The Worst Journey in the World (91 page)

BRASH. Small ice fragments from a floe which is breaking up.

CLOUD. The commonest form of cloud, and also that typical of blizzard
conditions, was a uniform pall stretching all over the sky without
distinction. This was logged by us as
stratus
.
Cumulus
clouds are the
woolly billows, flat below and rounded on top, which are formed by local
ascending currents of air. They were rare in the south and only formed
over open water or mountains.
Cirrus
are the "mare's tails" and similar
wispy clouds which float high in the atmosphere. These and their allied
forms were common. Generally speaking, the clouds were due to
stratification of the air into layers rather than to ascending currents.

CRUSTS. Layers of snow in a snow-field with air space between them.

FINNESKO. Boots made entirely of fur, soles and all.

FROST SMOKE. Condensed water vapour which forms a mist over open sea in
cold weather.

ICE-FOOT. Fringes of ice which skirt many parts of the Antarctic shores:
many of them have been formed by sea-spray.

NUNATAK. An island of land in a snow-field. Buckley Island is the top of
a mountain sticking out of the top of the Beardmore Glacier.

PIEDMONT. Stretches of ancient ice which remain along the Antarctic
coasts.

PRAM. A Norwegian skiff, with a spoon bow.

SAENNEGRASS. A kind of Norwegian hay used as packing in finnesko.

SASTRUGI are the furrows or irregularities formed on a snow plain by the
wind. They may be a foot or more deep and as hard and as slippery as
ice: they may be quite soft: they may appear as great inverted pudding
bowls: they may be hard knots covered with soft powdery snow.

SLEDGING DISTANCES. All miles are geographical miles unless otherwise
stated, 1 statute or English mile = 0.87 geographical mile: 1
geographical mile = 1.15 statute miles.

TANK. A canvas "hold-all" strapped to the sledge to contain food bags.

TIDE CRACK. A working crack between the land ice and the sea ice which
rises and falls with the tide.

WIND. Wind forces are logged according to the Beaufort scale, which is as
follows:

No. ... Description ... Mean velocity in miles per hour.
0 ... Calm ... 0
1 ... Light air ... 1
2 ... Light breeze ... 4
3 ... Gentle breeze ... 9
4 ... Moderate breeze ... 14
5 ... Fresh breeze ... 20
6 ... Strong breeze ... 26
7 ... Moderate gale ... 33
8 ... Fresh gale ... 42
9 ... Strong gale ... 51
10 ... Whole gale ... 62
11 ... Storm ... 75
12 ... Hurricane ... 92

[1]
Cook,
A Voyage towards the South Pole
, Introduction.

[2]
Cook,
A Voyage towards the South Pole
, vol. i. p. 23.

[3]
Ibid. p. 28.

[4]
Cook,
A Voyage towards the South Pole
, vol. i. p. 268.

[5]
Ibid. p. 275.

[6]
Scott,
Voyage of the Discovery
, vol. i. p. 9.

[7]
Ibid. p. 14.

[8]
Ross,
Voyage to the Southern Seas
, vol. i. p. 117.

[9]
Ross,
Voyage to the Southern Seas
, vol. i. pp. 216-218.

[10]
Ross,
Voyage to the Southern Seas
, vol. i. pp. 244-245.

[11]
Leonard Huxley,
Life of Sir J. D. Hooker
, vol. ii. p. 443.

[12]
Ibid. p. 441.

[13]
Nansen,
Farthest North
, vol. i. p. 52.

[14]
Nansen,
Farthest North
, vol. ii. pp. 19-20.

[15]
Scott,
Voyage of the Discovery
, vol. i. p. 229.

[16]
Scott,
Voyage of the Discovery
, vol. i. p. vii.

[17]
Ibid. p. 273.

[18]
See Scott,
Voyage of the Discovery
, vol. ii. pp. 5, 6, 490.

[19]
Wilson,
Nat. Ant. Exp., 1901-1904
, "Zoology," Part ii. pp.
8-9.

[20]
Wilson,
Nat. Ant. Exp., 1901-1904
, "Zoology," Part ii. p.
31.

[21]
Scott,
Voyage of the Discovery
, vol. ii. p. 327.

[22]
Scott,
The Voyage of the Discovery
, vol. ii. pp. 347-348.

[23]
Priestley,
Antarctic Adventure
, pp. 232-233.

[24]
Priestley,
Antarctic Adventure
, pp. 236-237.

[25]
Priestley,
Antarctic Adventure
, p. 243.

[26]
Atkinson has no doubt that the symptoms of the Northern Party
were those of early scurvy. Conditions of temperature in the
igloo allowed of decomposition occurring in seal meat. Fresh
seal meat brought in from outside reduced the scurvy
symptoms.

[27]
This tenderness of gums and tongue is additional evidence of
scurvy.

[28]
Published by Fisher Unwin, 1914.

[29]
Vol. ii., Narrative of the Northern Party.

[30]
A. A. Milne.

[31]
Ross,
Voyage to the Southern Seas
, vol. i. pp. 22-24.

[32]
Bowers' letter.

[33]
Vide
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. ii. pp. 454-456.

[34]
"Atmospheric Electricity over Ocean," by G. C. Simpson and
C. S. Wright,
Pro. Roy. Soc.
A, vol. 85, 1911.

[35]
See
B.A.E., 1910, Nat. Hist. Report, vol. i. No. 3, p. 117.

[36]
Ibid. p. 111.

[37]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 6.

[38]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 7.

[39]
Ibid. p. 9.

[40]
Ibid. p. 8.

[41]
Wilson in the
Discovery Natural History Reports.

[42]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. pp. 11-12.

[43]
Wilson's Journal.

[44]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. pp. 14-15.

[45]
Raper,
Practice of Navigation
, article 547.

[46]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 13.

[47]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. pp. 21-22.

[48]
Ibid. pp. 24-25.

[49]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 2.

[50]
My own diary.

[51]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 25.

[52]
Ibid. p. 60.

[53]
Wilson.

[54]
Wilson,
Discovery Natural History Report
, vol. ii. part ii.
p. 38.

[55]
Wilson's Journal.

[56]
Levick,
Antarctic Penguins
, p. 83.

[57]
Levick,
Antarctic Penguins
, p. 85.

[58]
Wilson in the
Discovery Natural History Report, Zoology
,
vol. ii. part i. p. 44.

[59]
Discovery Natural History Report, Zoology
, vol. ii. part i.
Wilson, pp. 32, 33.

[60]
Ibid. p. 33.

[61]
Antarctic Manual: Seals
, by Barrett-Hamilton, p. 216.

[62]
Ibid. p. 217.

[63]
Discovery Natural History Report, Zoology
, vol. ii. part i.
by E. A. Wilson, p. 36.

[64]
Discovery Natural History Report, Zoology
, vol. ii. part i.
by E. A. Wilson.

[65]
Terra Nova Natural History Report, Cetacea
, vol. i. No. 3,
p. 111, by Lillie.

[66]
Terra Nova Natural History Report, Zoology
, vol. i. No. 3,
Cetacea
, by D. G. Lillie, p. 114.

[67]
Discovery Natural History Report, Zoology
, vol. ii. part i.
pp. 3-4, by E. A. Wilson.

[68]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 22.

[69]
Wilson's Journal,
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 613.

[70]
Minute plants.

[71]
Killer whale.

[72]
Officers' mess on the Terra Nova.

[73]
Griffith Taylor in
South Polar Times
.

[74]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 35.

[75]
Ibid. p. 39.

[76]
Ibid. pp. 54, 55.

[77]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 56.

[78]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. pp. 73-75.

[79]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 62.

[80]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. pp. 68, 69.

[81]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 77.

[82]
Thomson.

[83]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 80.

[84]
Wilson's Journal,
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. pp. 613,
614.

[85]
See Introduction, p. xxxv.

[86]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 87.

[87]
The extreme south point of the island, a dozen miles farther,
on one of whose minor headlands, Hut Point, stood the
Discovery hut.

[88]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. pp. 88-90.

[89]
Ibid. p. 91.

[90]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. pp. 52-93.

[91]
Ibid. pp. 92-94.

[92]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 111.

[93]
Ibid. p. 94.

[94]
Ibid. p. 100.

[95]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 230.

[96]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. pp. 113-114.

[97]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. pp. 94-96.

[98]
Ibid. p. 106.

[99]
My own diary.

[100]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 111.

[101]
My own diary.

[102]
The South Pole
, vol. i. p. 278.

[103]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 128.

[104]
Ibid. p. 129.

[105]
My own diary.

[106]
See Introduction, p. xxxiv.

[107]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 122.

[108]
Ibid. pp. 122-123.

[109]
Priestley's diary.

[110]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 127.

[111]
Ibid. p. 134.

[112]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 136.

[113]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 138.

[114]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. pp. 180-81.

[115]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. pp. 187-188. Scott
started for the Pole on November 1, 1911. Amundsen started
on September 8, 1911, but had to turn back owing to low
temperatures; he started again on October 19.

[116]
Priestley's diary.

[117]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 185.

[118]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. pp. 190-191.

[119]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. pp. 191-192.

[120]
Wilson camped with the two dog-teams on the land, and in the
morning saw us floating on the ice-floes through his
field-glasses. He made his way along the peninsula until he
could descend on to the Barrier, where he joined Scott.

[121]
I think he was stiff after standing so many hours.—A. C.-G.

[122]
Scott,
The Voyage of the Discovery
, vol. i. p. 350.

[123]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 201.

[124]
Bowers.

[125]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 207.

[126]
My own diary.

[127]
Bowers.

[128]
My own diary.

[129]
Bowers' letter.

[130]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 604.

[131]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. pp. 599, 602, 607.

[132]
Scott,
Voyage of the Discovery
, vol. ii. p. 53.

[133]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. p. 295.

[134]
Scott's Last Expedition
, vol. i. pp. 432-433.

[135]
Ibid. p. 597.