“SOUTH WITH SCOTT."

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18465, 28 January 1922, Page 15

“SOUTH WITH SCOTT."

THE GREAT ANTARCTIC EPIC RETOLD, . CAPTAIN E. R. G. R. EVANS’S NEW BOOK. (Feom Oob Own Cobbesponxjekt.) LONDON, November 30. Published almost simultaneously as they have been, it is impossible to evade making some comparison between Mr H. G. Ponling's “Great White South” and Captain E. R. G. R. Evans’s “South With Scott.’’ The two books may bo read successively without the one in any way detracting from the pleasure derived from the other. Mr Pouting was with the expedition for the specific purpose of pictorially recording the wonders and the beauty of the Antarctic. He spent a good deal of his time at the base camp and paid especial attention to the bird and mammal life. It is from the point of view of natural history and of pictorial representation, then, that one derives the greatest pleasure from his book. / Captain Evans treats the subject in a different way. As second in command, he had a broader outlook and a greater knowledge of all the details of the expedition, and though he naturally gees over much of the ground covered by Captain Scott himself in hie diary, it is from a new viewpoint. The object of the book, aa the" writer himself remarks, is to keep alive the, interest of the English-speaking people m the' story of Scott and his little band of sailor adventurers, scientific explorers, and companions. It is written more particularly for Britain’s younger generations. Evans, Bowers, Crean, and Lastly, manhandling their sledge, accompanied Soott to within 146 miles of the Pole, Bowers joining the Polar party, so ilmt the writer is in a position to recount again the story of the historic southern track. The details of Scott’s final march and the heart-rending account of his homeward journey, of Evans’ death, of Oates’ noble sacrifice, can never be told. Captain Evans realises,_ better than it has -'been told by Scott himself, but ho is able to odd something of interest not' previously published. It is a series of extracts from Lieutenant , Bowers’ diary now -in the possession of his mother. In the return of this last supporting party, of which the author was leader, Captain Evans has the field to himself, and this particular story is probably one of the most interesting in the book. It will be remembered that the latter portion of the journey was F/vans’ ■ special tragedy, for he bad contracted scurvy and it was only through the heroism of his companions, Lashlv and Crean, that he was eventually brought to safety. To these two men this book is dedicated, MOTOR SLEDGES AT WORK. It is a pleasant story of an adventure, friendship and! work during the outward journey from New Zealand, and during the first winter at Cape Evans that the outhor has to tell, and he tells it well. But he freely admits .that the the main object of the expedition was to reach the Pole and to secure for tho British nation the honour of' that achievement. , The .principal preparations led up to the start of the southern expedition in October, 1911. It is,- interesting to read of the efforts of the advance guard who set out with their two motor sledges—ope had! already broken through the" ice and sunk—and three tons of stores, carried on five 12ft sledges. The motors had already eot a bad reputation and the advance party left amid the gibes of friends. But the expressed sneers covered a sincere wish that the party would manage to get tho loads well on to the Barrier. Over the ice.the party were aWe to travel at one mile an hour by dint of "lumping," nranhauling, and coaxing. Two hours and o-balf was really a record to get the engines to show eigne of latent energy when they set out in tho morning. Trials and troubles with these machines continued, and at lost they were abandoned, but not before the party had got well on to the- Barrier and made » depot of part of their load! It was really a relief when they abandoned the recalcitrant machines and took to the harness of the' sledge themselves. “It was' easier work," writes Captain Evans, “to pull car loads straight-forwardly south than to play, about ond expend our uttermost effort daily on those ‘qualified’ motors.” A KNOCK-OUT BLOW. All went well until the sth, of December. “Another blizzard started, which tore bur chances of any great success to ribbons —it was' the biggest knock-down blow that Scott sustained in the whole history of his expedition • to date. Here ho was, a day’s march from tho Beardmore Glacier, with 14 men, in health, and- high fettle, with dogs, ponies, food, and everything requisite for a great advance, but it was not , to be, our progross was, barred for four whole days, and during that period wo had essentially to bo kept on full ration, for it would have availed ua nothing to lose strength in view of what we must yet face in the- way of physical effort end hardship—we were but one day’s march from Mount Hope, our ponies had to be fed, the dogs had to be fed, but they could-* do no work for their food. There was nothing for it but cheerful resignation,” TOUCHES OF UNSELFISHNESS. During the blizzard the ponies, which were in charge of Captain Oates, Buffered badly. In view of tho last tragedy of this heroic officer it is interesting to noth that he was already graduating for his great sacrifice, for the writer tells how he, of all men, set himself to belter the ponies’ state during tho bad weather. “The animals lost condition with a rapidity that was horrible to observe. The cutting wind whirling the sleet round the ponies gave them a very sorry time,, but whenever one peeped out of the tent deer, there was Oates, wet to the skin, trying to keep life in bis charges. I think the poor soldier suffered as much as the ponies. He had .felt that every 'time ho re-entered his tent (which was also Captain Scott’s) that he took in more wot snow and helped to increase the general discomfort. This being the case when he went out to tho ponies, he stopped out, and kept his vigil crouching behind a drifted-up ponywall.” Another little touch of unselfishness is shown by Moares and the Russian dog-boy, who as a supporting party had travelled farther south than their return rations allowed for. Consequently for . the 450 miles march northward to Capo Evans the two of them went short one mcol a day rather than deplete the depots. “It la a dreadful thing on an Antarctic sledge journey,” tho author comments, "to forfeit a whole meal daily, and Moares’ generosity should not be forgotten." Having successfully negotiated the Beardmore Glacier and accompanied the Polar party to within ■ 146 miles of the Pole, Lashly, Crean, and Evans turn for their northward journey. But they frequently looked back until they saw the last of Captain Scott and his four companions—a tiny black speck on the horizon. “Oates’ remark waa cheerful: ‘l’m afraid, Teddy, you won’t have much of a “slope” going bock, bat old Christopher is waiting to ho eaten on tho Barrier when you got there.”’ AN EXCITING DESCENT. Owing to blizzards the returning party found themselves right above tho Shacldelou IcefeJls, and they gazed down upon the more regular surface of the Beardmore Glacier hundreds of feet below. They were faced with two alternatives; either to march right round tho icefalls, and thus waste throe whole doys, or tako their lives in their hands and attempt to get the sledge straight over tho falls. They chose the latter course. The whole forenoon they worked down towards the glacier, but the actual descent of the steep part of the icefalls they accomplished in half an hour. “None of us can over forget that exciting descent. The speed of the sledge at one point must have been 60 miles an hour. Wo glissaded down a steep blub ice slope; to broke was impossible, for the, sledge had taken charge. One or other of us may have attempted to check the sledge with hia foot, but to stop it in any way would have meant a broken leg. We held cn for our lives, lying face downwards on the sledge. Suddenly it seemed to spring into the air, we had left the ioe and shot over on© yawning crevasse before we had known of its existence almost. 1 do not imagine we wore more than a second in tho air, but in that brief space of time I looked at Crean, who raised hia eyebrows oa if to say, ‘What nextl’ Then wo crashed on to tho ice ridge beyond this crevasse, the sledge capsized and rolled over and over, dragging ua throe with it until it came ’to a standstill.” AMONGST THE ICEFALLS. They congratulated themselves in having saved three days and pushed on down tho glacier, but 1 their troubles were only commencing, for having got off the right track on account of mist, they found themselves in tho heart of the Great Ice Fall, which is halfway down the Beardmore Glacier. Here, amidst tho chasms, the small party almost camo to tho end of their journey. It was just one other of those experiences which make this Antarctic expedition an epic of explorations. 'There seemed no way out of tlie confused mass of pressure ridges and orevaosees, and the supply of food was coming to an end. “ We were done,” writes Captain Evans, “our throats were dry, and we could scarcely speak. There was no wind, at tnoeptiofo was perfectly still, and tho au“slowly crept towards tho southern meridian, clear cut in the steel blue sky. It gave us all the sympathy it could, lor it shed warm rays upojk us as it silently moved op its way likoSa great eye from Heaven, looking but una«o to help. We should have gone mad with another day like this, and there were times when we camo perilously close to being insane. Something hod to he done. 1

got up from the dedge, cost my., ’Jt&rneM adrift, and said, '1 am going to look’ for • ' way out; wo can't go on.' ” ' But a way out was eventually found. CKEAN’ AND ‘ LASHHE. ; ■ ■ The day arrived when. Evans, stricken 1 with scurvy, could travel no further. Groan’, and Lankly placed him in bis sleeping bag and strapped him to the sledge. ~ weary their marches must have • been---teal. miles of foot slogging each day. _ I -.ould see them from the sledge by raising my heod—how slowly their legs seemed to move. —wearily but nobly they fought’,,'CUV- fin til ’ bno day a blizzard came and compior'ojy 1 spoilt the surface. The two men had been marching nearly 1500 miles, their _ strength ■was spent, and great though their haarlv ■ were, they had now to give, up. In vain they tried to move the sledge with ,my vested weight upon it—it was hopeless.” " j Finally, Clean set out to march '..SET' with no food but a few biscuits an<3Ta, litija stick of chocolate. He hoped to flatty at Hut Point. In the meantime’ the ;±wtr • others set themselves to wait. ' They. ’ had. ■ no food, except a few paraffin saturated bit* ; cuita, and neither, could have won through to the coast., But relief came at the end of the second day when everything - looked its blackest. A PBOPHEOT, ;’‘ -■ • - The adventures of other parties 'find, • place in the book. How Dr Atkinsbn'.aw|, his companions went out in the spring on - following year and found the enowed-up rj teOTf. of the ill-fated Polar party is told’rin and the concluding part Of the nairative covered with the last call of ! 'the Tbrfii Faya at Cape Evans, and the final depart tut© of the survivors. - ’ ’ T 1 “Early on 26th January," Captain Evans writes in conclusion, “we loff these inhospitable coasts, and those who were on deck watched the familiar rocky, _ snow-capped shores fast dieappearing from view; We bad been happy there before disaster overtook ■ our expedition, but now we were glad leave, and some of us must hove .’Realised . that these ice-girt rooks and mountains.worp not meant for human beings., to. : aasof4tt%k their lives with. For centuries, perhapa.ffg all time, no other being will set . foot upon, the Beardmore, and it is doubtful if even the great island plateau will be re-visited, except perhaps by aeroplane. When wo left, it was a ■ ‘good-night’ scene for most of us. The great white plateau and peaks wmw grimly \ awaiting winter, and they eeceoed to mock bur departing exploring ship o* though glad to bo left in their lonelond. eilemce." ■ rl'.'iW — mmmmmmtmmmmmmm >• ."foil* bXsflJf