The Worst Journey in the World (18 page)

But no whale which we saw in the pack, and we often saw it elsewhere
also, was so imposing as the great Blue whale, some of which were
possibly more than 100 feet long. "We used to watch this huge whale come
to the surface again and again to blow, at intervals of thirty to forty
seconds, and from the fact that at each of four or five appearances no
vestige of a dorsal fin was visible, we began to wonder whether we had
not found the Right whale that was once reported to be so abundant in
Ross Sea. Again and again the spout went up into the cold air, a white
twelve-foot column of condensed moisture, followed by a smooth broad
back, and yet no fin. For some time we remained uncertain as to its
identity, till at last in sounding for a longer disappearance and a
greater depth than usual, the hinder third of the enormous beast appeared
above the surface for the first time with its little angular dorsal fin,
at once dispelling any doubts we might have had."
^[67]

It is supposed to be the largest mammal that has ever existed.
^[68]
As it
comes up to blow, "one sees first a small dark hump appear and then
immediately a jet of grey fog squirted upwards fifteen to eighteen feet,
gradually spreading as it rises vertically into the frosty air. I have
been nearly in these blows once or twice and had the moisture in my face
with a sickening smell of shrimpy oil. Then the hump elongates and up
rolls an immense blue-grey or blackish-grey round back with a faint ridge
along the top, on which presently appears a small hook-like dorsal fin,
and then the whole sinks and disappears."
^[69]

To the biologist the pack is of absorbing interest. If you want to see
life, naked and unashamed, study the struggles of this ice-world, from
the diatom in the ice-floe to the big killer whale; each stage essential
to the life of the stage above, and living on the stage below:

THE PROTOPLASMIC CYCLE

Big floes have little floes all around about 'em,
And all the yellow diatoms
^[70]
couldn't do without 'em.
Forty million shrimplets feed upon the latter,
And
they
make the penguin and the seals and whales
Much fatter.

Along comes the Orca
^[71]
and kills these down below,
While up above the Afterguard
^[72]
attack them on the floe:
And if a sailor tumbles in and stoves the mushy pack in,
He's crumpled up between the floes, and so they get
Their
whack in.

Then there's no doubt he soon becomes a Patent Fertilizer,
Invigorating diatoms, although they're none the wiser,
So the protoplasm passes on its never-ceasing round,
Like a huge recurring decimal ... to which no
End is found.
^[73]

We were early on the scene compared with previous expeditions, but I do
not suppose this alone can explain the extremely heavy ice conditions we
met. Possibly we were too far east. Our progress was very slow, and often
we were hung up for days at a time, motionless and immovable, the pack
all close about us. Patience and always more patience! "From the masthead
one can see a few patches of open water in different directions, but the
main outlook is the same scene of desolate hummocky pack."
^[74]
And again:
"We have scarcely moved all day, but bergs which have become quite old
friends are on the move, and one has approached and almost circled
us."
^[75]

And then without warning and reason, as far as we could see, it would
open out again, and broad black leads and lakes would appear where there
had been only white snow and ice before, and we would make just a few
more miles, and sometimes we would raise steam only to suffer further
disappointment. Generally speaking, a dark black sky means open water,
and this is known as an open-water sky; high lights in the sky mean ice,
and this is known as ice-blink.

The changes were as sudden as they were unexpected. Thus early in the
morning of Christmas Eve, about a fortnight after we had entered the
pack, "we have come into a region of where the open water exceeds the
ice; the former lies in great irregular pools three or four miles or more
across and connecting with many leads. The latter—and the fact is
puzzling—still contain floes of enormous dimensions; we have just passed
one which is at least two miles in diameter...." And then, "Alas! alas!
at 7 A.M. this morning we were brought up with a solid sheet of pack
extending in all directions, save that from which we had come."
^[76]

Delay was always irksome to Scott. As time went on this waiting in the
pack became almost intolerable. He began to think we might have to winter
in the pack. And all the time our scanty supply of coal was being eaten
up, until it was said that Campbell's party would never be taken to King
Edward VII.'s Land. Scott found decisions to bank fires, to raise steam
or to let fires out, most difficult at this time. "If one lets fires out
it means a dead loss of over two tons, when the boiler has to be heated
again. But this two tons would only cover a day under banked fires, so
that for anything longer than twenty-four hours it is economy to put the
fires out. At each stoppage one is called upon to decide whether it is to
be for more or less than twenty-four hours."
^[77]
Certainly England should
have an oil-driven ship for polar work.

The Terra Nova proved a wonderfully fine ice ship. Bowers' middle watch
especially became famous for the way in which he put the ship at the ice,
and more than once Scott was alarmed by the great shock and collisions
which were the result: I have seen him hurry up from his cabin to put a
stop to it! But Bowers never hurt the ship, and she gallantly responded
to the calls made upon her. Sometimes it was a matter of forcing two
floes apart, at others of charging and breaking one. Often we went again
and again at some stubborn bit, backing and charging alternately, as well
as the space behind us would allow. If sufficient momentum was gained the
ship rode upon the thicker floes, rising up upon it and pressing it down
beneath her, until suddenly, perhaps when its nearest edge was almost
amidships, the weight became too great and the ice split beneath us. At
other times a tiny crack, no larger than a vein, would run shivering from
our bows, which widened and widened until the whole ship passed through
without difficulty. Always when below one heard the grumbling of the ice
as it passed along the side. But it was slow work, and hard on the
engines. There were days when we never moved at all.

"I can imagine few things more trying to the patience than the long
wasted days of waiting. Exasperating as it is to see the tons of coal
melting away with the smallest mileage to our credit, one has at least
the satisfaction of active fighting and the hope of better fortune. To
wait idly is the worst of conditions. You can imagine how often and how
restlessly we climbed to the crow's nest and studied the outlook. And
strangely enough there was generally some change to note. A water lead
would mysteriously open up a few miles away, or the place where it had
been would as mysteriously close. Huge icebergs crept silently towards or
past us, and continually we were observing these formidable objects with
range finder and compass to determine the relative movement, sometimes
with misgivings as to our ability to clear them. Under steam the change
of conditions was even more marked. Sometimes we would enter a lead of
open water and proceed for a mile or two without hindrance; sometimes we
would come to big sheets of thin ice which broke easily as our iron-shod
prow struck them, and sometimes even a thin sheet would resist all our
attempts to break it; sometimes we would push big floes with comparative
ease and sometimes a small floe would bar our passage with such obstinacy
that one would almost believe it possessed of an evil spirit; sometimes
we passed through acres of sludgy sodden ice which hissed as it swept
along the side, and sometimes the hissing ceased seemingly without rhyme
or reason, and we found our screw churning the sea without any effect.

"Thus the steaming days passed away in an ever-changing environment and
are remembered as an unceasing struggle.

"The ship behaved splendidly—no other ship, not even the Discovery,
would have come through so well. Certainly the Nimrod would never have
reached the south water had she been caught in such pack. As a result I
have grown strangely attached to the Terra Nova. As she bumped the floes
with mighty shocks, crushing and grinding a way through some, twisting
and turning to avoid others, she seemed like a living thing fighting a
great fight. If only she had more economical engines she would be
suitable in all respects.

"Once or twice we got among floes which stood 7 or 8 feet above water,
with hummocks and pinnacles as high as 25 feet. The ship could have stood
no chance had such floes pressed against her, and at first we were a
little alarmed in such situations. But familiarity breeds contempt;
there never was any pressure in the heavy ice, and I'm inclined to think
there never would be.

"The weather changed frequently during our journey through the pack. The
wind blew strong from the west and from the east; the sky was often
darkly overcast; we had snowstorms, flaky snow, and even light rain. In
all such circumstances we were better placed in the pack than outside of
it. The foulest weather could do us little harm. During quite a large
percentage of days, however, we had bright sunshine, which, even with the
temperature well below freezing, made everything look bright and
cheerful. The sun also brought us wonderful cloud effects, marvellously
delicate tints of sky, cloud and ice, such effects as one might travel
far to see. In spite of our impatience we would not willingly have missed
many of the beautiful scenes which our sojourn in the pack afforded us.
Ponting and Wilson have been busy catching these effects, but no art can
reproduce such colours as the deep blue of the icebergs."
^[78]

As a rule the officer of the watch conned from the crow's nest, shouting
his orders to the steersman direct, and to the engine-room through the
midshipman of the watch, who stood upon the bridge. It is thrilling work
to the officer in charge, who not only has to face the immediate problem
of what floes he dare and what he dare not charge, but also to puzzle out
the best course for the future,—but I expect he soon gets sick of it.

About this time Bowers made a fancy sketch of the Terra Nova hitting an
enormous piece of ice. The masts are all whipped forward, and from the
crow's nest is shot first the officer of the watch, followed by cigarette
ends and empty cocoa mugs, and lastly the hay with which the floor was
covered. Upon the forecastle stands Farmer Hayseed (Oates) chewing a
straw with the greatest composure, and waiting until the hay shall fall
at his feet, at which time he will feed it to his ponies. This crow's
nest, which was a barrel lashed to the top of the mainmast, to which
entrance was gained by a hinged trap-door, shielded the occupant from
most of the wind. I am not sure that the steersman did not have the most
uninviting job, but hot cocoa is a most comforting drink and there was
always plenty to be had.

Rennick was busy sounding. The depths varied from 1804 to at least 3890
fathoms, and the bottom generally showed volcanic deposits. Our line of
soundings showed the transition from the ocean depths to the continental
shelf. A series of temperatures was gained by Nelson by means of
reversible thermometers down to 3891 metres.

The winch upon which the sounding line was wound was worked by hand on
this cruise. It was worked mechanically afterwards, and of course this
ought always to be done if possible. Just now it was a wearisome
business, especially when we lowered a water-sample bottle one day to
1800 metres, spent hours in winding it up and found it still open when it
arrived at the surface! Water samples were also obtained at the various
depths. Lillie and Nelson were both busy tow-netting for plankton with
full-speed, Apstein, Nansen, 24-and 180-mesh nets.

I don't think many at home had a more pleasant Christmas Day than we. It
was beautifully calm with the pack all round. At 10 we had church with
lots of Christmas hymns, and then decorated the ward-room with all our
sledging flags. These flags are carried by officers on Arctic
expeditions, and are formed of the St. George's Cross with a continuation
ending in a swallow-tail in the heraldic colours to which the individual
is entitled, and upon this is embroidered his crest. The men forrard had
their Christmas dinner of fresh mutton at mid-day; there was plenty of
penguin for them, but curiously enough they did not think it good enough
for a Christmas dinner. The ward-room ate penguin in the evening, and
after the toast of 'absent friends' we began to sing, and twice round the
table everybody had to contribute a song. Ponting's banjo songs were a
great success, also Oates's 'The Vly on the tu-urmuts.' Meares sang "a
little song about our Expedition, and many of the members that Southward
would go," of his own composition. The general result was that the
watches were all over the place that night. At 4 A.M. Day whispered in
my ear that there was nothing to do, and Pennell promised to call me if
there was—so I remembered no more until past six.

And Crean's rabbit gave birth to seventeen little ones, and it was said
that Crean had already given away twenty-two.

We had stopped and banked fires against an immense composite floe on the
evening of Christmas Eve. How we watched the little changes in the ice
and the wind, and scanned the horizon for those black patches which meant
open water ahead. But always there was that same white sky to the south
of us. And then one day there came the shadow of movement on the sea, the
faintest crush on the brash ice, the whisper of great disturbances afar
off. It settled again: our hopes were dashed to the ground. Then came the
wind. It was so thick that we could not see far; but even in our
restricted field changes were in progress.