ASSEMBLING OF UNITS--DEPARTURE FROM NEW ZEALAND
The trip from Simon's Town to Melbourne was disappointing on account of
the absence of fair winds. We had a few gales, but finer weather than we
expected, and took advantage of the ship's steadiness to work out the
details for the sledge journeys and depot plans. The lists of those who
were to form the two shore parties were published, together with a
skeleton list for the ship. The seamen had still to be engaged in New
Zealand to complete this party.
A programme was drawn up for work on arrival at winter quarters, a
routine made out for McMurdo Sound or Cape Crozier, if it so happened
that we could effect a landing there, weights were calculated for the
four men sledging-units, sledge tables embellished with equipment
weights, weekly allowances of food and fuel, with measures of quantities
of each article in pannikins or spoonfuls, provisional dates were set
down in the general plan, daily ration lists constructed, the first
season's depot party chosen and, in short, a thoroughly comprehensive
hand-book was made out for our guidance which could be referred to by any
member of the Expedition. Even an interior plan of the huts was made to
scale for the carpenter's edification.
It was an enormous advantage for us to have our leader with us now, his
master mind foresaw every situation so wonderfully as he unravelled plan
after plan and organised our future procedure.
Meantime, the seamen were employed preparing the sledge gear, sewing up
food bags, making canvas tanks and sledge harness, fitting out Alpine
ropes; repair bags, thongs, lampwick bindings, and travelling equipment
generally. Gran overlooked the ski and assigned them to their future
owners, Petty Officer Evans prepared the sewing outfits for the two shore
parties, the cooks assembled messtraps and cooking utensils, and Levick
and Atkinson, under Dr. Wilson's guidance, assembled the medical
equipment and fixed up little surgical outfits for sledge parties. By the
time we arrived at Melbourne, our next port of call, a great deal had
been accomplished and people had a grasp of what was eventually expected
of them.
Scott left us again at Melbourne and embarked on yet another begging
campaign, whilst I took the ship on to Lyttelton, where the "Terra Nova"
was dry-docked with a view to stopping the leak in her bows. The decks,
which after her long voyage let water through sadly, were caulked, and
barnacles six inches long were taken from her bottom and sides. Whilst in
New Zealand all the stores were landed, sorted out and restowed. On a
piece of waste ground close to the wharves at Lyttelton the huts were
erected in skeleton in order to make certain that no hitch would occur
when they were put up at our Antarctic base. Davis, the carpenter, with
the seamen told off to assist him, marked each frame and joist, the
tongued and grooved boards were roughly cut to measure and tied into
bundles ready for sledge transport in case it happened that we could not
put the ship close to the winter quarters. Instruments were adjusted, the
ice-house re-insulated and prepared to receive the 150 frozen sheep and
ten bullocks which were presented to us by New Zealand farmers. Stables
were erected under the forecastle and on the upper deck of the "Terra
Nova," ready for the reception of our ponies, and a thousand and one
alterations and improvements made. The ship was restowed, and all fancy
gear, light sails and personal baggage put ashore. We took on board 464
tons of coal and embarked the three motor sledges, petrol, and paraffin.
We spent four weeks in Port Lyttelton, four weeks of hard work and
perfect happiness. Our prospects looked very rosy in those days, and as
each new member joined the Expedition here he was cordially welcomed into
the "Terra Nova" family.
Mr. J. J. Kinsey acted as agent to the Expedition, as he had done for the
National Antarctic Expedition of 1901-4, and, indeed, for every Polar
enterprise that has used New Zealand for a base.
New Zealanders showed us unbounded hospitality; many of us had visited
their shores before and stronger ties than those of friendship bound us
to this beautiful country.
When we came to Lyttelton, Meares and Bruce had already arrived with
nineteen Siberian and Manchurian ponies and thirty-four sledge dogs, and
these were now housed at Quail Island in the harbour. All the ponies were
white, animals of this colour being accepted as harder than others for
snow work, and the dogs were as fine a pack as one could select for hard
sledging and rough times. Meares had had adventure in plenty when
selecting the dogs and told us modestly enough of his journeys across
Russia and Siberia in search of suitable animals. Scott was lucky to get
hold of such an experienced traveller as Meares, and the "Terra Nova"
gained by the inclusion of Lady Scott's brother, Wilfred Bruce, in the
Expedition. Wilfred Bruce was christened "Mumbo," and, although a little
older than the rest of the officers, he willingly took a subordinate
place, and Pennell, writing of him after the Expedition was finished,
said that he withheld his advice when it was not asked for and gave it
soundly when it was.
Lieut. Bruce joined Meares at Vladivostock, and he must have thought he
was joining a travelling circus when he ran into this outfit. Meares
crossed by Trans-Siberian Railway to Vladivostock, thence made
preparation to travel round the Sea of Okotsk to collect the necessary
dogs. He started off by train to Kharbarovsk, where he got in touch with
the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, General Unterberger, who helped
him immensely, got him a good travelling sledge for the trip down the
Amur River to Nikolievsk, and wrote a letter which he gave Meares to show
at the post-houses and whenever in difficulties. The Governor-General
ordered frozen food to be got ready for Meares's journey. A thousand
versts (roughly 660 miles) had to be traversed, and this only took seven
days; the going was interesting at times, and Meares had good weather on
the sledge journey to Nikolievsk, although the cold was intense and
sometimes the road was very bad. The sledges were horse-drawn between the
post-houses.
Mr. Rogers, the English manager of the Russo-Chinese Bank of Nikolievsk,
helped Meares considerably in securing the dogs. Most of them were picked
up in the neighbourhood of that place, but were not chosen before they
had been given some hard driving tests. In one of the trial journeys the
dogs pulled down a horse and nearly killed it before they could be beaten
off. Some of them have a good deal of the wolf in their blood.
A settlement of "fish-skin" Indians was visited in the dog search, and
Meares told us of natives who dressed in cured skins of salmons. These
people were expert hunters who trekked weeks on end with just a pack of
food on their backs, their travelling being done on snowshoes.
After taking great pains, thirty-four fine dogs were collected, all used
to hard sledge travelling, and these Meares shipped on board steamer
which took him and his menagerie by river to Kharbarovsk. The journey to
Vladivostock was by train. The Russian officials allowed him to hitch on
a couple of cattle trucks containing the dogs to the mail train for that
part of the journey.
Russian soldiers and Chinamen were detailed by the Governor-General to
assist the procession through the streets of Vladivostock to their
kennels here. A slight upset was caused by a mad dog rushing in amongst
them, but fortunately it was killed before any of our dogs were bitten.
Some of them were flecked by the foam from the mad dog's jaws, but none
were any the worse after a good carbolic bath. After the dogs were
settled and in good shape the ponies were collected and brought from
up-country in batches. On arrival at the Siberian capital they were
examined by the Government vet., after which Meares and an Australian
trainer picked the best, until a score were purchased. Horse boxes were
obtained now and feed tins made for the voyage and, after minor troubles
with shipping firms, Meares, Bruce, and three Russians sailed from
Vladivostock in a Japanese steamer which conveyed them to Kobe. Here they
transhipped into a German vessel that took then via Hong-kong, Manila,
New Guinea, Rockhampton, and Brisbane, to Sydney. There the animals were
inoculated for the N'th time and a good deal of palaver indulged in
before they were again shifted to the Lyttelton steamer. The poor beasts
suffered from the heat, particularly the dogs, although they had been
close-clipped for the long and trying voyage.
At Wellington, New Zealand, Meares was compelled to trans-ship the
animals to yet another steamer. When the travelling circus was safely
installed in Quail Island our dogs and ponies had undergone shipments,
trans-shipments, inoculations and disinfectings sufficient to make them
glad to leave civilisation, and we had to thank Meares for his patience
in getting them down without any losses.
We sailed from Lyttelton on November 25 for Port Chalmers, had a
tremendous send-off and a great deal of cheering as the ship moved slowly
away from the piers. Bands played us out of harbour and most of the ships
flew farewell messages, which we did our best to answer.
Some members went down by train to Dunedin and joined us at Port
Chalmers. We filled up here with what coal we could squeeze into our
already overloaded ship and left finally for the Great Unknown on
November 29, 1910.
Lady Scott, Mrs. Wilson, and my own wife came out with us to the Heads
and then went on board the "Plucky" tug after saying good-bye. We were
given a rousing send-off by the small craft that accompanied us a few
miles on our way, but they turned homeward at last and at 3.30 p.m. we
were clear with all good-byes said--personally I had a heart like lead,
but, with every one else on board, bent on doing my duty and following
Captain Scott to the end. There was work to be done, however, and the
crew were glad of the orders that sent them from one rope to another and
gave them the chance to hide their feelings, for there is an awful
feeling of loneliness at this point in the lives of those who sign on the
ships of the "South Pole trade"--how glad we were to hide those feelings
and make sail--there were some dreadfully flat jokes made with the best
of good intentions when we watched dear New Zealand fading away as the
spring night gently obscured her from our view.