

This eBook was converted to HTML and given additional editing by
Jose Menendez from the text edition produced by Geoffrey Cowling
gcowling@laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au.  Illustrations added by Eric Eldred.
Computer-generated MP3 audio was generated by Bud Alverson.

___________________________________________________________________


                             SOUTH!

                          THE STORY OF
                  SHACKLETON'S LAST EXPEDITION
                           1914-1917

                 BY SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON C.V.O.



                               TO

                           MY COMRADES

                  WHO FELL IN THE WHITE WARFARE
                    OF THE SOUTH AND ON THE
                      RED FIELDS OF FRANCE
                          AND FLANDERS




CONTENTS


I.     INTO THE WEDDELL SEA
II.    NEW LAND
III.   WINTER MONTHS
IV.    LOSS OF THE 'ENDURANCE'
V.     OCEAN CAMP
VI.    THE MARCH BETWEEN
VII.   PATIENCE CAMP
VIII.  ESCAPE FROM THE ICE
IX.    THE BOAT JOUY
X.     ACROSS SOUTH GEORGIA
XI.    THE RESCUE
XII.   ELEPHANT ISLAND
XIII.  THE ROSS SEA PARTY
XIV.   WINTERING IN McMURDO SOUND
XV.    LAYING THE DEPOTS
XVI.   THE 'AURORA'S' DRIFT
XVII.  THE LAST RELIEF
XVIII. THE FINAL PHASE

APPENDIX I:
  SCIENTIFIC WORK
  SEA-ICE NOMENCLATURE
  METEOROLOGY
  PHYSICS
  SOUTH ATLANTIC WHALES AND WHALING

APPENDIX II:
  THE EXPEDITION HUTS AT McMURDO SOUND

INDEX



PREFACE


After the conquest of the South Pole by Amundsen, who, by a narrow
margin of days only, was in advance of the British Expedition under
Scott, there remained but one great main object of Antarctic
journeyings--the crossing of the South Polar continent from sea to sea.

When I returned from the 'Nimrod' Expedition on which we had to turn
back from our attempt to plant the British flag on the South Pole,
being beaten by stress of circumstances within ninety-seven miles of
our goal, my mind turned to the crossing of the continent, for I was
morally certain that either Amundsen or Scott would reach the Pole on
our own route or a parallel one.  After hearing of the Norwegian
success I began to make preparations to start a last great journey--so
that the first crossing of the last continent should be achieved by a
British Expedition.

We failed in this object, but the story of our attempt is the subject
for the following pages, and I think that though failure in the actual
accomplishment must be recorded, there are chapters in this book of
high adventure, strenuous days, lonely nights, unique experiences, and,
above all, records of unflinching determination, supreme loyalty, and
generous self-sacrifice on the part of my men which, even in these days
that have witnessed the sacrifices of nations and regardlessness of
self on the part of individuals, still will be of interest to readers
who now turn gladly from the red horror of war and the strain of the
last five years to read, perhaps with more understanding minds, the
tale of the White Warfare of the South.  The struggles, the
disappointments, and  the endurance of this small party of Britishers,
hidden away for nearly two years in the fastnesses of the Polar ice,
striving to carry out the ordained task and ignorant of the crises
through which the world was passing, make a story which is unique in
the history of Antarctic exploration.

Owing to the loss of the 'Endurance' and the disaster to the 'Aurora',
certain documents relating mainly to the organization and preparation
of the Expedition have been lost; but, anyhow, I had no intention of
presenting a detailed account of the scheme of preparation, storing,
and other necessary but, to the general reader, unimportant affairs, as
since the beginning of this century, every book on Antarctic
exploration has dealt fully with this matter.  I therefore briefly
place before you the inception and organization of the Expedition, and
insert here the copy of the programme which I prepared in order to
arouse the interest of the general public in the Expedition.


"The Trans-continental Party.

"The first crossing of the Antarctic continent, from sea to sea via
the Pole, apart from its historic value, will be a journey of great
scientific importance.

"The distance will be roughly 1800 miles, and the first half of this,
from the Weddell Sea to the Pole, will be over unknown ground. Every
step will be an advance in geographical science. It will be learned
whether the great Victoria chain of mountains, which has been traced
from the Ross Sea to the Pole, extends across the continent and thus
links up (except for the ocean break) with the Andes of South America,
and whether the great plateau around the Pole dips gradually towards
the Weddell Sea.

"Continuous magnetic observations will be taken on the journey. The
route will lead towards the Magnetic Pole, and the determination of the
dip of the magnetic needle will be of importance in practical
magnetism.  The meteorological conditions will be carefully noted, and
this should help to solve many of our weather problems.

"The glaciologist and geologist will study ice formations and the
nature of the mountains, and this report will prove of great scientific
interest.

"Scientific Work by Other Parties.

"While the Trans-continental party is carrying out, for the British
Flag, the greatest Polar journey ever attempted, the other parties will
be engaged in important scientific work.

"Two sledging parties will operate from the base on the Weddell Sea.
One will travel westwards towards Graham Land, making observations,
collecting geological specimens, and proving whether there are
mountains in that region linked up with those found on the other side
of the Pole.

"Another party will travel eastward toward Enderby Land, carrying out
a similar programme, and a third, remaining at the base, will study the
fauna of the land and sea, and the meteorological conditions.

"From the Ross Sea base, on the other side of the Pole, another party
will push southward and will probably await the arrival of the Trans-
continental party at the top of the Beardmore Glacier, near Mount
Buckley, where the first seams of coal were discovered in the
Antarctic.  This region is of great importance to the geologist, who
will be enabled to read much of the history of the Antarctic in the
rocks.

"Both the ships of the Expedition will be equipped for dredging,
sounding, and every variety of hydrographical work.  The Weddell Sea
ship will endeavour to trace the unknown coast-line of Graham Land, and
from both the vessels, with their scientific staffs, important results
may be expected.

"The several shore parties and the two ships will thus carry out
geographical and scientific work on a scale and over an area never
before attempted by any one Polar expedition.

"This will be the first use of the Weddell Sea as a base for
exploration, and all the parties will open up vast stretches of unknown
land.  It is appropriate that this work should be carried out under the
British Flag, since the whole of the area southward to the Pole is
British territory.  In July 1908, Letters Patent were issued under the
Great Seal declaring that the Governor of the Falkland Islands should
be the Governor of Graham Land (which forms the western side of the
Weddell Sea), and another section of the same proclamation defines the
area of British territory as'situated in the South Atlantic Ocean to
the south of the 50th parallel of south latitude, and lying between 20
degrees and 80 degrees west longitude.'  Reference to a map will show
that this includes the area in which the present Expedition will work.

"How the Continent will be crossed.

"The Weddell Sea ship, with all the members of the Expedition
operating from that base, will leave Buenos Ayres in October 1914, and
endeavour to land in November in latitude 78 degrees south.

"Should this be done, the Trans-continental party will set out on
their 1800-mile journey at once, in the hope of accomplishing the march
across the Pole and reaching the Ross Sea base in five months. Should
the landing be made too late in the season, the party will go into
winter quarters, lay out depots during the autumn and the following
spring, and as early as possible in 1915 set out on the journey.

"The Trans-continental party will be led by Sir Ernest Shackleton, and
will consist of six men.  It will take 100 dogs with sledges, and two
motor-sledges with aerial propellers.  The equipment will embody
everything that the experience of the leader and his expert advisers
can suggest.  When this party has reached the area of the Pole, after
covering 800 miles of unknown ground, it will strike due north towards
the head of the Beardmore Glacier, and there it is hoped to meet the
outcoming party from the Ross Sea.  Both will join up and make for the
Ross Sea base, where the previous Expedition had its winter quarters.

"In all, fourteen men will be landed by the 'Endurance' on the Weddell
Sea.  Six will set out on the Trans-continental journey, three will go
westward, three eastward, and two remain at the base carrying on the
work already outlined.

"The 'Aurora' will land six men at the Ross Sea base.  They will lay
down depots on the route of the Trans-continental party, and make a
march south to assist that party, and to make geological and other
observations as already described.

"Should the Trans-continental party succeed, as is hoped, in crossing
during the first season, its return to civilization may be expected
about April 1915.  The other sections in April 1916.

"The Ships of the Expedition.

"The two ships for the Expedition have now been selected.

"The 'Endurance', the ship which will take the Trans-continental party
to the Weddell Sea, and will afterwards explore along an unknown coast-
line, is a new vessel, specially constructed for Polar work under the
supervision of a committee of Polar explorers. She was built by
Christensen, the famous Norwegian constructor of sealing vessels, at
Sandefjord.  She is barquentine rigged, and has triple-expansion
engines giving her a speed under steam of nine to ten knots.  To enable
her to stay longer at sea, she will carry oil fuel as well as coal.
She is of about 350 tons, and built of selected pine, oak, and
greenheart.  This fine vessel, equipped, has cost the Expedition
£14,000.

"The 'Aurora', the ship which will take out the Ross Sea party, has
been bought from Dr. Mawson.  She is similar in all respects to the
Terra Nova, of Captain Scott's last Expedition.  She had extensive
alterations made by the Government authorities in Australia to fit her
for Dr. Mawson's Expedition, and is now at Hobart, Tasmania, where the
Ross Sea party will join her in October next."


I started the preparations in the middle of 1913, but no public
announcement was made until January 13, 1914.  For the last six months
of 1913 I was engaged in the necessary preliminaries, solid mule work,
showing nothing particular to interest the public, but essential for an
Expedition that had to have a ship on each side of the Continent, with
a land journey of eighteen hundred miles to be made, the first nine
hundred miles to be across an absolutely unknown land mass.

On January 1, 1914, having received a promised financial support
sufficient to warrant the announcement of the Expedition, I made it
public.

The first result of this was a flood of applications from all classes
of the community to join the adventure.  I received nearly five
thousand applications, and out of these were picked fifty-six men.

In March, to my great disappointment and anxiety, the promised
financial help did not materialize, and I was now faced with the fact
that I had contracted for a ship and stores, and had engaged the staff,
and I was not in possession of funds to meet these liabilities. I
immediately set about appealing for help, and met with generous
response from all sides.  I cannot here give the names of all who
supported my application, but whilst taking this opportunity of
thanking every one for their support, which came from parts as far
apart as the interior of China, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia, I
must particularly refer to the munificent donation of £24,000 from the
late Sir James Caird, and to one of £10,000 from the British
Government.  I must also thank Mr. Dudley Docker, who enabled me to
complete the purchase of the 'Endurance', and Miss Elizabeth Dawson
Lambton, who since 1901 has always been a firm friend to Antarctic
exploration, and who again, on this occasion, assisted largely.  The
Royal Geographical Society made a grant of £1000; and last, but by no
means least, I take this opportunity of tendering my grateful thanks to
Dame Janet Stancomb Wills, whose generosity enabled me to equip the
'Endurance' efficiently, especially as regards boats (which boats were
the means of our ultimate safety), and who not only, at the inception
of the Expedition, gave financial help, but also continued it through
the dark days when we were overdue, and funds were required to meet the
need of the dependents of the Expedition.

The only return and privilege an explorer has in the way of
acknowledgment for the help accorded him is to record on the discovered
lands the names of those to whom the Expedition owes its being.

Owing to the exigencies of the war the publication of this book has
been long delayed, and the detailed maps must come with the scientific
monographs.  I have the honour to place on the new land the names of
the above and other generous donors to the Expedition. The two hundred
miles of new coast-line I have called Caird Coast. Also, as a more
personal note, I named the three ship's boats, in which we ultimately
escaped from the grip of the ice, after the three principal donors to
the Expedition--the 'James Caird', the 'Stancomb Wills' and the 'Dudley
Docker'.  The two last-named are still on the desolate sandy spit of
Elephant Island, where under their shelter twenty-two of my comrades
eked out a bare existence for four and a half months.

The 'James Caird' is now in Liverpool, having been brought home from
South Georgia after her adventurous voyage across the sub-Antarctic
ocean.

Most of the Public Schools of England and Scotland helped the
Expedition to purchase the dog teams, and I named a dog after each
school that helped.  But apart from these particular donations I again
thank the many people who assisted us.

So the equipment and organization went on.  I purchased the 'Aurora'
from Sir Douglas Mawson, and arranged for Mackintosh to go to Australia
and take charge of her, there sending sledges, equipment and most of
the stores from this side, but depending somewhat on the sympathy and
help of Australia and New Zealand for coal and certain other
necessities, knowing that previously these two countries had always
generously supported the exploration of what one might call their
hinterland.

Towards the end of July all was ready, when suddenly the war clouds
darkened over Europe.

It had been arranged for the 'Endurance' to proceed to Cowes, to be
inspected by His Majesty on the Monday of Cowes week.  But on Friday I
received a message to say that the King would not be able to go to
Cowes.  My readers will remember how suddenly came the menace of war.
Naturally, both my comrades and I were greatly exercised as to the
probable outcome of the danger threatening the peace of the world.

We sailed from London on Friday, August 1, 1914, and anchored off
Southend all Saturday.  On Sunday afternoon I took the ship off
Margate, growing hourly more anxious  as the ever-increasing rumours
spread; and on Monday morning I went ashore and read in the morning
paper the order for general mobilization.

I immediately went on board and mustered all hands and told them that
I proposed to send a telegram to the Admiralty offering the ships,
stores, and, if they agreed, our own services to the country in the
event of war breaking out.  All hands immediately agreed, and I sent
off a telegram in which everything was placed at the disposal of the
Admiralty.  We only asked that, in the event of the declaration of war,
the Expedition might be considered as a single unit, so as to preserve
its homogeneity.  There were enough trained and experienced men amongst
us to man a destroyer.  Within an hour I received a laconic wire from
the Admiralty saying "Proceed." Within two hours a longer wire came
from Mr. Winston Churchill, in which we were thanked for our offer, and
saying that the authorities desired that the Expedition, which had the
full sanction and support of the Scientific and Geographical Societies,
should go on.

So, according to these definite instructions, the 'Endurance' sailed
to Plymouth.  On Tuesday the King sent for me and handed me the Union
Jack to carry on the Expedition.  That night, at midnight, war broke
out.  On the following Saturday, August 8, the 'Endurance' sailed from
Plymouth, obeying the direct order of the Admiralty.  I make particular
reference to this phase of the Expedition as I am aware that there was
a certain amount of criticism of the Expedition having left the
country, and regarding this I wish further to add that the preparation
of the Expedition had been proceeding for over a year, and large sums
of money had been spent.  We offered to give the Expedition up without
even consulting the donors of this money, and but few thought that the
war would last through these five years and involve the whole world.
The Expedition was not going on a peaceful cruise to the South Sea
Islands, but to a most dangerous, difficult, and strenuous work that
has nearly always involved a certain percentage of loss of life.
Finally, when the Expedition did return, practically the whole of those
members who had come un