On March 24, 1909, all the world was thrilled by the news that on the
ninth of January a point had been reached nearer the South Pole than
had ever before been attained. Shackleton and three companions had
penetrated the white waste of the Antarctic regions to within 111 miles
of the Pole. The British Union Jack was flying at “farthest south.”
Shackleton started for the South Pole from Lyttelton, New Zealand, on
New Year’s Day, 1908, in the Nimrod. A new idea was introduced into
polar exploration when the commander decided to depend on Manchurian
ponies instead of dogs for transportation. A motorcar was also used
to carry supplies. But both the ponies and the automobile were found
wanting when it came to the test, as the ponies gave out, and the car
could make no progress over the rough ice.
The first important thing that the Shackleton expedition accomplished
was the ascent for the first time of Mt. Erebus, the southernmost
volcano in the world, 13,120 feet high. The summit of this great peak
was reached on March 10, 1908. An active crater was discovered half a
mile in diameter and 8,000 feet deep. It was belching vast volumes of
steam and sulphurous gas to a height of 2,000 feet.
Part of this expedition also reached the South Magnetic Pole; that is,
where the south end of the compass needle points. This had never before
been done.
Shackleton’s dash for the South Pole is a record of hardships bravely
borne and difficulties overcome. He and three others started from Cape
Boyd on October 29, 1908. By November 30 they had been forced to shoot
three of the ponies. Two days later an enormous glacier, 120 miles
long and 40 miles wide, was discovered. Another pony was lost through
a crevasse in the ice on December 7, and from then on each man had to
haul 250 pounds.
Finally, on January 4, 1909, they decided to push on with only one
tent. Then a fierce sixty-hour blizzard swooped down upon them, and
held the party powerless for two days. They realized that they must
turn back without reaching the Pole. It was a bitter disappointment
to Shackleton to fail when they were within such a short distance of
success. But, as he says, “We had honestly and truly shot our bolt at
last,” and if they were ever to return, it must be now.
On the morning of January 9, without the sledge, they made one last
dash south, and planted at latitude 88° 23´ a flag given Shackleton by
the queen, and the Union Jack. The journey back was then begun, and the
ship reached on March 4.
Ernest Henry Shackleton was born in Ireland in 1874. His education was
never completed, as he followed a natural inclination to go to sea
before graduating from college. He sailed round the world four times,
and during the Boer War took part in the transportation of troops. In
1901 he was a member of Scott’s expedition, which reached “farthest
south” at that time. After running for Parliament in 1906 and failing
to be elected, he organized the expedition of 1908-09.
He was knighted by the British government for his services as an
explorer, and has received many medals and other high honors.
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© UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD