Captain Scott. (Eckersley, book 4)

Captain Scott. (Eckersley, book 4)

No doubt, one Scott, Sir Walter, will be immortal as long the English language is read. Here is another Scott, immortal, too, as long as men still admire heroism and endurance.

In 1910 Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his crew set sail in the Terra Nova in an attempt tp discover the South Pole. They made their base at Cape Evans and planned the journey to the Pole in three stages.

First there was the crossing of the Barrier, a plain of ice nearly 500 miles. Over this Scott planned to send as much food and other stuff as he could by motor sledges. When these could go no farther, dogs and ponies would take the loads as much farther forward as they could. The motors took them the first 50 miles, then the ponies and dogs continued the journey south. Some of the ponies had to be shot as food for them was running short, but at last the plain was crossed. An even more difficult stage lay before them now, for towering in front of them rose a great range of mountains, in parts over 9,000 feet high and covered with ice. But through the range flowed a glacier, the Beardmore Glacier, and to climb this would be the next stage of the journey.

At the foot of the glacier they killed the remaining ponies (some of them had already died), cut up the meat and buried it so that it would provide food for the return journey. The dogs and some of the men now went back, but three sledges, each pulled by four men, set off on the next stage. It was a terrible journey; the snow was so soft that often they sank to their knees in it, and the heavy sledges – each carried 800 lbs. – were very difficult to move through it. Some of the men suffered from snow blindness, and most of them were already feeling the strain of the journey. Still they struggled on, nine hours a day, with resolute courage. It was the hope of reaching the Pole that made the journey endurable.

Scott watched the men carefully. He had decided that the final dash of 150 miles would be made by four men and himself, and he had to make up his mind which of the men he would choose. Finally he made his choice. In addition to Scott himself there was Dr. E.A.Wilson ("Uncle Bill"), surgeon and artist, a deeply learned man of a most lovable nature, brave, gentle and saintly. Then there was Lieutenant Bowers, small in body but giant in soul; Captain L.E.G.Oates of the royal Inniskilling Dragoons, and finally there was Edgar Evans, a British seaman, a huge fellow, as strong as a horse and unfailingly cheerful. These were the immortal five.

On 3rd January 1912, when the South Pole was 150 miles away, the seven men left behind said good-bye and cheered the five who were to go on, and watched them set off harnessed to their sledges, five brave souls who would never again see living faces except one another's Scott expected they would be at the Pole in a fortnight. For thirteen months nothing was heard of them, but from Scott's diaries we know all there is to be known.

On 18th January they reached the Pole. Three of the men were frost-bitten; all were hungry and weak. And at the Pole, in the midst of the waste of snow, stood a tent, with the Norwegian flag flying above it. Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer, had been there a month before and had gone. In the tent was a letter addressed to Scott saying: "Welcome to 90 degrees. With kind regards. I wish you a safe return. Roald Amundsen."

Bitterly disappointed, Scott and his companions set out on their return journey. It had taken them seventy-six days to get there; it would take at least as long to get back, and there were no ponies at the Barrier, only their frozen flesh, and they might not even find that. It was still the Antarctic summer but the weather was bitter, the wind was blowing at blizzard force, the ice was rough and food was short. They got at last to the top of the glacier. "I wonder if we can do it," wrote Scott. the conditions were terrible; their sleeping-bags never really thawed out, ice formed on the inside of their tent, and then, a month after they left the Pole, Evans collapsed. When he could no longer walk he tried to crawl on hands and knees down the glacier. Their only hope of success was to go on and leave Evans. But they did not go on. They stayed by him and, "we did not leave him till two hours after his death," writes Scott.

Without Evans' mighty strength it was almost impossible for the others to pull the sledge. The weather grew worse, with hurricanes, blizzards, intense cold, and they had not enough fuel to warm their food.

Oates was suffering terribly from frost-bite and could not pull the sledge; indeed he could hardly walk. "What shall I do?" he said to Dr. Wilson. "Keep on, keep on," said Wilson. But Oates knew he was slowing down the progress of his friends and making their death certain too. He slept through the night, hoping that he would not wake, but in the morning he was still alive. He said to his friends. "I am going outside and I may be some time." They knew he was walking out to his death in order that they might live and tried to dissuade him, "but," says Scott, "we knew it was the act of a brave man and an English gentleman. We all hope to meet the end with a similar spirit, and assuredly the end is not far."

They came at last to a spot only 11 miles from their "One-Ton Camp", but the blizzard was so fierce that they had to camp where they were with fuel for one hot meal and food for two days only. Only 11 miles to safety but they could not reach it. The blizzard blew more fiercely than ever. Despite the cold and hunger, Scott and his companions lived for four days longer, and they died there in their tent, three friends who did not fail one another.

Scott was the last to die. He filled in his diary almost to the last day and wrote a noble last message:

"We are weak, writing is difficult, but for my own sake I do not regret this journey, which has shown that Englishmen can endure hardship, help one another and meet death with as great a fortitude as ever in the past.

"Things have come against us; we have no cause for complaint but bow to the will of God, determined still to do our best to the last.

"But if we have been willing to give our lives to this enterprise, which is for the honour of our country, I appeal to our country to see that those who depend on us are properly cared for. Had we lived I should have had a tale to tell of the endurance and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale."

Eight months later a search party found that silent tent. They were as they had died. Scott's arm was outstretched to touch his friend Wilson. "The diary and letters were by his side; there was no food whatever, but on the sledges outside were still the rocks, etc., 35 lbs. in weight, for scientific study that they had brought back from the Pole.

In that last painful march they had not forgotten that they were scientists as well as explorers. The body of Oates was never found, but somewhere about the place where he went away they put up a heap of stones with the words: "Hereabouts died a very gallant gentleman, Captain L. E. G. Oates, who, on their return journey from the Pole in March 1912, willingly walked to his death in a blizzard to try to save his companions."

Summer in Antarctica

Antarctica is the highest, coldest, and most desolate place on earth, a continent twice the size of Western Europe, capped by ice over two miles thick. In 1987 glaciologist Dr Liz Morris became the first British woman to undertake remote field work with the British Antarctic Survey. Here she describes daily life during her second five-month summer stint in the frozen wastes.

November. Summer starts in Antarctica, and then I fly to the Falklands. Then, weather permitting, I travel by ship and then by plane to the glaciology base at Rothera, 900 miles south of Cape Horn. Here I put together my equipment for going into the field – sledges, food and a tent. Martin, my general assistant, travels with me, using his two-year experience of weather and travel for our safety.

There are at most 50 people here. Rothera is quite luxurious, with heating, a doctor and a cook. We sleep in tiny rooms with four bunks, like a ship's cabin. There's no privacy. There are separate stalls in the loos and I can wash separately, but it's a community life.

I tell my problems to the dogs. Only twenty huskies, born and bred in Antarctica, are left at Rothera. These days Skidoos – motorbikes with tank tracks – avoid the environment problem of killing seals for dog food and are considered more practical. But the dogs are more reliable, intelligent and loving. They are important to me.

It is tough being the first woman. All the men were very courteous, but some of them, particularly the new guys, felt strongly that to have women there was wrong. Perhaps they thought that if a middle-aged woman with no particular physical skill could do it, how could they be heroes?

December. I'm set down by plane on the Ronne Ice Shelf. It is awe-inspiring. There you are in a white expanse of nothingness, a thousand miles from base. There are just two of us and for the next few months we would be utterly dependent on ourselves and each other. This gives you an amazing commitment, both to each other and the job.

In December it's daylight all the time, and the sun goes round in circles overhead. I wake up at about 6 a.m. Martin and I share a small two-man tent. I've been on so many expeditions that I'm used to the lack of privacy, and as for any relationships with my colleagues, my boyfriend knows that I would never get involved with anyone else. Anyway, you can't get romantic when you are worried about frost-bite.

The cold is a nightmare. I sleep and work in most of my clothes. All the gear makes peeing difficult for women. What's so terrible is baring your bottom to the icy blast. I never wash and rarely change my clothes because it's too cold, and at that temperature no bacteria work so you don't smell. Last time we changed only three times in 73 days. I clean my teeth with snow on the toothbrush, but that's all.

We never go more than a couple of hundred yards from the tent, and we carry another small tent and radio with us, so if our big tent gets blown away we can at least survive a couple of days.

We take turns to cook supper. Everything's rationed and there's very little choice – no fresh food, all dried. The bonus is one tin of sardines and one tin of sausages each, every twenty days.

January. We travel every few days from site to site on Skidoos. This is the best bit, traveling through the open landscape. There's such a sense of freedom: all my belongings are on the sledge behind me. I am self-sufficient and enjoying the adventure and the romance.

I've only had one frightening moment, when we were flying in a blizzard. We had to land blind and were then stranded for three days in the storm. I was pleased I didn't panic.

There are problems with people not getting on. I know of people who have become irrational because of the isolation and the stress, even threatening to kill each other. It's rare, but it does happen – more so in the winter. But everyone's very carefully selected over a week's residential course. I'm on the selection panel; we look for a happy, calm, mature temperament and have to reject anybody who appears to be trying to escape from something or who doesn't mix well with others.

February. It's getting really cold now, with winter coming on. There are even a few sunsets, although it's never actually dark. Night temperatures go down as low as – 30 F (a domestic freezer is – 20 F). When it's cold I can't sleep. We've read the three or four books we could bring, so we're reliant on each other for amusement. I feel it will be nice when this is over, but I'm not bored because I am fascinated by every aspect of Antarctic experience.

March. The pack ice takes all summer to melt and then quickly starts freezing again, but with luck we've got two weeks when a ship can get in.

Leaving is terribly emotional, the people who are staying behind for the winter lining up to watch the boat go, the shop hooting mournfully. Those who are leaving after two years – the non-scientists such as doctors and cooks – weep because they know they're unlikely to go back to Antarctica. In fact, the whole thing is an incredibly emotional experience.

Captain Scott and Antarctica Today.

I. 1.Why did Amundsen succeed and Scott failed?

2. How many men continued the journey from the foot of the glacier? What are their names?

3. Who was the first British woman to do field work in Antarctica?

4. What were the hardships she had to overcome? Name at least five problems.

II. 1. What do you think Scott expedition achieved?

2. How do we know what happened to the "immortal five" during the "last dash"?

3. Why is it tough to be a woman working in Antarctica? Name at least five biggest problems.

4. Are dogs used in Antarctica today?

III. 1. Why did Amundsen make better progress than Scott?

2. Why did Oates walk out of the tent into the blizzard?

3. What was it that Dr Liz Morris enjoyed during her stint in Antarctica?

4. Why did some men feel strongly that to have women in Antarctica was wrong?

IV. 1. What made Captain Scott and his men into heroes?

2. How near to safety were they when they died?

3. What makes work in Antarctica extremely hard for people? Name at least five problems.

4. Why are Skidoos considered more practical today than huskies?

V.1. How did Amundsen and Scott prepare for their expedition?

2. When he got to the South Pole why was Scott "bitterly disappointed"?

3. How big is Antarctica? What makes this continent different from others?

4. Why does Liz Morris call the base at Rothera "luxurious"?

VI. 1. What did the rocks and fossils collected by Scott and his men prove?

2. What did Scott think that this journey had shown?

3. What do you think attracts people to Antarctica? Think of at least three reasons people go there for.

4. Why is her boyfriend not jealous when Liz Morris goes to work in Antarctica? (Two reasons)

VII 1.What made Scott and his men's journey extremely hard?

2. Who of the "immortal five" die first?

3. How does the cold affect the living conditions in Antarctica? What is one good thing about it?

4. How are people selected for work in Antarctica? What qualities are expected? Who can be rejected?

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