The Worst Journey in the World (26 page)

This crevasse incident, followed by the news of the loss of the ponies,
was a blow to Scott, and his mind was also uneasy about Atkinson and
Crean, whom we had left here, and who had disappeared leaving no record.
Nor was the report from the Terra Nova here, so we judged that the
missing men and the report must be at Hut Point. After three or four
hours' sleep, and a cup of tea and a biscuit, we started man-hauling with
cooker and sleeping-bags: the former because we were to have our good
meal at the hut, the latter in case we were hung up. Travelling over the
sea-ice as far as the Gap, from which we saw that the open sea reached to
Hut Point, we made our way into the hut, and there was a mystery. The
accumulations of ice which we found in it were dug away: there was a
notice outside dated February 8 saying, "mail for Captain Scott is in bag
inside south door." We hunted everywhere, but there was no Atkinson nor
Crean, nor mail, nor the things which the ship was to have brought. All
kinds of wild theories were advanced. By the presence of a fresh onion
and some bread it was clear that the ship's party had been there, but the
rest was utterly vague. It was then suggested that we were expected back
about this time, and that the missing men had been sledging to Safety
Camp round Cape Armitage on the very shaky sea-ice while we passed them
as we came through the Gap. Sledge tracks were found leading on to the
sea-ice: we started back in doubt. Scott was terribly anxious, we were
all tired, and the depôt never seemed to come nearer. It was not until we
were some two hundred yards from it that we saw the extra tent. "Thank
God!" I heard Scott mutter under his breath, and "I believe you were even
more anxious than I was, Bill."

Atkinson had the ship's mail, signed by Campbell. "Every incident of the
day," Scott wrote, "pales before the startling contents of the mail-bag
which Atkinson gave me—a letter from Campbell setting out his doings and
the finding of Amundsen established in the Bay of Whales."

Strongly as Scott tries to word this, it quite fails to convey how he
felt, and how we all felt more or less, in spite of the warning conveyed
in the telegram from Madeira to Melbourne. For an hour or so we were
furiously angry, and were possessed with an insane sense that we must go
straight to the Bay of Whales and have it out with Amundsen and his
men in some undefined fashion or other there and then. Such a mood could
not and did not bear a moment's reflection; but it was natural enough. We
had just paid the first instalment of the heart-breaking labour of making
a path to the Pole; and we felt, however unreasonably, that we had earned
the first right of way. Our sense of co-operation and solidarity had been
wrought up to an extraordinary pitch; and we had so completely forgotten
the spirit of competition that its sudden intrusion jarred frightfully. I
do not defend our burst of rage—for such it was—I simply record it as
an integral human part of my narrative. It passed harmlessly; and Scott's
account proceeds as follows:

"One thing only fixes itself definitely in my mind. The proper, as well
as the wiser, course for us is to proceed exactly as though this had not
happened. To go forward and do our best for the honour of the country
without fear or panic. There is no doubt that Amundsen's plan is a very
serious menace to ours. He has a shorter distance to the Pole by 60
miles—I never thought he could have got so many dogs safely to the ice.
His plan of running them seems excellent. But, above and beyond all, he
can start his journey early in the season—an impossible condition with
ponies."
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We read that on leaving McMurdo Sound the Terra Nova coasted eastward
along the Barrier face, with Campbell and his men who were to be landed
on King Edward VII.'s Land if possible. She surveyed the face of the
Barrier as she went from Cape Crozier to longitude 170° W., whence she
shaped a course direct for Cape Colbeck, which Priestley states in his
diary "is only 200 feet high according to our measurement and looks
uncommonly like common or garden Barrier."

Here they met heavy pack, and were forced to return without finding any
place where the cliff was low enough to allow Campbell and his five men
to land. They coasted back, making for an inlet known as Balloon Bight.
Priestley tells the story:

"February 1, 1911. Our trip has not been without outcome after all, and
all our doubts about wintering here or in South Victoria Land have been
settled in a startling fashion. About ten o'clock we steamed into a deep
bay in the Barrier which proved to be Shackleton's Bay of Whales, and our
observations in the last expedition
(Shackleton's)
have been wonderfully
upheld. Our present sights and angles Pennell tells me are almost a
duplicate of those that we got. Every one has always been doubtful about
the Bay of Whales we reported, but now the matter has been set at rest
finally. There is no doubt now that Balloon Bight and the neighbouring
bay marked on the Discovery's chart have become merged into one, and
further, that since that period the resulting bight has broken back
considerably more: indeed it seems to have altered a good deal on its
western border since our visit to it in 1908. Otherwise it is the same,
the same deceptive caves and shadows having from a distance the
appearance of rock exposures, the same pressure-ridged cliffs, the same
undulations behind, the same expanse of sea-ice and even the same crowds
of whales. I hope that before we leave we shall find it possible to
survey the bight, but that depends on the weather. It was satisfactory to
find all our observations coming right and everybody backing up
Shackleton, and I turned in last night feeling quite cheerful and
believing that there would be a really good chance of the Eastern Party
finding a home on the Barrier here—our last chance of surveying King
Edward's Land.

"However, man proposes but God disposes, and I was waked up by Lillie at
one o'clock this morning by the astounding news that there was a ship in
the bay at anchor to the sea-ice. All was confusion on board for a few
minutes, everybody rushing up on deck with cameras and clothes.

"It was no false alarm, there she was within a few yards of us, and what
is more, those of us who had read Nansen's books recognized the Fram.

"She is rigged with fore and aft sails and as she has petrol engines she
has no funnel. Soon afterwards the men forward declared that they sighted
a hut on the Barrier, and the more excited declared that there was a
party coming out to meet us. Campbell, Levick, and myself were therefore
lowered over the side of the ship while she was being made fast, and set
off on ski towards the dark spot we could see. This proved to be only an
abandoned depôt and we returned to the ship, where Campbell, who in his
anxiety to be the first to meet them had left us beginners far behind,
had opened up conversation with the night watchman.

"He informed us that there were only three men on board and that the
remainder of them were settling Amundsen in winter quarters about as far
from the depôt as the depôt was from the ship. Amundsen is coming to
visit the Fram to-morrow, and we are staying long enough to allow Pennell
and Campbell to interview him. They reached the pack about January 6 and
were through it by the 12th, so they did not have as bad a time as we
did. They inform us that Amundsen does not intend to make his descent on
the Pole until next year. This is encouraging as it means a fair race for
the next summer, though the news we are bringing to them will keep the
Western
(Main)
Party on tenterhooks of excitement all the winter.

"Our plans have of course been decided for us. We cannot according to
etiquette trench on their winter quarters, but must return to McMurdo
Sound and then go off towards Robertson Bay and settle ourselves as best
we can. While we are waiting events we have not been by any means idle.
Rennick got a sounding, 180 fathoms, and the crew have killed three
seals, including one beautiful silver crab-eater, Lillie has secured
water samples at 50, 100, 150, and 170 fathoms and has had a haul with
the plankton net, and Williams is endeavouring to fit up the trawl for a
haul to-morrow if we get time and appropriate weather. I got a roll of
films and gave the roll to Drake to take home and get developed in
Christchurch. There are photographs of the Fram, of the Fram and Terra
Nova together, of their depôt, and of the ice-cliffs and the sea-ice
which is decidedly overcut, the thick snow having been removed in places
by the swell until a ledge several yards wide is lying just submerged.

"It has been calm all the night with the snow falling at intervals.

"February 4, 1911. I was waked at seven o'clock this morning by Levick
demanding the loan of my camera. It appears that Amundsen, Johansen and
six men had arrived at the Fram this morning at about 6.30 A.M., and had
come over to interview Campbell and Pennell. Campbell, Pennell and Levick
then went back to breakfast with them and stayed until nearly noon when
they returned telling us to expect Amundsen, Nilsen, the first lieutenant
of the Fram who is taking her back after landing the party, and a young
lieutenant whose name none of us caught, to lunch. After lunch a party of
officers and men went to see the rest of the Norwegians, see over the
ship, and say good-bye. I did not go and was able to show Lieut. Jensen
over the ship in the meantime. About three o'clock we let go the ice
anchor and parted from the Fram, steaming along the ice very slowly in
order to dredge from 190 to 300 fathoms. The haul was successful, about
two bucketsful of the muddy bottom being secured, and a still more
valuable catch from the biological point of view were two long crinoids,
about a couple of feet in length and in fairly perfect condition, which
had become attached to the outside of the net.

"We are now standing along the Barrier continuing our survey to the bight
we first struck, after which we sail to Cape Evans, stay a day there and
then make up North to try and effect a lodgment on the coast beyond Cape
Adare.

"During the morning Browning and I examined the ice-face forming the
eastern face of the bight. We found it to be made of clear ice of grain
from a quarter to three-eighths of an inch in size and full of bubbles.

"On the way there I took a couple of photographs of some of Amundsen's
dogs, and when we were there I got a few of crevasses and caves in the
Barrier face.

"Well! we have left the Norwegians and our thoughts are full, too full,
of them at present. The impression they have left with me is that of a
set of men of distinctive personality, hard, and evidently inured to
hardship, good goers and pleasant and good-humoured. All these qualities
combine to make them very dangerous rivals, but even did one want not to,
one cannot help liking them individually in spite of the rivalry.

"One thing I have particularly noticed is the way in which they are
refraining from getting information from us which might be useful to
them. We have news which will make the Western Party as uneasy as
ourselves and the world will watch with interest a race for the Pole next
year, a race which may go any way, and may be decided by luck or by
dogged energy and perseverance on either side.

"The Norwegians are in dangerous winter quarters, for the ice is breaking
out rapidly from the Bay of Whales which they believe to be
Borchgrevink's Bight, and they are camped directly in front of a distinct
line of weakness. On the other hand if they get through the winter safely
(and they are aware of their danger), they have unlimited dogs, the
energy of a nation as northern as ourselves, and experience with
snow-travelling that could be beaten by no collection of men in the
world.

"There remains the Beardmore Glacier. Can their dogs face it, and if so,
who will get there first. One thing I feel and that is that our Southern
Party will go far before they permit themselves to be beaten by any one,
and I think that two parties are very likely to reach the Pole next year,
but God only knows which will get there first.

"A few of the things we learnt about the Norwegians are as follows:

"The engines of the Fram occupy only half the size of our wardroom, the
petrol tanks have not needed replenishment since they left Norway, and
their propeller can be lifted by three men. They kept fresh potatoes from
Norway to the Barrier. (Some of them must surely be renegade Irishmen.)
They have each a separate cabin 'tween-decks in the Fram, and are very
comfortable. They are using for transporting their stores to the hut,
eight teams of five dogs each, working every alternate day.

"They intend to use for the Polar Journey teams of ten dogs, each team
working one day out of two. Their dogs stop at a whistle, and if they
make a break they can be stopped by overturning the sledge, empty or full
as the case may be. They are nine in the shore party and ten in the ship.
Their ship is going back to Buenos Ayres with Nilsen in charge and during
the winter is to encircle the world, sounding all the way.

"They are not starting on the dash South this year and do not yet know
whether they will lay depôts this year. They have 116 dogs and ten of
these are bitches, so that they can rear pups, and have done so very
successfully on the way out. The Fram acts like a cork in the sea; she
rolls tremendously but does not ship water, and during the voyage they
have had the dogs running loose about the decks. There is a lot more
miscellaneous information, but I may remember it more coherently a little
later when the main impressions of the rencontre are a little more
faint."
^[116]

It will be seen that Priestley missed three points. First, he was left
with a conventional but very erroneous impression of Amundsen as a blunt
Norwegian sailor, not in the least an intellectual. Second, he thought
Amundsen had camped on the ice and not on terra firma. Third, he thought
Amundsen was going to the Pole by the old route over the Beardmore. The
truth was that Amundsen was an explorer of the markedly intellectual
type, rather Jewish than Scandinavian, who had proved his sagacity by
discovering solid footing for the winter by pure judgment. For the
moment, let it be confessed, we all underrated Amundsen, and could not
shake off the feeling that he had stolen a march on us.