Shackleton's Heroes (10 page)
Read Shackleton's Heroes Online
Authors: Wilson McOrist
1.
Debenham,
In the Antarctic
2.
Richards,
The Ross Sea Shore Party
3.
Debenham,
In the Antarctic
4.
Mackintosh diary, 1 February 1915
5.
Spencer-Smith diary, 2 February 1915
6.
Wild diary, 2 February 1915
7.
Debenham,
In the Antarctic
8.
Spencer-Smith diary, 3 February 1915
9.
Mackintosh diary, 3 February 1915
10.
Ibid., 4 February 1915
11.
Spencer-Smith diary, 5 February 1915
12.
Ibid., 6 February 1915
13.
Mackintosh diary, 7 February 1915
14.
Ibid., 8 February 1915
15.
Ibid., 9 February 1915
16.
Ibid., 10 February 1915
17.
Spencer-Smith diary, 10 February 1915
18.
Ibid., 11 February 1915
19.
Ibid., 14 February 1915
20.
Ibid., 15 February 1915
21.
Ibid., 16 February 1915
22.
Ibid., 17 February 1915
23.
Hayward diary, 18 February 1915
24.
Spencer-Smith diary, 22 February 1915
25.
Richards,
The Ross Sea Shore Party
26.
Mackintosh diary, 20 February 1915
27.
Priestley,
Antarctic Adventure
28.
Joyce field diary, 11 February 1915
29.
Wild diary, 14 February 1915
30.
Mackintosh diary, 15 February 1915
31.
Ibid., 17 February 1915
32.
Ibid.,18 February 1915
33.
Ibid., 19 February 1915
34.
Ibid., 20 February 1915
35.
Wild diary, 19 February 1915
36.
Joyce field diary, 21â23 February 1915
37.
Mackintosh diary, 21 February 1915
38.
Ibid., 22 February 1915
T
HE BLIZZARD EASED
after two days and on 24 February Mackintosh, Joyce and Wild set off north from the 80°S depot. They were 140 miles from Hut Point; however, another blizzard soon stopped their progress.
Mackintosh:
The poor dogs are feeling hungry; they eat their harness or any straps that may be about. We can give them nothing beyond their allowance of three biscuits each as we are on bare rations ourselves; but I feel sure they require more than one pound a day. That is what they are getting now.
The dogs are feeling the pangs of hunger and devouring everything they see. They will eat anything except rope. If we had not wasted those three days we might have been able to give them a good feed at the Bluff depot, but now that is impossible. It is snowing hard.
Wild is having a weekly clean of pots & pans. We sit & talk over all kinds of subjects.
Reading âRiddle of the Sands' by Erskine Childers. Finished âSoldiers of Fortune'.
1
Tent bound by the blizzard, Mackintosh wrote up extensive diary notes. Joyce commented on the state of the dogs, blaming Mackintosh. However, the dogs were trained by Wild and Ninnis when at Hobart, so the problem may have been their diet. The diaries do not indicate who was responsible for allocating the food ration for the dogs.
Mackintosh:
Whilst lying here thought I would write up a description of the scene.
Our time is principally occupied by reading which we do holding the book as close as possible to the bag so the hands won't get cold for of course we are lying down as sitting up we would get too cold. While we read sleep often comes on then we toggle up, the book falls in the bag and we doze off; it's remarkable the amount of sleep that is put in this business.
Outside is a scene of chaos. The snow, whirling along with the wind, obliterates everything. The dogs are completely buried, and only a mound with a ski sticking up indicates where the sledge is. We long to be off, but the howl of the wind shows how impossible it is. The sleeping-bags are damp and sticky, so are our clothes. Fortunately, the temperature is fairly high and they do not freeze.
One of the dogs gave a bark and Joyce went out to investigate. He found that Major, feeling hungry, had dragged his way to Joyce's ski and eaten off the leather binding. Another dog has eaten all his harness, canvas, rope, leather, brass, and rivets. I am afraid the dogs will not pull through; they all look thin and these blizzards do not improve matters.
We have a week's provisions and one hundred and sixty miles to travel. It appears that we will have to get another week's provisions from the depot, but don't wish it. Will see what luck to-morrow. Of course, at Bluff we can replenish.
2
Food was the predominate issue.
We have been discussing how some nice chops, sauce, chipped potatoes and coffee would âgo down'. Meal and what we would eat take up a deal of our time â mine is frizzled bacon and eggs, porridge, toast and butter, coffee which must be in plenty.
Got out of bag, looked out, found horizon visible, had tea and biscuits and hope to make a start. A little later. It never happened! Scarcely had I written this when I looked out and found snow falling. All obscured. What a place, still, what else can we expect? It's all happened before and we knew it would be so before we came so we must grin and bear it.
3
Joyce:
Trekking out of the question, the blizzard a fury. We are now on ½ rations. Dug out the dogs. My heart aches for them.
I don't know how I refrain from giving Mack a bit of my mind, will have to keep that in until we get back. We will have enough to think about before we get to Hut Point.
Fed the dogs they seem very weak. The temp is very high. Our sleeping bags are wet through, clothes in a similar condition.
4
Joyce's diary note was again on the dogs â he could not understand their sleeping behaviour:
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
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 â 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 âgone'.
*
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 âIt'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
The blizzard finally broke and they started their trek back.
Joyce: âI 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 â 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
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 â lunch hour â 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 â 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 âbites' 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
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 âBy 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 âWhy 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
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 â no enviable position â 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
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