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Discovery Expedition

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The Discovery in the Antarctic ice

The British National Antarctic Expedition, 1901–04, generally known as the Discovery Expedition, was the first official British exploration of the Antarctic regions since James Clark Ross's voyage sixty years earlier. Organised on a large scale under a joint committee of the Royal Society and the Royal Geographical Society (RGS), the new expedition aimed to carry out scientific research and geographical exploration in what was then largely an untouched continent. It launched the Antarctic careers of many who would become leading figures in the "Heroic Age" of Antarctic exploration, including Robert Falcon Scott who led the expedition, Ernest Shackleton, Edward Wilson, Frank Wild, Tom Crean and William Lashly.

Its scientific results covered extensive ground in biology, zoology, geology, meteorology and magnetism. There were important geological and zoological discoveries, including those of the McMurdo Dry Valleys and the Cape Crozier Emperor penguin colony. In the field of geographical exploration, achievements included the discoveries of King Edward VII Land, and the Polar Plateau via the Western Mountains route. The expedition did not, however, make a serious attempt on the South Pole, its principal southern journey reaching a Furthest South at 82°17'S.

As a trailbreaker for later ventures, the Discovery Expedition was a landmark in British Antarctic exploration history. After its return home it was celebrated as a success, despite the requirement of an expensive relief mission to free Discovery from the ice, and later disputes about the quality of some of its scientific records. It has been asserted that the expedition's main failure had been its inability to master the techniques of efficient polar travel using skis and dogs,[1] a legacy that persisted in British Antarctic expeditions throughout the "Heroic Age".

The Discovery expedition hut at Hut Point; The modern McMurdo Station is in the background.
Castle Rock, near Hut Point, was a prominent landmark and guide homeward for sledging parties on the Ice Barrier.

Background to the expedition

Forerunners

Sir James Clark Ross, who explored the Ross Sea coastline and discovered the Great Ice Barrier.

In 1839–43 James Clark Ross's Royal Naval expedition, with its two ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, discovered the Ross Sea sector of the Antarctic. It explored the Victoria Land coast south to McMurdo Bay and, turning east, encountered the Great Ice Barrier (later called the Ross Ice Shelf), which it followed to a point 250 statute miles (400 km) east of Cape Crozier. Ross had an impression of land further east of this point, but could not verify it. After Ross, this sector of the Antarctic was not revisited for 50 years, until a whaling expedition under the Norwegian Henryk Bull made the first confirmed landing on continental Antarctica, at a headland which Ross had named Cape Adare. Four years later Carstens Borchgrevink, who had participated with Bull in that first landing, took his own British-financed[2] expedition to Cape Adare, where he wintered in 1899. He then followed Ross's route southwards, and made a landing on the Barrier at a location later to be known as the Bay of Whales. Borchgrevink and his party were the first to set foot on the surface of the Barrier; they sledged southwards for a short distance, to set a Furthest South at 79°17'S.

The Discovery Expedition was planned during a surge of international interest in the Antarctic regions at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries. Four other expeditions worked in other sectors of the continent at the same time as the Discovery, from Germany (Erich von Drygalski), Sweden (Otto Nordenskjold), France (Jean-Baptiste Charcot) and Scotland (William Speirs Bruce).

The Navy, Markham and Scott

Polar exploration, mainly in the North (Ross's expedition had been an exception) had once been a traditional activity of the peace-time Royal Navy. After the total loss of the Franklin expedition (1845) – in Ross's ships Erebus and Terror – and the many years spent searching for it, the Admiralty's appetite for polar adventure diminished, and after the 1874–76 North Pole expedition led by George Nares, it ceased altogether.[3] In 1893 the prominent biologist Sir John Murray, who had visited Antarctic waters during the 1870s in HMS Challenger,[4] addressed a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society and called for a full-scale Antarctic expedition for the benefit of British science.[5] This view was strongly supported by RGS President Sir Clements Markham, a former naval man and a long-time advocate for the resumption of the navy's former role. Murray's proposal was also supported by the country's premier scientific body, the Royal Society. A joint committee was set up by the two Societies and, driven by Markham's energy, the "National Antarctic Expedition"[6] began to take shape. Markham's vision of a full-blown naval affair after the style of Ross or Franklin was opposed by sections of the joint committee (see Science versus Adventure, below), but his tenacity was such that the expedition was moulded largely to his wishes. His brother and biographer later wrote that the expedition was "the creation of his brain, the product of his persistent energy".[7]

It had long been Markham's practice to take note of promising young naval officers who might later be suitable for polar responsibilities, should the opportunity arise. He had first observed Midshipman Robert Falcon Scott in 1887, while the latter was serving with HMS Rover in St Kitts in 1887, and had remembered him. Thirteen years later Scott, by now a Torpedo Lieutenant on HMS Majestic, was looking for a path to career advancement, and a chance meeting with Sir Clements in London led him to apply for the leadership of the expedition. Scott had not always been Markham's first choice, but other candidates had either aged or were no longer available.[8] Now, with Markham's whole-hearted backing, Scott's appointment was secured by 25 May 1900, followed swiftly by his promotion to Commander.

Science versus adventure

The nature of Scott's precise responsibilities had still to be settled. The Royal Society joint committee members thought that he should be merely the captain of the ship that would transport the expedition to Antarctica. They secured the appointment of Dr J W Gregory, Professor of Geology at the University of Melbourne and former assistant geologist at the British Museum, as the expedition's scientific director, and leader once it had landed.[9] This was not how Markham and the RGS caucus saw it. They argued that Scott's command of the whole expedition must be total and unambiguous, and Scott himself was insistent on this to the point of resignation.[9] Markham's and Scott's view prevailed, and Gregory resigned, saying that the scientific work should not be "subordinated to naval adventure".[10]

This controversy soured relations between the Societies and lingered after the conclusion of the expedition and the publication of its scientific results. But Markham's insistence on a naval command was primarily a matter of tradition and style, rather than indicating disrespect for science. He had made clear his belief that, on its own, the mere attainment of a higher latitude than someone else was "unworthy of support".[10]

Personnel

Statue of Captain Scott, by Lady Kathleen Scott, Christchurch, New Zealand

Although it was not a formal Navy project, Scott proposed to run the expedition on naval lines, and secured the crew's voluntary agreement to work under the Naval Discipline Act.[11] The Admiralty agreed to provide him with three RN officers – Lieutenants Michael Barne, Charles Royds and engineer Reginald Skelton – and a complement of 23 seamen, gaps to be filled by former RN men, the Merchant Marine and by civilians. Two merchant officers were recruited: Albert Armitage, the second-in-command, who had experience with the Jackson–Harmsworth Arctic expedition, 1894–97, and Ernest Shackleton, destined to lead later expeditions and in due course to rank with Scott, Roald Amundsen and Australian Douglas Mawson as one of the great figures of early 20th Century Antarctic exploration.

The scientific team was inexperienced. Dr George Murray, Gregory's successor as chief scientist, was due to travel only as far as Australia (in fact he left the ship at Cape Town), using the voyage to train the scientists, but with no part in the detailed scientific work. The only scientist with previous Antarctic experience was Louis Bernacchi, who had been with Borchgrevink as magnetic observer and meteorologist. The geologist, Hartley Ferrar, was a 22-year-old recent Cambridge graduate. Marine biologist Thomas Hodgson, from Plymouth Museum, was a more mature figure, as was the senior of the two doctors, Reginald Koettlitz, at 40 the oldest member of the expedition. He, like Armitage, had been with the Jackson–Harmsworth expedition. The junior doctor and zoologist was Edward Wilson, in whom Scott acquired a lifelong soulmate, a steadying influence, and one of the most acute of Antarctic observers.

File:ErnestHenryShackleton.jpg
Ernest Shackleton, Third Officer on the Discovery

Scott was fortunate that among the lower deck complement were staunch figures such as Frank Wild and William Lashly, and also Thomas Crean, who joined the expedition following the desertion of seaman Harry Baker at Lyttleton Harbour.[12] Petty Officer Edgar Evans and Able Seaman Thomas Williamson, together with Lashly and Crean, would subsequently travel with Scott on the Terra Nova Expedition. Another Antarctic debutant who would later make his name, chiefly in association with Ernest Shackleton, was Ernest Joyce.

Organisation and objectives

Finance

The total cost of the expedition was estimated at £90,000, of which £45,000 was offered by the British Government provided that the two Societies could raise a matching sum. They achieved this, thanks largely to a donation of £25,000 from wealthy RGS member Sir Llewellyn Longstaff. The RGS itself contributed £8,000, its largest single contribution to any expedition to date, and £5,000 came from Alfred Harmsworth, later Lord Northcliffe.[13] The rest was raised from smaller donations. The expedition also benefitted from significant commercial sponsorship: Colman's provided mustard and flour, Cadbury's gave 3,500 lb (1,600 kg) of chocolate, Jaeger's gave a 40% discount on special clothing, and Bird's, Bovril and others all contributed.[14]

Ship

The Discovery ship's bell
Main article: Discovery (ship)

The expedition's ship was built by the Dundee Shipbuilders' Company as a specialist research vessel designed for work in Antarctic waters, and was one of the last three-masted wooden sailing ships built in Britain.[15] The construction cost was £34,050, plus £10,322 for the engines,[15] and the final cost after all modifications was £51,000.[15] The name had historic naval associations, most recently as one of the ships used in the Nares expedition, and certain features of this older vessel were incorporated into the design of the new ship. She was launched by Lady Markham on 21 March 1901 as SS Discovery (the "Royal Research Ship" designation was acquired in the 1920s). Forbidden by the Admiralty to fly the White Ensign, she eventually sailed under the Merchant Shipping Act, flying the RGS house flag and the Blue Ensign and burgee of the Harwich Yacht Club.[16]

Objectives

The Discovery, like Ross and Borchgrevink before it, was to work in the Ross Sea sector of Antarctica. Other areas of the continent had been considered, but the principle followed was that "in going for the unknown they should start from the known". [17]The main objectives of the expedition were summarised in the joint committee's Instructions to the Commander in the following terms: "to determine, as far as possible, the nature, condition and extent of that portion of the south polar lands which is included in the scope of your expedition", and "to make a magnetic survey in the southern regions to the south of the 40th parallel and to carry out meteorological, oceanographic, geological, biological and physical investigations and researches".[15] It was stipulated that neither of these objectives was to be sacrificed to the other.

The instructions concerning the geographical objective became more specific: "The chief points of geographical interest are ... to explore the ice barrier of Sir James Ross to its eastern extremity; to discover the land which was believed by Ross to flank the barrier to the eastward, or to ascertain that it does not exist ... If you should decide to winter in the ice...your efforts as regards geographical exploration should be directed to ... an advance to the western mountains, an advance to the south, and an exploration of the volcanic region".[15]

Expedition

First year

Discovery left British waters on 6 August 1901, and arrived in New Zealand via Cape Town on 29 November after a detour below 40°S for a magnetic survey.[18] After three weeks of final preparation she was ready for the journey south. On 21 December, as the ship was leaving Lyttleton Harbour to the cheers of large crowds, a distressing accident occurred which cast a pall over the start of the voyage. A young Able Seaman, Charles Bonner, fell to his death from the top of the mainmast, which he had climbed so as to return the crowd's applause.[19] He was buried at Port Chalmers, two days later.

The Discovery then sailed south, arriving at Cape Adare on 9 January 1902. After a brief landing she continued southwards along the Victoria Land coast to McMurdo Bay[20] and turned eastward, to land again at Cape Crozier to establish a pre-arranged message point there.[21] She then followed the Barrier to its eastern extremity where, on 30 January, the land predicted by Ross was confirmed, and named King Edward VII Land.[22] After a brief landing on the Barrier surface and some experimental balloon flights, the ship turned westward in search of winter quarters. On 8 February she reached the southern limit of the bay and anchored in a spot christened Winter Quarters Bay.

File:Hut Point Antarctica.JPG
The Vince memorial cross, erected on the Hut Point promontory.

Work began ashore with the erection of the expedition's huts on a rocky peninsula designated Hut Point. Scott had decided that the expedition should continue to live and work aboard ship, and he allowed Discovery to be frozen into the sea ice, leaving the main hut to be used as a storeroom and shelter.[23] For the Discovery party the process of familiarisation with their new environment was sobering. None of the men were skilled skiers, and only Bernacchi and Armitage had any experience of dog-sledges. The results of the men's early efforts to master these techniques were not encouraging, and tended to reinforce Scott's prejudices in favour of man-hauling.[24] The dangers for inexperienced travellers in unpredictable and unfamiliar conditions were confirmed when, on 11 March, a party returning from an aborted journey to Cape Crozier became stranded on an icy slope during a blizzard, and in their attempt to find safer ground one of the group, AB George Vince, slid over the edge of a cliff and was killed. His body was never recovered, but a cross with a simple inscription, erected in his memory, still stands today at the summit of Hut Point.[25]

During the winter months of May–August the scientists were busy in their laboratories, whilst elsewhere equipment and stores were prepared for the next season's work. For relaxation there were amateur theatricals and "improving" activities in the form of lectures. A newspaper, the South Polar Times, was edited by Shackleton. Outside pursuits did not cease altogether; there was football on the ice, and the schedule of magnetic and meteorological observations was maintained throughout.

Inside the Discovery Hut - a modern photograph


As winter ended, trial sledge runs resumed, to test equipment and rations in advance of the planned Southern Journey which Scott, Wilson and Shackleton were to undertake. Meanwhile, a party under Lt Royds travelled to Cape Crozier to leave a message, and discovered the Emperor penguin colony there,[26] while another, under Armitage, reconnoitred in the mountains to the west. This party returned in October with symptoms of scurvy.[27] The expedition's diet was quickly revised, tinned meat being replaced by fresh meat and penguin, and the trouble was contained.[28] Unfortunately this dietary revision was only partly carried through into sledging rations.

Scott, Wilson and Shackleton left on 2 November 1902 with dogs and supporting parties. Their goal was "to get as far south in a straight line on the Barrier ice as we can, reach the Pole if possible, or find some new land".[29] However, their lack of skill as dog drivers was soon evident, and progress was slow. After the support parties had returned, the group resorted to relaying their loads, thus travelling 3 miles (5 km) for every mile of southward progress. Mistakes had been made with the dogs' food,[30] and a combination of poor diet and incompetent handling weakened them further, until Wilson was forced to kill the weakest as food for the others. The men, too, were struggling, afflicted by snow-blindness, frostbite and possible early scurvy, but they continued southwards in line with the mountains to their west, until on 30 December, without having left the Barrier, they reached their Furthest South at 82°17'S.[31] Troubles multiplied on the home journey, as the remaining dogs died and Shackleton collapsed with scurvy.[32] Scott and Wilson struggled on, with Shackleton unable to pull, walking alongside and occasionally carried on the sledge.[33] The party eventually reaching the ship on 3 February 1903 after 93 days' travel at a disappointingly slow daily average of under 9 miles (14 km). However, in spite of the hardships endured, they had continued to chart the mountain chain to their west, and had identified and named many features and landmarks.

Arrival of the relief ship

During the the southern party's absence the relief ship Morning had arrived, bringing fresh supplies. The expedition's organisers had assumed that the Discovery would be free from the ice in early 1903. Scott would then be able to carry out further seaborne exploration and survey work, moving north of the pack before winter set in, and returning to New Zealand in March or April. It was intended that Discovery would then return home via the Pacific route, continuing its magnetic survey en route.[34] Morning would provide any assistance that Scott might require during this period.

This plan was confounded as Discovery remained firmly icebound. Markham had privately anticipated this, and Morning's captain, William Colbeck, was carrying a secret letter to Scott authorising another year in the ice.[34] With Discovery immobile, this became inevitable. Morning provided the opportunity for some of the party to return home, and among these, against his will, was the convalescent Shackleton, who Scott decided "ought not to risk further hardships in his present state of health".[35] Some polar chroniclers date the Scott–Shackleton antipathy from this point, others from a supposed earlier fall-out during the southern journey.[36] There is, however, plenty of evidence that relations remained cordial for some years yet.[37] Morning departed for New Zealand on 2 March 1903, and the main party prepared for another winter.

Second year in the ice

Emperor penguins. The colony at Cape Crozier had been discovered by a party led by Charles Royds, in October 1902.

After the 1903 winter had passed, Scott prepared for the second main journey of the expedition, an ascent of the western mountains and exploration of the interior of Victoria Land. Armitage's reconnaissance party the previous year had pioneered a route up to altitude 8,900 ft (2670 m) before returning, but Scott wished to march west from this point, if possible to the location of the South Magnetic Pole. After a false start due to faulty sledges, a party including Scott, Lashly and Edgar Evans set out from Discovery on 26 October 1903. Ascending a large glacier, which was named after the party's geologist Ferrar, they reached a height of 7,000 ft (2100 m) before being held in camp for a week by blizzards, and did not reach the glacier summit until 13 November. They marched on beyond Armitage's furthest point, discovered the Polar Plateau and became the first party to travel on it. After the return of geological and supporting parties Scott, Evans and Lashly continued westward across the featureless plain for another eight days, reaching their most westerly point on 30 November, just west of 148°E, and about 70 miles (112 km) SW of the calculated location of the Magnetic Pole. Having lost their navigational tables in a gale during the glacier ascent, they did not know exactly where they were, and had no landmarks to help them fix a position. The return journey of 150 miles (240 km) to the Ferrar Glacier summit was perilous in the extreme, but they found the glacier, and on the descent took a short detour to discover the rare phenomenon of an Antarctic snow-free area or "dry valley".[38] Scott and Evans survived a potentially fatal fall into a crevasse before the party reached Discovery on 24 December. Their average daily mileage on this exclusively man-hauling journey was significantly better than that achieved with dogs on the previous season's southern journey, a fact which further strengthened Scott's prejudices against dogs.[39]

Several other journeys were completed during Scott's absence. Royds and Bernacchi travelled for 31 days on the Barrier in a SE direction, observing its uniformly flat character and making further magnetic readings. Another party had explored the Koettlitz Glacier to the south-west, and Wilson had travelled to Cape Crozier to observe the Emperor penguin colony at close quarters.

Second relief expedition

Scott had hoped on his return to find Discovery free from the ice, but she remained held fast. Work began with ice saws, but after labouring for 12 days the men had only carved two parallel cuts, each 150 yards (137 m) in length, still 20 miles (32 km) from open water.[40] The work was abandoned.

On 5 January 1904 Morning returned with a second ship, the Terra Nova, and firm instructions from the Admiralty that, if Discovery could not be freed she was to be abandoned and her complement brought home on the two relief ships. This ultimatum resulted from Markham's dependence on the Treasury for meeting the costs of this second relief expedition, which they would do only on their own terms.[41] The deadline agreed between the three captains was 25 February, and it became a race against time for the relief vessels to reach Discovery, still held fast at Hut Point. As a precaution Scott began the transfer of his scientific specimens to the other ships. Explosives were used, and the sawing parties resumed work, but although the relief ships were able to edge closer, by the end of January Discovery remained icebound, 2 miles (3 km) from the rescuers. On 10 February Scott accepted that he would have prepare to abandon her when, on 14 February, the ice suddenly broke up and the Morning and Terra Nova were able to sail alongside.[42] A final explosive charge removed the remaining ice on 16 February, and the following day, after a last scare when she became temporarily grounded on a shoal, Discovery began the return journey to New Zealand.[43]

Aftermath: summary of achievements

On its return to Britain the expedition was well received. Scott was promoted Captain RN and invited to Balmoral to meet the King, who invested him with the CVO. He also received a cluster of medals and awards from overseas, including the French Legion d'honneur. Naval promotions were also given to other officers and crew members. Scott's published account, The Voyage of the Discovery, sold well, and he became something of a celebrity before resuming his naval career, first as an assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence and then, in August 1906, as Flag-captain to Rear-Admiral George Egerton on HMS Victorious

File:Koettlitz Glacier - Antarctica.jpg
The Koettlitz Glacier, discovered and explored during the expedition.

The main geographical results of the expedition were: the discovery of King Edward VII Land; the ascent of the Western Mountains and the discovery of the polar plateau; the first sledge journey on the plateau and a Furthest West beyond 148°E; the Barrier journey to a Furthest South at 82°17'S. The island nature of Ross Island was established, the Transantarctic Mountains chain was charted to 83°S and the positions and heights of more than 200 individual mountains were calculated. Many other features and landmarks were also identified and named, and there was extensive coastal survey work.

In addition to the mass of data from meteorological and magnetic observations, which would take years to assess, there were several discoveries of major scientific importance. These included the dry valley in the western mountains, the Emperor penguin colony at Cape Crozier, scientific evidence that the Ice Barrier was a floating ice shelf,[44] and Ferrar's leaf fossil which helped to establish Antarctica's relation to the Gondwana super-continent.[44] Thousands of geological and biological specimens had been collected and new marine species identified. The location of the South Magnetic Pole had been calculated with reasonable accuracy. An general endorsement of the scientific results from the navy's Chief Hydrographer (and former Scott opponent) Sir William Wharton, was encouraging.[45] However, when the meteorological data were published their accuracy was disputed within the scientific establishment, including the President of the Physical Society of London, Dr Chree.[46] Scott defended his team's work, while privately acknowledging that Royds's paperwork in this field had been "dreadfully slipshod".[47] It was unfortunate for Scott that these disputes arose during his fundraising for the Terra Nova Expedition.

Some consequences

The expedition generated considerable enthusiasm for future Antarctic exploration among some of its members. Scott himself harboured further ambitions,[48] and three of his officers – Armitage, Barne and Shackleton – nurtured their own plans.[49] Some crew members, Frank Wild and Ernest Joyce for instance, would become addicted to the ice, making repeated returns in expedition after expedition.

It is not surprising, given Markham's cheer-leading[50] and the excitement generated by the public appearances of the main participants – Scott in particular – that the expedition was treated as a triumphant success. This generated a mood which was not conducive to objective analysis or critical appraisal. Consequently, characteristics such as reliance on pluck and resourceful improvisation rather than professionalism were inherited as norms by later British expeditions.[51] Significantly, the glorification by Scott of man-hauling[52] as something intrinsically more noble than other ice travel techniques was an idea that was also passed on. It led to a relative neglect of proven methods of ice travel, such as ski and dogs, which mystified Amundsen and Nansen.[53]

Scott did apply some lessons from the Discovery Expedition to his next venture, with the Terra Nova. He took a larger and more experienced scientific team, he avoided his ship being trapped in the ice, he took a ski expert and made his men learn the rudiments of skiing. But he replicated the general shape of the earlier expedition – its size, its multiple aims and its formal naval character, and retained his ambivalence regarding dogs until it was too late to affect the expedition's outcome (see Terra Nova Expedition). Shackleton's 1907–1909 Nimrod expedition was smaller, less formal and with a more concentrated purpose. It outdid Scott's Discovery efforts in polar exploration terms, but Shackleton's achievements were with horses not dogs, and did not alter Scott's prejudices.[54]

The failure to avoid the incidence of scurvy, repeated in subsequent expeditions, was the result of medical ignorance of the causes of the disease rather than the fault of the expedition. At that time it was known that a fresh meat diet could cure scurvy, but not that lack of it was a cause. For example, fresh seal meat was taken on the southern journey "in case we find ourselves attacked by scurvy",[55] a wording which suggests that the meat was to deal with scurvy after rather than before its occurrence. It is not recorded how much seal meat was taken, but scurvy certainly occurred on that journey. It remained a bane of sledging parties on all future British Antarctic expeditions until its causes were finally established, some 20 years after the Discovery expedition.

See also

References

  1. ^ Huntford, p. 188
  2. ^ The expedition was funded by a donation of £35,000 from publishing magnate Sir George Newnes (Preston, p. 14)
  3. ^ Max Jones, p. 50
  4. ^ Murray had been assistant to the Challenger voyage's chief scientist, Charles Wyville Thomson, and assumed responsibility for the production of the scientific reports after the death of Thomson in 1882
  5. ^ Max Jones, pp. 56–57
  6. ^ The expedition was originally the "National Antarctic Expedition" and this style is still sometimes used. The "British" was added to distinguish it from other national expeditions, from Germany, France, etc
  7. ^ Max Jones, p. 58
  8. ^ Crane, p. 82
  9. ^ a b Crane, pp. 91–101 Cite error: The named reference "Crane_91" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b Max Jones, pp. 62–63 Cite error: The named reference "Max_Jones_62" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  11. ^ Fiennes p. 35
  12. ^ Michael Smith, p. 31
  13. ^ Harmsworth had previously financed the Jackson-Harmsworth expedition to the Arctic, 1894–97
  14. ^ Preston, p. 39
  15. ^ a b c d e Savours, pp. 11–18 Cite error: The named reference "Savours_11" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  16. ^ Crane, p. 113
  17. ^ Fiennes, p. 31. It appears that Fiennes is quoting Markham's words but this is not made clear
  18. ^ Savours, p. 24
  19. ^ Michael Smith, p. 37
  20. ^ The character of McMurdo as a Sound rather than a bay was not established until later in the expedition
  21. ^ Message points or post offices were set up at predetemined locations, so that relief ships would be able to find the expedition
  22. ^ The name "King Edward VII Land" is nowadays applied only to a small peninsula adjoining the Ross Ice Shelf, not to the large land mass to its south and east
  23. ^ Because of its location close to the Barrier edge this hut was used as a depot and shelter on all subsequent expeditions based in the McMurdo area
  24. ^ See Scott's Voyage of the Discovery Vol I p. 467 for Scott's oft-quoted statement about the superiority of man-hauling
  25. ^ Michael Smith, p. 51
  26. ^ Fiennes, p. 87
  27. ^ Preston, p. 59
  28. ^ See Crane, pp. 194–96 for an account of the scurvy episode
  29. ^ Wilson, diary entry 12 June 1902
  30. ^ Crane. p. 205
  31. ^ Although most authorities, including Scott, Wilson and Shackleton, give 82°17 as the party's furthest south others, including Fiennes and Crane, give 82°11. Furthermore Crane (pp. 214–15) claims that modern calculations of the position fix it at between 82°05' and 82°06'
  32. ^ Crane, pp. 226-27. Wilson's diary tends to skirt around the question of scurvy, beyond stating (entry 14 January 1903) that "we all have slight, though definite symptoms of scurvy"
  33. ^ The extent to which Shackleton was carried was disputed between Scott's account and Shackleton's, with Edward Wilson tending to support Shackleton
  34. ^ a b Crane, p. 233
  35. ^ Preston, p. 68
  36. ^ See Fiennes, p. 100
  37. ^ The recorded words and actions of Scott and Shackleton do not support the view that there was bad blood between them, until Shackleton became a rival to Scott in the hunt for the Pole. Albert Armitage, who had fallen out with Scott, was the chief source of stories of a Scott-Shackleton rift
  38. ^ Lashly's recorded comment on the dry valley was "a good place for growing spuds" - Crane, p. 270
  39. ^ Crane, p. 270, calls the western journey "one of the great journeys of polar history"
  40. ^ Crane, p. 275
  41. ^ Fiennes, pp. 129–30
  42. ^ Michael Smith, p. 66
  43. ^ Crane, pp. 277–87
  44. ^ a b Crane, p. 272–73 Cite error: The named reference "Crane_272" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  45. ^ Crane, p. 302
  46. ^ Huntford, pp. 229–30
  47. ^ Crane, p. 392
  48. ^ Max Jones, p. 72
  49. ^ Only Shackleton's plans came to fruition
  50. ^ Crane, p. 303
  51. ^ For example, Shackleton's 1907–09 Nimrod venture had strong indivdual characters, but scarecely any more Antarctic or Arctic experience than had the Discovery
  52. ^ Quoted in Max Jones, p. 71
  53. ^ Nansen's advice was always sought, but often set aside, by both Scott and Shackleton. See also Huntford, pp.138–39, Max Jones, p. 83 and others
  54. ^ Shackleton's impressive distances convinced Scott to take horses on the Terra Nova. Indeed, noting Shackleton's observation that the dark-coloured ponies had died before the white ones, Scott ordered that only white ones be purchased – Preston, p. 113
  55. ^ Wilson diary entry, 15 October 1902

Sources

  • Crane, David: Scott of the Antarctic Harper Collins 2005 ISBN 0 00 715068 7
  • Fiennes, Ranulph: Captain ScottHodder & Stoughton, 2003 ISBN 0 340 82697 5
  • Huntford, Roland: The Last Place On Earth Pan edition 1985 ISBN 0 330 28816 4
  • Jones, Max: The Last Great Quest OUP 2003 ISBN 0 19 280483 9
  • Preston, Diana: A First-Rate Tragedy Constable pb 1999 ISBN 0 09 479530 4
  • Savours, Ann: The Voyages of the Discovery: Illustrated History Chatham Publishing 2001 ISBN 1 86176 149X
  • Scott, Robert Falcon: The Voyage of the Discovery Vol 1 Smith, Elder & Co 1905
  • Smith, Michael: An Unsung Hero: Tom Crean, Antarctic Survivor Headline Book Publishing 2000 ISBN 1 903464 09 9
  • Wilson, Edward: Diary of the Discovery Expedition ed. Ann Savours, Blandford Press edition, 1966 ISBN 0 7137 0431 4

Further reading

  • Huntford, Roland: Shackleton Hodder & Stoughton 1985 ISBN 0 340 250007 0
  • Landis, M: Antarctica: Exploring the Extreme: 400 Years of Adventure. Chicago Review Press 2003 ISBN 1-55652-480-3
  • Seaver, George: Edward Wilson of the Antarctic John Murray 1933
  • Skelton J V & Wilson D W Discovery Illustrated: Pictures from Captain Scott's First Antarctic Expedition Reardon Publishing 2001 ISBN 1-873877-48-X
  • Skelton, Judy (ed) The Antarctic Journals of Reginald Skelton: 'Another Little Job for the Tinker'. Reardon Publishing 2004 ISBN 1-873877-68-4
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