Shackleton's Heroes

by Wilson McOrist

  The blizzard still raging. Went outside to feed the dogs. The wind a great force almost possible to lean against it. It is a miracle the tent stands the strain. The dogs were completely buried. I could not find them, so had to take directions from the sledge mast. After an hour I dug them out + gave them extra biscuits. They seemed very weak.5

  When they are out in a blizzard they coil around the drift covers them after a time they are completely buried with no chance whatever of freeing themselves. This is against the laws of nature. If human aid was not at their assistance where would they be? With the temp well below zero, the snow compact, so what chance have they of freeing themselves?6

  27 February 1915

  They found that, the day after they had been out in the blizzard for an hour or two, either an ear, the nose tip, a fingertip or one cheek was a bit tender, but there was nothing to show. However, a longer frostbite, particularly on the face, would appear in a day or two as a brownish blotch, which took a week or two to disappear by peeling.7

  Still held up the blizzard, they moved onto reduced rations.

  Mackintosh:

  We have now reduced to one meal in the 24 hours trusting for sleep to feed us the remainder of the time. Of course this going without meals keeps us colder there’s no doubt food is the fuel herein more ways than one.

  Hours pass, we roll round in bags, build castles, sleep, read and hope. The bags are now getting so damp that we try and look out for dry patches where to lie – lucky there are no rheumaticky people here.

  On one occasion when I woke up this morning I found poor Wild rubbing his bare feet in an attempt to bring his big toe round which has ‘gone’.* He is always suffering from one or the other of his feet. But he takes it philosophically and is very amusing when he gets up to say ‘It’s the left foot now, presently it may have been the right’. He says he has scarcely any feeling in them for the past 24 hours. I felt them and gave them a bit of a rub. Indeed they were cold.

  Joyce too is affected. The only time I get it is when I have been without hoosh for some time. My feet get cold but if the hoosh is there I am quite alright and have no trouble whatsoever.

  It’s most annoying that while this wind is in our faces the tears from our eyes run down our faces and freezes on to our goggles; of course we wear these religiously and so far none of us have been affected by snow-blindness. This light we are travelling in is just the kind that would affect one for there is a dull grey sameness with no contrast between the horizon and surface.8

  1 March 1915

  The blizzard finally broke and they started their trek back.

  Joyce: ‘I have had a bad attack of snow blindness. I have been rather fortunate in that respect as I have been steering since we left the ship.’9

  Mackintosh:

  Wild, whose big toe has been suffering ever since the day he went out, last night found it frostbitten. Joyce has been getting it round – it is blue all over. It looks as if there is an in growing nail, but I doubt it would cause the whole toe to go black, as this is.

  Joyce has suffered from colic.

  I found my legs cold on account of the one pair of drawers I have on not being sufficient.10

  2 March 1915

  Then, tragically, their dogs started to die. They simply gave up and lay down in the snow to sleep, where their body cooled down to such an extent they died of hypothermia. Joyce and Wild write on the dogs dying but Mackintosh confined his diary notes to his own agonies, and occasionally the beauty of their surroundings.

  Joyce:

  Poor Nigger the leader of the pack gave in after lunch. I unharnessed him, his legs refusing to support him. The strange feature about the dogs is they lie down, coil themselves around + go to sleep. Scotty + Pompey collapsed in the afternoon. Pinkey out of harness following the sledge.

  The Southerly is still with us. So sail is helping us along at a fair speed.11

  Wild:

  Nine miles & all dogs chucked their hands, except Major. Pat stopped behind so I expect he is done for.

  Very pretty sunset tonight. Can’t explain it but I have never seen such a one before.

  We made sail today which helped a lot. Wind on our Port quarter. Very cold.12

  Couldn’t write last night, too cold, but anyway we did 7½ miles. Poor old Shacks fell out, we had to leave him. Today we did 4 miles. First Nigger, then Pompey, Major & Scottie fell out so now we have only got Pinky left. He has had a good feed tonight. We shall have to call this the Dead Dog Trail.

  The Skipper fell over & the sledge ran over him happily doing no damage.13

  Mackintosh:

  Set sail for which we use the floor cloth of the tent, this is lashed to a bamboo, used as a yard, then at the centre of this yard is placed the halyards which we trice the whole to the mast another bamboo, lashed on the sledge; the sail and yard are then guyed up and we are ready to be off.

  While writing here – lunch hour – found myself dropping off to sleep while writing. Have had very little this past week, feel weary.

  Very chilly on march, we all have a thick growth of beard now – this is a great hindrance in low temperatures as the breath freezes onto the whiskers gradually increasing in bulk until you have about a pound weight to carry, to say nothing of the coldness of the ice against the face, this particularly catches the tip of my nose especially if the wind plays on it. Giving several ‘bites’ to that member.

  Another glorious sunset. Golden colours illuminate the sky, moon casting gorgeous rays in combination with the more vivid one from the dipping sun. If all was as beautiful as the scene we could consider ourselves in some paradise. But to come down to our position it’s more like a cold hell!14

  3 March 1915

  The loss of the dogs, the cold, the lack of food and sleep and their ailments made for trying times, but there was a rare light moment this day.

  Wild:

  Started with great hopes this morning & found we couldn’t move the sledge, so we took the double runners off, doing which I broke my knife. Then we made another attempt. Joyce forgot to hitch his harness on & while the Skipper & I were struggling away he went saying ‘By Gollams, this is better already’. I shouted out to him & he came back & hitched on & then we couldn’t move the sledge so we off ski & pulled that way.

  By the way we didn’t see the humour of this till night-time, & then we laughed until we cried talking about it.15

  Mackintosh:

  To our horror we found Joyce gaily marching off without us saying out loud ‘Why that was what the trouble was’ while Wild and I were struggling along. Joyce quite thought he had found out the cause, but was surprised when he looked back to find us behind with the sledge. Sledging has its humorous incidents after all.16

  6 March 1915

  They had pushed on, now with only one dog. They were warmer when actually on the march, although steering was not easy.

  Mackintosh:

  The starting off is the cold job, for after getting nicely warmed up in the tent and with the lunch we get chilled down, especially now when we have a blizzard blowing about us, rigging the sail with bare hands, drift snow blowing all over you, temperatures below zero – no enviable position – once we get started and our frost-bitten members restored, we feel more or less comfortable.

  At times the sledge going along by itself but we found steering difficult as at times the sledge would broach to and capsize. We adopted various methods for steering which proved the only thing that hindered us taking advantage of the propelling force. We are still using our ski, so these we took off and one of us harnessed up to a quarter of the sledge and thus regulated the direction by pulling or otherwise but even now as we passed over an extra large mass of sastrugi, the sledge would skid, nearly run over one of us and we were continually falling in our tracks.17

  Joyce:

  The Southerly once more sprang up. Sail set. The sledge overhauling us. With our feet frostbitten + our strength fading it is hard going to keep pace.

/>   Wild + Pinkey the dog having a busman’s holiday riding on the sledge, but a cold one. Essential for one to keep on the move, the temp about 20-below zero.

  Our last dog collapsed in the afternoon. I am more than sad about it. This could have been avoided, if common sense had been shown from the time we were at the Bluff. On Polar journeys the dogs are almost human. One never feels lonely when they are around.18

  7–14 March 1915

  The three men struggled on towards the Minna Bluff depot. In their diaries they made occasional reference to personal aspects of their daily life as they were now starting to develop serious complaints (even a severe toothache). Their faces were a mass of scabs and sores, their fingers and toes were badly frostbitten and gangrene was setting in to Wild’s toes.

  In the low temperatures their fingers were apt to go even when fastening or unfastening buttons or ropes, because they had to remove their mitts. In a wind with snow drift, even at -20°F, they could not expose their hands for a minute or two, even if they were otherwise quite warm, without getting the fingertips frozen. They found their fingers recovered in five minutes or so, if their gloves were warm and they would then have no side effects, except a little tenderness, which lasted for three or four days. However, if the fingers took longer than a few minutes to recover they would blister and be very sore for a week or more, after which all the skin would peel off.19 They found that if frostbite reached below the surface tissue of the hand or foot the result was a water blister, like in a bad burn. If the frostbite became deep seated the blood vessels would not recover and it would lead to gangrene.20

  Mackintosh:

  10 Mar: Just prior to starting Joyce had a look thro glasses and was fortunate in spotting the flag he laid on the outward journey when the stores had been depoted. We are now going to fetch in this load taking a light sledge. After a hard 4 hours pull over a rough surface we got to the depot flag and found it and the cairn intact.

  We loaded the sledge with the stores and proceeded back to our tent which by now was of course out of sight – indeed it was not wise to come out as we have without tent or bag but we have taken that chance and the weather promised fine, yet that is no criterion in these parts.21

  (The last paragraph by Mackintosh is significant. It shows that he knew about the fickle weather, how it could change quickly, and how foolish it would be to go out at any stage without a tent and sleeping bag. Twelve months later, Mackintosh (with Hayward) would attempt to trek from Hut Point to Cape Evans, without a tent or sleeping bags.)

  12 Mar: We use our bodies for drying socks and such-like clothing, which we place inside our jerseys and produce when required. Wild carries a regular wardrobe in this position, and it is amusing to see him searching round the back of his clothes for a pair of socks.22

  13 Mar: Wild slept like a top; he is a remarkable little fellow, always merry & bright; as soon as he lays down he starts snoring, he has been reading a book in which there has been 3 murders and he expects several more.

  Have just dreamt I was strolling about outside when a paperboy came rushing to tell me to say Erebus was in eruption 1,000 lives lost. Smoke was coming out of Castle Rock! I woke to find myself in this wet clothing and dampness all round.23 14 Mar: All our clothes have a dampness about them which as we get out in the air freeze hard. I won’t be sorry when this trip is over. Turned out of the bag while having our hoosh we found on our return a stiff hard board. In it we had to get however, the hard lid was placed over our head, on top of which we wear our caps, at first nothing occurs., in a little time lumps of ice fall on you as the breath may thaw some off, this you place at one side or perhaps let it thaw into water and so absorb into one’s clothes.

  In this state we lie twisting and turning, during the morning as the temperature gets lower we find the whole bag frozen again. Then you find one or other of us groaning and cussing trying to bring back a frozen toe or rub some part of the body that has been cooled.

  After a long while in bags and missing a meal makes a tremendous difference to the attack of the cold. I have always noticed that after I have been in the bag for 8 hours; first my feet show signs of cold and gradually work upward so for me after 8 hours (in a sleeping bag) food is required.24

  Joyce:

  12 Mar: Mack never ought to have left the ship, his eye is very painful. Blizzarding. Wild’s feet in bad condition. One big blister + badly frostbitten brought them around with my warm hands. Later I suffered with the same complaint. Our circulation must be at a very low ebb for frost bites to occur in our sleeping bags.25

  14 Mar: Wild in agony with frostbites, difficulty treking on hard ice with raw feet.26

  15 Mar: Another heartbreaking night. The temp down below 50°-. Heard Mack groaning during the night. I emerged from my sleeping bag to find him in agony with toothache. In the medical case there was naught to ease him.

  My thoughts could only think of methylated spirits a bottle of which we kept for starting the Primmus. This I passed to him together with cotton wool. During the evolution† of putting the spirit on the cotton wool his fingers went.

  He placed the cotton wool on the tooth, a second elapsed + then a yell. The sound of which must have penetrated to Cape Evans. The toothache was cured, the inside of the mouth raw. The temp of the spirit was the same temperature as the air 82 deg of frost‡ it had the same effect as boiling liquid.27

  Mackintosh:

  15 Mar: Last night was one of the worst I have ever experienced. To cap everything, I developed toothache, presumably as a result of frost-bitten cheek. I was in positive agony. I groaned and moaned, got the medicine-chest, but could find nothing there to stop the pain.

  Joyce, who had wakened up, suggested methylated spirit, so I damped some cotton-wool, then placed it in the tooth, with the result that I burnt the inside of my mouth. All this time my fingers, being exposed (it must have been at least 50 deg. below zero), were continually having to be brought back.

  After putting on the methylated spirit I went back to the bag, which, of course, was frozen stiff. I wriggled and moaned till morning brought relief by enabling me to turn out.

  I swear this place, once I return home, will never see me again! The skin has peeled off the inside of my mouth, exposing a raw sore, as the result of the methylated spirit. My tooth is better though.28

  15 March 1915

  On 15 March they reached the Minna Bluff depot, about 70 miles from Hut Point. To Joyce the trek from 80°S to the Bluff depot had been an ‘abominable long struggle’.29

  Mackintosh often recorded details of the temperature, wind and other readings and his notes for 15 March are shown below.

  Their next target would be the Safety Camp depot, near the edge of the Barrier, approximately 50 miles to the north of the Minna Bluff depot, and only 20 miles from Hut Point. The three men left the Minna Bluff depot on 16 March and slowly edged their way north.

  Joyce:

  Our progress ominously slow. For Wild each step a ball of fire.

  Our food bag dangerously light. We are on half rations. No sleep + we are on the verge of extreme exhaustion. After a day’s hard march our dinner consisted of half a cup of pemmican + a biscuit. Our human machine is truly wonderful in supporting us in our task.30

  Mackintosh:

  After lunch we travelled well, but the distance for the day was only 7 miles 400 yds. We are blaming our sledge-meter for the slow rate of progress. It is extraordinary that on the days when we consider we are making good speed we do no more than on days when we have a tussle.31

  8pm: Readings. Ane 29.62.§ Ther (sling) +2.¶ Wind nil. Wisps of whaleback clouds over Castle Rock.|| Cum banked to North about Cape Crozier,** light strands of cir s to south.††

  18 March 1915

  Mackintosh:

  All of us bear marks of our tramp. Wild takes first place. His nose is a picture for Punch to be jealous of; his ears, too, are sore, and one big toe is a black sore. Joyce has a good nose and many minor sores. My jaw is swol
len from the frost-bite I got on the cheek, and I also have a bit of nose…32

  (Wild’s frostbitten big toe had to be amputated a month later.)

  Very snappy breeze in face during march. Our beards and moustaches are a mass of ice. I will take care I am clean-shaven next time I come out. The frozen moustache makes the lobes of the nose freeze more easily than they would if there was no ice alongside them.

  What on earth one comes to these parts of the earth? I ask myself – is it worth the candle?‡‡ Here we are frostbitten in the day, frozen at nights, no sleep, what a life!33

  22 March 1915

  Mackintosh: ‘This morning’s hoosh (or what was supposed to be) we demurely asked if it was tea? It certainly was no thicker.’34

  (One of the worst calamities for one of the men was when they dropped their hoosh, which occasionally happened when it was being served out from the cooker pot. To the man whose meal was spilt it was a catastrophe, that would, in their words, rank with ‘the fall of the British Empire’. When it happened everything was scraped up off the floor cloth; a mix of pemmican, crumbs and finneskoe reindeer hairs. The heat of the meal was immediately lost and the flavour never improved.35)

  23 March 1915

  On 23 March a blizzard again stopped their slow progress north.

  Mackintosh:

  No sooner had we camped last night than a blizzard with drift came on and has continued ever since. This morning finds us prisoners. The drift is lashing into the sides of the tent and everything outside is obscured. This weather is rather alarming, for if it continues we are in a bad way.