WINTERING IN McMURDO SOUND
The _Aurora_, after picking up six men at Hut Point on March 11, had
gone back to Cape Evans. The position chosen for the winter quarters of
the _Aurora_ was at Cape Evans, immediately off the hut erected by
Captain Scott on his last Expedition. The ship on March 14 lay about
forty yards off shore, bows seaward. Two anchors had been taken ashore
and embedded in heavy stone rubble, and to these anchors were attached
six steel hawsers. The hawsers held the stern, while the bow was
secured by the ordinary ship’s anchors. Later, when the new ice had
formed round the _Aurora_, the cable was dragged ashore over the smooth
surface and made fast. The final moorings thus were six hawsers and one
cable astern, made fast to the shore anchors, and two anchors with
about seventy fathoms of cable out forward. On March 23 Mr. Stenhouse
landed a party consisting of Stevens, Spencer-Smith, Gaze, and Richards
in order that they might carry out routine observations ashore. These
four men took up their quarters in Captain Scott’s hut. They had been
instructed to kill seals for meat and blubber. The landing of stores,
gear, and coal did not proceed at all rapidly, it being assumed that
the ship would remain at her moorings throughout the winter. Some tons
of coal were taken ashore during April, but most of it stayed on the
beach, and much of it was lost later when the sea-ice went out. This
shore party was in the charge of Stevens, and his report, handed to me
much later, gives a succinct account of what occurred, from the point
of view of the men at the hut:
“CAPE EVANS, ROSS ISLAND, _July_ 30, 1915.
“On the 23rd March, 1915, a party consisting of Spencer-Smith,
Richards, and Gaze was landed at Cape Evans Hut in my charge.
Spencer-Smith received independent instructions to devote his time
exclusively to photography. I was verbally instructed that the main
duty of the party was to obtain a supply of seals for food and fuel.
Scientific work was also to be carried on.
“Meteorological instruments were at once installed, and experiments
were instituted on copper electrical thermometers in order to
supplement our meagre supply of instruments and enable observations of
earth, ice, and sea temperatures to be made. Other experimental work
was carried on, and the whole of the time of the scientific members of
the party was occupied. All seals seen were secured. On one or two
occasions the members of the shore party were summoned to work on board
ship.
“In general the weather was unsettled, blizzards occurring frequently
and interrupting communication with the ship across the ice. Only
small, indispensable supplies of stores and no clothes were issued to
the party on shore. Only part of the scientific equipment was able to
be transferred to the shore, and the necessity to obtain that prevented
some members of the party landing all their personal gear.
“The ship was moored stern on to the shore, at first well over one
hundred yards from it. There were two anchors out ahead and the vessel
was made fast to two others sunk in the ground ashore by seven wires.
The strain on the wires was kept constant by tightening up from time to
time such as became slack, and easing cables forward, and in this way
the ship was brought much closer inshore. A cable was now run out to
the south anchor ashore, passed onboard through a fair-lead under the
port end of the bridge, and made fast to bollards forward. Subsequent
strain due to ice and wind pressure on the ship broke three of the
wires. Though I believe it was considered on board that the ship was
secure, there was still considerable anxiety felt. The anchors had held
badly before, and the power of the ice-pressure on the ship was
uncomfortably obvious.
“Since the ship had been moored the bay had frequently frozen over, and
the ice had as frequently gone out on account of blizzards. The ice
does not always go out before the wind has passed its maximum. It
depends on the state of tides and currents; for the sea-ice has been
seen more than once to go out bodily when a blizzard had almost
completely calmed down.
“On the 6th May the ice was in and people passed freely between the
shore and the ship. At 11 p.m. the wind was south, backing to
south-east, and blew at forty miles per hour. The ship was still in her
place. At 3 a.m. on the 7th the wind had not increased to any extent,
but ice and ship had gone. As she was not seen to go we are unable to
say whether the vessel was damaged. The shore end of the cable was bent
twice sharply, and the wires were loose. On the afternoon of the 7th
the weather cleared somewhat, but nothing was seen of the ship. The
blizzard only lasted some twelve hours. Next day the wind became
northerly, but on the 10th there was blowing the fiercest blizzard we
have so far experienced from the south-east. Nothing has since been
seen or heard of the ship, though a look-out was kept.
“Immediately the ship went as accurate an inventory as possible of all
stores ashore was made, and the rate of consumption of food-stuffs so
regulated that they would last ten men for not less than one hundred
weeks. Coal had already been used with the utmost economy. Little could
be done to cut down the consumption, but the transference to the
neighbourhood of the hut of such of the coal landed previously by the
ship as was not lost was pushed on. Meat also was found to be very
short; it was obvious that neither it nor coal could be made to last
two years, but an evidently necessary step in the ensuing summer would
be the ensuring of an adequate supply of meat and blubber, for
obtaining which the winter presented little opportunity. Meat and coal
were, therefore, used with this consideration in mind, as required but
as carefully as possible.
“A. STEVENS.”
The men ashore did not at once abandon hope of the ship returning
before the Sound froze firmly. New ice formed on the sea whenever the
weather was calm, and it had been broken up and taken out many times by
the blizzards. During the next few days eager eyes looked seaward
through the dim twilight of noon, but the sea was covered with a dense
black mist and nothing was visible. A northerly wind sprang up on May 8
and continued for a few hours, but it brought no sign of the ship, and
when on May 10 the most violent blizzard yet experienced by the party
commenced, hope grew slender. The gale continued for three days, the
wind attaining a velocity of seventy miles an hour. The snowdrift was
very thick and the temperature fell to –20° Fahr. The shore party took
a gloomy view of the ship’s chances of safety among the ice-floes of
the Ross Sea under such conditions.
Stevens and his companions made a careful survey of their position and
realized that they had serious difficulties to face. No general
provisions and no clothing of the kind required for sledging had been
landed from the ship. Much of the sledging gear was also aboard.
Fortunately, the hut contained both food and clothing, left there by
Captain Scott’s Expedition. The men killed as many seals as possible
and stored the meat and blubber. June 2 brought a welcome addition to
the party in the form of the men who had been forced to remain at Hut
Point until the sea-ice became firm. Mackintosh and those with him had
incurred some risk in making the crossing, since open water had been
seen on their route by the Cape Evans party only a short time before.
There were now ten men at Cape Evans—namely, Mackintosh, Spencer-Smith,
Joyce, Wild, Cope, Stevens, Hayward, Gaze, Jack, and Richards. The
winter had closed down upon the Antarctic and the party would not be
able to make any move before the beginning of September. In the
meantime they overhauled the available stores and gear, made plans for
the work of the forthcoming spring and summer, and lived the severe but
not altogether unhappy life of the polar explorer in winter quarters.
Mackintosh, writing on June 5, surveyed his position:
“The decision of Stenhouse to make this bay the wintering place of the
ship was not reached without much thought and consideration of all
eventualities. Stenhouse had already tried the Glacier Tongue and other
places, but at each of them the ship had been in an exposed and
dangerous position. When this bay was tried the ship withstood several
severe blizzards, in which the ice remained in on several occasions.
When the ice did go out the moorings held. The ship was moored bows
north. She had both anchors down forward and two anchors buried astern,
to which the stern moorings were attached with seven lengths of wire.
Taking all this into account, it was quite a fair judgment on his part
to assume that the ship would be secure here. The blizzard that took
the ship and the ice out of the bay was by no means as severe as others
she had weathered. The accident proves again the uncertainty of
conditions in these regions. I only pray and trust that the ship and
those aboard are safe. I am sure they will have a thrilling story to
tell when we see them.”
The _Aurora_ could have found safe winter quarters farther up McMurdo
Sound, towards Hut Point, but would have run the risk of being frozen
in over the following summer, and I had given instructions to
Mackintosh before he went south that this danger must be avoided.
“Meanwhile we are making all preparations here for a prolonged stay.
The shortage of clothing is our principal hardship. The members of the
party from Hut Point have the clothes we wore when we left the ship on
January 25. We have been without a wash all that time, and I cannot
imagine a dirtier set of people. We have been attempting to get a wash
ever since we came back, but owing to the blow during the last two days
no opportunity has offered. All is working smoothly here, and every one
is taking the situation very philosophically. Stevens is in charge of
the scientific staff and is now the senior officer ashore. Joyce is in
charge of the equipment and has undertaken to improvise clothes out of
what canvas can be found here. Wild is working with Joyce. He is a
cheerful, willing soul. Nothing ever worries or upsets him, and he is
ever singing or making some joke or performing some amusing prank.
Richards has taken over the keeping of the meteorological log. He is a
young Australian, a hard, conscientious worker, and I look forward to
good results from his endeavours. Jack, another young Australian, is
his assistant. Hayward is the handy man, being responsible for the
supply of blubber. Gaze, another Australian, is working in conjunction
with Hayward. Spencer-Smith, the _padre_, is in charge of photography,
and, of course, assists in the general routine work. Cope is the
medical officer.
“The routine here is as follows: Four of us, myself, Stevens, Richards,
and Spencer-Smith, have breakfast at 7 a.m. The others are called at 9
a.m., and their breakfast is served. Then the table is cleared, the
floor is swept, and the ordinary work of the day is commenced. At 1
p.m. we have what we call ‘a counter lunch,’ that is, cold food and
cocoa. We work from 2 p.m. till 5 p.m. After 5 p.m. people can do what
they like. Dinner is at 7. The men play games, read, write up diaries.
We turn in early, since we have to economize fuel and light.
Night-watches are kept by the scientific men, who have the privilege of
turning in during the day. The day after my arrival here I gave an
outline of our situation and explained the necessity for economy in the
use of fuel, light, and stores, in view of the possibility that we may
have to stay here for two years.... We are not going to commence work
for the sledging operations until we know more definitely the fate of
the _Aurora_. I dare not think any disaster has occurred.”
During the remaining days of June the men washed and mended clothes,
killed seals, made minor excursions in the neighbourhood of the hut,
and discussed plans for the future. They had six dogs, two being
bitches without experience of sledging. One of these bitches had given
birth to a litter of pups, but she proved a poor mother and the young
ones died. The animals had plenty of seal meat and were tended
carefully.
Mackintosh called a meeting of all hands on June 26 for the discussion
of the plans he had made for the depot-laying expedition to be
undertaken during the following spring and summer.
“I gave an outline of the position and invited discussion from the
members. Several points were brought up. I had suggested that one of
our party should remain behind for the purpose of keeping the
meteorological records and laying in a supply of meat and blubber. This
man would be able to hand my instructions to the ship and pilot a party
to the Bluff. It had been arranged that Richards should do this.
Several objected on the ground that the whole complement would be
necessary, and, after the matter had been put to the vote, it was
agreed that we should delay the decision until the parties had some
practical work and we had seen how they fared. The shortage of clothing
was discussed, and Joyce and Wild have agreed to do their best in this
matter. October sledging (on the Barrier) was mentioned as being too
early, but is to be given a trial. These were the most important points
brought up, and it was mutually and unanimously agreed that we could do
no more.... I know we are doing our best.”
[Illustration: A Newly-frozen Lead]
[Illustration: The Ross Sea Party]
The party was anxious to visit Cape Royds, north of Cape Evans, but at
the end of June open water remained right across the Sound and a
crossing was impossible. At Cape Royds is the hut used by the
Shackleton Expedition of 1907–1909, and the stores and supplies it
contains might have proved very useful. Joyce and Wild made finneskoe
(fur boots) from spare sleeping-bags. Mackintosh mentions that the
necessity of economizing clothing and footgear prevented the men taking
as much exercise as they would otherwise have done. A fair supply of
canvas and leather had been found in the hut, and some men tried their
hands at making shoes. Many seals had been killed and brought in, and
the supply of meat and blubber was ample for present needs.
During July Mackintosh made several trips northwards on the sea-ice,
but found always that he could not get far. A crack stretched roughly
from Inaccessible Island to the Barne Glacier, and the ice beyond
looked weak and loose. The improving light told of the returning sun.
Richards and Jack were weighing out stores in readiness for the
sledging expeditions. Mackintosh, from the hill behind the hut, saw
open water stretching westward from Inaccessible Island on August 1,
and noted that probably McMurdo Sound was never completely frozen over.
A week later the extent of the open water appeared to have increased,
and the men began to despair of getting to Cape Royds. Blizzards were
frequent and persistent. A few useful articles were found in the
neighbourhood of the hut as the light improved, including some
discarded socks and underwear, left by members of the Scott Expedition,
and a case of candied peel, which was used for cakes. A small fire
broke out in the hut on August 12. The acetylene-gas lighting plant
installed in the hut by Captain Scott had been rigged, and one day it
developed a leak. A member of the party searched for the leak with a
lighted candle, and the explosion that resulted fired some woodwork.
Fortunately the outbreak was extinguished quickly. The loss of the hut
at this stage would have been a tragic incident.
Mackintosh and Stevens paid a visit to Cape Royds on August 13. They
had decided to attempt the journey over the Barne Glacier, and after
crossing a crevassed area they got to the slopes of Cape Barne and
thence down to the sea-ice. They found this ice to be newly formed, but
sufficiently strong for their purpose, and soon reached the Cape Royds
hut.
“The outer door of the hut we found to be off,” wrote Mackintosh. “A
little snow had drifted into the porch, but with a shovel, which we
found outside, this was soon cleared away. We then entered, and in the
centre of the hut found a pile of snow and ice, which had come through
the open ventilator in the roof of the hut. We soon closed this.
Stevens prepared a meal while I cleared the ice and snow away from the
middle of the hut. After our meal we commenced taking an inventory of
the stores inside. Tobacco was our first thought. Of this we found one
tin of Navy Cut and a box of cigars. Soap, too, which now ensures us a
wash and clean clothes when we get back. We then began to look round
for a sleeping-bag. No bags were here, however, but on the improvised
beds of cases we found two mattresses, an old canvas screen, and two
blankets. We took it in turns to turn in. Stevens started first, while
I kept the fire going. No coal or blubber was here, so we had to use
wood, which, while keeping the person alongside it warm, did not raise
the temperature of the hut over freezing-point. Over the stove in a
conspicuous place we found a notice by Scott’s party that parties using
the hut should leave the dishes clean.”
Mackintosh and Stevens stayed at the Cape Royds hut over the next day
and made a thorough examination of the stores there. They found outside
the hut a pile of cases containing meats, flour, dried vegetables, and
sundries, at least a year’s supply for a party of six. They found no
new clothing, but made a collection of worn garments, which could be
mended and made serviceable. Carrying loads of their spoils, they set
out for Cape Evans on the morning of August 15 across the sea-ice. Very
weak ice barred the way and they had to travel round the coast. They
got back to Cape Evans in two hours. During their absence Wild and Gaze
had climbed Inaccessible Island, Gaze having an ear badly frost-bitten
on the journey. The tobacco was divided among the members of the party.
A blizzard was raging the next day, and Mackintosh congratulated
himself on having chosen the time for his trip fortunately.
The record of the remaining part of August is not eventful. All hands
were making preparations for the sledging, and were rejoicing in the
increasing daylight. The party tried the special sledging ration
prepared under my own direction, and “all agreed it was excellent both
in bulk and taste.” Three emperor penguins, the first seen since the
landing, were caught on August 19. By that time the returning sun was
touching with gold the peaks of the Western Mountains and throwing into
bold relief the massive form of Erebus. The volcano was emitting a
great deal of smoke, and the glow of its internal fires showed
occasionally against the smoke-clouds above the crater. Stevens,
Spencer-Smith, and Cope went to Cape Royds on the 20th, and were still
there when the sun made its first appearance over Erebus on the 26th.
Preceding days had been cloudy, and the sun, although above the
horizon, had not been visible.
“The morning broke clear and fine,” wrote Mackintosh. “Over Erebus the
sun’s rays peeped through the massed cumulus and produced the most
gorgeous cloud effects. The light made us all blink and at the same
time caused the greatest exuberance of spirits. We felt like men
released from prison. I stood outside the hut and looked at the truly
wonderful scenery all round. The West Mountains were superb in their
wild grandeur. The whole outline of peaks, some eighty or ninety
distant, showed up, stencilled in delicate contrast to the sky-line.
The immense ice-slopes shone white as alabaster against dark shadows.
The sky to the west over the mountains was clear, except for low-lying
banks at the foot of the slopes round about Mount Discovery. To the
south hard streaks of stratus lay heaped up to 30 degrees above the
horizon.... Then Erebus commenced to emit volumes of smoke, which rose
hundreds of feet and trailed away in a north-westerly direction. The
southern slopes of Erebus were enveloped in a mass of cloud.” The party
from Cape Royds returned that afternoon, and there was disappointment
at their report that no more tobacco had been found.
The sledging of stores to Hut Point, in preparation for the
depot-laying journeys on the Barrier, was to begin on September 1.
Mackintosh, before that date, had discussed plans fully with the
members of his party. He considered that sufficient sledging provisions
were available at Cape Evans, the supply landed from the ship being
supplemented by the stores left by the Scott Expedition of 1912–13 and
the Shackleton Expedition of 1907–09. The supply of clothing and tents
was more difficult. Garments brought from the ship could be
supplemented by old clothing found at Hut Point and Cape Evans. The
Burberry wind-proof outer garments were old and in poor order for the
start of a season’s sledging. Old sleeping-bags had been cut up to make
finneskoe (fur boots) and mend other sleeping-bags. Three tents were
available, one sound one landed from the _Aurora_, and two old ones
left by Captain Scott. Mackintosh had enough sledges, but the
experience of the first journey with the dogs had been unfortunate, and
there were now only four useful dogs left. They did not make a full
team and would have to be used merely as an auxiliary to man-haulage.
The scheme adopted by Mackintosh, after discussion with the members of
his party, was that nine men, divided into three parties of three each,
should undertake the sledging. One man would be left at Cape Evans to
continue the meteorological observations during the summer. The
motor-tractor, which had been left at Hut Point, was to be brought to
Cape Evans and, if possible, put into working order. Mackintosh
estimated that the provisions required for the consumption of the depot
parties, and for the depots to be placed southward to the foot of the
Beardmore Glacier, would amount to 4000 lbs. The first depot was to be
placed off Minna Bluff, and from there southward a depot was to be
placed on each degree of latitude. The final depot would be made at the
foot of the Beardmore Glacier. The initial task would be the haulage of
stores from Cape Evans to Hut Point, a distance of 13 miles. All the
sledging stores had to be taken across, and Mackintosh proposed to
place additional supplies there in case a party, returning late from
the Barrier, had to spend winter months at Hut Point.
The first party, consisting of Mackintosh, Richards, and Spencer-Smith,
left Cape Evans on September 1 with 600 lbs. of stores on one sledge,
and had an uneventful journey to Hut Point. They pitched a tent
half-way across the bay, on the sea-ice, and left it there for the use
of the various parties during the month. At Hut Point they cleared the
snow from the motor-tractor and made some preliminary efforts to get it
into working order. They returned to Cape Evans on the 3rd. The second
trip to Hut Point was made by a party of nine, with three sledges. Two
sledges, man-hauled, were loaded with 1278 lbs. of stores, and a
smaller sledge, drawn by the dogs, carried the sleeping-bags. This
party encountered a stiff southerly breeze, with low temperature, and,
as the men were still in rather soft condition, they suffered much from
frost bites. Joyce and Gaze both had their heels badly blistered.
Mackintosh’s face suffered, and other men had fingers and ears
“bitten.” When they returned Gaze had to travel on a sledge, since he
could not set foot to the ground. They tried to haul the motor to Cape
Evans on this occasion, but left it for another time after covering a
mile or so. The motor was not working and was heavy to pull.
Eight men made the third journey to Hut Point, Gaze and Jack remaining
behind. They took 660 lbs. of oil and 630 lbs. of stores. From Hut
Point the next day (September 14) the party proceeded with loaded
sledges to Safety Camp, on the edge of the Barrier. This camp would be
the starting-point for the march over the Barrier to the Minna Bluff
depot. They left the two sledges, with 660 lbs. of oil and 500 lbs. of
oatmeal, sugar, and sundries, at Safety Camp and returned to Hut Point.
The dogs shared the work on this journey. The next day Mackintosh and
his companions took the motor to Cape Evans, hauling it with its
grip-wheels mounted on a sledge. After a pause due to bad weather, a
party of eight men took another load to Hut Point on September 24, and
on to Safety Camp the next day. They got back to Cape Evans on the
26th. Richards meanwhile had overhauled the motor and given it some
trial runs on the sea-ice. But he reported that the machine was not
working satisfactorily, and Mackintosh decided not to persevere with
it.
“Everybody is up to his eyes in work,” runs the last entry in the
journal left by Mackintosh at Cape Evans. “All gear is being
overhauled, and personal clothing is having the last stitches. We have
been improvising shoes to replace the finneskoe, of which we are badly
short. Wild has made an excellent shoe out of an old horse-rug he found
here, and this is being copied by other men. I have made myself a pair
of mitts out of an old sleeping-bag. Last night I had a bath, the
second since being here.... I close this journal to-day (September 30)
and am packing it with my papers here. To-morrow we start for Hut
Point. Nine of us are going on the sledge party for laying
depots—namely, Stevens, Spencer-Smith, Joyce, Wild, Cope, Hayward,
Jack, Richards, and myself. Gaze, who is still suffering from bad feet,
is remaining behind and will probably be relieved by Stevens after our
first trip. With us we take three months’ provisions to leave at Hut
Point. I continue this journal in another book, which I keep with me.”
The nine men reached Hut Point on October 1. They took the last loads
with them. Three sledges and three tents were to be taken on to the
Barrier, and the parties were as follows:
No. 1: Mackintosh, Spencer-Smith, and Wild; No. 2: Joyce, Cope, and
Richards; No. 3: Jack, Hayward, and Gaze. On October 3 and 4 some
stores left at Half-Way Camp were brought in, and other stores were
moved on to Safety Camp. Bad weather delayed the start of the
depot-laying expedition from Hut Point until October 9.