Several of us are suffering from frost bite, my neck & cheeks are quite stiff & swollen & it is quite painful to turn round or laugh. In my case I suppose I must not be surprised as even in the coldest winds I have marched without my hat on & as I left the ship with my hair closely clipped & have continued to keep my beard also clipped (on account of the beastly mess one face gets in, if one favours a beard, when it freezes up & icicles form on it).
I have had no very great protection, although not finding it cold at the time, in my case these little things are undoubtedly sent to try us & without them to contend with, I expect one would almost feel out of place, I am pleased to say that I have now got the better of my strained back & shall no doubt get the better of frost bite without having to force the growth of a protective ‘face fungus’.
You would not realise the terrible silence & monotony which exists here. & when on the march one thinks & thinks & thinks & only thinks & pulls & pulls & thinks, he thinks no doubt because he has not sufficient breath to converse with, but more particularly because he can think of things which take him out of the present surroundings to other & more homely & pleasing ones.
We were surprised shortly afterwards at being invaded by the other three, bringing with them all the snow they could possibly accommodate on their enormous feet into our tent, of which we are always careful, even changing our footgear for the purpose of leaving the snow outside.
They were also armed with a big Thermos flask & it was evident that something important was toward. It turned out to be another re-arrangement of plans, to be discussed immediately everybody had partaken of hot tea from the flask. In course of this process, two of our visitors Cope, Hooke, managed to upset the contents of their mugs over Richards & myself respectively & in consequence the meeting was nearly broken up, peace & order was eventually restored however & the discussion duly took place.
We had a lovely gorge to-night before turning in, we always celebrate occasions of this sort in this way, we had 4 biscuits each, an extra whack of sugar 20 lumps each & half a bar of chocolate. First we had a nice drop of Pemmican & Oatmeal mixed, then we each crushed 2 biscuits put them together with enough water, added 1 spoonful of Glaxo, & 1 of Plasmon, brought to the boil & wolfed it, it was great, followed by a nice mug of tea. I turned in & remember nothing more till now.58
23 February 1915
A few days after laying the Cope No. 1 depot, they put down another, named Cope No. 2, less than 10 miles further south.
The men found it took time to become accustomed to sleeping with their head inside their sleeping bag, without any fresh air to speak of. It was impossible to sleep with their head exposed with the temperatures always below zero.59
Hayward:
Had a very funny experience during the night, being so cold I put fur mitts on & did all the toggles of my bag up, somehow or other I dreamt during the night, woke up suddenly I could not imagine where I was, only that I was absolutely helpless & suffocating.
Of course I lashed out pretty freely & having fur mitts on I could feel nothing.
However very soon Richards & Ninnis undid the toggles & I sprang out like a Jack in the Box, they say the awful language & the struggle going on inside my bag had been too much for them in spite of their being so utterly tired. I can tell you I was glad to get some fresh air as it was a most uncanny feeling inside that bag.60
After laying the second depot, Cope, Hayward, and Jack continued on south to lay a third depot while Richards, Ninnis and Hooke returned to Hut Point.
Hayward:
Naturally, Richards & myself are quite cut up on our separation, as on a trip of the sort we have been engaged on, one makes fast friends (or otherwise) of one’s companions. We have been jolly good comrades all through never having a difference of any sort & always showing a most unselfish spirit towards one another.
To-night I have been most touched by the good fellowship they have shown to me, Ninnis with the best spirit in the world, giving me his last & treasured 40 cigarettes which of course I only accepted after much insistence on his part.
Richards too pressed a supply of tobacco on me with equally warm & friendly feelings & although we have been together for only 3 weeks I am feeling quite hurt at the prospect of our parting in the morning with positive regret & although I should feel honoured at being chosen to go on, I cannot feel the slightest joy about it, although of course I cannot help feeling some satisfaction, in doing so.
I honestly feel very sorry for them. In any case they will not have to undergo the hardships we shall have to face completing our journey as it is getting colder daily & we shall be out very nearly a month yet, whereas they should reach the Hut inside 10 days.61
24 February 1915
Hayward, now with Cope and Jack, set off south to lay their last depot, called Cope No. 3, less than 10 more miles onto the Great Ice Barrier but any ‘fun’ of sledging appears to have disappeared.
Hayward:
Last night I had an extra long & lingering look at your dear picture & I feel quite homesick & rotten this morning. More so than I have felt for some time, as I have purposely refrained from looking too long for some time, as the last time I did it, I experienced the same feelings.
I wish I could tell you here what I should like, but you will realise that I must be content with thinking things only & of course I am satisfied, especially as I believe you will understand what I should write if I expressed my thoughts, if you do not I will explain in detail & with the pleasure, as far as this instance is concerned, and the many instances where I have omitted similar explanations for similar reasons previously & so frequently.62
25 February 1915
Hayward may have been unhappy to part with Richards but he enjoyed his new tent-mates: ‘Tent companions & I are all very comfortable & jolly together & comprise a happy little party. Jack is an exceedingly nice chap. We have spent the day more or less in our bags, talking of things past, present & future, reading & smoking.’63
26 February 1915
Hayward:
8 o/c pm. We have been lying here all day, the snowstorm which held us up this morning having developed into a bad blizzard, & it is very disheartening in view of the delays we have already had to contend with & the good going we were making of it this morning.
In any case I have managed to get nice & warm in my bag & have plenty of nice things about you to think of. I must say that I am very glad, that there is so much to occupy ones energies & attention, that so far the time has not seemed to drag; it would be unbearable if this was not the case. We have been able to start again to-day & are just about to have some grub & make ourselves comfortable for the night, as we are quite resigned to the fact that it will be some time before the weather clears sufficiently to make further progress possible.64
28 February 1915
Hayward:
Lying in my bag with just one toggle undone to enable me to come up for air when necessary.
I cannot help thinking what extraordinary things take place in the course of a man’s otherwise ordinary existence, here am I at the uttermost ends of the earth, parted from you, for whom I would give my life, working for the furtherance of an undertaking with an object of Worlds interest from a Scientific Point of view for its goal, lying in a fur bag, inside a little tent, with 2 other chaps, with a wind at 40 miles an hour & a temperature of 50 below outside, when I ought to be sitting in front of the fire at home & keeping warm & yet in spite of all this can look upon my present occupation with utter fortitude & ‘matter of factness’ & I know that it is only my hopes & thoughts of you which make this possible, you will understand I know what I mean even if I fail to put it down as clearly as might be.
Before turning in proposed & carried unan.|||| the old Antarctic toast Sweethearts & Wives done in brandy from the Medical Comforts.65
3 March 1915
Hayward, after a freezing night (-62°F):
God I hope we have a better night when we camp to-day (might menti
on temperature 94° below freezing last night).
Funny thing I laughed with a sort of feeling of insult when on getting out of my bag at 5 o/c to get breakfast, I found I had ‘pins & needles’ in my arm, think of it a damn paltry little thing like ‘pins & needles’ in the morning, after the agony I had endured all night.66
6 March 1915
On 6 March, after laying the Cope No. 3 depot, approximately 40 miles from Hut Point, Hayward, Cope and Jack turned around and headed back north. Hayward mentioned their major concern: ‘We are all absolutely stumped for tobacco this is the worst blow of all.’67
7 March 1915
Conditions were now deteriorating for these three men.
Hayward:
Now very tired indeed but unfortunately cannot look forward to turning in bag with any degree of pleasure as the lateness of the season & the suddenness with which the cold weather has set in renders them practically uninhabitable, it is as much as we can do to get into them, as they are absolutely frozen hard.
After having succeeded in forcing an entrance the frost naturally thaws out & the result is best left to the imagination, anyhow I begin to dread the time for turning in & however tired I may feel would prefer to keep going.68
By early March, Richards (with Ninnis and Hooke) had already arrived back at Hut Point. Spencer-Smith (with Stevens and Gaze) was already there and these six men would soon be picked up by the Aurora and taken to Cape Evans. Hayward (with Cope and Jack) was on his way back to Hut Point but still out on Barrier. Mackintosh, Joyce and Wild were further out, also heading for Hut Point.
Notes
1. Mackintosh diary, 24 February 1915
2. Ibid., 25 February 1915
3. Ibid.
4. Joyce field diary, 25–26 February 1915
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid., 25 February 1915
7. E. Wilson, Antarctic Notebooks (Cheltenham: Reardon, 2011)
8. Mackintosh diary, 27 February 1915
9. Joyce field diary, 1 March 1915
10. Mackintosh diary, 1 March 1915
11. Joyce field diary, 2 March 1915
12. Wild diary, 28 February 1915
13. Ibid., 2 March 1915
14. Mackintosh diary, 2 March 1915 Wild diary, 3 March 1915
15. Mackintosh diary, 2 March 1915
16. Ibid., 6 March 1915
17. Joyce field diary, 6 March 1915
18. Wilson, Antarctic Notebooks
19. Debenham, In the Antarctic
20. Mackintosh diary, 10 March 1915
21. Ibid., 12 March 1915
22. Ibid., 13 March 1915
23. Ibid., 14 March 1915
24. Joyce field diary, 12 March 1915
25. Ibid., 14 March 1915
26. Ibid., 8–12 March 1915
27. Mackintosh diary, 15 March 1915
28. Joyce field diary, 8–12 March 1915
29. Ibid., 15 March 1915
30. Mackintosh diary, 15 March 1915
31. Ibid., 18 March 1915
32. Ibid.
33. Ibid., 22 March 1915
34. Priestley, Antarctic Adventure
35. Mackintosh diary, 23 March 1915
36. Joyce field diary, 22, 23 March 1915
37. Mackintosh diary, 24 March 1915
38. Joyce field diary, 24 March 1915
39. Mackintosh diary, 24 March 1915
40. Joyce field diary, 24 March 1915
41. Richards letter to L. B. Quartermain, 25 November 1961
42. Hayward diary, 9 February 1915
43. Ibid., 10 February 1915
44. Richards diary, 11 February 1915
45. Hayward diary, 10 February 1915
46. Ibid., 12 February 1915
47. Richards diary, 12 February 1915
48. Ibid.
49. Hayward diary, 12 February 1915
50. Ibid., 14 February 1915
51. Ibid., 15 February 1915
52. Richards diary, 15 February 1915
53. Hayward diary, 17 February 1915
54. Ibid., 18 February 1915
55. Ibid., 19 February 1915
56. Richards diary, 19 February 1915
57. Hayward diary, 21 February 1915
58. Priestley, Antarctic Adventure
59. Hayward diary, 23 February, 1915
60. Ibid.
61. Ibid., 24 February 1915
62. Ibid., 25 February 1915
63. Ibid., 26 February 1915
64. Ibid., 28 February 1915
65. Ibid., 3 March 1915
66. Ibid., 6 March 1915
67. Ibid., 7 March 1915
* ‘Gone’ was a term used to describe a part of their body that was completely frozen.
† ‘evolution’ – a Navy term used for an event.
‡ ‘deg of frost’ means the degree of temperature below the freezing point of water. 82 deg of frost meant the air temperature was -50°F.
§ Ane: Aneroid barometer – an instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure. 29.62 meant the air pressure, measured in ‘inches of mercury’.
¶ Ther (sling): is the temperature using a sling thermometer. Before it was read the thermometer was briskly swung round at the end of a string about half a yard long. The swinging brought the thermometer in contact with a great volume of air, and it therefore gave the real temperature of the air. The reading that day of +2 meant thirty degrees below freezing; freezing being 32° Fahrenheit.
|| Castle Rock is located close to Hut Point.
** Cape Crozier is on the north side of Ross Island.
†† Abbreviations were commonly used – Cum for cumulus clouds, Cir for cirrus clouds.
‡‡ Is it worth the candle? – is it worth the effort?
§§ ‘Provi’, that is ‘Providence’, was a word Joyce used at times, as did Scott and others on expeditions of that era. There is no indication that Joyce was a religious man, and his references to Providence indicate that it was possibly a term he used for luck, or good fortune, rather than calling on God.
¶¶ 50 degrees below freezing point is -28°F, or -33°C.
|||| ‘unan.’ – unanimously
Chapter 6
‘I WENT ON BOARD TO FETCH A PLUM-DUFF PRESENTED BY THE COOK’
At Discovery hut
ON 12 MARCH the Aurora picked up Spencer-Smith, Richards, Stevens, Gaze, Ninnis and Hooke from Hut Point and the ship went north to Cape Evans.
The day before Hayward, Cope and Jack had arrived at Safety Camp, on the edge of the Barrier, only 20 miles from Hut Point. The sea-ice between the Barrier and Hut Point was not firm so Hayward’s party had to trek 5 miles through the hills, and he wrote a full description of their four-day march. Their trek, in bitterly cold conditions, was difficult and dangerous, and included camping one night on a ledge, on a steep slope of Observation Hill.
11 March 1915
Hayward:
On our arrival here we have found that all the sea-ice has gone out & we are unable therefore to get round to the Hut by that route. Jack & I skied 4 miles along Barrier Edge roped together hoping to find track across the Hills, but snow-storm coming up we were forced to return hurriedly.1
12 March 1915
Hayward:
Have decided when weather permits to travel parallel to the Barrier Edge to the foot of Observation Hill where Scott’s cross is erected & work south making the ascent at the first available point.
I have been 3 hours collecting every scrap of tobacco I could find amongst my personal gear, the net result after removing bits of biscuit, sleeping bag hairs &c &c was just about enough for one cigarette, however I enjoyed it more than any gold tipped, jewelled in every hole sort of thing, I ever smoked.2
13 March 1915
Hayward:
To-day has been a day crowded with incident not to mention danger & writing this now camped for the night I cannot help feeling thankful that we are safe.
We carried out the plan agreed upon yesterday but when within ¼ a
mile of Observation Hill we came upon enormous crevasses running parallel to the land (as opposite) & certain death to anybody attempting to cross them, this was a sad disappointment as of course it meant working inland out to get round them and eventually we had to travel 5 miles off our course for this purpose.
Close here we passed an enormous bunch of seals, thousands of them & I have no doubt this must have been their breeding ground.
After safely crossing 2 small cracks we pulled our sledge just up the incline & camped for lunch. Immediately after lunch we resumed operations re-stowed & loaded the sledge, putting our skis on it, the first effort hauled us 100 yards, when we were all blown, by sticking to it we reached a point ½ a mile up the gradient to this point being 1 foot in 5 think of it dragging a 410 lb sledge with us.
Anyway here it was absolutely impossible to proceed further in this way & relaying had to be resorted to, so having dumped half our stuff which by the way we had to stick firmly into the snow to prevent it rolling down the incline and had another shot & how we succeeded in getting the sledge up to the first ledge I do not know, this ledge was ¼ mile further off. Returning with the empty sledge for our remaining load, we had the utmost difficulty in controlling it, we were all very pleased when at last we succeeded in getting the 2nd half of our load safely up & camped for the night.
It might be interesting to give you some idea as to the temperature we have been experiencing, immediately on taking off my Burberry* blouse it freezes so hard that I can within ½ a minute hold it out by one (wristband) then if one touches metal with bare fingers all the skin is taken off & left attached to it.3
Shackleton's Heroes Page 12
