 CHAPTER V. LAYING THE DEPOTES, PART II FEB. 27. When continued with fury the whole night, expecting every minute to have the tent blown off of us. Up five o'clock found it so thick one could not get out of the tent. We are still very weak, but think we can do the twelve miles to our comrades in one long march. If only it would clear up for just one day we would not mind. This is the longest continuous blizzard I have ever been in. We have not had a travelling day for eleven days, and the amount of snow that has fallen is astonishing. Later, had a meal ten thirty and decided to get underway in spite of the wind and snow. Underway twelve o'clock. We have three weeks food on sledge, about a hundred and sixty pounds, and one weeks dog food fifty pounds. The whole weight, all told, about six hundred pounds, and also taking an extra sledge to bring back Captain Macintosh. To our surprise we could not shift the sledges. After half an hour we got about ten yards. We turned the sledge up and scraped runners. It went a little better after. I am afraid our weakness is much more than we think. Heyward is in rather a bad way about his knees, which are giving him trouble and are very painful. We will give him a good massage when we camp. The dogs have lost all heart in pulling. They seem to think that going south again is no good to them. They seem to just jog along, and one cannot do more. I don't suppose our pace is more than one half or three quarters of a mile per hour. The surface is rotten, snow up to one's knees, and what with wind and drift a very bad outlook. Lunched about four thirty. Carried on until eleven twenty when we camped. It was very dark making our dinner, but soon got through the process. Then Richard spent an hour or so in rubbing Heyward with methylated spirits, which did him a world of good. If he were to break up now I should not know what to do. Turned in about one thirty. It is calm now, but overcast with light falling snow. February twenty-eight, Monday. Up at six o'clock can just see a little skyline. Underway at nine o'clock. The reason of delay had to mend finisco, which are in a very dilapidated condition. I got my feet badly frostbitten yesterday. About eleven o'clock came on to snow, everything overcast. We ought to reach our poor boys in three or four hours, but fate wills otherwise as it came on again to blizzard force about eleven forty-five. Camped at noon. I think the party must be within a very short distance, but we cannot go on as we might pass them, and as we have not got any position to go on except compass. Later kept on blizzarding all afternoon and night. February twenty-nine, Tuesday. Up at five o'clock, still very thick. It cleared up a little to the south about eight o'clock when Richard sighted something black to the north of us, but could not see properly what it was. After looking round sighted camp to the south, so we got under way as soon as possible. Got up to camp about twelve forty-five when Wild came out to meet us. We gave him a cheer as we fully expected to find all down. He said he had taken a little exercise every day. They had not any food left. The skipper then came out of the tent, very weak, and as much as he could do to walk. He said, I want to thank you for saving our lives. I told Wild to go and give them a feed and not to eat too much at first in case of reaction, as I am going to get under way as soon as they have had a feed. So we had lunch, and the skipper went ahead to get some exercise, and after an hour's digging out got everything ready for leaving. When we lifted Smith we found he was in a great hole which he had melted through. This party had been in one camp for twelve days. We got under way and picked the skipper up. He had fallen down two weeks to walk. We put him on the sledge we had brought out, and we camped about eight o'clock. I think we did about three miles, rather good with two men on the sledges and hayward in a very bad way. I don't think there has been a party, either north or south, in such straits, three men down and three of us very weak, but the dogs seem to have a new life since we turned north. I think they realize they are homeward bound. I am glad we kept them, even when we were starving. I knew they would have to come in at the finish. We now have to look forward to southerly winds for help, which I think we shall get at this time of year. Let us hope the temperature will keep up, as our sleeping bags are wet through and worn out, and all our clothes full of holes, and finish go in a dilapidated condition. In fact, one would not be out on a cold day in civilization with the rotten clothes we have on. Turned in, eleven o'clock, wet through but in a better frame of mind. Hope to try and reach the depot tomorrow, even if we have to march over time. March one, Wednesday. Turned out usual time, a good south wind, but worse luck, heavy drift. Set sail, put the skipper on rear sledge. The temperature has gone down, and it is very cold. Bluff in sight. We are making good progress, doing a good mileage before lunch. After lunch, a little stronger wind. Hayward still hanging on to sledge. Skipper fell off twice. Reached depot five forty-five. When camping found that we had dropped our tent poles, so Richards went back a little way and spotted them through the binoculars about half a mile off, and brought them back. Hayward and I were very cold by that time, the drift very bad. Moral, see everything properly secured. We soon had our tent up, cooked our dinner in the dark, and turned in about twelve o'clock. March second, Thursday. Up as usual, strong south-west wind with heavy drift. Took two weeks' provisions from the depot. I think that will last us through as there is another depot about fifty miles north from here. I am taking the outside course on account of this crevasses, and one cannot take too many chances with two men on sledges and one crippled. Underway about ten o'clock, lunched noon in heavy drift, took an hour to get the tents up, et cetera, the wind being so heavy. Found sledges buried under snow after lunch, took some time to get underway. Wind and drift very heavy, set half sail on the first sledge, and underway about three thirty. The going is perfect, sometimes sledges overtaking us. Carried on until eight o'clock, doing an excellent journey for the day, distance about eleven or twelve miles. Gives one a bit of heart to carry on like this, only hope we can do this all the way. Had to cook our meals in the dark, but still we did not mind. Turned in about eleven o'clock, pleased with ourselves, although we were wet through with snow as it got through all the holes in our clothes, and the sleeping bags are worse than awful. March three, Friday. Up the usual time, it has been blowing a raging blizzard all night. Found to our disgust, utterly impossible to carry on. Another few hours of agony in these rotten bags. Later, blizzard much heavier, amused myself mending finisco and berberies, mitts and socks. Had the primus while this operation was in force, hoping for a fine day tomorrow. March four, Saturday. Up five twenty. Still blizzarding, but have decided to get underway as we will have to try and travel through everything, as Hayward is getting worse, and one doesn't know who is the next. No mistake it is scurvy, and the only possible cure is fresh food. I sincerely hope the ship is in. If not, we shall get over the hills by Castle Rock, which is rather difficult and will delay another couple of days. Smith is still cheerful. He has hardly moved for weeks, and he has to have everything done for him. Got underway nine thirty-five. It took some two hours to dig out dogs and sledges as they were completely buried. It is the same every morning now. Set sail going along pretty fair. Hayward gets on sledge now and again. Lunched as usual, sledges got buried again at lunchtime. It takes some time to camp now, and in this drift it is awful. In the afternoon wind eased a bit, and drift went down. Found it very hard pulling with a third man on sledge as Hayward has been on all the afternoon. Wind veered two points to south, so we had a fair wind. An hour before we camped, arabists and terrors showing up, a welcome sight. Only hope wind will continue. Drift is the worst thing to contend with as it gets into our clothes, which are wet through now. Camped eight o'clock. Cooked in the dark and turned in our wet sleeping bags about ten o'clock. Distance about eight or nine miles. March five, Sunday. Turned out six-fifteen. Overslept a little, very tired after yesterday. Sun shining brightly in no wind. It seemed strange last night, no flapping of tent in one's ears. About eight-thirty came in to drift again. Underway nine-twenty, both sails set. Sledge going hard, especially in soft places. If Hayward had not broken down, we should not feel the weight so much. Lunch twelve-forty-five. Underway at three. Wind and drift very heavy. A good job it is blowing some, or else we should have to relay. All land obscured. Distance about ten or eleven miles, a very good performance. Camped seven-ten in the dark. Patience not in the best of trim. I hope to get in, bar accidents in four days. March six, Monday. Underway nine-twenty. Picked up thirty-two mile depot eleven o'clock. Going with a fair wind in the forenoon, which eased somewhat after lunch and so caused very heavy work in pulling. It seems to me we shall have to depot someone if the wind eases at all. Distance during day about eight miles. March seven, Tuesday. Underway nine o'clock. Although we turn out at five, it seems a long time to get under way. There is double as much work to do now with our invalids. This is the calmest day we have had for weeks. The sun is shining and all land in sight. It is very hard going. Had a little breeze about eleven o'clock, set sail, but worked still very, very heavy. Hayward and skipper going on ahead with sticks. Very slow pace, but it will buck them up and do them good. If one could only get some fresh food. About eleven o'clock decided to camp and overhaul sledges and depot all gear except what is actually required. Underway again at two, but surface being so sticky did not make any difference. After a consultation with the skipper, decided to stay behind in tent with three weeks provisions whilst we push on with Smith and Hayward. It seems hard, only about thirty miles away, and yet cannot get any assistance. Our gear is absolutely rotten. No sleep last night, shivering all night in wet bags. I wonder what will be the outcome of it all after our struggle. Trust in providence. Distance about three and a half miles. March eight, Wednesday. Underway nine, twenty. Wish the skipper good-bye, took Smith and Hayward on. Had a fair wind, going pretty good. Hoped to arrive in Hut Point in four days. Lunched at number two depot. Distance about four and a half miles. Underway as usual after lunch, headwind, going very heavy. Carried on until six thirty. Distance about eight or nine miles. March nine, Thursday. Had a very bad night, cold intense. Temperature down to negative twenty-nine degrees all night. At four a.m. Spencer Smith called out that he was feeling queer. Wild spoke to him. Then at five forty-five Richard suddenly said, I think he is gone. Poor Smith, for forty days in pain he had been dragged on the sledge, but never grumbled or complained. He had a strenuous time in his wet bag, and the jolting of the sledge on a very weak heart was not too good for him. Sometimes when we lifted him on the sledge he would nearly faint, but during the whole time he never complained. Wild looked after him from the start. We buried him in his bag at nine o'clock on the following position, Arab a hundred and eighty-four degrees, Obs Hill one hundred and forty-nine degrees. We made a cross of bamboos and built a mound and a car with particulars. After that got underway with Hayward on sledge. Found going very hard as we had a northerly wind in our faces, with the temperature below twenty degrees. What with frostbites, etc., we are all suffering. Even the dogs seem like giving in. They do not seem to take any interest in their work. We have been out much too long, and nothing ahead to cheer us up but cold, cheerless hut. We did about two-and-a-half miles in the forenoon, Hayward toddling ahead every time we had a spell. During lunch the wind veered to the south with drift, just right to set sail. We carried on with Hayward on sledge and camped in the dark about eight o'clock. Turned in at ten, weary, worn, and sad, hoping to reach depot to-morrow. March ten, Friday. Turned out as usual. Beam wind, going pretty fair, very cold. Came into very soft snow about three, arrived at safety camp five o'clock. Got to edge of ice barrier, found passage over in a bay full of seals. Dogs got very excited, had a job to keep them away. By the glass it looks clear to Cape Armitage, which is four-and-a-half miles away. Arrived there eight o'clock, very dark and a bad light. Found open water. Turned to climb slopes against a strong northeasterly breeze with drift. Found a place about a mile away, but we were so done up that it took until eleven-thirty to get gear up. This slope was about one-hundred-and-fifty yards up, and every three paces we had to stop and get breath. Eventually camped and turned in about two o'clock. I think this is the worst day I ever spent. What with the disappointment of not getting around the point, and the long day and the thought of getting hayward over the slopes, it is not very entertaining for sleep. March eleven, Saturday. Up at seven o'clock. Took binoculars and went over the slope to look around the Cape. To my surprise found the open water and pack of the Cape only extended for about a mile. Came down and gave the boys the good news. I think it would take another two hard days to get over the hills, and we are too weak to do much of that, as I am afraid of another collapsing. Richards and Wilde climbed up to look at the back of the bay and found the ice secure. Got under way ten-thirty, went round the Cape and found ice, very slushy, but continued on. No turning now got into hard ice shortly after, arriving, eventually, at Hutt Point about three o'clock. It seemed strange after our adventures to arrive back at the old Hutt. This place has been standing ever since we built it in 1901, and has been the starting point of a few expeditions since. When we were coming down the bay, I could fancy the discovery there when Scott arrived from his farthest south in 1902, the ship decorated rainbow fashion, and Lieutenant Armitage giving out the news that Captain Scott had got to eighty-two degrees seventeen minutes south. We went wild that day, but now our homecoming is quite different. Hutt, half full of snow through a window being left open and drift getting in, but we soon got it ship-shape and hayward in. I had the fire going and plenty of vegetables on as there was a fair supply of dried vegetables. Then after we had a feed, Richards and Wilde went down the bay and killed a couple of seals. We gave a good menu of seal meat at night, and we turned in about eleven o'clock. Full. Too full, in fact. As there is no news here of the ship, and we cannot see her, we surmise she has gone down with all hands. I cannot see there is any chance of her being a float or she would be here. I don't know how the skipper will take it. March twelve, Sunday. Heard groans proceeding from the sleeping bags all night, all hands suffering from overeating. Hayward not very well. Turned out eight o'clock. Good breakfast, porridge, seal, vegetables and coffee, more like a banquet to us. After breakfast, Richards and Wilde killed a couple of seals, whilst I made the hut a bit comfy. Hayward can hardly move. All of us in a very bad state, but we must keep up exercise. My ankles and knees badly swollen, gums prominent. Wilde very black around joints and gums very black. Richards about the best off. After digging hut out I prepared food, which I think will keep the scurvy down. The dogs have lost their lassitude and are quite frisky, except Oscar, who is suffering from overeating. After a strenuous day's work, turned in ten o'clock. March thirteen, Monday. Turned out seven o'clock. Carried on much the same as yesterday, bringing in seal blubber and meat. Preparing for departure tomorrow, hope everyone will be all right. Made new dog harness and prepared sledges. In afternoon cooked sufficient seal meat for our journey out and back, and same for dogs. Turned in ten o'clock, feeling much better. March fourteen, Tuesday. A beautiful day. Underway after lunch. One would think, looking at our party, that we were the most ragged lot one could meet in a day's march. All our clothes past mending, as black as niggers is. A sort of crowd one would run away from. Going pretty good. As soon as we rounded Cape Armitage, a dead-head wind with a temperature of negative eighteen degrees Fahrenheit, so we are not in for a pleasant time. Arrived at safety camp six o'clock. Turned in eight thirty after getting everything ready. March fifteen, Wednesday. Underway as usual, nice calm day. Had a very cold night, going down to negative thirty degrees Fahrenheit. Going along at a rattling good rate, in spite of our swollen limbs we did about fifteen miles. Very cold when we camped, temperature negative twenty degrees Fahrenheit. Turned in nine o'clock. March twelve, Thursday. Up before the sun, four forty-five a.m. Had a very cold night, not much sleep. Underway early, going good. Past Smith's grave ten forty-five a.m. Had lunch at Depot. Saw Skipper's camp just after, and looking through glass found him outside the tent, much to the joy of all hands, as we expected him to be down. Picked him up four fifteen p.m. Broke the news of Smith's death and no ship. I gave him the date of the seventeenth to look out for our returning, so he had a surprise. We struck his camp and went north for about a mile and camped. We gave the Skipper a banquet of seal, vegetables, and blackcurrant jam, the feed of his life. He seems in a bad way. I hope to get him in in three days, and I think fresh food will improve him. We turned in eight o'clock, distance done during day sixteen miles. March seventeen, Friday. Up at five o'clock, underway eight a.m. Skipper feeling much better after feeding him up. Lunched a few yards past Smith's grave. Had a good afternoon, going fair. Distance about sixteen miles. Very cold night, temperature, negative thirty degrees Fahrenheit. What with wet bags and clothes rotten? March eighteen, Saturday. Turned out at five o'clock. Had rather a cold night. Temperature, negative twenty-nine degrees Fahrenheit. Surface very good. The Skipper walked for a little way, which did him good. Lunched as usual. Paced good after lunch going good. Arrived at safety camp four ten p.m. To our delight found the sea ice in the same condition and arrived at hut point seven o'clock. Found Hayward still about the same. Set to, made a good dinner, and all hands seemed in the best of spirits. Now we have arrived and got the party in. It remains to themselves to get better. Plenty of exercise and fresh food ought to do miracles. We have been out one hundred and sixty days and done a distance of fifteen hundred sixty-one miles. A good record. I think the irony of fate was poor Smith going under a day before we got in. I think we shall all soon be well. Turned in ten thirty p.m. Before turning in, Skipper shook us by the hand with great emotion, thanking us for saving his life. Richards, summarizing the work of the parties, says that the journeys made between September one and March eighteen, a period of one hundred and sixty days, totaled fifteen hundred sixty-one miles. The main journey from hut point to Mount Hope in return was eight hundred and thirty miles. The equipment, he adds, was old at the commencement of the season, and this told severely at the later stages of the journey. Three primus lamps gave out on the journeys, and the old tent brought back by one of the last parties showed rents several feet in length. They tempered the traveling in the long blizzards. Finisco were also in pieces at the end, and time had frequently to be lost through repairs to clothing becoming imperative. This account would not be complete without some mention of the unselfish service rendered to wild to his two ill tentmates from the time he remained behind the long blizzard till the death of Spencer Smith. He had two helpless men to attend to, and despite his own condition he was ever ready, to minister to their wants. This, in a temperature of negative thirty degrees Fahrenheit, at times was no light task. Without the aid of our faithful friends, Oscar, Conn, Gunner, and Tauser, the party could never have arrived back. These dogs, from November five, accompanying the sludging parties, and although the pace was often very slow, they adapted themselves well to it. Their endurance was fine. For three whole days at one time they had not a scrap of food, and this after a period on short rations. Though they were feeble towards the end of the trip, their condition usually was good, and those who returned with them will ever remember the remarkable service they rendered. The first indication of anything wrong with the general health of the party occurred about latitude eighty-two degrees thirty minutes south, when Spencer Smith complained of stiffness in the legs and discoloration. He attributed this to holes in his windproof clothing. At latitude eighty-three degrees south, when he gave way, it was thought that the rest would do him good. About the end of January, Captain McIntosh showed very serious signs of lameness. At this time his party had been absent from Hutt Point, and consequently from fresh food about three months. On the journey back Spencer Smith gradually became weaker, and for some time before the end was in a very weak condition indeed. Captain McIntosh, by great efforts, managed to keep his feet until the long blizzard was encountered. Here it was that Hayward was first found to be affected with the scurvy, his knees being stiff. In his case the disease took him off his feet very suddenly, apparently causing the muscles of his legs to contract till they could be straightened hardly more than a right angle. He had slight touches in the joints of the arms. In the cases of Joyce, Wilde, and Richards, joints became stiff and black in the rear, but generally weakness was the worst symptom experienced. Captain McIntosh's legs looked the worst in the party. The five men who were now at Hutt Point found quickly that some of the winter mutts must be spent there. They had no news of the ship and were justified in assuming that she had not returned to the sound, since if she had some message would have been awaiting them at Hutt Point, if not farther south. The sea ice had broken and gone north within a mile of the point, and the party must wait until the new ice became firm as far as Cape Evans. Plenty of seal meat was available, as well as dried vegetables, and the fresh food improved the condition of the patients very rapidly. Richards massaged the swollen joints and found that this treatment helped a good deal. Before the end of March McIntosh and Hayward the worst sufferers were able to take exercise. By the second week of April McIntosh was free of pain, though the backs of his legs were still discolored. A tally of the stores at the Hutt showed that on a reasonable allowance the supply would last until the middle of June. Richards and Wilde killed many seals so that there was no scarcity of meat and blubber. A few penguins were also secured. The sole means of cooking food and heating the Hutt was an improvised stove of brick covered with two sheets of iron. This had been used by the former expedition. The stove emitted dense smoke and often made the Hutt very uncomfortable, while at the same time it covered the men in all their gear with clinging and penetrating soot. Cleanliness was out of the question and this increased the desire of the men to get across to Cape Evans. During April the sea froze in calm weather, but winds took the ice out again. On April 23rd Joyce walked four miles to the north, partly on young ice two inches thick, and he thought then that the party might be able to reach Cape Evans within a few days. But a prolonged blizzard took the ice right out up to the point so that the open water extended at the end of April right up to the foot of Vinnie's Hill. Then came a spell of calm weather and during the first week of May the sea ice formed rapidly. The men made several short trips over it to the north. The sun had disappeared below the horizon in the middle of April and would not appear again for over four months. The disaster that followed is described by both Richards and Joyce. And now a most regrettable incident occurred, wrote Richards. On the morning of May 8th before breakfast Captain McIntosh asked Joyce what he thought of his going to Cape Evans with Hayward. Captain McIntosh considered the ice quite safe and the fine morning, no doubt, tempted him to exchange the quarters at the hut for the greater comfort and better food at Cape Evans. McIntosh naturally would be anxious to know if the men at Cape Evans were well and had had any news of the ship. He was strongly urged at the time not to take the risk as it was pointed out that the ice, although firm, was very young and that a blizzard was almost sure to take part of it out to sea. However, at about one p.m. with the weather apparently changing for the worse McIntosh and Hayward left after promising to turn back if the weather grew worse. The last sight the watching party on the hill gained of them was when they were about a mile away, close to shore, but apparently making straight for Cape Evans. At three p.m. a moderate blizzard was raging which later increased in fury and the party in the hut had many misgivings for the safety of the absent men. On May 10, the first day possible, the three men left behind walked over new ice to the north to try and discover some traces as to the fate of the others. The footmarks were seen clearly enough raised up on the ice and the track was followed for about two miles in a direction leading to Cape Evans. Here they ended abruptly and in the dim light a wide stretch of water, very lightly covered with ice was seen as far as the eye could reach. It was at once evident that part of the ice over which they had traveled had gone out to sea. The whole party had intended, if the weather had held good, to have attempted the passage across with the full moon about May 16. On the date on which McIntosh and Hayward left it was impossible that a sledge should travel the distance over the sea ice owing to the sticky nature of the surface. Hence their decision to go alone and leave the others to follow with the sledge and equipment when the surface should improve. That they had actually been lost was learned only on July 15 on which date the party from Hutt Point arrived at Cape Evans. The entry in Joyce's diary shows that he had had very strong forebodings of disaster when McIntosh and Hayward left. He warned them not to go as the ice was still thin and the weather was uncertain. McIntosh seems to have believed that he and Hayward, traveling light could get across to Cape Evans quickly before the weather broke and if the blizzard had come two or three hours later they probably would have been safe. The two men carried no sleeping bags and only a small meal of chocolate and seal meat. The weather during June was persistently bad. No move had been possible on May 16, the sea ice being out and Joyce decided to wait until the next full moon. When this came the weather was boisterous and so it was not until the full moon of July that the journey to Cape Evans was made. During June and July seals got very scarce and the supply of blubber ran short. Meals consisted of little but seal meat and porridge. The small stock of salt was exhausted but the men procured two and a half pounds by boiling down snow taken from the bottom layer next to the sea ice. The dogs recovered condition rapidly and did some hunting on their own account among the seals. The party started for Cape Evans on July 15. They had expected to take advantage of the full moon but by a strange chance they had chosen the period of an eclipse and the moon was shadowed most of the time they were crossing the sea ice. The ice was firm and the three men reached Cape Evans without difficulty. They found Stevens, Cope, Gaze and Jack at the Cape Evans hut and learned that nothing had been seen of Captain McIntosh and Hayward. The conclusion that these men had perished was accepted reluctantly. The party at the base consisted now of Stevens, Cope, Joyce, Richards, Gaze, Wild and Jack. The men settled down now to wait for relief. When opportunity offered, Joyce led search parties to look for the bodies or any trace of the missing men and he subsequently handed me the following report. I begged to report that the following steps were taken to try and discover the bodies of Captain McIntosh and Mr. Hayward. After our parties returned to the hut at Cape Evans July 15, 1916 it was learned that Captain McIntosh and Mr. Hayward had not arrived and being aware of the conditions under which they were last seen all the members of the wintering party were absolutely convinced that these two men were totally lost and dead that they could not have lived for more than a few hours at the outside in the blizzard that they had encountered they being entirely unprovided with equipment of any sort. There was the barest chance that after the return of the sun some trace of their bodies might be found so during the spring, that is, August and September 1916 and in the summer, December and January 1916 to 1917 the following searches were carried out. One, Wild and I thoroughly searched an accessible island at the end of August 1916. Two, various parties in September searched along the shore to the vicinity of Turk's head. Three, in company with Mr. Wild and Gays I started from Hutt Point December 31, 1916 at 8 a.m. and a course was steered inshore as close as possible to the cliffs in order to search for any possible means of ascent. At a distance of half a mile from Hutt Point we passed a snow slope which I had already ascended in June 1916 three and a half miles farther on was another snow slope which ended in Blue Ice Glacier Slope which we found impossible to climb snow slope being formed by heavy winter snowfall. These were the only two places accessible distance on this day 10 miles, 1700, 10 yards covered. On January 1, search was continued round the south side of Glacier Tongue from the base towards the seaward end. There was much heavy pressure it was impossible to reach the summit owing to the wide crack. Distance covered four miles, 100 yards. On January 2, thick weather caused party to lay up. On 3rd, Glacier was further examined and several slopes formed by snow led to the top of Glacier but crevasses between slope and the tongue prevented crossing. The party then proceeded round the tongue to Tent Island which was also searched a complete tour of the island being made. It was decided to make for Cape Evans as thick weather was approaching. We arrived at 8 p.m. Distance 8 miles, 490 yards. I remain etc. Ernest E. Joyce to Sir Ernest Shackleton CVO Commander ITAE. In September Richards was forced to lay up at the hut owing to a strained heart due presumably to stress of work on the sledging journeys. Early in October a party consisting of Joyce, Gays, and Wild spent several days at Cape Roids where they skinned specimens. They sledged stores back to Cape Evans in case it should be found necessary to remain there over another winter. In September Joyce, Gays, and Wild went out to Spencer Smith's grave with a wooden cross which they erected firmly. Relief arrived on January 10, 1917 but it is necessary now to turn back to the events of May, 1915 when the aurora was driven from her moorings off Cape Evans. End of Chapter 15 Part 2 Chapter 16 Part 1 of South This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Anna Simon South, the story of Shackleton's last expedition 1914 to 1917 by Sir Ernest Shackleton Chapter 16 Part 1 The Aurora's Drift After Macintosh left the aurora on January 25, 1915 Stenhouse kept the ship with difficulty off Tend Island. The ice anchors would not hold owing to the continual breaking away of the pack and he found it necessary much of the time to steam slow ahead against the flows. The third sledging party and their cope left the ship on the afternoon of the 31st with the motor tractor towing two sledges and disappeared towards Hut Point. Cope's party returned to the ship on February 2 and left again on February 5 after a delay caused by the loose condition of the ice. Two days later, after more trouble with drifting flows Stenhouse proceeded to Cape Evans where he took a line of soundings for the winter quarters. During the next month the aurora occupied various positions in the neighbourhood of Cape Evans. No secure moorings were available. The ship had to keep clear of threatening flows dodge growlers and drifting bergs and find shelter from the blizzards. A sudden shift of wind on February 24 when the ship was sheltering the lee of Glacier Tong calls her to be jammed hard against the low ice off the glacier but no damage was done. Early in March Stenhouse sent moorings ashore at Cape Evans and on March 11 he proceeded to Hut Point where he dropped anchor in Discovery Bay. Here he landed stores amounting to about two months full rations for twelve men and embarked Spencer Smith, Stevens, Hook, Richards, Ninnis and Gaze with two dogs. He returned to Cape Evans that evening. We had a bad time and we were sculling about the sound first endeavouring to make Hut Point to land provisions and then looking for winter quarters in the neighbourhood of Glacier Tong roads Stenhouse afterwards. The ice kept breaking away in small flows and we were apparently no nearer to anywhere than where the slutches left. We were frustrated in every move. The ship broke away from the fast ice in blizzards and then we went dodging about the sound from the Ross Island side to the western pack and then looking and clearing flows and growlers and heavy drift when we could see nothing our compasses, unreliable and the ships shorthanded. In that homeless time I kept watch and watch with the second officer and was hard pressed to know what to do. Was ever ship in such predicament. To the northward of Cape Roids was Taboo as also was the coast south of Glacier Tong. In a small stretch of ice bound coast we had to find winter quarters. Ice lingered on and all this time we could find nowhere to drop anchor but had to keep steam handy for emergencies. Once I tried the north bay of Cape Evans as it apparently was the only ice-free spot. I called all hands and making up a boat's crew with one of the firemen sent the weather away with the second officer in charge to sound. No sooner had the boat left ship than the wind freshened from the northward and large bergs and growlers setting into the bay made the place untenable. The anchorage I eventually selected seemed the best available and here we are drifting with all plans upset and we ought to be lying in winter quarters. A heavy gale came up on March 12 and the aurora then moored off Cape Evans, dragged her anchor and drifted out of the bay. She went northward past Cape Barn and Cape Roids in a driving mist with a heavy storm-sea running. This gale was a particularly heavy one. The ship and gear were covered with ice owing to the freezing of spray and Stenhouse had anxious hours amid the heavy ice-encumbered waters before the gale moderated. The young ice, which was continually forming in the very low temperature helped to reduce the sea as soon as the gale moderated and the aurora got back to Cape Evans on the evening of the 13th. Ice was forming in the bay and on the morning of the 14th Stenhouse took the ship into position for winter moorings. He got three steel haulsers out and made fast to the shore anchors. These haulsers were hoof tight and the aurora rested then with her stern to the shore in seven fathoms. Two more wires were taken ashore the next day. Young ice was forming around the ship and under the influence of wind and tide this ice began early to put severe strains upon the moorings. Stenhouse had the fires drawn and the boiler blown down on the 20th and the engineer reported at that time that the bunkers contained still 118 tons of coal. The ice broke away between Cape Evans and Cape Barn on the 23rd and pressure around the ship shattered the bay ice and placed heavy strains on the stern moorings. The young ice, about four inches thick went out eventually and left a lead along the shore. The ship had set in towards the shore owing to the pressure and the stern was now in four and a half fathoms. Stenhouse tightened the moorings and ran out an extra wire to the shore anchor. The nature of the ice movements is illustrated by a few extracts from the log. March 27th, 5 p.m. Ice broke away from shore and started to go out. 8 p.m. Light southerly airs. Fine, ice setting out to northwest. Heavy pressure of ice on starboard size 8 strain on moorings. 10 p.m. Ice clear of ship. March 28th New ice forming over bay. 3 a.m. Ice which went out last watch set in towards bay. 5 a.m. Ice coming in and overriding newly formed bay ice. Heavy pressure on port side of ship. Wires frozen into ice. 8 a.m. 5 p.m. New ice formed since morning cleared from bay. Except area on port side of ship and stretching a beam and a head for about 200 yards which is held by bytes of wire. New ice forming. March 29th, 1.30 p.m. New ice going out. 2 p.m. Hands on flow on port quarter clearing wires. Stern in three fathoms. Ice breaking from shore and influence of southeast wind. 2 starboard quarter wires parted. All bytes of stern wires frozen in ice. Chain taking wait. 2 p.m. Ice opened. Leaving ice in bay in line from Cape to Landward of Glacier. 8 p.m. Ice breaking from shore and influence of southeast wind. 2 starboard quarter wires parted. All bytes of stern wires frozen in ice. Chain taking wait. 2 starboard quarter wire parted. 8 p.m. Fresh wind. Ship holding ice in bay. Ice in sound wind driven to northwest. April 17th, 1.00 a.m. Pressure increased and wind shifted to northwest. Ice continued to override and press into shore until 5 o'clock. During this time pressure into bay was very heavy. Movement of ice in straights causing noise like heavy serve. Pressure, bottom and the stern shallows very quickly. 10 p.m. Ice moving out of bay to westward. Heavy strain on after moorings and cables which are cutting the flow. 10 p.m. Stenhouse continued to nurse his moorings against the onslaughts of the ice during the rest of April and the early days of May. The breakaway from the shore came suddenly and unexpectedly on the evening of May 6th. May 6th, 1915. Fine morning with light breezes from east-southeast. 3.30 p.m. Ice nearly finished, sent hands ashore for sledge load. 4.00 p.m. Wind freshening with blizzardy appearance of sky. 8.00 p.m. Heavy strain on after moorings. 9.45 p.m. The ice parted from the shore. All moorings parted. Most fascinating to listen to waves and chain breaking. These I saw the ice astern breaking up and the shore receding. I called all hands and clapped relieving tackles. Four-inch Manila Loft tackles onto the cables on the four part of the windlass. The boson had rushed along with this hurricane lamp and shouted, She's away with it! He's a good fellow and very conscientious. I ordered steam on main engines and the engine room starved with hook and ninnis turned two. It was laid up with a broken rib. As the ship in the solid flow set to the northwest, the cables rattled and tore at the horse pipes. Luckily the anchors, lying as they were on a strip sloping bottom came easily away without damage to windlass or horse pipes. Slowly as we disappeared into sound the light in the hut died away. At 11.30 p.m. the ice around us started to break up. The flows playing tattoo of the ship's sides. We were out in the sound and catching the full force of the wind. The moon broke through the clouds after midnight and showed us the pack stretching continuously to northward and about one mile to the south. As the pack from the southward came up and closed in on the ship the swell lessened and the banging of flows alongside eased a little. May 7.8 a.m. Wind east-southeast moderate gale with thick drift the ice around ship is packing up and forming ridges about two feet high. The ship is lying with head to the eastward Cape bird shown to northeast. When steam is raised I have hopes of getting back to the fast ice near the glacier tongue. Since we have been in winter quarters the ice has formed and held by the islands and land Cape Evans has remained north of the tongue. If we can return we should be able now to moor to the fast ice. The engineers are having great difficulty with the sea connections which are frozen. The main bow-down cock from which the boilers run up has been tapped and a screw plug put into it to allow of a hot iron rod being inserted to thaw out the ice between the cock and the ship's side about two feet of hard ice. 4.30 p.m. the hot iron has been successful. Donnelly, second engineer had the pleasure of stopping the first spurred of water through the pipe. He got it in the eye. Fires were lit in furnaces and water commenced to blow in the boiler. The first blow in our defence against the terrific forces of nature in the Antarctic. 8 p.m. The gale has freshened accompanied by thick drift. The aurora drifted helplessly throughout May 7th. On the morning of May 8th the weather cleared a little and the western mountains became indistinctly visible. Cape Bird could also be seen. The ship was moving northwards with the ice. The daylight was no more than a short twilight of about two hours duration. The boiler was being filled with ice which had to be lifted aboard, broken up, passed through a small porthole to a man inside and then carried to the manhole on top of the boiler. Stenhouse had the wireless aerial rigged during the afternoon and at 5 p.m. was informed that the watering of the boiler was complete. The wind freshened to a moderate southerly gale with thick drift in the night and this gale continued during the following day, the 9th. The engineer reported at noon that he had 40 pounds pressure in the boiler and was commencing the thawing of the auxiliary sea connection pump by means of a steam pipe. Cape Bird is the only land visible bearing northeast true about 8 miles distant roads Stenhouse on the afternoon of the 9th. So this is the end of our attempt to wintery McMurdo sound. Hard luck after four months buffeting the last seven weeks of which we nursed our moorings. Our present situation calls for increasing vigilance. It is five weeks to the middle of winter. There is no sun. The light is little and uncertain and we may expect many blizzards. We have no immediate water supply as only a small quantity of fresh ice was aboard when we broke drift. The aurora is fast in the pack and drifting God knows where. Well, there are prospects of a most interesting winter drift. We are all in good health except Grady whose rip is mending rapidly. We have good spirits and we will get through. But what of the poor beggars at Cape Evans and the Southern party? It is a dismal prospect for them. There are sufficient provisions at Cape Evans at point and I suppose Cape Roids but we have the remaining berberies clothing etc for next year's sledging still on board. I see little prospect of getting back anywhere in the sound. We are short of coal and held firmly in the ice. I hope she drifts quickly to the northeast. Then we can endeavour to push through the pack and make for New Zealand coal and return to the barrier eastward of Cape Crozier. This could be done I think in the early spring September. We must get back to aid the depot laying next season. A violent blizzard raged on May 10th and 11th. I never remember such wind force, said Stenhouse. It was difficult to get along the deck. The weather moderated on the 12th and a survey of the ship's position was possible. We are lying in a field of ice with our anchors and 75 fathoms of cable on each hanging at the bows. The aftermournings are frozen into the ice astern of us at Cape Evans. Previous to the date of our leaving our rinter berth four small wires had parted. When we broke away the chain two of the heavy four inch wires parted close to shore. The other wire went at the butts. The chain and two wires are still fast in the ice and will have to be dug out. This morning we cleared the ice around the cables but had to abandon the heaving in as the steam froze in the return pipes from the windlass exhaust and the joints had to be broken and the pipe thawed out. Hook was listening in from 8.30 p.m. to 12.30 a.m. for the Macquarie Island wireless station 1,340 miles away or the Bluff New Zealand station 1,860 miles away but had no luck. The anchors were hove in by dint of much effort on the 13th and 14th ice forming on the cable as it was hoisted through a hole cut in the flow. Both anchors had broken so the aurora had now one small catch anchor left aboard. The ship's position on May 14th was approximately 45 miles north 34 west of Cape Evans. In one week we have drifted 45 miles geographical. Most of this distance was covered during the first two days of the drift. We appear to be nearly stationary. What movement there is in the ice seems to be to the north west towards the ice bound coast. Hands who were after penguins yesterday reported much noise in the ice about one mile from the ship. I hope the flow around the ship is large enough to take its own pressure. We cannot expect much pressure from the south as McMurdo sound should soon be frozen over ice holding. North east winds would drive the pack in from the Ross Sea. I hope for the best. Plans for future development are ready but probably we'll be checked made it again. I took the anchors aboard. They are of no further use as separate anchors but they ornament the forecastle so we put them in their places. The supply of fresh water is a problem. The engineer turns steam from the boiler into the main water tank, starboard through a pipe leading from the main pipe to the tank top. The steam condenses before reaching the tank. I hope freezing does not burst the tank. A large tabular iceberg carved from the barrier is silhouetted against the twilight glow in the sky about 10 miles away. The sight of millions of tons of fresh ice is most tantalizing. It would be a week's journey to the berg and back over pack and pressure and probably we could bring enough ice to last two days. The record of the early months of the Aurora's long drift in the Ross Sea is not eventful. The galley condenser was rigged but the supply of fresh water remained a problem. The men collected fresh fallen snow when possible and hoped to get within reach of fresh ice. Hook and Ninnis worked hard at the wireless plant with the object of getting into touch with McCreary Island and possibly sending news of the ship's movements to Cape Evans. They got the wireless motor running and made many adjustments to the instruments and aerials but their efforts were not successful. Emperor Penguins approached the ship occasionally and the birds were captured whenever possible for the fresh meat they afforded. The Aurora was quite helpless in the grip of the ice and after the engine room bilges had been thawed and pumped out the boilers were blown down. The pressure had been raised to 60 pounds but there was no chance of moving the ship and the supply of coal was limited. The story of the Aurora's drift during the months can be told briefly by means of extracts from Stenhouse's logs. May 21st. Early this morning there appeared to be movements in the ice. The grating and grinding noise makes one feel the unimportance of men in circumstances like ours. Twilight, towards noon, showed several narrow open leads about two cables from ship and in all directions. Unable to get bearing but imagine that there is little ship's position as ship's head is same and western mountains appear the same. Hope all is well at Cape Evans and that the other parties have returned safely which we could relieve their anxiety. May 22nd. Obtained good bearings of Beaufort Island, Cape Ross and Dunlop Island which put the ship in a position 18 miles south 75 degrees east true from Cape Ross. Since the 14th when reliable bearings were last obtained we've drifted north west by north 7 miles. May 24th Blizzard from south southeast continued until 9 p.m. when it moderated and at 11.45 p.m. wind shifted to north west light with snow. Quite a lot of havoc has been caused during this blow and the ship has made much northing. In the morning the crack south the ship opened to about 3 feet at 2 p.m. felt heavy shock and the ship healed to port about 70 degrees. And ice had cracked from port gangway to north west and parted from ship from gangway along to stern. Crack extended from stern to south east. 7.35 p.m. Ice cracked from port four chains in line parallel to previous crack. The ice broke again between the cracks and drifted to north west for about 10 yards. The ice to southward then commenced the breakup causing heavy strain on ship and setting apparently north in large broken fields. Ship badly jammed in. 9.15 p.m. Ice closed in again round ship. Two heavy wind squalls with a short interval between followed by cessation of wind. We are in a labyrinth of large rectangular flows, some with our points pressing heavily against ship and high pressure ridges. May 25th. In middle watch felt pressure occasionally. Twilight showed a scene of chaos all around. One flow about 3 feet in thickness had appended driven under ship on port quarter. As far as can be seen there are heavy blocks of ice screwed up on end and the scene is like a graveyard. I think swell must have come up under ice from seaward, north east, McMurdo sound and broken the ice which afterwards started to move under the influence of the blizzard. Hardly think swell can come from the sound as the cracks were wending from north west to south east and also as the sound should be getting ice bound by now. If swell came from north east then there is open water not far away. I should like to know. I believe the raw sea is rarely entirely ice covered. Have bright moonlight now which accentuates everything. The beauty and loneliness of our surroundings and uselessness of ourselves while in this prison. So near to Cape Evans and yet we might as well be anywhere as here. Have made our sledging ration scales and crew our busy making harness and getting sledging equipment ready for emergencies. Temperature 30 degrees Fahrenheit. May 26th. If the ship is nipped in the ice the ship's company 18 hands will take to four sledges with one month's rations and make for nearest land. Six men in one sledge will endeavour to make Cape Evans via the western land butler point, hut point etc. The remaining 12 will come along with all possible speed but no forced marches. Killing and depoting penguins and seals for emergency retreats. If the ship remains here and makes no further drifter than north to what's later end of July light will be making. The sun returns August 23rd. The sea ice should be fairly safe and a party of three with one month's rations will proceed to Cape Evans. If the ice sets north and takes the ship clear of land we will proceed to New Zealand. Bunker, get extra officer and four volunteers, provisions etc. Push south with all speed to the barrier put party on to the barrier about two miles east of Cape Crozier and land all necessary stores and requirements. The ship will send off until able to reach Cape Evans. If necessary, party will depot all stores possible at corner camp and go on to Cape Evans. If worse has happened, my party will lay out the depot at the Beatmore for Shackleton. If the ship is released from the ice after September we must endeavour to reach Cape Evans before going north to Bunker. We have not enough coal to hang about the sound for many days. May 28th. By the position obtained by Meridian Altitude of Stars and Bering of Mount Melbourne we have drifted 36 miles north-east from last Bering's taken on 23rd instant. The most of this must have been during the Blizzard of the 24th. Mount Melbourne is 111 miles north of us and there is some doubt in my mind as to whether the peak which we can see is this mountain. In the evening had the football out on the ice by the light of a beautiful moon. The exercise and break from routine are splendid tonic. Ice noises sent all hands on board. June 1st. Thick hazy weather. In the afternoon a black streak appeared in the ice about a cable's length to the westward and stretching north and south. 8pm. The black line widened and showed long lane of open water. Apparently we are fast in a flow which has broken from the main field. With thick weather we are uncertain of our position and drift. It will be interesting to find out what this crack in the ice signifies. I am convinced that there is open water not far distant in the Ross Sea. Tonight Hook is trying to call up a Cape Evans. If the people at the hut have rigged the set which is left there they will hear all well from the Aurora. I hope they have. Aside the messages were not received. End of aside. June 8th. Made our latitude 75 59th south by altitude of Sirius. This is a very monotonous life but all hands appear to be happy and contented. Find that we are not too well off for meals and will have to cut rations a little. Grady is taking exercise now and should soon be well again. He seems very anxious to get to work again and is a good man. No wireless calls tonight as there is a temporary breakdown condenser jar broken. There is a very faint display of Aurora in northern sky. It comes and goes almost imperceptibly a most fascinating sight. The temperature is 20 degrees Fahrenheit. 52 degrees of frost is much too cold to allow one to stand for long. June 11th. Walked over to a very high pressure ridge about a quarter of a mile north northwest of the ship. In the dim light walking over the ice is far from being monotonous as it is almost impossible to see obstacles such as small snow to bridges which makes us wary and cautious. A dip in the sea would be the grand finale but there is little risk of this as the water freezes as soon as a lane opens in the ice. The pressure ridge is about 15 to 20 feet high for several hundred feet and the ice all about it is bent up in a most extraordinary manner. At 9pm hook cold Cape Evans all well Aurora etc. 10pm weather reports for 8pm sent to Wellington, New Zealand and Melbourne via Macquarie Island. Aside the dispatch of messages from the Aurora was continued but it was learned afterwards that none of them had been received by any station. End of aside. June 13th. The temperature in the charge room ranges from zero to a little above freezing point. This is a very disturbing factor in rates of the chronometers. 5 in number, 3 GMT and 2 CIT T which are kept in cases in a padded box each case covered by a piece of blanket and the box covered by a heavy coat. In any enclosed place where people pass their time the niches and places where new heat penetrates are covered with frozen breath. There will be a big thaw out when the temperature rises. June 14th. Mount Melbourne is bearing north 14 degrees west. True. Our approximate position is 40 miles east northeast of Northern Scurled Ice Tongue. At 9pm hook called Cape Evans and sent weather reports to Wellington and Melbourne via Macquarie Island. Hook and Ninnis on several evenings at about 11 o'clock have heard what happened to be faint messages but unreadable. There is a slight word to Macquarie Island of this in hopes that they would hear and increase the power. June 20th. During this last blow with its accompanying drift snow there has been much leakage of current from the aerial during the sending of reports. This is apparently due to induction caused by the snow accumulating on the insulators of the loft and thus rendering them useless and probably to increased inductive force of the current in a body of snow drift. Hook appears to be somewhat down-hearted over it and after discussing the matter gave me a written report on the non-success up to the present time of his endeavours to establish communication. He thinks that the proximity of the magnetic pole and aurora astralis might affect things. The radiation is good and sufficient for normal conditions. His suggestion to lead the down-lead wires out to the ahead and astern would increase scope but I cannot countenance it because of the state of ice and our two lofty poles. June 21st. Blowing gale from south-west throughout day but for short spell of westerly breeze about 5pm. Light drifted frequent intervals very hazy and consequently no land inside during short twilight. Very hard up for mitts and clothing. What litter we have on board I have put to one side for the people at the hut. Have given thumbs and instructions to turn crew to making pair mitts out of jager fleas for all hands forward. With strict economy we should make things spin out. Cannot help worrying over our people at the hut. Although worrying does no good one cannot do otherwise in this present impotent state. 11pm. Wind howling and whistling through rigging. Outside in glare of moon flying drift and expense of ice-field. Desolation. June 22nd. See the sun has reached the limit of his northern declination and now he will start to come south. Observed this day as a holiday and in the evening had hands aft drink to the health of the king and the expedition. All hands are happy but miss the others at Cape Evans. I pray to God we may soon be clear of this prison and in a position to help them. We can live now for sunline and activity. July 1st. The 1st of July, thank God the days pass quickly. Through all my waking hours one long thought of the people at Cape Evans but one must appear to be happy and take interest in the small happenings of ship-board. July 3rd. Rather hazy with very little light. Moderate west-northwest to south-west winds until noon when wind feared to south and freshened. No apparent change in ship's position. The berg is in the same bearing one point of the port quarter Mount Melbourne was hidden behind a bank of clouds. This is our only landmark now as Franklin Island is towered in perpetual gloom. Although we have had the berg in sight during all the time of our drift from the entrance to McMurdo Sound we have not yet seen it in a favourable light and were it not for its movement we might mistake it for a tabular island. It will be interesting to view our companion in the returning light unless we are too close to it. July 5th. Dull grey day during twilight with light variable westerly breezes. All around hangs a heavy curtain of haze and although very light snow is falling overhead is black and clear with stars shining. As soon as the faint noon light fades away the heavy low haze intensifies the darkness and makes one thankful that one has a good firm berth in the ice. I don't care to contemplate the scene but my eyes should break up by the present time. July 6th. Last night I thought I saw open water in the shape of a long black lane to the south or to the ship and extending in an easterly and westerly direction but owing to the haze and light snow I could not be sure. This morning the lane was distinctly visible and appeared to be two or three hundred yards wide and two miles long. At 6pm loud pressure noises would be heard from the direction of the open lane and continued throughout the night. Shortly after 8 o'clock the grinding and hissing spread to our starboard bow west southwest and the vibration caused by the pressure could be felt intermittently on board the ship. The incessant grinding and grating of the ice to the southward with seething noises as of water rushing under the ship's bottom and ominous sounds kept me on the quivve all night and the prospect of a break up of the ice would have wrecked my nerves had I not had them numbed by previous experiences. July 9th at noon the sky to the northward had cleared sufficiently to allow of seeing Mount Melbourne which appears now as a low peak to the northwest. Ship's position is 28 miles north northeast of Franklin Island. On the port bow and ahead of the ship there are some enormous pressure ridges. They seem to be the result of the recent and present ice movements. Pressure heard from the southward all day. July 13th at 5pm very heavy pressure was heard on the port beam and bow south and very close to the ship. This occurred again at irregular intervals. Quite close to the ship the ice could be seen bending upwards and occasional jars were felt on board. I am inclined to think that we have set into a cul-de-sac and that we will now experience the full force of pressure from the south. We have prepared for the worst and can only hope for the best a release from the ice with the sea where they vessel under us. July 18th this has been a day of events. About 8am the horizon to the north became clear and as the light grew the more westerly land showed up. This is the first clear day that we have had since the 9th of the month and we have set a considerable distance to the northeast in the meantime. By meridian altitudes of stars and bearings of the land which proved to be Coleman Islands Mt. Murchison and Mt. Melbourne our position shows 78 miles geographical northeast by north of Franklin Island. During the last 3 days we have drifted 40 miles geographical so there has been ample reason for all the grinding and growling of pressure lately. The ship endured some severe squeezes this day. July 20th shortly before breakfast the rocker's voice of the Emperor Penguin was heard and afterwards two were seen some distance from the ship. The nearest mainland in vicinity of Cape Washington is 90 miles distant as also is Coleman Island. Franklin Island is 80 miles southeast by south and the pack is in motion. This is the Emperor's hatching season and here we meet them out in the chillest desert of ice. 10.45pm Heavy pressure around ship lanes opened and ship worked a stern about 20 feet. The wires in the ice took the strain lashings at missing chains carried away and carried away fair lead bollard on port side of four castle head. July 21st 1am lanes opened to about 40 feet wide ship in open pool about 100 feet wide heavy pressure in vicinity of ship full hands and cut wires at the four castle head. Aside these wires had remained frozen in the ice after the ship broke away from her moorings and they had served a useful purpose at some times by checking ice movements close to the ship and of a side. 2am ship swung athwart lane as the ice opened and the flows on the port side pressed her stern round. 11.30am pack of killer whales came up at the lane around the ship some broke soft ice about one inch thick and pushed their heads through rising to 5 or 6 feet perpendicularly out of the water they were apparently having a look around it is strange to see killers in this immense field of ice open water must be nearer I think. 5.15pm new ice of lanes cracked and opened flows on port side pushed stern on to ice of flow flows then closed in nipped the ship for an aft the rudder was bent over the starboard and smashed the solid oak and iron went like match wood. 8pm moderate south-south west gale with drift much straining of timbers with pressure 10pm extra hard nipped for an aft ship visibly hogged heavy pressure end of chapter 16 part 1 chapter 16 part 2 of south this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Anna Simon south the story of Shackleton's last expedition 1914 to 1917 by Sir Ernest Shackleton chapter 16 part 2 july 22nd ship in bad position in newly frozen lane with bow and stern jammed against heavy flows heavy strain with much creaking and groaning 8am cold all hands to stations for sledges and made final preparations for abandoning ship a lot of special duties to several hands to facilitate quickness in getting clear should ship be crushed I'm afraid the ship's back will be broken if the pressure continues but cannot relieve her 2pm ship lying easier the sulfuric acid on the ice is stern in hopes of rotting crack and relieving pressure on stern post but unsuccessfully very heavy pressure on and around ship taking strain for an aft and on starboard quarter ship jumping and straining and listing badly 10pm ship has crushed her way into new ice on starboard side and slewed as land lane with stern post clear of land ice 12pm ship is in safer position lanes opening in every direction july 23 caught glimpse of colman island through haze position of ship south 14 degrees east true 80 miles off colman island pressure continued intermittently throughout the day and night with occasional very heavy squeezes to the ship which made timbers crack and groan the ship's stern is now in a more or less soft bed formed of recently frozen eyes of about one foot in thickness I thank god that we've been spared through this fearful nightmare I shall never forget the concertina motions of the ship during yesterday's and Wednesday's foreign aft nips july 24 compared to the previous days this is a quiet one the lanes have been opening and closing and occasionally the ship gets a nasty squeeze against the solid flow on our starboard quarter the more lanes that open the better as they form springs when covered with thin ice which makes to a thickness of 3 or 4 inches in a few hours between the solid and heavier flows and fields surely we've been guided by the hands of providence to have come in heavy grinding pack for over 200 miles geographical skirting the ice bound western shore around and to the north of franklin island and now into what appears a clear path through the open sea in view of our precarious position and the lives of men in jeopardy I sent this evening an arogram to His Majesty King George asking for a relief ship I hope the wireless gets through I've sent this message after much consideration and know that in the event of our non-arrival in New Zealand on the specified date November 1 a relief ship will be sent to aid the southern party july 25 very heavy pressure about the ship during the early hours a large field on the port quarter came charging up and on meeting our flow tossed up a ridge from 10 to 15 feet high the blocks of ice as they broke off crumbled and piled over each other to the accompaniment of a thunderous roar throughout the day the pressure continued the flows ultimately opening and closing and the ship creaking and groaning during the nips between flows august 4 for nine days we've had southerly winds and the last four we've experienced howling blizzards I am sick of the sound of the infernal wind din, din, din and darkness we should have seen the sun today but a bank of cumulus effectually hit him although the daylight is a never-ending joy august 6 the wind moderated towards 6 a.m. and about breakfast time with a clear atmosphere the land from near Cape Codot to Cape Adair was visible what a day of delights after four days of thick weather we find ourselves inside of Cape Adair in a position about 45 miles east of Possession Isles in this time we've been set 100 miles good going Mount Sabine, the first land seen by us when coming south lies away to the westward forming the highest peak, 10,000 feet of a majestic range of mountains covered in eternal snow due west we can see the Possession Islands lying under the stupendous bluff of Cape Downshire which shows large patches of black rock the land slopes down to the northwest of Cape Downshire and rises again into the high peninsula about Cape Adair we felt excited this morning in anticipation of seeing the sun which rose about 9.30 local time it was a glorious joyful sight we drank to something and with very light hearts gave cheers for the sun August 9 Donnelly got to work on the rudder again it is a long job cutting through the iron sheeting plates of the rudder and not to save it present as the eyes is treacherous Hook says that the conditions are normal now I wish for his sake that he could get through he's a good sportsman and keeps on trying although I'm convinced he has little hope with this inadequate aerial August 10 the ship's position is lateral 17 degrees 40 minutes south 40 miles north 29 degrees east of Cape Adair the distance drifted from August 2 to 6 was 100 miles and from the 6th to the 10th 88 miles August 12 by observation and bearings of land we are 45 miles northeast of Cape Adair in lateral 70 degrees 42 seconds south this position is a little to the eastward of the position on the 10th the bearings is laid off on a small scale child of mnemonic projection are very inaccurate and here we are handicapped as our chronometers have lost all regularity Donnelly and Grade are having quite a job with the iron platings on the rudder but should finish the cutting tomorrow a jewellery rudder is nearly completed this afternoon we mixed some concrete for the lower part and had to use boiling water as the water froze in the mixing the carpenter has made a good job of the rudder although he's had to construct it on the quarter deck in low temperatures and exposed to biting blasts August 16 we are backing and filling about 40 miles northeast of Cape Adair this is where we expected to have made much mileage however we cannot grumble and must be patient there was much mirage to the northward and from the crowd's nest a distinct appearance of open water could be seen stretching from northwest to northeast August 17 a glorious day land is distinctly visible and to the northward the black fringe of water sky over the horizon hangs continuously Hooke hurt Macquarie Island speaking Hobart the message heard was the finish of the weather reports with hopes now of news in the near future August 23 saw the land in the vicinity of Cape North to the south-south west the white cliffs and peaks of the inland ranges were very distinct and the distance to the southwest could be seen a low stretch of undulating land at times Mount Sabine was visible through the gloom the latitude is 69 degrees 44 and a half minutes south we are 58 miles north 40 miles east of Cape North August 24 we lifted the rudder out of the ice and placed it clear of the stern athwart the 4 and a half line of the ship we quite a job with it it is a clean break and bears witness to the terrific force exerted on the ship during the nip I am glad to see the rudder up on the ice and clear of the propeller the blade itself which has solid oak and sheathed it on two sides and after part half way down with 3 quarter inch iron plating is undamaged it is clear of the rudder it is clear of the rudder it is clear of the rudder iron plating is undamaged safe for the broken pintles the twisted portion is in the rudder trunk August 25 11 p.m. Hook has just been in with a good tidings that he has heard McCrary in the bluff New Zealand sending their rudder reports and exchanging signals can this mean that they have heard our recent signals and are trying to get us now our motor has been out of order August 26 the carpenter has finished the jewellery rudder and is now at work on the lower end of the rudder truck where the rudder burst into the stern timbers we are lucky in having this opportunity to repair these minor damages which might prove serious in a seaway August 31 6.30 a.m. very loud pressure noises to the southeast I went aloft after breakfast and had the pleasure of seeing many open lanes in all directions the lanes of yesterday are frozen over showing what little chance there is of a general and continued break up of the ice until the temperature rises land was visible but far too distant for even approximate bearings the berg still hangs the northwest of the ship we seem to have pivoted outwards from the land we cannot get out of this too quickly and although everyone has plenty of work and is cheerful the uselessness of the ship in a present position pulls September 5 the mizzen wireless mast came down in a raging blizzard today on June I managed to crawl to windward on the top of the bridge house and under the lee of the charthouse watched the mast bending over with the wind then swaying like the branch of a tree but after the aerial had stood throughout the winter I hardly thought the mast would carry away luckily as it is dangerous to life to be on deck in this weather food is brought from the galleon relays through blinding drift and over big heaps of snow no one was about when the mast carried away September 8 this is dull, miserable weather blow, snow and calm for an hour or two sometimes it blows in this neighborhood without snow and sometimes with this seems to be the only difference I have two patients now Larkman and Mugrich Larkman was frostbitten on the great and second toes of the left foot some time ago and has so far taken little notice of them now they are causing him some alarm as gangrene has set in Mugrich is suffering from an intermittent rash with red inflamed skin and large short-lived blisters I don't know what the juice it is but the nearest description to it in a materia medica, etc. is pemphigus, so pemphigus it is and he has been tonic and massaged September 9 this is the first day for a long time that we've registered a minimum temperature above zero for the 24 hours it is pleasant to think that from noon to noon throughout the night the temperature never fell below plus 4 degrees 28 degrees frost and with the increase of daylight it makes one feel that summer really is approaching September 13 all around the northern horizon there is the appearance of an open water sky but around the ship the prospect is jerry the sun rose at 6.20am and set at 5.25pm ships time 11 hours 5 minutes of sunlight and 17 hours 3 hours twilight morning and evening the carpenter is dismantling the teff rail to facilitate the landing and if necessary the boarding of the jerry rudder and will construct a temporary removable rail September 16 there has been much mirage all around the horizon and to the eastward through south to south west heavy frost smoke has been rising over the northern horizon a low bank of white fog hangs as though over the sea i do not like these continued low temperatures i am beginning to have doubts as to our release until the sun starts to rot the ice September 17 this is the anniversary of our departure from london there are only four of the original 11 on board larkman, ninnis, morgar and i much has happened since friday september 18, 1914 and i can recall the scene as we passed down the thames with submarines and cruises with our mission and bent on business crossing our course i can also remember the regret at leaving it all and the consequent fat upness september 21 the sun is making rapid progress south and we've had today over 17 hours light and 12 hours sunlight oh for a release the monotony and worry of our helpless position is deadly i suppose shekelton and his party will have started depo laying now and will be full of hopes for the future i wonder whether the endurance wintered in the ice or went north i cannot help thinking that if she wintered in the wedel sea she will be worse off than the aurora what a lot we have to look for in the next six months news of shekelton and the endurance the party at cape evans and the war september 22 latitude 69 degrees 12 minutes south longitude 165 degrees 0 minutes east sturch island baloney group is bearing north true 90 miles distant light north west airs with clear fine weather sighted sturch island in the morning bearing due north of us and appearing like a faint low shadow in the horizon it is good to get a good landmark for fixing positions again and it is good to see that we are making northerly progress however small since breaking away from cape evans we have drifted roughly 750 miles around islands and past formidable obstacles a wonderful drift it is good to think that it has not been in vain and that the knowledge of the set and drill of the pack will be a valuable addition to the sum of human knowledge the distance from cape evans to their present position is 705 miles geographical september 27 the temperature in my room last night was round about zero rather chilly but warm enough under the blankets hook has dismantled his wireless gear he feels rather sick about not getting communication although it does not show it september 30 nennas has been busy now for the week on the construction of a new tractor he is building the body and will assemble the motor in the fore tween decks where it can be lashed securely when we are released from the ice i can see leads of open water from the mast head but we are still held firmly how long october 7 as time wears on the possibility of getting back to the barrier to land the party deserves consideration if we do not get clear until late in the season we will have to turn south first although we have no anchors and little moorings no rudder and a short supply of coal to leave a party on the barrier would make us very short-handed still it can be done and anything is preferable to the delay in assisting the people at cape evans at five a.m. a beautiful perillion formed around the sun the site so impressed the boson that he roused me out to see it during the month of october the aurora drifted uneventfully stenhouse mentions that there was often an appearance of open water on the northern and eastern horizon but anxious eyes were strained in vain for indications that the day of the ship's release was near at hand hook had the wireless plant running again and was trying daily to get into touch with the macquarie island now about 850 miles distant the request for a release ship was to be renewed if communication could be established for by this time if all had gone well with the endurance the overland party from the well-daile sea would have been starting there was considerable movement of the ice towards the end of the month lanes opening and closing but the flow, some acres in area into which the aurora was frozen remained firm until the early days of november the cracks appeared close to the ship due apparently to heavy drift causing the flow to sink the temperatures were higher now under the influence of the sun and the ice was softer thawing was causing discomfort in the quarters aboard the position on november 12th was reckoned to be latitude 66 degrees 49 minutes south longitude 155 degrees 17 minutes 45 seconds east stenhouse made a sounding on november 17 in latitude 66 degrees 40 minutes south longitude 154 degrees 45 minutes east and found bottom at 194 fathoms the bottom sample was mud and a few small stones the sounding line showed a fairly strong undercurrent to the north west we panned out some of the mud says stenhouse and in the remaining grid found several specks of gold two days later the trend of the current was southeast there was a pronounced thaw on the 22nd the cabins were in a dripping state and recently falling snow was running off the ship in little streams all hands were delighted for the present discomfort offered promise of an early breakup of the pack november 23rd at 3am young island baloney group was seen bearing north 54 degrees east true the island which showed up clearly on the horizon under a heavy stratus covered sky appeared to be very far distant by latitude at noon we are in 66 degrees 26 minutes south as this is the chartered latitude of peak foreman young island the bearing does not agree land was seen at 8am bearing south 60 degrees west true this which would appear to be cape hudson loomed up through the mists in the form of a high bold headland with low undulating land stretching away to the south south east and to the westward of it the appearance of this headland has been foretold for the last two days by masters of black fog but it seems strange that land so high should not have been seen before as there is little change in the atmospheric conditions november 24th overcast and hazy during 4 noon cloudy clear and fine in afternoon and evening not of a steep land can be seen so cape hudson is really cape flyaway this is most weird all hands saw the headland to the south west and some of us sketched it now afternoon although the sky is beautifully clear to the south west nothing can be seen we cannot have drifted far from yesterday's position no wonder wilks reported land 9pm a low fringe of land appears on the horizon bearing south west but in no way resembles our cape of yesterday this afternoon we took a cast of the lead through the crack 200 yards west of the ship but found no bottom at 700 fathoms an interesting incident on november 26th was a discovery of an emperor penguin rookery ninnis and kevena took a long walk to the north west and found the deserted rookery the depressions in the ice made by the birds were about 18 inches long and contained a graze residue the rookery was in a hollow surrounded by pressure ridges 6 feet high apparently about 20 birds had been there no pieces of eggshell were seen but the petrels and scuers had been there in force and probably would have taken all scraps of this kind the flows were becoming soft and rotten and walking was increasingly difficult deep pools of slush and water covered with thin snow made traps for the man stenhouse thought that a stiff blizzard would break up the pack his anxiety was increasing with the advance of the season and his log is a record of deep yearning to be free and active again but the grip of the pack was inexorable the hands had plenty of work on the aurora which was being made ship shape after the buffeting of the winter storms seals and penguins were seen frequently and the supply of fresh meat was maintained the jury rudder was ready to be shipped when the ship was released but in the meantime it was not being exposed to the attacks of the ice no appreciable change in our surroundings was a note for December 17 every day past now reduces our chance of getting out in time to go north for rudder anchors and coal if we break out before January 15 we might get north to New Zealand and down to Cape Evans again in time to pick up the parties after that date we can only attempt to go south in our crippled state and short of fuel with only 9 days coal on board we would have little chance of working through any Rosssea pack or of getting south at all if we encountered many blizzards still there is a sporting chance and luck may be with us Shackleton may be past the pole now I wish our wireless calls had got through Christmas day with its special dinner and mild festivities came and passed and still the ice remained firm the men were finding some interest in watching the multing of emperor penguins who were stationed at various points in the neighborhood of the ship they'd taken station to Leeward of Hummocks and appeared to move only when the wind changed or the snow around them had become foul they covered but a few yards on these journeys and even then stumbled in their weakness one emperor was brought on board alive and the crew were greatly amused to see the bird balancing himself on heels and tail with uptoned toes the position adopted when the egg is resting on the feet during the incubation period the threat of a stiff blow aroused hopes of release several times Blizzard, probably the first Antarctic blizzard that was ever longed for did not arrive New Year's Day founds 10 house and other men just recovering from an attack of snow blindness contracted by making an excursion across the flows without snow goggles at the end of the first week in January the ship was in latitude 65 degrees 45 minutes south the peck was well broken a mile from the ship and the ice was rolling fast under the boughs and stern the pools were growing and stretching away and long lanes to the west a seal came up to blow under the stern on the sixth proving that there was an opening in the sunken ice there 10 house was economizing in food no breakfast was served on the ship and seal or penguin meat was used for at least one of the two meals later in the day all hands were short of clothing but 10 house was keeping intact the sletching gear intended for the use of the shore party strong variable winds on the ninth raised hopes again and on the morning of the 10th the ice appeared to be well broken from half a mile to a mile distance from the ship in all directions it seems extraordinary that the ship should be held in an almost unbroken flow of about a mile square the more so as this patch was completely screwed and broken during the smash in July and contains many faults in almost any direction at a distance half a mile from the ship there are pressure riches of 8 inch ice piled 20 feet high it was provident that although so near these riches were escaped the middle of January was passed and the aurora lay still in the ice the period of continuous day was drawing towards its close and there was an appreciable twilight at midnight a dark water sky could be seen on the northern horizon the latitude on January 24th was 65 degrees 39 and a half minutes south towards the end of the month Stenhouse ordered a thorough overhaul of the stores and general preparations for a move the supply of flour and butter was ample other stores were running low and the crew lost no opportunity of capturing seals and penguins a dailies were travelling to the east south east in considerable numbers but they could not be taken unless they approached the ship closely owned to the soft condition of the ice the wireless plant which had been idle during the month of daylight had been rigged again and Hooke resumed his calls to Macquarie Island on February 2nd he listened in vain for any indication that he had been heard the pack was showing much movement but the large flow containing the ship remained firm the break up of the flow came on February 12th strong northeast to southeast winds put the ice in motion and brought a perceptible swell the ship was making some water a foretaste of a trouble to come an old hand spent the day at the pumps reducing the water from 3 feet 8.5 inches in the well to 12 inches in spite of frozen pipes and other difficulties work had just finished for the night when the ice broke a stern and quickly split in all directions under the influence of the swell the men managed to save some seal meat which had been cached in a drift near the gangway they lost the flagstaff which had been rigged as a wireless mast out on the flow but drew in the aerial the ship was floating now amidst fragments of flow and bumping considerably in the swell a fresh southerly wind blew during the night and the ship started to forge ahead gradually without sail at 8.30 am on the 13th Stenhouse set the Forsel and Fort of Mastasel and the Aurora moved northward slowly being brought up occasionally by large flows navigation under such conditions without steam and without a rudder was exceedingly difficult but Stenhouse wished if possible to save his small remaining stock of coal until he cleared the pack so that a quick run might be made to McMurdo sound the jury rudder could not be rigged in the pack the ship was making about 3.5 feet of water in the 24 hours the quantity easily kept in check by the pumps during the 14th the Aurora worked very slowly northward through heavy pack occasionally the yards were backed or an ice anchor put into a flow to help her out of difficult places but much of the time she steered herself the jury rudder boom was topped into position in the afternoon but the rudder was not to be shipped until open pack or open water was reached the ship was held up all day on the 15th and let it shoot 64 degrees 38 minutes south heavy flows barred progress in every direction attempts were made to work the ship by trimming sails and warping with ice anchors but she could not be maneuvered smartly enough to take advantage of leads that opened and closed this state of affairs continued throughout the 16th that night a heavy swell was rolling under the ice and the ship had a rough time one pointed flow 10 or 12 feet thick was steadily battering 3 feet sand against the starboard side and fenders only partially deadened to shock it is no use butting against this pack with steam power wrote stenhouse we would use all our meager supply of coal and reaching a limit of the ice inside and then we would be in a hole with neither ballast nor fuel but if this stagnation lasts another week we will have to raise steam and consume our coal in an endeavour to get into navigable waters and create our chances of getting south are very small now the pack remained close and on the 21st a heavy swell made the situation dangerous the ship bumped heavily that night and fenders were of little avail with each scent of the swell the ship would bang her bows on the flow ahead then bounce back and smash into another flow across her stern post this flow about 6 feet thick and 100 feet across they split and smashed by the impacts the pack was jammed close on the 23rd when the noon latitude was 64 degrees 36 and a half minutes south the next change was for the worse the pack loosened on the night of the 25th and a heavy north west swell caused the ship to bump heavily this state of affairs recruited intervals in succeeding days the battering and ramming of the flows increased in the early hours of February 29th until it seemed as if some sharp flow or jacked underfoot must go through the ship's hull at 6am we converted a large quarry spring into a fender and slipped it under the port quarter where a pressured flow with 20 to 30 feet underfoot was threatening to knock the propeller and stern post off altogether at 9am after pumping ship the engineer reported a leak in the way of the propeller shaft aft near the stern post on the port side the carpenter cut part of the lighting and filled the space between the timbers with stockholms tar, cement and oakum he could not get at the actual leak but his makeshift made a little difference I'm anxious about the propeller this pack is a dangerous place for a ship now it seems miraculous that the old barkey still floats the ice opened out a little on March 1st it was imperative to get the ship out of a dangerous situation quickly as winter was approaching and stenhouse there for ordered steam to be raised next morning he had the spanker gaff rigged over the stern for use as a temporary rudder while in the heavy pack steam had been raised to working pressure at 5.15pm on the 2nd and the aurora began to work ahead to the westward progress was very slow owing to heavy flows and deep under-foots which necessitated frequent stoppages of the engines open water was in sight to the north and northwest the next morning after a restless night spent among the rocking flows but progress was very slow the aurora went to leeward under the influence of a west-southwest breeze and steering by means of the yachts and a warp anchor was a ticklish business the ship came to a full stop among heavy flows before noon and the third and three hours later after vain attempts to warp ahead by means of ice anchors stenhouse had the fires partially drawn to save coal and banked no advance was made on March 4th and 5th a moderate gale from the east-northeast closed the ice and set an emotion and the aurora with banked fires rolled and bumped heavily 17 bergs were in sight and one of them was working southwards into the pack and threatening to approach the ship during the night the engines were turned repeatedly by the action of ice on the propeller blades all theories about the swell being nonexistent in the pack are false wrote the anxious master here we are with a suggestion only of open watersky and the ship rolling her scuppers under and sitting down bodily on the flows the ice opened when the wind moderated and on the afternoon of the 6th the aurora moved northward again without a rudder no jury rudder can yet be used among these swirling, rolling flows the ship requires a lot of attention her head must be pointed between flows by means of ice anchors and warps or by mooring to a flow and steaming rounded we kept a fairly good cause between two bergs to our northward and made about 5 miles northing till darkness coming on the men could no longer venture on the flows with safety to fix the anchors the next three days were full of anxiety the aurora was held by the ice and subjected to severe buffeting while two bergs approached from the north on the morning of the 10th the nearest berg was within three cables of the ship but the pack had opened and by 9.30 am the ship was out of the danger zone and headed north northeast the pack continued to open during the afternoon and the aurora path through wide stretches of small loose flows and brush progress was good until darkness made a stop necessary the next morning the pack was denser stanhouse shipped a preventer jerry rudder the weighted spanker gaff but could not get steerage way broad lads were sighted to the northwest in the afternoon and the ship got within a quarter of a mile of the nearest lead before being held up by heavy pack she again bumped severely during the night and the watch stood by with fendas to ease the more dangerous blows early next morning stanhouse lowered a jerry rudder with steering penance to drag through the water and moved north to northwest through heavy pack he made 60 miles that day on an erratic course and then spent an anxious night with the ship setting back into the pack and being pounded heavily attempts to work forward to an open lead on the morning of the 13th were unsuccessful early in the afternoon a little progress was made with all hands standing by to fend off high ice and at 4.50 pm the aurora cleared the main pack an hour was spent shipping the jerry rudder under the counter and then the ship moved slowly northward there was pack still ahead and the bergs and growlers were constant menace in the hours of darkness some anxious work remained to be done since bergs and scattered ice extended in all directions but at 2.00 pm on march 14th the aurora cleared the last belt of pack in latitude 62 degrees 27 and a half minutes south longitude 157 degrees 32 minutes east we spliced the main brace says stenhouse and blew three blasts of farewell to the pack with the whistle the aurora was not at the end of her troubles but the voyage up to New Zealand need not be described in detail any attempt to reach McMordor sound was now out of the question stenhouse had a battered rudderless ship with only a few tons of coal left in the bunkers and he struggled northward in heavy weather against persistent adverse winds and had seas the jury rudder needed constant nursing and the shortage of coal made it impossible to get the best service from the engines there were times when the ship could make no progress and fell about helplessly in a confused swell or lay hoof to amid mountainous seas she was shorthanded and one or two of the men were creating additional difficulties but stenhouse displayed throughout fine beach seamanship and dogged perseverance he accomplished successfully one of the most difficult voyages on record in an ocean area notoriously stormy and treacherous on March 23rd he established wireless communication with bluff station New Zealand and the next day was in touch with Wellington and Hobbit the naval officer in New Zealand waters offered assistance and eventually it was arranged that your taiko harbour boats tug plucky should meet the aurora outside Port Charmas there were still bad days to be endured the jury rudder partially carried away and had to be unshipped in a heavy sea stenhouse carried on and in the early morning of April 2nd the aurora picked up the tug and was taken in tow she reached Port Charmas the following morning and was welcomed with a warm hospitality that New Zealand has always shown towards Antarctic explorers End of Chapter 16 Part 2 Chapter 17 of SAAS This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recorded by Gesine SAAS The story of Shackleton's last expedition 1914 to 1917 Busser Ernest Shackleton The story of Shackleton's last expedition 1914 to 1917 Busser Ernest Shackleton Chapter 17 The Last Relief When I reached New Zealand at the beginning of December 1916 I found that the arrangements for the relief were complete The New Zealand Government had taken the task in hand earlier in the year before I had got into touch with the outside world The British and Australian Governments were giving financial assistance The aurora had been repaired and refitted at Port Shalmers during the year at considerable cost and had been provisioned and culled for the voyage to McMurdo Sound My old friend Captain John K. Davis who was a member of my first Antarctic expedition in 1907 to 1909 and who subsequently commanded Dr. Mawson's ship in the Australian Antarctic expedition had been placed in command of the aurora by the Governments and he had engaged officers, engineers and crew Captain Davis came to Wellington to see me on my arrival there and I heard his account of the position I had interviews also with the Minister for Marine the late Dr. Robert McNabb a kindly and sympathetic Scotsman who took a deep personal interest in the expedition Stenhouse also was in Wellington and I may say again here that his account of his voyage and drift in the aurora filled me with admiration for his plucked seamanship and resourcefulness after discussing the situation fully with Dr. McNabb I agreed that the arrangements already made for the relief expedition should stand time was important and there were difficulties about making any change of plans or control at the last moment after Captain Davis had been at work for some months the Government agreed to hand the aurora over to me free of liability and I returned to New Zealand it was decided therefore that Captain Davis should take the ship down to McMurdo Sound and I should go with him to take charge of any shore operations that might be necessary I signed on at a salary of one shelling a month and resailed from Port Shalmers on December 20th, 1916 a week later we sighted ice again the aurora made a fairly quick passage through this park and entered the open water of the Ross Sea on January 7th, 1917 Captain Davis brought the aurora alongside the ice edge off Cape Roids on the morning of January 10th and I went ashore with the party to look for some record in the hut erected there by my expedition in 1907 I found a letter stating that the Ross Sea party was housed at Cape Evans and was on my way back to the ship when six men with dogs and sledge were sighted coming from the direction of Cape Evans at 1pm this party arrived on board and we learned that of the ten members of the expedition left behind when the aurora broke away on May 6th, 1915 seven had survived namely A. Stevens E. Joyce, H. E. Wild J. L. Cope R. W. Richards I. O. Gaze these seven men were all well though they showed traces of the ordeal through which they had passed they told us of the deaths of Macintosh, Spencer Smith and Haywood and of their own anxious wait for relief all that remained to be done was to make a final search for the bodies of Macintosh and Haywood there was no possibility of either man being alive they had been without equipment so they broke the ice they were crossing it would have been impossible for them to have survived more than a few days and eight months had now elapsed without news of them Joyce had already searched south of Glacier Tongue I considered that further search should be made in two directions the area north of Glacier Tongue and the old depot of Butler Point and I made a report to Captain Davis to this effect on January 12th the ship reached a point five and a half miles of Butler Point I took a party across Robley and Waterlogged Ice to within 30 yards of the Piermore Ice but owing to high cliffs and loose slushy ice could not make a landing the land ice had broken away at the point cut by the crossbearings of the depot but was visible in the form of two large bergs grounded to the north of Cape Benaki there was no sign of the depot or of any person having visited the vicinity we returned to the ship and proceeded across the sound to Cape Bernaki the next day I took a party ashore with the object of searching the area north of Glacier Tongue including Razorback Island for traces of the two missing men we reached Cape Evans Hut at 1.30pm and Joyce and I left at 3pm for the Razorbacks we conducted a search on both islands returning to the hut at 7pm the search had been fruitless on the 14th I started with Joyce to search the north side of Glacier Tongue but the surface drift with wind from southeast decided me not to continue as the ice was moving rapidly at the end of Cape Evans and the pool between the hut and inaccessible island was growing larger the wind increased in the afternoon the next day a southeast blizzard was blowing with drift half up the islands I considered it unsafe to sledge that day especially as the ice was breaking away from the south side of Cape Evans into the pool we spent the day putting the hut in order we got up at 3am on the 16th the weather was fine and calm I started at 4.20pm with Joyce to the south we reached Glacier Tongue about one and a half miles from the sea wood end wherever there were not precipitous cliffs there was an even snow slope to the top from the top we searched with glasses there was nothing to be seen but blue ice creviced showing no protuberances we came down and half running half walking worked about 3 miles towards the root of the glacier but I could see there was not this chance of finding any remains owing to the enormous snow drifts wherever the cliffs were accessible the base of the steep cliffs had drifts 10-15 feet high we arrived back at the hut at 9.40pm and left almost immediately for the ship I considered that all places likely to hold the bodies of Mackintosh and Haywood had now been searched there was no doubt to my mind that they met their deaths on the breaking of the thin ice when the blizzard arose on May 8th 1916 during my absence from the hut Wild and Jack had erected a cross to the memory of the three men who had lost their lives in the services of the expedition Captain Davis took the ship northward on January the 17th the ice conditions were unfavorable and pack barred the way we stood over the western coast towards Dunlop Island and followed it to Granite Harbour no mark or depot of any kind was seen the aurora reached the main pack about 60 miles from Cape Adair on January 22nd the ice was close ahead and Davis went south in open water to wait for better conditions a north-west gale on January 28th enabled the ship to pass between the pack and the land off Cape Adair and we crossed the Antarctic Circle on the last day of the month on February 4th Davis sent a formal report to the New Zealand Government by wireless and on February 9th the aurora was birthed in Wellington we were welcomed like returned brothers by the New Zealand people end of Chapter 17 recorded by Gazena in September 2007