THE FROZEN SOUTH

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 11493, 21 November 1931, Page 9

THE FROZEN SOUTH

AN EPIC OF DARING

SfUCKLETOX S JOURNEY

GALLANT EFFORT

[•’of more than two years, while tlio rest ot' the world was at war, Sliackietou’s men fought a war of their own — a struggle in which their antagonist was the Keren and stormy South (says a writer in the Melbourne “Ago”). lu his book , , “South.” Sir Tiniest Slmcklcton gave V an iieeount of the expedition, hut it uas natural that modesty should have restrained Ids own part in the adventure. That omission has been remedied in. Commander Frank Worker’s biok. “Endurance.” Commander Worsley was the master of the Endurance, which was smashed, not long after the beginning of the grejit adventure, in tlio pack-ice. The story open in July, 1915. and ti, o setting is Shackleton’s cabin in the Endurance. Tee, thousands of miles of it, was nil round the ship ; the wind was in a fury, and snow falling iu mad gusts. It was not a comforting atmosphere ill which a ship's master should ho told that his vessel was doomed. Tt was Shaekleton who told Commander Worsley that the Endurance could not resist the squeezing of the ice-packs. There were 28 men on board the Endurance, and the ship was 1000 miles from the whaling stations of South Georgia, and -100 miles from the Antarctic Continent, in the bead of the Weddell Sea. ]t was not a pleasant prospect. • For two months the Endurance fought a losing battle against the ice. The end came in -October. The vessel was crushed by “the whole force of the pack-ice driven bv tbe winds and currents of the Weddell Sea, converging from three different directions on to one point. That poin~. unhappily, was tho stem of ihe Endurance. Two massive floes, miles of ice. jammed her sides and hold her fast, while the third floe time fucrosssmer stern, ripping off the rudas though it had been made of match wood-” CAMP ON THE ICE. The party made a rough camp on the pack-ice, and shortly afterwards they set out in tbe hope of reaching Graham Land by sledge. They had with them small, sledges and two boats from the Endurance, the James Caird and the Dudley Docker, which were dragged across the ice. On the drifting packs, however, they made tittle progress, and after a march of several da vs they settled on. the largest ’loo they con’d fmd. naming their quarters, aptly enough, Patience Camp. They drifted on the pack-ice for fire months. It was March, 1915, before they sighted the continent. Shaekleton. however, refused to risk crossing ice which would be opening

and closing - under the influence of tidies and currents near the land, ami decided to go on drifting until open water was reached. A month later the ice did break up alongside the camp, and the boats were launched. At length they reached Elephant Island, a dismal' spot in the Weddell Sea, and Sliackleton’s relief was great- “ Thank God, I haven't killed one of my men!’’ were his first words, and ho added: “T knew that one more night of exposure would do for some of them.” But. his relief was shortlived, as Commander Worsley explains “By the time we turned in that night. Shocklcton, Wild, and 1. already knew for certain that we were in grave danger; and the dauiger was this. W.i> were in a latitude Xjliafc was gale-ridden, perhaps the most tempestuous area in the world. We acre only just above the level of’ l igh-water mark. It was oi-vious that the seas of every bn-shore gale would sweep that beach. With a thousand-foot cliff 'at. Jour backs there would bo no escape landward. ’The probability . was. that we should he swept away .without being able to launch a boat.” ; ' TO SOUTH GEORGIA. ' Tv Jo days later they found a safei spot seven ' miles along the coast, and there they mado camp, living Under’ unturned boats,' shivering, and t endering what was .going- to .happen next. ■ There was food for ;the time being, hut the day dawned. when Shacklcton realised •" that lie would not bo able to feed his men .through the - winter. Frequently Commander ~ Worsley and. -Shackl'eton. • ' discussed the possibility of making a journey in one -;of the small boats for help. One, day Shacklcton said gravely: “Skipper, we shall - liavo , • to make that boat journey,' however risky-' it is. I’m. not going to let the men Starve.” - Five were chosen, for „ the hazardous' journey, although ' all- the liiqit .volunteered. The choice ' fell upon Tom'Grean, Timothy M’Carthy, A. 8.; M’Neisli, the carpenter; Vinceht, the' boatswain; - and .'•Commander Wor»s*'. The James Caird was prejlaretjl for the trip.. “We. knew , writes Commander Worsley, “that it /would be the-hardest thing wo had | ever undertaker!., for - the Antarctic wipter had now. set in, and. wo were

Although thp conquest of the Polar regions by aeroplane, and u.m by siibnn rme, has stimulated the imagination of people who enjoy these tales or darmg, in which man’s courage and endurance arc pitted against the forces of Nature, it is not easy to forsefc the horoisra ot the mcH accompanied the late Sir Em cst Shaekleton on his expedition t Q tho South Pole in 1914

about to cross one of the worst seas in. the world.” The boat in which the small party set out to cross the ocean was 22ft. 6in. in length. It is surprising how calmly Commander Worsley writes of that awful voyage to South Georgia. Night and day they took turns - «a fc pumping; every three of four minutes they were soaked by tho seas which swept the beat. Whenever possible they snatched an hour’s rest in frozen sleeping-bags. Tlie constant soaking caused their limits to swell and lose all surface sensibility. Several times they had to remove the wall of ice which formed on the canvas decking. Op tho eleventh day they broached their last keg of water. Even as they approached the coast of South Georgia, their troubles were not lessened. “Wie were in a welter of screaming winds,” writes Commander Worsley, “that seemed to be rushing all round us with the speed of an aeroplane, and every few seconds the roaring seas dashed into the boat and sent up spray sufficient to thicken tho air for 100 foot above us.” Ultimately they landed in a tiny cove in King Haakon Sound.

ACROSS THE ISLAND. On lsth May, 1916, leaving three of tho party, who were not fit to travel, under the upturned boat? Shaekleton, Commander Worsley, and the remaining member of- the party embarked on their pioneer journey across the island of South Georgia—“an adventure destined to be far more thrilling than ever I had dreamed,” says Commander Worsley. “Our equipment was three days’ food each, consisting of two pounds of sledging rations, a pound of biscuits, and two cakes of nut food, all of which we carried over our shoulders. .. . ” The land they crossed was a country of cliffs, precipices, snow, and glaciers. “The going was so hard that we had to halt every 20 minutes for a short spell, when we would throw ourselves flat on our hacks, with .legs and arms extended, and draw in gulps ,of air so as to get our wind again We were in a solitude never before broken by man Before us was t-lie Allardyce Range, peak upon peak, snow-clad and majestic, glittering in tlio sunshine”. They looked into the shadowy depths of chasms in which battleships could have Been hidden, slid down mountain sides, met disappointment cheerfully. went the wrong way, retraced their steps, and, after what seemed an age, reached Fortuna Day and heard the cheery whistles of a whaling factory. What a royal welcome they received! BARRED BY ICE. The three men who had been left at King Haakon Sound were rescued by a whaling ship from the station, and Shaekleton chartered a whaler, the Southern Sky, to make the _ trip to Elephant Island for the remainder of liis company. But their wav was barred by ice, and the whaler had to turn back when only CO miles distant from the island. They made for tho Falkland Islands, for Shackleton wanted to get in touch with the outside world and to obtain another vessel. Four attempts at rescuo were made before Shaekleton was rewarded with success. As the rescue ship approached the camp Shaekleton stood peering “with painful intensity through his binoculars. “There were reefs and shoals about”, writes Commander Worsley, “and all my attention was on the ship, when I beard him say in a low, strained voice, ‘There are only two, skipper !’ Then, ‘No, four.’ A short pause followed, and he exclaimed, I see six-eight-,’ and at last, m a voice ringing with joy, he cued, ‘They arc all there ! Every one ot thenft 'Jj’hey -are all saved!’” : i The remainder of tlio book is devoted - to; Commander. Worsley’s war adventures— ho -was; back m the navy in time to “bag” 1 ai German submar- ■ imc—and to 'the' last' voyage winch Shaekleton made—the voyage of , tho Quest. Oil, sth January, 1922, in the southern seas, Shaekleton died. . A sudden attack of angina pectoris was the cause,of death. Ho was buried ’in ' South Georgia. I d ®: not Think he- would have wished a different grave,” ' says Commander TN orslov “Ho lies in a spot that for nioro than ' a hundred years has temi tho last home, -of seamcn-whal-ers, sealers,- and explorers; . • • His was a proud and dauntless spirit, spirit that made one glatThe was an : Englishman. ...... Shaekleton,’* body lies buried far from, the land of his birth ; ’ lot us ensure- that Ins spirit continues ' to be our common heritage.” . - - ~