instruments gave shocks to the fingers when touched,
while the tips of a man's fingers glowed with luminosity when outside
the hut in the dark. As a similar thing occurs in the Sahara during the
progress of a simoon or sand-storm, it was considered that the amount of
electricity was caused by the friction set up by the particles of snow
carried along in a never-ending cloud by the gale. The rate at which the
dry particles of snow moved was tremendous. An extra severe gale
carrying away the wind-gauge, it was not possible to keep a complete
record of the velocity of the gales, but from the records secured, it
was demonstrated that, during the first half of June, if the hut had
travelled with the same velocity as the wind rushed past it, a distance
of 14,900 miles would have been covered, or as far as from the hut to
Sweden and half-way back.
As winter approached, the storms obscured the sky and the sun was not
often seen. They were not far enough south to lose it altogether, and
all through the winter they had the benefit of its presence, though not
for many hours at a time. When it did come, however, it came with great
magnificence. After a series of storms they saw it rise one morning, and
the spectacle is described as gorgeous and beautiful. "The morning was
so clear and bright that I absolutely do not know with what to compare
it," Nordenskjold wrote. "A faint violet light lay along the horizon and
over Cockburn Island, which forms the central point of view from the
station. The sky gleams with a darker blue, and across it float long
streamers of ribbon-like clouds, which shine and flame in red. But ever
in the colours there is something pale, a paleness which predominates
with indescribable delicateness of tone in the tints of the horizon, and
in the blue and white shades of the stretches of land, which contrast so
strongly with the dull brown of our immediate neighbourhood, and even
with the sharply defined ice wall of Snow Hill. At about ten o'clock a
glowing spot begins to be visible on the horizon, and, presaged by a
perpendicular pillar of fire, there rises what would be the orb of the
sun, but which, in consequence of refraction, appears to us to be a
broad flaming moving belt of fire. On each side of the sun there are two
shining, intensely rainbow-coloured belts, forming parts of a ring,
which, however, can be seen but imperfectly. The sun rises higher in the
heavens and assumes by degrees his ordinary appearance, whereupon these
accessory phenomena disappear, together with the moon, whose crescent
has been visible in the sky until the last possible moment."
The winter passed without misfortune, and with the approach of spring
preparations were made for the first long sledge journey. On this, and
other journeys, they succeeded in travelling long distances over what
was often heavy ice, on two meals a day. The first, which was the more
substantial of the two, consisted of pemmican made into a thick
porridge-like soup, the nutritious qualities of which were felt even as
it was being eaten. This was followed by coffee, meat, biscuits, butter
and sugar. On such a meal the men existed and travelled all day, making
no stop until the evening, when they had their dinner, consisting merely
of pease or lentil soup, meat, chocolate, bread, butter, and, sometimes,
bacon. Immediately they had eaten this frugal repast they were in their
sleeping-bags and asleep.
After climbing the ice ridges, which rose along the shores of the
mainland, they succeeded in reaching the land itself on October 18,
though the only evidence of it was the appearance of some dark-coloured
rocks which showed above the ice. They were then in 56 deg. 48' S. and 62 deg.
11' W. This was as far as they penetrated, and the rapidity of their
movements is shown by the record they set of thirty-eight and a half
miles in one day. Other shorter trips taken over the islands in the
vicinity of Snow Hill Island resulted in the discovery of important
fossils, including the bones of an unknown vertebrate animal, some
mammoth penguins, as well as the leaves of different kinds of pine trees
and several ferns. These were all regarded as belonging to the Tertiary
period.
With the New Year of 1903 they indulged in festivities, not only on
account of the season, but also in anticipation of the early arrival of
the _Antarctica_. As they had no idea of spending two winters in
succession in the station, they had not been rigidly economical with
their stores. There was no shortage in anything, but there was not
enough to last them during a second winter on the same scale that they
had lived during the first. When the days went by and grew into weeks,
and no ship appeared, they began to take note of these things. For a
time they kept on the lookout, and, at night, would conjecture at what
hour on the following day the _Antarctica_ would appear, and by whom she
would first be seen, but as the month slipped by and no ship appeared,
they dropped the subject, with one accord, and, instead of discussing
when the vessel would arrive, they talked about the best way of spending
their second winter at the station. The penguin roosts were visited and
large numbers of the birds were killed and stored away for winter food,
while seals were slaughtered to provide food for the dogs and clothing
for the men. Although they never discussed it, the idea each man had
about the non-arrival of the _Antarctica_ was that she had become caught
in the ice, and so prevented from reaching them until it was too late in
the season. What had actually occurred never suggested itself.
After passing the winter as was arranged, the _Antarctica_ had proceeded
to Tierra del Fuego and South Georgia, had picked up all the members of
the expedition, and had steamed away to the South so as to reach the
winter station early in January. As she advanced, however, she found the
sea so blocked with ice that she could not follow the course she had
sailed the previous year. When she arrived at Hope Bay, some miles to
the north of the station, Professor Andersson and two companions landed
with sledges and sufficient provisions to last nine men for two months.
It was their intention to proceed over the ice to the station, while the
_Antarctica_ steamed away to the west, in the hopes of finding an
opening through the ice which would enable her to reach the station. If,
on the arrival of the relief party at the station, the _Antarctica_ had
not appeared, they were to return, with the other six, and wait for the
ship at Hope Bay.
Before proceeding over the ice to the station the three built a small
stone hut, where they stored the greater portion of the stores, and with
the remainder on their sledge they started on their march. But the ice,
which had been too compact for the ship to penetrate, was not compact
enough for them to traverse. Delay after delay was caused by leads and
channels, until it was forced upon them that they would not be able to
reach the station until the summer was over and the ice formed solid
over the sea. As by that time the _Antarctica_ ought to have arrived at
the station, they decided their best course was to return to the depot
at Hope Bay and await her advent. They did so, but no ship appeared,
and, with the end of summer, it was clear to them that something had
happened either to the ship or at the station, and that the only thing
left for them to do was to make themselves as comfortable as they could.
With the limited store of provisions they had with them it was necessary
to go on short rations at once, though the capture of some penguins, the
shooting of seals, and the catching of fish by means of a hook made from
a strap buckle and a line of sealskin torn into strips, augmented their
stock of food and gave them, also, in the blubber of the seals, fuel and
light. Cooped up in their little stone hut, which was only built large
enough, in the first instance, as a place to hold their stores, they
went through the dreary months of winter with a contentment which was
the very acme of heroism.
Meanwhile the _Antarctica_ had steamed away to the west, and then, a
chance offering itself, had stood to the south until she was in the
latitude of Paulet Island. She turned to the east, heading in the
direction of the station on Snow Hill Island, when the ice caught her.
For days she remained in the pack, those on board chafing at the delay
and trying every device to get her free. But the ice was too strong, and
at last they were forced to admit that they were caught for the winter.
This was bad enough, but there was worse to follow. A movement began in
the pack, and a pressure-ridge started directly for the ship. It was
upon them almost before they realised it, and the crash with which she
heeled over told its own tale. The ice had torn a length of her keel
away, and had made a hole in her which it was impossible to repair.
Everything that could be got out was thrown on to the ice, and the
ship's company formed themselves into sledge parties to convey as much
as they could to the nearest land. This was Paulet Island, where they
arrived after an arduous march and at once set to work to construct a
shelter for the winter, which was now upon them. There they stayed,
within a few miles of the station, and of the other party at Hope Bay,
but all in ignorance of the proximity of one another, and quite unable
to communicate.
With the first sign of approaching spring the men at the station made
arrangements to resume their expeditions and complete the survey of the
islands in their immediate vicinity. The first trip was in the direction
of Hope Bay, and the party had been out some days when, in the dim
light, one thought he saw an unusual dark patch on the ice in the
distance. He drew his companion's attention to it, but neither cared to
trust their eyes. As they approached nearer, the dark patch resolved
itself into the figures of men, and a still nearer view revealed two
such extraordinary creatures that one of the men from the station
thought it would be as well to have a revolver ready in case of
emergencies. The two figures were in black garments, with black caps on
their heads, and their hands and faces were as black as their clothes,
while the upper parts of their faces were hidden by curious-looking
masks. Beside them was a sledge.
With considerable uncertainty the men from the station approached, and
were not reassured when they were asked, in English, how they were.
"Thanks; how are you?" they replied. "Don't you know us?" one of the
strange-looking creatures asked. "We're the relief party. Have you seen
the ship?" Then a third figure appeared from behind an ice hummock where
he had been preparing a meal. They were Professor Andersson and his
companions, who were on their way, for the second time, to the station.
Without loss of time the reunited comrades made their way to the
station, where soap and water and a fresh supply of clothes soon
transformed the appearance of the three who had had so trying a time in
the little stone hut at Hope Bay. But the situation was still fraught
with anxiety, now that both parties realised something very serious had
happened to the _Antarctica_. It was impossible for them to determine
whether she had gone to the bottom, or had been beset in the ice. Only
one thing was clear, and that was, that they would all have to stay
where they were until some help came to them. While they were still
debating what chances there were of any coming before another winter
went by, they were startled, one day, by the arrival of visitors. These
proved to be a search party from the Argentine cruiser _Uruguay_, which
the Argentine Government had despatched as the _Antarctica_ had not
returned at her appointed time. Help had come at a time and from a
quarter least expected.
But the news that the cruiser brought added very much to the fears the
explorers entertained as to the safety of the _Antarctica_ and her crew.
If she had been beset, some of her company could have reached the
station over the ice while it was still compact, or, if she was still
afloat, she ought herself to have been able to reach them. The absence
of all news made the members of the expedition gathered at the station
more than uneasy as to the fate of their comrades.
The morning after the Argentine officers arrived, one of the men,
looking out of the hut, exclaimed that eight men were coming over the
ice. Under the impression that they were some of the cruiser's crew sent
to assist in removing the baggage from the station to the ship, he went
out to meet them, walking slowly, as he tried to decide what was to be
done if they could not speak any language he knew. The others in the
hut, watching him, saw him suddenly leap forward and then turn to them
and wave his arms. "Larsen! Larsen is here!" they heard him shout.
With one accord they rushed out after him, and in a few moments were
eagerly shaking hands with the eight men, who were a detachment sent out
from the camp on Paulet Island to ascertain whether the party at the
station was still intact or whether it had been rescued. The news was
sent to the cruiser, and soon all the members of the expedition and
their baggage were on board and the ship was steaming for Paulet Island.
On arrival off the coast no signs of the remainder of the crew of the
_Antarctica_ were to be seen, so the whistle was blown. The men at the
time were all in the shelter, sleeping, and the sudden sound of the
whistle roused them. For the moment they could not believe their ears.
Then one of them looked out and saw the ship, and the shout with which
he and his companions greeted the sight rang far out over the water.
Professor Andersson and his two comrades had left the _Antarctica_ on
December 29, 1902; the ship was nipped on January 10, 1903; and the
castaways arrived at Paulet Island at the end of February. They had
lived in the shelter they constructed, subsisting mostly on penguin,
until November, when the Argentine cruiser arrived. Only one man had
died.
The expedition reached Buenos Aires on November 30, 1903, having, during
the time they had been in the Antarctic, collected a mass of interesting
and valuable scientific information.