ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE WINTER
Less than a fortnight from the day of our return to Cape Evans, on April
23 to be exact, the sun left us to remain below the horizon for four long
weary months. Of course, there was a considerable amount of twilight, and
even on midwinter's day at noon there was some gray light in the north.
Different people took the winter in different fashion, according to their
temperaments. There were some who never could have faced a second winter
with any degree of cheerfulness, but taking it all round, we did well
enough, and when summer came again our concrete keenness and zeal had not
one whit abated. That is especially true in the case of those who were
chosen to make the great journey southward, even though it was obvious
that certain members could only accompany their leader for a mere
fraction of the great white way.
During the four months' winter darkness each one occupied himself with
his special subject, and Dr. Wilson not only proved himself to be an
efficient chief of our scientific staff, but a sound friend and companion
to the executive members, Bowers, Oates, Meares, and myself. Uncle Bill
was our Solomon and it was to him that we all went for sympathy and
practical advice. It was to him the staff went, that is to say, the
officers and scientists, for the smoothing over of those little
difficulties, roughnesses, and unevennesses that were bound to arrive
from time to time during the course of winter. The sailors came more to
Bowers, Oates, and myself, for, in their conservative naval way, they
could never quite get over the fact that the hut was not a ship and that
there were other members who, although they had never come under any sort
of naval or military discipline, were men of greater age and experience
in fending for themselves than youngsters like Bowers and myself. Still,
things went beautifully, and so they should have, when one considers the
great care our leader had exercised in the selection of his personnel.
If Scott had had his choice again and if he had been allowed to select
from the whole world, one can say without hesitation he would have chosen
Wilson to captain our splendid scientific team and to be his human book
of reference. Wilson was more nearly Scott's own age than the other
important members of this enterprise, and Wilson, it must be remembered,
had pulled shoulder to shoulder with Scott on his southern sledge journey
in 1902-3.
Before taking a peep at the individuals forming the rest of our party and
at their delicate scientific work at the base station, I must not forget
to mention that Scott, with his indomitable energy, was away again four
days after his return to Cape Evans with Bowers, Crean, and five fresh
men to Hut Point for the dual purpose of replenishing that station with
fuel, lighting material, etc., and getting those who should be at Cape
Evans for certain work and duty back there. Scott returned by the way we
had come, i.e. the Glacier Tongue-Castle Rock route, and then left the
dog-boy with Meares to take charge of these animals, Lashly and Keohane
to nurse and exercise the two ponies, and Nelson and Forde to get into
the way of winter roughing it, besides which he left Day over at Hut
Point, where his clever fingers found plenty to do to ameliorate the
condition of those living there. Day had learnt much under Shackleton in
these parts, and by some of us he was nicknamed "Handy Andy." Meares was
now appointed "Governor of Hut Point." As a matter of fact he and his
dogs were better off here than at Cape Evans, because the dogs could use
the big sheltered verandas already mentioned, whereas they had no such
shelter at Cape Evans.
Scott was back in the hut by April 21, having left Meares definite orders
that James Pigg and Punch the ponies were not to leave Hut Point for Cape
Evans until the entire journey could be made over the sea ice under
conditions of absolute safety. This meant a wait of three weeks to a
month before everything suited, and the "Governor of Hut Point" did not
come in until the 13th May, when he arrived in pomp and splendour with
all the dogs and the two ponies fit and well--his party, black with soot
and blubber, their wind-proof clothing smelly and greasy, a dirty but
robust and cheerful gang.
A glance at the accompanying plan shows whereabout we worked. Starting at
the left hand top corner we find Simpson's laboratory, and we usually
found Simpson in it at work, always at work, except when he was engaged
in scientific argument or when, just after lunch, he stretched himself
out on his bunk at the end of a large cigar! Simpson was no novice to
work in the frigid zones, for he had already wintered within the Arctic
circle in northern Norway. Weather did not worry him much nor apparently
did temperatures, for since his investigations midst the snows of the
Vikings' land, Simpson had worked extensively in India. His enduring good
humour and his smiling manner earned for him the sobriquet of Sunny Jim.
In the first year the self-registering instruments that found themselves
in Simpson's corner, or in the small hut which contained his magnetic
observatory, gave us an admirable record of temperatures, barometric
pressures, wind force and direction, atmospheric electricity, sunshine
when the sun did shine, and the elements of terrestrial magnetism. Thanks
to Simpson, we also had investigations of the upper air currents, aurora
observations, atmospheric optics, gravity determination and what is more,
some fine practical teaching that enabled the various sledging units
properly to observe and collect data of meteorological importance.
Simpson's place was essentially at the base station; and his consequent
work as physicist and meteorologist prevented him from taking an active
part in our sledge journeys. When he was recalled to Simla in 1912 his
work was ably continued by Wright, our Canadian chemist, who, as I have
said elsewhere, accompanied us south to make a special study of ice
structure and glaciation.
Wright lived in the bunk above Simpson's, and when not devoting his
energy and magnificent physique to sledging and field work, he gave
himself up to the study of ice physics, a somewhat new scientific line of
research. Wright was originally introduced to the Expedition by Griffith
Taylor, and Scott, advised by Wilson, was so keen on the inclusion of
this young Canadian chemist in our scientific staff that really the study
of ice structure and glaciation was made for Wright and his science
coined for him. He photographed ice flowers formed in the sea, he found
out how long ice took to freeze down our way, cast aspersions on the
bearing capabilities of our beloved sea ice and, generally, brought his
intelligence to bear in a way that commanded the approbation of Wilson
and our chief. Wright was one of the strongest members of our Expedition,
and he had the most powerful flow of language. He made some beautiful
photographs of ice crystals and surprised the simple sailor like myself
with his ability as a navigator and astronomer.
Moving along from Wright and Simpson we come to Nelson and Day. Teddy
Nelson, our marine biologist, did both winters at Cape Evans, and he not
only carried out biological work but studied the tides. His corner was
pleasant to look upon, with its orderly row of enamelled and china trays
and dishes. During the winter months holes were made in the sea ice
through which were lowered tow-nets, for collecting drifting organisms
and so on. Special thermometers of German make were lowered by Nelson
through the ice holes to get sea temperatures, and likewise reversing
water bottles were employed to obtain samples of sea-water daily.
Day, the motor engineer, was responsible for the lighting by acetylene.
He was wonderfully clever as a mechanic and also a good carpenter. He
took charge of our petrol, paraffin, and spirit store, and was never idle
for a minute.
Moving along to the right we come to the last cubicle, where the
"Rubbleyubdugs" lived. These were Tryggve Gran, Griffith Taylor, and
Frank Debenham. (All libel actions in connection with the Ubdugs I am
prepared to settle out of port in the long bar at Shanghai.) Quoting from
the "South Polar Times": "'The Ubdug Burrow' is festooned with kodaks,
candles and curtains; they (the Ubdugs) are united by an intense love of
the science of autobiography, their somewhat ambiguous motto is 'the pen
is mightier than the sword, but the tongue licks them both!'" Griffith
Taylor and Debenham were both Australians: the former was probably the
wittiest man in the Expedition, and, in my opinion, the cleverest
contributor to the "South Polar Times," excepting of course the artistic
side. The "South Polar Times" was our winter magazine, beautifully
illustrated by Wilson's water colours and Ponting's photographs. Taylor's
motto was "Advance, Australia!"--most certainly he helped it to. People
were always welcome in the Ubduggery, where they seemed to have an
unlimited supply of cigarettes and good novels.
Debenham was certainly nurse to the Ubdugs, that is to say he was the
least untidy, but then of course he was the smallest. In this cubicle the
most voluminous of diaries were kept, and at least two books have been
published therefrom. Gran kept his diary mostly in Norwegian, but there
were many words coined in our Expedition which had no Scandinavian
equivalent, and Gran failed to translate them, in spite of his having
more imagination than any one amongst us.
Crossing over the hut to the cubicle opposite one arrives at the somewhat
congested space in which Cherry-Garrard was housed, with Bowers above
him. In their corner were store lists, books, and mystery bags which
contained material for the "South Polar Times," toys and frivolous
presents to liven us up at the midwinter and other festivities. Bowers
and Cherry-Garrard were, in a way, worse off than the others, for they
had the darkest part of the hut, yet in this gloomy tenement all kinds of
calculations were made and much other good work done.
Oates came next, with his bunk more free of debris than anybody else's,
for he was the horse man, pure and simple, and his duties freed him from
that superabundance of books, instruments, stationery, specimens, charts,
and what-not with which we others had surrounded ourselves. Any spare
gear he kept in the saddle room, a specially cleared space in the
stables, where he was assisted by the little Russian groom, Anton, who
soon became devoted to his hard-working and capable master. The two men,
so unlike in appearance and character, etc., and such miles apart in
social standing and nationality, worked shoulder to shoulder in the
stables throughout the long winter night. By the dim candle-light which
illuminated our pony-shelter, one could see Oates grooming his charges,
clearing up their stall, refitting their harness, and fixing up the
little improvements that his quick, watchful eye continually suggested.
At the far end of his stables he had a blubber stove, where he used to
melt ice for the ponies' drinking water and cook bran mashes for his
animals. Here he would often sit and help Meares make dog pemmican out of
seal meat--they made about 8 cwt. of this sustaining preparation.
Moving along from the Château, Oates, Meares's and Atkinson's two bunks
came next, Meares above and Atkinson below. These two sleeping berths
likewise were not conspicuous by any superfluity of scientific oddments,
for Meares's work took him outside of the hut as a rule, unless he was
engaged in making dog harness. Meares and Oates were the greatest
friends, and these two, Atkinson, Cherry-Garrard and Bowers, were, if I
remember rightly, known collectively as the Bunderlohg. Although
numerically superior to their _vis-à-vis_, the Ubdugs, and always ready
to revile them, the Ubdugs kept their end up and usually came out
victorious in discussions or in badinage.
Finally, the Holy of Holies, where Captain Scott and the library occupied
one end and Uncle Bill and myself the far corner, with the ceaselessly
ticking chronometers and many sledging watches. There was an air of
sanctity about this part: all the plotting was done here, charts made and
astronomical observations worked out. Wilson worked up his sketches at
the "plotting table," interviewed the staff here, and above his bunk kept
a third of the shore party's library. We had two comfortable trestle beds
up our end and our leader also had a bed in preference to the
built-up bunk adopted by most of the afterguard. Ours was the Mayfair
district: Wilson and I lived in Park Lane in those days, whilst Captain
Scott occupied Grosvenor Street! He had his own little table covered with
"toney" green linoleum, and also had a multiplicity of little shelves on
which to keep his pipes, tobacco, cigars, and other household gods. It
was well illuminated in this part, and, although, hung around with fur
mitts, fur boots, socks, hats and woollen clothing, there was something
very chaste about this very respectable corner. For the rest of it we had
our Arctic library, and the spare spaces on the matchboard bulkhead,
which fenced it on three sides, were decorated with photographs. In place
of eiderdown Scott's old uniform overcoat usually covered his bed, while
peeping out from under his sleeping place one could espy an emblem of
civilisation and prosperity in the shape of a very good suit-case.
The foregoing pages illustrate sufficiently the grouping of the
afterguard, and if one adds an anthracite stove, a 12 ft. by 4 ft. table,
a pianola, gramophone, and a score of chairs, with a small shelf-like
table squeezed in between the dark-room and Simpson's corner, one
completes the picture of the officers' quarters in the Cape Evans Hut.
A bulkhead of biscuit cases and so on divided us from the men's
accommodation. They were very well off, each seaman having a trestle bed
similar to Captain Scott's, unless he preferred to build a bunk for
himself, as one or two did. They had a table 6 ft. by 4 ft., and the cook
had a kitchen table 4 ft. square, and certainly no crew space was ever
provided on a Polar Expedition that gave such comfortable and cosy
housing room.