SHACKLETON'S LAST VOYAGE.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17814, 13 July 1923, Page 14

SHACKLETON'S LAST VOYAGE.

SHE STORY OF THE QUEST. ANOTHER RECORD OF BRITISH DARING. THE EXPLORER'S LAST HOURS. tnou on <nr* cmmi»«wm«-> LONDON, June 1. Those who have been privileged to Jr Smma.nder Frank Wild's lecture on the voyage of the Quest, and to see the pictures taken on the voyage have been prepared for an interesting story in book form. They have not been disappointed. Indeed, it may be frankly asserted that Commander Wild has made a much greater success of hie book ("Shackleton's Last Voyage ) than be did of his lecture. To conieuse the adventures of the voyage into «o hour's talk seemed to be an impossible task, and the lecturer was compelled to toll a plain tale of the chief iwate in order to cover the ground. The volume that has now been publahwl comprises some 3/0 pages, and provides the wealth of detail which L oocuUarly necessary and interesting ! iff "tor/of the Quest Unlike •uujj other Antarctic expeditions, there -,« a no outstanding event to record—except, of course, the death of the Wer—*nd it is the daily routine, the human endurance and endeavour, the comradeship of the little party, and toe constant battle against vexatious misadventure which make this record particularly fascinating. Compared with some of the highly organised expeditions of the past ? the actual exploration and scientific discovery was junail; nevertheless, the voyage provides a good story. It nas been pleasantly told by Commander Wild, who acknowledges the assistance he has had from Dr. A. H. Macklin's official journal, and from which he quotes extensively. One naturally turns to that part of the book dealing with the last days of Shackleton. Although the author maintains that he has passed [very shortly over this part of the narrative, there are some intimate details not hitherto published, which all who took an interest in the life ef the great exploror will be glad to have. It appears that while in Rio de Janeiro Dr. Macklin, who was on board the Quest, received an urgent message to go to Sir Ernest, who was a guest at a certain house on shore. Macklin went off at once, but on arrival found Sir Ernest fully recovered, and the latter stated that he had merely felt a slight faintness, and had really 6ent for Dr. Macklin to know whether the stores were complete. This attack had a greater significance than was appreciated at the time. Shackleton's Journal. On New Year's Day Shackleton commenced to write in his journal. The entries are brief, but besides the fact that they are Shackleton's last written words they are stamped wiEh the individuality of the writer. On January 2nd he says: "Another wonderful day—fine, clear, a slight wind, but cheerful for us after these last days of stress and strain. At 1 p.m. we passed pur first berg. The old familiar eight arouted in me memories that the strenuous years had deadened. Blue caverns shone with sky-glow snatched from heaven itself; green spurs showed beneath the water. And bergs mast high Came sailing by, . As green as emerald. "Ah, me! the years that have gone since in the pride of young manhood I first.went forth to the fight. I grow old and tired, but must always lead on." "Another beautiful day," Shackleton wrote on the third day of the year; "fortune seems to attend us this New Year,,but so anxious have I been, when things are going well, I wonder what internal difficulty will be sprung upon mo. All day long a light wind and clear sky was our happy portion. I find a difficulty in settling down to write—l am so much on the qui ivive. X pray that the furnace will hold out. Thrnkful that I can Be crossed and thwarted as a man." One mom entry was mad© in the journal on January 4th: ' 'At last, after sixteen days of turmoil and anxiety, on a peaceful, sunshiny day, we came to anchor in Gritviken. How familiar the coast seemed as we passed down. We simv with full interest the places we struggled over after the boat journey. 2*ow we must speed all we can, but the prospect is not too bright, for labour is scarce. The old familiar smell of dead whale permeates everything. It is a strange and curious place. Douglas and Wilkins are at different ends of the island. A wonderful evening. In the darkening twilight'l saw a lone star hover Gem-like above the bay." These were the last words written by Sir Ernest Shackleton. The Explorer's Last Hour. Dr.:Macklin's entry tells of the last tragic episode in homely words: "Was called at 2.0 a.m. for my watch. A cold' night, but clear and beautiful, with every star showing. I was slowly walking up and down the deck when I: heard a whistle from the Boss's cabin. I went-in, and he said: 'Hullo, Mack, boy, is that you? I thought it was.' He continued: 'I can't sleep to-night, can you get me a sleeping iijaughtf' He explained that he was Buffering from severe facial neuralgia, and had taken fifteen grains of aspirin. 'That stuff is no good; will you get me something which will act!' ;• "I noticed that although it was a cold night he had only one blanket, and asked him if he had no others. He replied that they were in his bottom drawer, and he could not be bothered getting them out. I started to do so, bnt he said, 'Never mind to-night, I can stand the cold.' However, I went back to my cabin and got a heavy Jaeger blanket from my bunk, which 1 tacked round him. He was unusually quiet in the way he let mo do thing 3 for him. . . He talked of many things quite rationally, and finding him in such a complacent mood, I thought it a good opportunity to emphasise tho necessity of his taking things very much more quietly than no had been doing. . . 'You are always wanting me to give up something. What do you want me to give up now?' This was the last thing he •aid. He died quite suddenly." Tie Attempt that Tailed. Commander Wild's subsequent attempt to touch land in the South was unsuccessful. Nevertheless, it was a gallant effort, and a dangerous onehow dangerous we learn for the first time in this book. After two efforts to penetrate tho southern ice the leader wai forced to givo it up. "There was bo alternative," he writes, 'but to retrace our steps and work to the westward. 1 went below, where once more I pulled out all tho charts and examincd again the records of old explorers in thcßO region.. I had *>»«££ with Worsley and Kerr. The was well advanced; the Q«~t had neither tho driving power no. the .mount of coul to enable me to batter hard at heavy floe As a patter of fact, I do »o» 'hink «..t any rtjj iMWbVtr oouw.

ajrr Impression on the. stuff to the south of us." There are entries every here and thore which give eloquent testimony of the handicaps under which the little party laboured. "Macklin reported another fifteen inches of water in the hold—it was obvious that it would be necessary to Increase the daily spells of pumping." This is only one of several entries referring to the increase of water. It seemed only a small matter, but it must have added considerably to the anxiety, not -to mention the discomfort, for the pumping had to be done in the waist of the shin which more often than not was swept by the icy seaß. Dissatisfaction and Grumbling. For the first time it comes out that Commander Wild had his troubles with the personnel. It does not seem to have been very serious, but sufficiently so to refer to in his narrative. The party were coming out of the ice. "1 began to be aware about this time," writes Commander Wild, "of an amount of dissatisfaction and grumDling occurring in both the forward and after-messes that I did not like. Men who sat at table with me, and to a certain extent enjoyed my confidence, discussed and freely criticised expedi fcion affairs with members at the after-mess. Of this J had ample confirmation. Some of those thus employed were officers who from their position on the ship should have been my most loyal supporters. In the aftermess also I was surprised to find that the men affected were those in whom 1 had placed the most implicit trust. It was a condition of things that required prompt measures. I assembled each mess in turn, and going straight to the point, told them that further continuance would be met with the most drastic treatment I pointed out that although I would at all times welcome suggestions from the officers and scientific staff, and would consider any reasonable complaints, 1 could consider no selfish or individual interests, and my own decision must be final and end discussion of the matter. I was glad to notice an immediate improvement." Perhaps this is a little human touch which it would have been unwise to omit from the story. Maori Hakas in the Ice. On the whole, however, they seemed a very happy party. ".Wute m «£ Southern ice ■ tney celebrated Commander Worsley's birthday. He had reached his fiftieth milestone, but could eaßily have passed tor ten years less We celebrated the occasion by an extra special spread, at which, to the surprise and (needless to say) delight of nearly everyone, some bottles of beer materialised. The piece de resistance was a large pink cake bearing in sugar the inscription, 'Wuzzles 21st. He was called upon to cut it himself, and was given a large steel chopper with whiclv to do it. Having performed a Maori war dance, he proceeded to cut it into slices. It proved to be a bit hard, so he attempted to lift it to a better position, to nnd, to his amazement, that he could scarcely budge. The cake turned out to be a 561b sinker, which Green had covered with sugar. However, a proper cake was forthcoming, and the evening was spent merrily." Tristan da Cunha. Not the least interesting part of the book is that dealing with the lonely settlement of Tristan da Cunha. Dr. Macklin spent several days on the island studying the people arid their ways, and he lias written an account which is a valuable contribution to the literature on the strange people of the world. Commander Wlid's opinion of the people was largely gained from the negotiations lie had with them in handing over, stores on behalf of Mr llowett. Their gratitude, however, seems to have been disappointing. When the Quest was on the point of departure the inhabitants crowded on board. Commander Wild thus describes the scene., "Immediately there was a noise like babel let loose. Many of them approached Bob Glass, saying: 'Can't you get nothing more out of them, Bob.?' As I had emptied the holds and stripped the ship of everything I could spare, and in the name of Mr Rowett gi/ven all the relief I could to these feople, I was not very well pleased at their attitude. They seemed to lose all restraint, and begged for anything which caught their eye or their fancy, each man trying to get in his request before his neighbour, or endeavouring to overshout him. There were no longer any i* quests,, on behalf of the community, each man. trying to scrounge what he' could for himself. . . . Though very disgusted at the time with the behaviour of these people, I felt on more mature consideration that one could not fairly judge them by instances like this. They are ignorant, shut off almost completely from the world, horribly limited in outlook, and they realised that at this moment there was slipping away from them the only possible source or acquiring the many things they so badly needed. Indeed, looking back on the whole vi«»l to Tristan da Cunha, I ain surprise that they were not much more wild and uncivilised then we found them, and they were, 1 believe, at any rate tlie older men among them, really grateful for what we had been able to do. I think their characters may be somewhat roughly summed up by describing them as 'a lot of grown-up children.' " J>r. Macklin saw them at more normal and less exciting moments, and was able to appreciate, the good points oi these simple folk. "I found that these islanders," he writes, "when gathered together, were a genial, pleasant lot, very good tempered ; and quick to see humour. Though intelligent in many respects, most of them had absolutely no interest in anything happening outside the island; but, considering their isolated position and lack of communication with the rest of the world, together with their inability to read, this can easily be understood." A Woman's Courage. It will be remembered that only a year or so ago Mr and Mrs Kogers went out as missionaries to this lonely island. Mrs Kogers is now called the •"iHissus," and Jjr. Macklin's tribute to her is worth quoting: "The 'Missus' was only nineteen years of age, and had had no previous experience to guide her in her preparations for the life she was to lead. It takes a lot of pluck for a woman to cut herself off from all home connexions and bury herself in a small spot like this, shut off entirely from the outside world, without guidance or counsel in the changes and chances which fall to the lot of every married woman. 1 admired the courage and enthusiasm with which she faced her self-imposed task, which included not only instructing of the unwilling youth of Tristan da Cunha iu cleanliness, morality, and the 'three R's,' but also such multifarious duties as nurse, midwife, scribe, reader, and general adviser to the womenfolk.' p In conclusion it is only necessary to say that there is not a dull page in the whole book, and the splendid illustrations add materially to the interest.