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OHYAT - One Ton and the Motor Party
Nov. 21st, 2011 09:39 pmOne hundred years ago last week (Tuesday to be precise), the Southern Party found One Ton Depot, the stockpile of food and supplies they'd left at 79°28.5' S after an arduous trek last February. On it they found a note from the Motor Party stating their post-breakdown manhauling was going well and that they were continuing on to 80°30'S.
That same day, the Motor Party (led by Teddy Evans) had reached their stated latitude and decided to camp and await the ponies. They built an enormous pile of snow, which they added to day by day, and christened it Mt Hooper after one of the men in their party. Bernard Day, the mechanic, entertained them before bedtime with animated readings of Pickwick Papers. "It was unforgettable, and I think we all watched his face, which took somehow the expression of the character he was reading about." (Evans, South With Scott)
It was just as well they had Dickens to entertain them; not only was Scott six days behind them, but he gave the ponies (and men) a day off at One Ton to recoup. The ponies were going better than expected, especially the two being led by Atch and Silas who if anything had improved on the march, but the strain was beginning to tell, and it was important to get them as far south as possible to save wear on the men who would have to pull the sledges once the ponies were out of the picture.
The next day (Nov 17), Scott's party made about fifteen miles – which means that at some point during that day, they passed over an invisible line, north of which five of them would not return.
By the 20th, the ex-Motor Party were getting bored. "Once again we find no signs of the ponies: we all say D— and look forward to the next meal," Teddy wrote in his diary. But on the 21st – ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO TODAY! – the vanguard* of the Pony Party pulled up to Mt Hooper.
Later, Scott arrived with the rest of the ponies, and after a brief check-in and congratulations on getting this far, proceeded with the march to a camp 3 1/2 mi further along where the motor party was to meet them, because he was that kind of guy.
*Because of the varying speeds of the animals, they set off at different times, so as all to reach 'night' camp together. The first ponies to depart were the weakest, and they had a handful of nicknames, but I think my favourite is Silas' "the funeral cortège." Scott's diaries are full of speculation on how much longer "the crocks" will last; it gives the appearance that these two ponies were constantly treading the brink of death. They eventually earned the names "The Barrier Wonder" and "The Thunderbolt."
That same day, the Motor Party (led by Teddy Evans) had reached their stated latitude and decided to camp and await the ponies. They built an enormous pile of snow, which they added to day by day, and christened it Mt Hooper after one of the men in their party. Bernard Day, the mechanic, entertained them before bedtime with animated readings of Pickwick Papers. "It was unforgettable, and I think we all watched his face, which took somehow the expression of the character he was reading about." (Evans, South With Scott)
It was just as well they had Dickens to entertain them; not only was Scott six days behind them, but he gave the ponies (and men) a day off at One Ton to recoup. The ponies were going better than expected, especially the two being led by Atch and Silas who if anything had improved on the march, but the strain was beginning to tell, and it was important to get them as far south as possible to save wear on the men who would have to pull the sledges once the ponies were out of the picture.
The next day (Nov 17), Scott's party made about fifteen miles – which means that at some point during that day, they passed over an invisible line, north of which five of them would not return.
By the 20th, the ex-Motor Party were getting bored. "Once again we find no signs of the ponies: we all say D— and look forward to the next meal," Teddy wrote in his diary. But on the 21st – ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO TODAY! – the vanguard* of the Pony Party pulled up to Mt Hooper.
They looked tired, the ponies' leaders, and we looked as though we had come out of a bull fight in a barn, with our hair grown long and full of the loose reindeer hairs from the sleeping-bags, all mixed with our beards and jerseys. ... Day facetiously remarked, 'We haven't seen anything of Amundsen' ...Teddy Evans, South With Scott
Later, Scott arrived with the rest of the ponies, and after a brief check-in and congratulations on getting this far, proceeded with the march to a camp 3 1/2 mi further along where the motor party was to meet them, because he was that kind of guy.
*Because of the varying speeds of the animals, they set off at different times, so as all to reach 'night' camp together. The first ponies to depart were the weakest, and they had a handful of nicknames, but I think my favourite is Silas' "the funeral cortège." Scott's diaries are full of speculation on how much longer "the crocks" will last; it gives the appearance that these two ponies were constantly treading the brink of death. They eventually earned the names "The Barrier Wonder" and "The Thunderbolt."
