THE LAST MARCH
Men like a man who has shown himself a pleasant companion
through a week's walking tour. They worship the man who,
over thousands of miles, for hundreds of days, through renewed
difficulties and efforts, has brought them without friction,
arrogance or dishonour to the victory proposed, or to the higher
glory of unshaken defeat.--R. KIPLING.
After this terrible experience the rest of the party marched on
later in the night, and arrived at their depôt; there they allowed
themselves five hours' sleep and then marched to Shambles Camp,
which they reached at 3 P.M. on Sunday, February 18. Plenty of
horse meat awaited them, with the prospect of plenty to come if
they could only keep up good marches. 'New life seems to come with
greater food almost immediately, but I am anxious about the Barrier
surfaces.'
A late start was made from Shambles Camp, because much work had
to be done in shifting sledges[1] and fitting up the new one with
a mast, &c., and in packing
[Page 402]
horse meat and personal effects. Soon after noon, however, they
got away, and found the surface every bit as bad as they expected.
Moreover Scott's fears that there would not be much change during
the next few days were most thoroughly justified. On the Monday
afternoon they had to pullover a really terrible surface that resembled
desert sand. And the same conditions awaited them on the following
day, when, after four hours' plodding in the morning, they reached
Desolation Camp. At this camp they had hoped to find more pony meat,
but disappointment awaited them. 'Total mileage for day 7,' Scott
wrote at R. 34, 'the ski tracks pretty plain and easily followed
this afternoon.... Terribly slow progress, but we hope for better
things as we clear the land.... Pray God we get better traveling as
we are not so fit as we were, and the season is advancing apace.'
[Footnote 1: Sledges were left at the chief depôts to replace damaged
ones.]
Again, on Wednesday, February 21, the surface was terrible, and
once more Scott expressed a devout hope that as they drew away from
the land the conditions might get better; and that this improvement
should come and come soon was all the more necessary because they
were approaching a critical part of their journey, in which there
were long distances between the cairns. 'If we can tide that over
we get on the regular cairn route, and with luck should stick to
it; but everything depends on the weather. We never won a march
of 8-1/2 miles with greater difficulty, but we can't go on like
this.'
[Page 403]
Very fresh wind from the S.E., with strong surface drift, so completely
wiped out the faint track they were trying to follow during the next
stage of their struggle homewards, that lunch-time came without a
sight of the cairn they had hoped to pass. Later in the day Bowers,
feeling sure that they were too far to the west, steered out, with
the result that another pony camp was passed by unseen. 'There is
little doubt we are in for a rotten critical time going home, and
the lateness of the season may make it really serious.... Looking
at the map to-night there is no doubt we are too far to the east.
With clear weather we ought to be able to correct the mistake, but
will the weather clear? It's a gloomy position, more especially as
one sees the same difficulty recurring even when we have corrected
this error. The wind is dying down to-night and the sky clearing in
the south, which is hopeful. Meanwhile it is satisfactory to note
that such untoward events fail to damp the spirit of the party.'
The hopes of better weather were realized during the following
day, when they started off in sunshine and with very little wind.
Difficulties as to their course remained, but luckily Bowers took
a round of angles, and with the help of the chart they came to
the conclusion that they must be inside rather than outside the
tracks. The data, however, were so meager that none of them were
happy about taking the great responsibility of marching out. Then,
just as they had decided to lunch, Bowers' wonderfully
[Page 404]
sharp eyes detected an old double lunch cairn, and the theodolite
telescope confirmed it. Camp R. 37 found them within 2-1/2 miles
of their depôt. 'We cannot see it, but, given fine weather, we
cannot miss it. We are, therefore, extraordinarily relieved....
Things are again looking up, as we are on the regular line of cairns,
with no gaps right home, I hope.' In the forenoon of Saturday,
February 24, the depôt was reached, and there they found the store
in order except for a shortage of oil. 'Shall have to be _very_
saving with fuel.'
[Indeed from this time onward the party were increasingly in want
of more oil than they found at the depôts. Owing partly to the
severe conditions, but still more to the delays caused by their
sick comrades, they reached the full limit of time allowed for
between the depôts. The cold was unexpected, and at the same time
the actual amount of oil found at the depôts was less than Scott
anticipated.
The return journey on the summit was made at good speed, for the
party accomplished in 21 days what had taken them 27 days on the
outward journey. But the last part of it, from Three Degree to
Upper Glacier Depôt, took nearly eight marches as against ten,
and here can be seen the first slight slackening as P.O. Evans
and Oates began to feel the cold. From the Upper Glacier to the
Lower Glacier Depôt there was little gain on the outward journey,
partly owing to the conditions but more to Evans' gradual collapse.
And from that time onward the marches
[Page 405]
of the weary but heroic travelers became shorter and shorter.
As regards the cause of the shortage of oil, the tins at the depôts
had been exposed to extreme conditions of heat and cold. The oil
in the warmth of the sun--for the tins were regularly set in an
accessible place on the top of the cairns--tended to become vapour
and to escape through the stoppers without damage to the tins.
This process was much hastened owing to the leather washers about
the stoppers having perished in the great cold.
The tins awaiting the Southern party at the depôts had, of course,
been opened, so that the supporting parties on their way back could
take their due amount. But however carefully the tins were re-stoppered,
they were still liable to the unexpected evaporation and leakage,
and hence, without the smallest doubt, arose the shortage which
was such a desperate blow to Scott and his party.]
Apart from the storage of fuel everything was found in order at
the depôt, and with ten full days' provisions from the night of the
24th they had less than 70 miles between them and the Mid-Barrier
depôt. At lunch-time Scott wrote in a more hopeful tone, 'It is an
immense relief to have picked up this depôt, and, for the time,
anxieties are thrust aside,' but at night, after pulling on a dreadful
surface and only gaining four miles, he added, 'It really will
be a bad business if we are to have this plodding all through. I
don't know what to think, but the rapid closing
[Page 406]
of the season is ominous.... It is a race between the season and
hard conditions and our fitness and good food.'
Their prospects, however, became a little brighter during the following
day, when the whole march yielded 11.4 miles, 'The first double
figures of steady dragging for a long time.' But what they wanted
and what would not come was a wind to help them on their way.
Nevertheless, although the assistance they so sorely needed was
still lacking, they gained another 11-1/2 miles on their next march,
and were within 43 miles of their next depôt. Writing from 'R. 40.
Temp. -21°' on Monday night, February 26, Scott said, 'Wonderfully
fine weather but cold, very cold. Nothing dries and we get our
feet cold too often. We want more food yet, and especially more
fat. Fuel is woefully short. We can scarcely hope to get a better
surface at this season, but I wish we could have some help from
the wind, though it might shake us up badly if the temp. didn't
rise.'
Tuesday brought them within 31 miles of their depôt, but hunger
was attacking them fiercely, and they could talk of little else
except food and of when and where they might possibly meet the
dogs. 'It is a critical position. We may find ourselves in safety
at next depôt, but there is a horrid element of doubt.'
On the next day Scott decided to increase the rations, and at R.
42, which they reached after a march of 11-1/2 miles in a blightingly
cold wind, they had a 'splendid pony hoosh.' The temperatures,
[Page 407]
however, which varied at this time between -30° and -42°, were
chilling them through and through, and to get their foot-gear on in
the mornings was both a painful and a long task. 'Frightfully cold
starting,' Scott wrote at lunch-time on Thursday, February 29,
'luckily Bowers and Oates in their last new finnesko; keeping my
old ones for the present.... Next camp is our depôt and it is exactly
13 miles. It ought not to take more than 1-1/2 days; we pray for
another fine one. The oil will just about spin out in that event,
and we arrive a clear day's food in hand.'
On reaching the Middle Barrier Depôt, however, blow followed blow
in such quick succession that hope of pulling through began to
sink in spite of all their cheerfulness and courage. First they
found such a shortage of oil that with the most rigid economy it
could scarcely carry them on to their next depôt, 71 miles away.
Then Oates disclosed the fact that his feet, evidently frost-bitten
by the recent low temperatures, were very bad indeed. And lastly
the wind, which at first they had greeted with some joy, brought
dark overcast weather. During the Friday night the temperature
fell to below -40°, and on the next morning an hour and a half
was spent before they could get on their foot-gear. 'Then on an
appalling surface they lost both cairns and tracks, and at lunch
Scott had to admit that they were 'in a very queer street since
there is no doubt we cannot do the extra marches and feel the cold
horribly.'
Afterwards they managed to pick up the track
[Page 408]
again, and with a march of nearly 10 miles for the day prospects
brightened a little; but on the next morning they had to labour
upon a surface that was coated with a thin layer of woolly crystals,
which were too firmly fixed to be removed by the wind and caused
impossible friction to the runners of the sledge. 'God help us,'
Scott wrote at mid-day, 'we can't keep up this pulling, that is
certain. Amongst ourselves we are unendingly cheerful, but what
each man feels in his heart I can only guess. Putting on foot-gear
in the morning is getting slower and slower, therefore every day
more dangerous.'
No relief whatever to the critical situation came on Monday, March
4, and there was in fact little left to hope for except a strong
drying wind, which at that time of the year was not likely to come.
At mid-day they were about 42 miles from the next depôt and had a
week's food; but in spite of the utmost economy their oil could
only last three or four days, and to pull as they were doing and
be short of food at the same time was an absolute impossibility.
For the time being the temperature had risen to -20°, but Scott
was sure that this small improvement was only temporary and feared
that Oates, at any rate, was in no state to weather more severe cold
than they were enduring. And hanging over all the other misfortunes
was the constant fear that if they did get to the next depôt they
might find the same shortage of oil. 'I don't know what I should do
if Wilson and Bowers weren't so determinedly cheerful over things.'
[Page 409]
And it must in all truth have been as difficult as it was heroic
to be cheerful, for weary and worn as they were their food needed
such careful husbanding, that their supper on this night (March 4)
consisted of nothing but a cup of cocoa and pemmican solid with
the chill off. 'We pretend to prefer the pemmican this way,' Scott
says, and if any proof was needed of their indomitable resolution
it is contained in that short sentence. The result, however, was
telling rapidly upon all of them, and more especially upon Oates,
whose feet were in a terrible condition when they started to march
on the morning of the 5th. Lunch-time saw them within 27 miles of
their next supply of food and fuel, but by this time poor Oates
was almost done.
'It is pathetic enough because we can do nothing for him; more
hot food might do a little, but only a little, I fear. We none
of us expected these terribly low temperatures, and of the rest
of us Wilson is feeling them most; mainly, I fear, from his
self-sacrificing devotion in doctoring Oates' feet. We cannot help
each other, each has enough to do to take care of himself. We get
cold on the march when the trudging is heavy, and the wind pierces
our worn garments. The others, all of them, are unendingly cheerful
when in the tent. We mean to see the game through with a proper
spirit, but it's tough work to be pulling harder than we ever pulled
in our lives for long hours, and to feel that the progress is so slow.
One can only say "God help us!" and plod on our weary way, cold and
[Page 410]
very miserable, though outwardly cheerful. We talk of all sorts
of subjects in the tent, not much of food now, since we decided
to take the risk of running a full ration. We simply couldn't go
hungry at this time.'
On the morning of the 6th Oates was no longer able to pull, and
the miles gained, when they camped for lunch after desperate work,
were only three and a half, and the total distance for the day
was short of seven miles. For Oates, indeed, the crisis was near
at hand. 'He makes no complaint, but his spirits only come up in
spurts now, and he grows more silent in the tent.... If we were all
fit I should have hopes of getting through, but the poor Soldier
has become a terrible hindrance, though he does his utmost and
suffers much I fear.' And at mid-day on the 7th, Scott added, 'A
little worse I fear. One of Oates' feet _very_ bad this morning;
he is wonderfully brave. We still talk of what we will do together
at home.'
At this time they were 16 miles from their depôt, and if they found
the looked-for amount of fuel and food there, and if the surface
helped them, Scott hoped that they might get on to the Mt. Hooper
Depôt, 72 miles farther, but not to One Ton Camp. 'We hope against
hope that the dogs have been to Mt. Hooper; then we might pull
through.... We are only kept going by good food. No wind this morning
till a chill northerly air came ahead. Sun bright and cairns showing
up well. I should like to keep the track to the end.'
Another fearful struggle took them by lunch-time
[Page 411]
on the 8th to within 8-1/2 miles of their next goal, but the time
spent over foot-gear in the mornings was getting longer and longer.
'Have to wait in night footgear for nearly an hour before I start
changing, and then am generally first to be ready. Wilson's feet
giving trouble now, but this mainly because he gives so much help
to others.... The great question is, what shall we find at the
depôt? If the dogs have visited it we may get along a good distance,
but if there is another short allowance of fuel, God help us indeed.
We are in a very bad way, I fear, in any case.'
On the following day they managed to struggle on to Mount Hooper
Depôt. 'Cold comfort. Shortage on our allowance all round. I don't
know that anyone is to blame. The dogs which would have been our
salvation have evidently failed.'
[For the last six days Cherry-Garrard and Demetri had been waiting
with the dogs at One Ton Camp. Scott had dated his probable return to
Hut Point anywhere between mid-March and early April, and calculating
from the speed of the other return parties Atkinson expected him to
reach One Ton Camp between March 3 and 10. There Cherry-Garrard
met four days of blizzard, with the result that when the weather
cleared he had little more than enough dog food to take the teams
home. Under these circumstances only two possible courses were
open to him, either to push south for one more march and back with
imminent risk of missing Scott on the way, or to stay two days
at the Camp where Scott was bound to come,
[Page 412]
if he came at all. Wisely he took the latter course and stayed at
One Ton Camp until the utmost limit of time.]
With the depôt reached and no relief to the situation gained, Scott
was forced to admit that things were going 'steadily downhill,' but
for the time being Oates' condition was by far the most absorbing
trouble. 'Oates' foot worse,' he wrote on the 10th. 'He has rare
pluck and must know that he can never get through. He asked Wilson
if he had a chance this morning, and of course Bill had to say he
didn't know. In point of fact he has none. Apart from him, if he
went under now, I doubt whether we could get through. With great
care we might have a dog's chance, but no more.... Poor chap! it
is too pathetic to watch him; one cannot but try to cheer him up.'
On this same day a blizzard met them after they had marched for
half an hour, and Scott seeing that not one of them could face
such weather, pitched camp and stayed there until the following
morning. Then they struggled on again with the sky so overcast
that they could see nothing and consequently lost the tracks. At
the most they gained little more than six miles during the day,
and this they knew was as much as they could hope to do if they
got no help from wind or surfaces. 'We have 7 days' food and should
be about 55 miles from One Ton Camp to-night, 6 X 7 = 42, leaving
us 13 miles short of our distance, even if things get no worse.'
Oates too was, Scott felt, getting very near the end. 'What we or
he will do, God only knows. We
[Page 413]
discussed the matter after breakfast; he is a brave fine fellow
and understands the situation, but he practically asked for advice.
Nothing could be said but to urge him to march as long as he could.
One satisfactory result to the discussion: I practically ordered
Wilson to hand over the means of ending our troubles to us, so
that any of us may know how to do so. Wilson had no choice between
doing so and our ransacking the medicine case.'
Thus Scott wrote on the 11th, and the next days brought more and
more misfortunes with them. A strong northerly wind stopped them
altogether on the 13th, and although on the following morning they
started with a favorable breeze, it soon shifted and blew through
their wind-clothes and their mitts. 'Poor Wilson horribly cold,
could not get off ski for some time. Bowers and I practically made
camp, and when we got into the tent at last we were all deadly
cold.... We _must_ go on, but now the making of every camp must
be more difficult and dangerous. It must be near the end, but a
pretty merciful end.... I shudder to think what it will be like
to-morrow.'
Up to this time, incredible as it seems, Scott had only once spared
himself the agony of writing in his journal, so nothing could be
more pathetic and significant than the fact that at last he was
unable any longer to keep a daily record of this magnificent journey.
'Friday, March 16 or Saturday 17. Lost track of dates, but think
the last correct,' his next entry begins, but then under the most
[Page 414]
unendurable conditions he went on to pay a last and imperishable
tribute to his dead companion.
'Tragedy all along the line. At lunch, the day before yesterday,
poor Titus Oates said he couldn't go on; he proposed we should
leave him in his sleeping-bag. That we could not do, and we induced
him to come on, on the afternoon march. In spite of its awful nature
for him he struggled on and we made a few miles. At night he was
worse and we knew the end had come.
'Should this be found I want these facts recorded. Oates' last
thoughts were of his Mother, but immediately before he took pride
in thinking that his regiment would be pleased with the bold way
in which he met his death. We can testify to his bravery. He has
borne intense suffering for weeks without complaint, and to the
very last was able and willing to discuss outside subjects. He
did not--would not--give up hope till the very end. He was a brave
soul. This was the end. He slept through the night before last,
hoping not to wake; but he woke in the morning--yesterday. It was
blowing a blizzard. He said, "I am just going outside and may be
some time." He went out into the blizzard and we have not seen
him since.
'I take this opportunity of saying that we have stuck to our sick
companions to the last. In case of Edgar Evans, when absolutely
out of food and he lay insensible, the safety of the remainder
seemed to demand his abandonment, but Providence mercifully removed
him at this critical moment. He died
[Page 415]
a natural death, and we did not leave him till two hours after his
death.
'We knew that poor Oates was walking to his death, but though we
tried to dissuade him, we knew it was the act of a brave man and
an English gentleman. We all hope to meet the end with a similar
spirit, and assuredly the end is not far.
'I can only write at lunch and then only occasionally. The cold is
intense, -40° at mid-day. My companions are unendingly cheerful,
but we are all on the verge of serious frost-bites, and though we
constantly talk of fetching through I don't think anyone of us
believes it in his heart.
'We are cold on the march now, and at all times except meals. Yesterday
we had to lay up for a blizzard and to-day we move dreadfully slowly.
We are at No. 14 pony camp, only two pony marches from One Ton Depôt.
We leave here our theodolite, a camera, and Oates' sleeping-bags.
Diaries, etc., and geological specimens carried at Wilson's special
request, will be found with us or on our sledge.'
At mid-day on the next day, March 18, they had struggled to within
21 miles of One Ton Depôt, but wind and drift came on and they had
to stop their march. 'No human being could face it, and we are
worn out _nearly_.
'My right foot has gone, nearly all the toes--two days ago I was
the proud possessor of best feet. These are the steps of my downfall.
Like an ass I mixed a spoonful of curry powder with my melted
pemmican--it
[Page 416]
gave me violent indigestion. I lay awake and in pain all night;
woke and felt done on the march; foot went and I didn't know it. A
very small measure of neglect and have a foot which is not pleasant
to contemplate.
'Bowers takes first place in condition, but there is not much to
choose after all. The others are still confident of getting through--or
pretend to be--I don't know! We have the last _half_ fill of oil in
our primus and a very small quantity of spirit--this alone between
us and thirst.'
On that night camp was made with the greatest difficulty, but after
a supper of cold pemmican and biscuit and half a pannikin of cocoa,
they were, contrary to their expectations, warm enough to get some
sleep.
Then came the closing stages of this glorious struggle against
persistent misfortune.
'_March_ 19.--Lunch. To-day we started in the usual dragging manner.
Sledge dreadfully heavy. We are 15-1/2 miles from the depôt and
ought to get there in three days. What progress! We have two days'
food but barely a day's fuel. All our feet are getting bad--Wilson's
best, my right foot worst, left all right. There is no chance to
nurse one's feet till we can get hot food into us. Amputation is
the least I can hope for now, but will the trouble spread? That
is the serious question. The weather doesn't give us a chance;
the wind from N. to N. W. and -40 temp. to-day.
[Illustration]
[Page 417]
During the afternoon they drew 4-1/2 miles nearer to the One Ton
Depôt, and there they made their last camp. Throughout Tuesday a
severe blizzard held them prisoners, and on the 21st Scott wrote:
'To-day forlorn hope, Wilson and Bowers going to depôt for fuel.'
But the blizzard continued without intermission. '22 and 23. Blizzard
bad as ever--Wilson and Bowers unable to start--to-morrow last
chance--no fuel and only one or two of food left--must be near
the end. Have decided it shall be natural--we shall march for the
depôt with or without our effects and die in our tracks.'
'_March_ 29.--Since the 21st we have had a continuous gale from
W.S.W. and S.W. We had fuel to make two cups of tea apiece, and
bare food for two days on the 20th. Every day we have been ready
to start for our depôt 11 _miles_ away, but outside the door of
the tent it remains a scene of whirling drift. I do not think we
can hope for any better things now. We shall stick it out to the
end, but we are getting weaker, of course, and the end cannot be
far.
'It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more.
'R. SCOTT.
'Last entry For God's sake look after our people.'
[Page 418]
After Cherry-Garrard and Demetri had returned to Hut Point on March
16 without having seen any signs of the Polar party, Atkinson and
Keohane made one more desperate effort to find them. When, however,
this had been unsuccessful there was nothing more to be done until
the winter was over.
During this long and anxious time the leadership of the party devolved
upon Atkinson, who under the most trying circumstances showed qualities
that are beyond all praise. At the earliest possible moment (October
30) a large party started south. 'On the night of the 11th and
morning of the 12th,' Atkinson says, 'after we had marched 11 miles
due south of One Ton, we found the tent. It was an object partially
snowed up and looking like a cairn. Before it were the ski sticks
and in front of them a bamboo which probably was the mast of the
sledge...
'Inside the tent were the bodies of Captain Scott, Doctor Wilson,
and Lieutenant Bowers. They had pitched their tent well, and it
had withstood all the blizzards of an exceptionally hard winter.'
Wilson and Bowers were found in the attitude of sleep, their
sleeping-bags closed over their heads as they would naturally close
them.
[Illustration: 'THE LAST REST'. The grave of Capt. Scott, Dr. Wilson,
and Lieut. Bowers. _Photo by Lieut. T. Gran._]
Scott died later. He had thrown back the flaps of his sleeping-bag
and opened his coat. The little wallet
[Page 419]
containing the three notebooks was under his shoulders and his arm
flung across Wilson.
Among their belongings were the 35 lbs. of most important geological
specimens which had been collected on the moraines of the Beardmore
Glacier. At Wilson's request they had clung on to these to the
very end, though disaster stared them in the face.
'When everything had been gathered up, we covered them with the
outer tent and read the Burial Service. From this time until well
into the next day we started to build a mighty cairn above them.'
Upon the cairn a rough cross, made from two skis, was placed, and
on either side were up-ended two sledges, fixed firmly in the snow.
Between the eastern sledge and the cairn a bamboo was placed, containing
a metal cylinder, and in this the following record was left:
'November 12, 1912, Lat. 79 degrees, 50 mins. South. This cross
and cairn are erected over the bodies of Captain Scott, C.V.O.,
R.N., Doctor E. A. Wilson, M.B. B.C., Cantab., and Lieutenant H.
R. Bowers, Royal Indian Marine--a slight token to perpetuate their
successful and gallant attempt to reach the Pole. This they did
on January 17, 1912, after the Norwegian Expedition had already
done so. Inclement weather with lack of fuel was the cause of their
death. Also to commemorate their two gallant comrades, Captain L.
E. G. Oates of the Inniskilling Dragoons, who walked to his death
[Page 420]
in a blizzard to save his comrades about eighteen miles south of
this position; also of Seaman Edgar Evans, who died at the foot of
the Beardmore Glacier.
'"The Lord gave and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of
the Lord."'
[Page 421]
With the diaries in the tent were found the following letters:--
_To Mrs. E. A. Wilson_
My DEAR MRS. WILSON,
If this letter reaches you Bill and I will have gone out together.
We are very near it now and I should like you to know how splendid
he was at the end--everlastingly cheerful and ready to sacrifice
himself for others, never a word of blame to me for leading him
into this mess. He is not suffering, luckily, at least only minor
discomforts.
His eyes have a comfortable blue look of hope and his mind is peaceful
with the satisfaction of his faith in regarding himself as part of
the great scheme of the Almighty. I can do no more to comfort you
than to tell you that he died as he lived, a brave, true man--the
best of comrades and staunchest of friends.
My whole heart goes out to you in pity.
Yours,
R. SCOTT.
_To Mrs. Bowers_
My DEAR MRS. BOWERS,
I am afraid this will reach you after one of the heaviest blows
of your life.
I write when we are very near the end of our journey, and I am
finishing it in company with two gallant, noble gentlemen. One of
these is your son. He
[Page 422]
had come be one of my closest and soundest friends, and I appreciate
his wonderful upright nature, his ability and energy. As the troubles
have thickened his dauntless spirit ever shone brighter and he has
remained cheerful, hopeful, and indomitable to the end.
The ways of Providence are inscrutable, but there must be some reason
why such a young, vigorous and promising life is taken.
My whole heart goes out in pity for you.
Yours,
R. SCOTT.
To the end he has talked of you and his sisters. One sees what a
happy home he must have had and perhaps it is well to look back
on nothing but happiness.
He remains unselfish, self-reliant and splendidly hopeful to the
end, believing in God's mercy to you.
_To Sir J. M. Barrie_
My DEAR BARRIE,
We are pegging out in a very comfortless spot. Hoping this letter
may be found and sent to you, I write a word of farewell.... More
practically I want you to help my widow and my boy--your godson.
We are showing that Englishmen can still die with a bold spirit,
fighting it out to the end. It will be known that we have accomplished
our object in reaching the Pole, and that we have done everything
[Page 423]
possible, even to sacrificing ourselves in order to save sick
companions. I think this makes an example for Englishmen of the
future, and that the country ought to help those who are left behind
to mourn us. I leave my poor girl and your godson, Wilson leaves
a widow, and Edgar Evans also a widow in humble circumstances. Do
what you can to get their claims recognized. Goodbye. I am not
at all afraid of the end, but sad to miss many a humble pleasure
which I had planned for the future on our long marches. I may not
have proved a great explorer, but we have done the greatest march
ever made and come very near to great success. Goodbye, my dear
friend.
Yours ever,
R. SCOTT.
We are in a desperate state, feet frozen, etc. No fuel and a long
way from food, but it would do your heart good to be in our tent,
to hear our songs and the cheery conversation as to what we will
do when we get to Hut Point.
_Later_.--We are very near the end, but have not and will not lose
our good cheer. We have four days of storm in our tent and no where's
food or fuel. We did intend to finish ourselves when things proved
like this, but we have decided to die naturally in the track.
As a dying man, my dear friend, be good to my wife and child. Give
the boy a chance in life if the State won't do it. He ought to have
good stuff in him.... I never met a man in my life whom I admired and
[Page 424]
loved more than you, but I never could show you how much your friendship
meant to me, for you had much to give and I nothing.
_To the Right Hon. Sir Edgar Speyer, Bart._
Dated March 16, 1912. Lat. 79.5°.
My DEAR SIR EDGAR,
I hope this may reach you. I fear we must go and that it leaves
the Expedition in a bad muddle. But we have been to the Pole and
we shall die like gentlemen. I regret only for the women we leave
behind.
I thank you a thousand times for your help and support and your
generous kindness. If this diary is found it will show how we stuck
by dying companions and fought the thing out well to the end. I
think this will show that the spirit of pluck and the power to
endure has not passed out of our race....
Wilson, the best fellow that ever stepped, has sacrificed himself
again and again to the sick men of the party....
I write to many friends hoping the letters will reach them some
time after we are found next year.
We very nearly came through, and it's a pity to have missed it,
but lately I have felt that we have overshot our mark. No one is
to blame and I hope no attempt will be made to suggest that we
have lacked support.
Goodbye to you and your dear kind wife.
Yours ever sincerely,
R. SCOTT.
[Page 425]
_To Vice-Admiral Sir Francis Charles Bridgeman, K.C.V.O., K.C.B._
My DEAR SIR FRANCIS,
I fear we have slipped up; a close shave; I am writing a few letters
which I hope will be delivered some day. I want to thank you for
the friendship you gave me of late years, and to tell you how
extraordinarily pleasant I found it to serve under you. I want to
tell you that I was _not_ too old for this job. It was the younger
men that went under first.... After all we are setting a good example
to our countrymen, if not by getting into a tight place, by facing
it like men when we were there. We could have come through had
we neglected the sick.
Good-bye, and good-bye to dear Lady Bridgeman.
Yours ever,
R. SCOTT.
Excuse writing--it is -40°; and has been for nigh a month.
_To Vice-Admiral Sir George le Clerc Egerton, K.C.B._
My DEAR SIR GEORGE,
I fear we have shot our bolt--but we have been to Pole and done
the longest journey on record.
I hope these letters may find their destination some day.
Subsidiary reasons for our failure to return are due to the sickness
of different members of the party, but
[Page 426]
the real thing that has stopped us is the awful weather and unexpected
cold towards the end of the journey.
This traverse of the Barrier has been quite three times as severe
as any experience we had on the summit.
There is no accounting for it, but the result has thrown out my
calculations, and here we are little more than 100 miles from the
base and petering out.
Good-bye. Please see my widow is looked after as far as Admiralty
is concerned.
R. SCOTT.
My kindest regards to Lady Egerton. I can never forget all your
kindness.
_To Mr. J. J. Kinsey-Christchurch._
March 24th, 1912.
MY DEAR KINSEY,
I'm afraid we are pretty well done--four days of blizzard just
as we were getting to the last dopôt. My thoughts have been with
you often. You have been a brick. You will pull the Expedition
through, I'm sure.
My thoughts are for my wife and boy. Will you do what you can for
them if the country won't.
I want the boy to have a good chance in the world, but you know
the circumstances well enough.
If I knew the wife and boy were in safe keeping I should have little
to regret in leaving the world, for I feel that the country need
not be ashamed of us--our
[Page 427]
journey has been the biggest on record, and nothing but the most
exceptional hard luck at the end would have caused us to fail to
return. We have been to the S. pole as we set out. God bless you
and dear Mrs. Kinsey. It is good to remember you and your kindness.
Your friend,
R. SCOTT.
Letters to his Mother, his Wife, his Brother-in-law (Sir William
Ellison Macartney), Admiral Sir Lewis Beaumont, and Mr. and Mrs.
Reginald Smith were also found, from which come the following extracts:
The Great God has called me and I feel it will add a fearful blow
to the heavy ones that have fallen on you in life. But take comfort
in that I die at peace with the world and myself--not afraid.
Indeed it has been most singularly unfortunate, for the risks I
have taken never seemed excessive.
...I want to tell you that we have missed getting through by a
narrow margin which was justifiably within the risk of such a
journey.... After all, we have given our lives for our country--we
have actually made the longest journey on record, and we have been
the first Englishmen at the South Pole.
You must understand that it is too cold to write much.
...It's a pity the luck doesn't come our way, because every detail
of equipment is right.
[Page 428]
I shall not have suffered any pain, but leave the world fresh from
harness and full of good health and vigour. This is decided
already--when provisions come to an end we simply stop unless we
are within easy distance of another depôt. Therefore you must not
imagine a great tragedy. We are very anxious of course, and have
been for weeks, but our splendid physical condition and our appetites
compensate for all discomfort.
Since writing the above we got to within 11 miles of our depôt, with
one hot meal and two days' cold food. We should have got through
but have been held for _four_ days by a frightful storm. I think
the best chance has gone. We have decided not to kill ourselves,
but to fight to the last for that depôt, but in the fighting there
is a painless end. So don't worry. The inevitable must be faced.
You urged me to be leader of this party, and I know you felt it
would be dangerous.
Make the boy interested in natural history if you can; it is better
than games; they encourage it at some schools. I know you will
keep him in the open air.
Above all, he must guard and you must guard him against indolence.
Make him a strenuous man. I had to force myself into being strenuous
as you know--had always an inclination to be idle.
There is a piece of the Union Jack I put up at the South Pole in
my private kit bag, together with Amundsen's black flag and other
trifles. Send a small
[Page 429]
piece of the Union Jack to the King and a small piece to Queen
Alexandra.
What lots and lots I could tell you of this journey. How much better
has it been than lounging in too great comfort at home. What tales
you would have for the boy. But what a price to pay.
Tell Sir Clements I thought much of him and never regretted his
putting me in command of the _Discovery_.
[Page 430]
MESSAGE TO THE PUBLIC
The causes of the disaster are not due to faulty organization, but
to misfortune in all risks which had to be undertaken.
1. The loss of pony transport in March 1911 obliged me to start
later than I had intended, and obliged the limits of stuff
transported to be narrowed.
2. The weather throughout the outward journey, and especially
the long gale in 83° S., stopped us.
3. The soft snow in lower reaches of glacier again reduced pace.
We fought these untoward events with a will and conquered, but it
cut into our provision reserve.
Every detail of our food supplies, clothing and depôts made on
the interior ice-sheet and over that long stretch of 700 miles
to the Pole and back, worked out to perfection. The advance party
would have returned to the glacier in fine form and with surplus
of food, but for the astonishing failure of the man whom we had
least expected to fail. Edgar Evans was thought the strongest man
of the party.
The Beardmore Glacier is not difficult in fine weather, but on
our return we did not get a single completely fine day; this with
a sick companion enormously increased our anxieties.
As I have said elsewhere we got into frightfully rough ice and Edgar
Evans received a concussion of
[Page 431]
the brain--he died a natural death, but left us a shaken party with
the season unduly advanced.
But all the facts above enumerated were as nothing to the surprise
which awaited us on the Barrier. I maintain that our arrangements
for returning were quite adequate, and that no one in the world would
have expected the temperatures and surfaces which we encountered at
this time of the year. On the summit in lat. 85°, 86° we had -20°,
-30°. On the Barrier in lat. 82°, 10,000 feet lower, we had -30° in
the day, -47° at night pretty regularly, with continuous head wind
during our day marches. It is clear that these circumstances come on
very suddenly, and our wreck is certainly due to this sudden advent
of severe weather, which does not seem to have any satisfactory
cause. I do not think human beings ever came through such a month
as we have come through, and we should have got through in spite
of the weather but for the sickening of a second companion, Captain
Oates, and a shortage of fuel in our depôts for which I cannot
account, and finally, but for the storm which has fallen on us
within 11 miles of the depôt at which we hoped to secure our final
supplies. Surely misfortune could scarcely have exceeded this last
blow. We arrived within 11 miles of our old One Ton Camp with fuel
for one last meal and food for two days. For four days we have been
unable to leave the tent--the gale howling about us. We are weak,
writing is difficult, but for my own sake I do not regret this
[Page 432]
journey, which has shewn that Englishmen can endure hardships, help
one another, and meet death with as great a fortitude as ever in the
past. We took risks, we knew we took them; things have come out
against us, and therefore we have no cause for complaint, but bow to
the will of Providence, determined still to do our best to the last.
But if we have been willing to give our lives to this enterprise,
which is for the honour of our country, I appeal to our countrymen
to see that those who depend on us are properly cared for.
Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood,
endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the
heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must
tell the tale, but surely, surely, a great rich country like ours
will see that those who are dependent on us are properly provided
for.
R. SCOTT.
[Illustration: British Antarctic Expedition 1910-13. Track chart
of main southern journey.]
INDEX
Abbott, George P., P.O. 209, 242, 260
Adélie Land 35
Admiralty, the, 8, 18, 182-3, 200, 206
Alaska 11
_Albemarle_, H.M.S., 206
Albert Medal, the, 372
Alexandra, Queen, 31, 429
Alpine Rope, 256-7, 266, 274, 367
_Amphion_, H.M.S., 11
Amundsen, Roald, 259-60, 301, 324, 346, 383, 428
Anton, Groom, 209, 276, 278, 280, 285, 289, 299
Archer, W. W., chief steward, 209
Armitage, Lieut. A. B., 25, 32, 43, 57, 63, 89, 97, 103, 105, 138,
153-4, 176, 178
Arnold, M., _quoted_, 151, 178
Arrival Bay, 60
Heights, 60, 234
Athletic sports, 137-8
Atkinson, Edward L., surgeon, R.N., parasitologist, 208, 213, 224,
236, 243, 259, 261, 267, 270, 273, 279-80, 284, 285-6, 295
_seq._, 308, 319, 320-1, 327, 329, 330, 336, 340, 344, 354-5,
362-3, 372, 411, 418-19
Auckland Islands, 195
Australia, Government of, 207
Balaclave helmets, 251
Balfour, Rt. Ron. A. J., 16
Balleny, Capt. John, 197
Islands, 196-7
Balloons, ascents of, 57, 281
Barne, Lieut. Michael, 26, 32, 43, 53, 61, _seq._, 80, 87,
98-9, 100, 104, 106, 108, 131-2, 147, 149, 152, 155, 176
Glacier, 275
Barrie, Sir J. M., letter to, 422-4
Barrier, Great Ice, 53, _seq._, 90, 176, 203, 222, 224-5, 241,
243, 246, 260 _seq._, 294, 304, 305, 321, 377
Bay of Whales, 259-60
Beaumont, Admiral Sir Lewis, 427
Beppo, pony, 7
Berlin, 17, 20
Bernacchi, Louis C., physicist, 27, 43, 53, 75, 85-6, 135, 147, 152, 176
Birdie, dog, 108-9, 126
Birthday, celebrations of, 286-7
Biscay, Bay of, 32
Bismarck, dog, 108
Bjaaland, Olav Olavson, 383
Blanco, dog, 108
Blissett, A. H., 132
_Blizzard, The_, 80
Blossom, pony, 250
Blucher, pony, 248, 250, 258
Bluff, The, 130
Camp, 250, 336
Boats, mishap to, 84, 85, 139, 140
Bones, pony, 299, 308
Bonner, Charles, 38-9
Borchgrevink, 43
Boss, dog, 108
Bowers, Lieut. H. R., 28, 208, 216, 224, 230-1, 234-236, 243, 247,
249, 250-4, 261-7, 270, 273, 275, 278-81, 283-4, 286, 289, 293-5,
299, 300-8, 311-14, 317, 319, 320, 322, 324-5, 334, 343-5, 352,
354, 357-8, 359, 364, 368, 371, 373 _seq._
Bowers, Mrs., letter to, 421-2
Bridgeman, Admiral, Sir F. C., letter to, 425
_Britannia, The_, 6
British Museum, the, 19
Brownie, dog, 100, 108-9
Browning, E. B., _quoted_, 328
Browning, Frank V., P.O., 209, 242
Bruce, Canon Lloyd, 207
Bruce, Kathleen, 207
Bruce, Lieut. Wilfred M., 209, 224
Buckingham Palace Road, 15
_Bulwark_, H.M.S., 206
Burlington House, 19
Butter Point, 157, 260, 314
Campbell, Lieut. Victor L. A., 208, 216, 224, 226, 229, 232, 233,
238, 240-1, 242, 259-60, 292, 315
Cape Adare, 42, 43, 45, 141
Armitage, 59, 225, 259, 263
Bernacchi, 315
Bird, 225
Crozier, 52, 61, 64, 69, 70, 105, 137, 141-2, 155-6, 176, 222-3, 281
Crozier Party, 294, 300-7, 317
Evans, 225, 234-5, 239, 246, 260, 268, 271-3, 280, 300, 316-17, 321,
328, 365
Jones, 48
Mackay, 301
North, 146, 189, 196, 198, 260
of Good Hope, 32-3
Royds, 180, 185, 286
Sibbald, 49
Wadworth, 47
Washington, 49, 52
Cardiff, 207, 211
Castle Rock, 60, 62, 64, 65, 262, 273
Cheetham, Alfred B., boatswain, 209
Cherry-Garrard, Apsley, assistant zoologist, 224, 236, 243, 251-2,
254-6, 257-8, 261-6, 270-1, 273, 279-81, 284, 288, 294, 300-7, 308,
318, 323, 329, 334, 340, 342, 344, 347, 352, 354, 362, 364, 411-12,
418
Chinaman, pony, 308, 318, 329-30, 332-3, 336, 338-9, 340-41
Christiania, 89
Christopher, pony, 308-9, 318-19, 320, 329, 333, 336, 342
Clarke, Charles, ship's cook, 179
Clissold, Thomas, cook, 209, 276, 278, 280, 286, 289, 296, 319, 329
Coal, 46, 189, 194, 216, 218-19, 220
Colbeck, Captain William, 141-2, 143, 147, 182-3, 185, 194, 198
Coleridge, _quoted_, 211
Colville, Rear-Admiral, 206
Commonwealth Range, 357
Cook, Capt. James, 31
Corner Camp, 247, 261, 263, 270, 312, 314, 317, 372
Coulman Islands, 46, 47, 141
Crater Heights, 60, 234
Hill, 60, 69, 88
Crean, Thomas, P.O., 209, 237, 243, 259, 261, 262-5, 270, 273,
278-80, 285, 296, 299, 308, 318, 321, 323, 344, 354, 364, 370-2
Cross, Jacob, P.O., 48, 103, 155-6
'Cruise of the _Beagle_,' 162
Cuts, pony, 262, 264
Dailey, F. E., carpenter, 59, 153, 157
Darwin, Charles, 162
Day, Bernard C., motor engineer, 208, 227, 236, 276-7, 279, 290-1,
299, 318, 321, 323, 329, 330-1, 339, 340
Debenham, Frank, geologist, 208, 236, 242, 270, 273, 281-2, 283,
296, 325-6, 327
Dellbridge, James H., 2nd engineer, 138
Islets, 178
Demetri, dog driver, 209, 276, 278-9, 289, 311, 329, 333, 354,
356, 372, 411, 418
Dennistoun, James R., 209
Depôt Nunatak, 171
Desolation Camp, _Discovery_ Expedition, 163, 172
Last Expedition, 402
Dickason, Harry, A.B., 209, 242
_Discovery_, the fifth, 21
Dog food, 109
Dogs, 59, 71-2, 95-7, 107 _seq._, 212-13, 218, 226, 228, 239,
241, 243 _seq._, 270, 278, 285-6, 311, 329, 333 _seq._,
411
Douglas, Sir Archibald, 18
Drake, Francis R. H., assistant paymaster, 209, 224
Dundee, 19, 20, 23
Shipbuilding Company, 17
East India Docks, 20
Edward VII, King, 31
Egerton, Admiral Sir George, K.C.B., 15, 81, 206, 425-6 (letter to)
Enderby Quadrant, 29
Entertainments, 85, 86, 87
Erebus Tongue, 315
Esquimault. B.C., 11
Esquimaux, 301, 307
Evans, Lieut. E. R. G. R., 208, 215, 223-5, 232, 236, 242-3, 250,
258, 262, 311, 314, 317, 330-1, 337-40, 344, 354-5, 357-9, 361,
363, 364, 368, 370-2
Evans, P.O., 63, 65, 67-8, 97, 105, 153, 157, 164, 165 _seq._,
178-9, 209, 237, 242, 270, 273, 280, 285-6, 296, 308, 311-12,
317, 323-4, 326-7, 329, 337, 344, 352, 354-5, 364, 369
Falkland Islands, 199
Feather, Thomas A., boatswain, 100-1, 157, 161, 162, 164-5
Fefer, 229
Ferrar, Hartley T., 27, 48, 67, 97, 103, 138, 157, 159, 163, 176
Glacier, 152-3, 154, 158-9, 314
Finance Committee, 17-18
Fire, alarm of, 32
Fisher, Admiral Sir John, 10
Fitzclarence, dog, 108
Football, 286, 325
Forde, Robert, P.O., 209, 243, 248, 250, 258, 261, 270, 273, 279,
312, 314, 317, 326-7
_Fram_, the, 20, 21
Franklin Island, 141
Franz-Josef Land, 25
Gap, the, 60, 234
Gateway, the, 352
Geological specimens, 393-4, 398, 419
Gerof, Demetri. _See_ Demetri
Glacier, the Beardmore, 312, 338-9, 341, 345, 346, 349, 352, 354
_seq._, 392, 394, 419-20
Glacier Depôt, 349, 352
Tongue, 225, 237, 239-41, 260, 274, 315-16, 324, 344
Gran Tryggve, ski expert, 208, 218, 236, 243, 251, 254, 261-2,
263, 265, 267, 273, 295-6, 312, 314, 317, 327
Granite Harbor, 50, 51
Grannie, dog, 108
Gus, dog, 108, 125
Haakon, King, 383
Hackenschmidt, pony, 276
Half-Degree Depôt, 387
Hamilton, B. T., 229
Hampton Court Palace, 207
Handsley. Jesse, A.B., 153, 157, 164-5, 175, 178-9
Hanson, 43
Hanssen, Hilmer, 383
Hare, 63, 65, 68-9
Hassel, Sverre H., 383
Heald, William L., A.B., 62, 103, 176, 210
Henley, W. E., _quoted_, 385
'Hints to Travelers', 159-60
Hobart Town, 182
Hockey, 149
Hodgson, Thomas V., 25, 27, 147, 149, 154
Hooper, F. J., steward, 209, 276, 279, 280, 289, 339-40
Hoskins, Sir Anthony, 18
Hut, the _Discovery_, 59, 85-86, 87, 233, 239, 269 _seq._, 372
at Cape Evans, 227, 231, 234 _seq._, 275 _seq._
Point, 60, 88, 186, 190-1, 233, 240, 242-3, 258, 260-3, 265, 267,
271, 279, 285, 311, 318, 324, 327-9, 372, 411, 418
Hutton Rocks, 273
Huxley, _quoted_, 311
Icebergs, 44 Inaccessible Island, 297, 316
Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition, 25 Jehu, pony, 308, 318, 328-9,
330, 332-6, 338-9, 340 Jim, dog, 108-9, 125-6, 129 Joe, dog, 108
Kennar, Thomas, P.O., 157, 159
Keohane, Patrick, P.O., 209, 243, 250, 258, 261, 273, 279, 296, 308,
320, 327, 329, 340, 344, 348, 354, 357, 362, 418
Kid, dog, 108-9, 125
King Edward's Island, 56, 203, 233, 242
Kinsey, J. J., letter to, 426-7
Kipling, Rudyard, _quoted_, 401
Koettlitz, Reginald, surgeon and botanist, 25, 27, 61, _seq._,
78, 97, 138, 175
Lantaret, 229
Lashly, William, leading stoker, 97, 105, 153, 157, 162, 164, 165
_seq._, 178, 179, 209, 214, 276, 278-9, 299, 323, 331, 340,
344, 354-5, 364, 366-7, 369, 371-2
Lectures, 282, 287, 290, 307-8
Levick, G. Murray, surgeon, R.N., 208, 242
Lewis, dog, 108-9, 126
Lillehammer, 229
Lillie, Denis G., biologist, 209, 240
London Docks, 31, 141
Lower Glacier Depôt, 356, 398, 404
Lyttelton, 37-8, 211-12
Heads, 37, 199
Macartney, Sir William Ellison, 427
Mackay, Captain Harry, 182, 190
Macquarie Island, 36, 37, 185
Magnetic huts, 75
Observatory, 23
Magnetism, 75
_Majestic_, H.M.S., 15, 18, 26, 27
Markham, Sir Clements, 15, 16, 29, 30, 141, 203 _seq._ (preface),
429
Markham, Lady, 20
McMurdo Sound, 51, 58, 138, 142, 194, 230, 237, 260
Meares, Cecil H., in charge of dogs, 208, 218, 226, 232-4, 236,
239, 240, 242-4, 246-8, 251-2, 254-8, 261, 263, 265, 267, 273,
279, 285, 299, 311-12, 318-19, 327, 329, 333, 337, 354, 356
Merchant Shipping Act, 28
Meridians, 217
Message to the public, 430-2
Meteorological observations, 74, 75, 83, 84
screens, 71, 74
Michael, pony, 308, 347
Middle Barrier Depôt, 340, 405, 407
Midwinter celebrations, 290-3
Milton, _quoted_, 254
Monument Rock, 400
_Morning_, the, 43, 53, 135, 141-6, 181 _seq._, 194, 198
Motor sledges, 212, 226-30, 290, 312-13, 318, 321, 326-7, 329-30, 332
Mount Buckley, 393-4
Cloudmaker, 357-98
Darwin, 364, 390, 391, 393
Discovery, 225
Erebus, 131, 235, 274, 316
Hooper Depôt, 410, 411
Hope, 346
Longstaff, 122
Markham, 124
Melbourne, 49
Monteagle, 49
Murchison, 49
Sabine, 222
Terror, 302
Whewell, 222
Mulock, Lieut. George F. A., 27, 145, 149, 152, 176, 193, 195, 197
Nansen, Dr., 17, 19, 20, 89
Naval Discipline Act, 28
Nell, dog, 101, 108-9, 125-6, 129
Nelson, Edward W., biologist, 208, 224, 227, 236, 276-7, 279, 287,
319-20
Newbolt, Henry, _quoted_, 31
New Harbor, 153, 157, 315
Newnes, Sir George, 43
New Zealand, 23, 37, 38, 199, 211
New Zealand, Government of, 207
Nigger, dog, 101, 108-9, 125-6, 129
Nobby, pony, 262, 268, 308, 325, 342-3, 351, 353
Northern Party, 233, 242-3
Norway, 17, 89
Norwegians, the, 384-5
Oates, Capt. Lawrence, E.G., 208, 213, 220, 226, 236, 239-40, 241,
243, 248-9, 252, 254, 261-2, 263, 265, 267, 270, 273, 279-80,
284-5, 299, 308, 318-20, 321, 333, 336-7, 343-4, 351, 354-5, 364,
373 _seq._
Outlands, 2, 5
Observatory Hill, 60, 134, 234
Oil, shortage of, 404-5, 408, 411, 416
'Old Mooney,' 6, 8, 9
Omelchenko, Anton. _See_ Anton
One Ton Camp, 253, 317, 326-7, 371, 410-11, 412, 415, 417
Osman, dog, 255-6
P. and O. Company, 25
Pack-ice, 35 _seq._, 44, 49, 51, 196, 216-17, 218
Parry Mountains, 54
Peary, Lieutenant, 28
Penguins, 36, 40, 148, 180, 226
Emperor, 106, 137, 153, 155, 223, 294, 302, 305
King, 36
Pennell, Lieut. H. L. L., 209, 224, 230, 238
Petrels, 35
Antarctic, 40
Giant, 40
Southern Fulmar, 40
White Snow, 40
Wilson stormy, 35
Pigg, James, pony, 250, 258, 261, 263, 268, 308, 318, 329, 340, 342
Plumley, Frank, stoker, 62, 157
Pole, the South, 382 _seq._
Camp, 384
Ponies, the, 212-15, 220, 226, 239, 241, 243 _seq._, 263-7,
285-6, 312, 318, 332 _seq._
Ponting, Herbert G., camera artist, 208, 219, 227-8, 236, 276-7,
282, 284, 292, 314, 319, 327, 329
Port Chalmers, 38, 39, 76, 212
Ross, 195
Stanley, 199
Possession Islands, 141
Pram Point, 263, 269
Bay, 269
Ridges, 267
_President_, H.M.S., 206
Pressure Ridges, 319
Priestley, Raymond E., geologist, 208, 223, 242, 260
Proverbs, _quoted_, 137
Punch, pony, 262, 266
Quartley, Arthur L., leading stoker, 63, 65, 67-8, 105, 175
Razor Back Islands, 240, 274
Rennick, Lieut. Henry E. de P., 209, 224
Roberston Bay, 42, 195
Rodd, Sir Rennell, _quoted_, 231
Ross, Sir James, 31, 40, 46, 54-5, 196-7
Ross Harbor, 198
Island, 176, 203, 239
Quadrant, 29
Sea, 216
_Rover_, H.M.S., 10
Royal Geographical Society, 17
Royal Society, 17
Royds, Lieut. Charles W. R., 18, 26, 53, 61 _seq._, 74-5, 78,
85-7, 97, 105, 132, 137, 139, 147, 149, 155, 176
Russell Islands, 197
Safety Camp, 243-4, 245-6, 254, 258-9, 261-2, 263, 265, 329-30
San Francisco, 11
Sawing-camp, 175, 178-9
_Saxon_, S.S., 207
Scamp, dog, 37
Scott, John Edward, 1
Scott, Lady, extracts from letters to, 427, 428, 429, _et passim_
Scott, Mrs., extract from letter to, 427
Scott of Brownhead, 1
Scott, Peter Markham, 207
Scurvy, 103-4, 117, 129, 134, 144, 148, 371
Sea leopard, 41
elephant, 185
Seals, 41, 48, 269, 279
crab-eater, 41
Ross, 41
Shackleton, Sir Ernest H., 27, 79, 98, 107 _seq._, 143, 145,
233, 344, 352, 357, 370, 372, 375
Shackleton's hut, 286
Shakespeare, _quoted_, 95, 120, 294, 354
Shambles Camp, 353, 401
Shelley, _quoted_, 74, 167
Ship Committee, 17, 20, 23
Simon's Bay, 32, 33
Simpson. George C., Meteorologist, 208, 231, 236, 277, 281-2, 283,
312, 316
Skelton, Lieut. Reginald W., 18, 27, 60 _seq._, 85-6, 105,
135, 138, 147-8, 153, 162, 164-5, 176, 191-3, 229
Ski, 19, 60, 61, 130, 173, 246, 340, 354-5, 358, 360, 370, 375,
386, 388, 390
Ski-shoes, 361
Skua gulls, 40, 148, 180
Skuary, the, 225
Sledge equipment, 89, 151, 312
Sledges, 91, 92, 279, 280, 370
Sleeping-bags, 304, 306, 307, 388
Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Reginald, 427
Smith's Inlet, 260
Snatcher, dog, 108, 115
pony, 308, 325, 329, 352
Snippets, pony, 308-9, 328, 332, 341, 343
Snow-shoes, for ponies, 245, 247, 308, 352
South Africa, Government of, 207
Southern Barrier Depôt, 342
Road, the, 239-40
South Polar Times, _Discovery_ Expedition, 79-80
Last Expedition, 281, 290-1, 373
Spenser, _quoted_, 52
Speyer, Sir Edgar, letter to, 424
Spud, dog, 108-9, 115
Stareek, dog, 244-5
Stoke Damerel, 5
Stripes, dog, 108
Stubbington House, Fareham, 5
Sturge Island, 197
Sun, eclipse of, 156
Sverdrup's 'New Land', 295
Taylor, T. Griffith, geologist, 208, 223, 236, 242, 270, 273-4,
281-2, 283, 287, 291, 327
Telephone, the, 318-19
Tent, double, 295
Tent, Island, 297, 325
Islet, 184
_Terra Nova_, Discovery Expedition, 182-3, 187 _seq._, 194, 198
Last Expedition, 207, 211, 220, 237, 292, 324, 372
Thermometer, minimum, 253, 337
Thomson, Sir Courtauld, 11
Three Degree Depôt, 370, 385-6, 387, 389, 404
Transport, 312, 345
Turtle Back Island, 271
Uncle Bill, pony, 262-3
Uniform overcoat, 309
Union Jack, the, 235, 291, 384, 428-9
Upper Glacier Depôt, 390, 392, 404
Vic, dog, 108
Victor, pony, 308-9, 325, 334, 343
Victoria, B.C., 11
Land, 42, 76, 138, 167, 176, 196, 203, 233, 260
Quadrant, 29
_Victorious_, H.M.S., 206
Vince, A. B., 63, 66-9, 190, 234
Weary Willy, pony, 245, 251, 261-3
Weddell Quadrant, 29
Weller, William J., A.B., 48, 62, 157
Western Geological Party (1), 242, 260, 270
(2) 317, 325, 327
Western Mountains, 312, 325
Whales, killer, 227-8
White Island, 134, 261, 264
Wild, Frank, 62-3, 66, 67, 97, 105, 344
Wilkes, Commodore, 197
Wilkes Land, 198
Williams, William, engineer, 209, 214
Williamson, Thomas S., P.O., 157, 209, 229
Wilson, Dr. E. A., chief, the scientific staff (Last Expedition),
zoologist, 5, 26-8, 35-6, 48-9, 53, 75-6, 80, 103, 107
_seq._, 143-4, 147, 153, 155-6, 176, 180-1, 185, 195, 208, 219-20,
223, 225, 231, 236, 240, 242-4, 246-8, 254-6, 258, 261, 263, 265,
267, 269-70, 272-3, 279-80, 286, 289, 294, 300-7, 308, 318-19,
320-2, 324-5, 329, 335, 344, 351, 353-5, 361, 364, 372 _seq._
Wilson, Mrs., letter to, 421
Winter Quarter Bay, 60
Wisting, Oscar, 383
Wolf, dog, 108-9
Wolseley Motor Company, 229
Wood Bay, 49, 50, 141
Wright, Charles S., physicist, 208, 224, 231, 236, 242, 270, 280,
283, 308, 314, 321, 329, 335, 340, 344, 354-5, 362
End of Project Gutenberg's The Voyages of Captain Scott, by Charles Turley