OHYATPWOS - The Mighty Catch-Up

I've been slogging through my own little desperate dash to to the finish line so have had to let this drop, but so much is happening! Things are getting really important! I must catch up before catching up becomes too big a job. And so, I bring you:

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO THIS PAST WEEK OR SO

26-28 JANUARY 1912

The First Returning Party (Atch, Cherry, Silas, and Keohane) reached Hut Point (that secondary base, remember, across the bay from Cape Evans), where they paused a day because Ponting wanted to film them coming in. I haven't checked 90° South to see if the footage made it in, but to the right is a photo of the event, and you can see another here. The sail on the sledge is made from the floorcloth of the tent, and if they had a following wind, would help push the sledge along. Sometimes the wind was strong enough the sledgers needed only to steer.

( The Wild Men of the South )

30 JANUARY 1912
On the 24th, Scott had written "Wilson and Bowers are my standby. I don’t like the easy way in which Oates and Evans get frostbitten." Then in his journal for the 30th:

Wilson has strained a tendon in his leg; it has given pain all day and is swollen to-night. Of course, he is full of pluck over it, but I don’t like the idea of such an accident here. To add to the trouble Evans has dislodged two finger-nails to-night; his hands are really bad, and to my surprise he shows signs of losing heart over it. He hasn’t been cheerful since the accident. ... We can get along with bad fingers, but it (will be) a mighty serious thing if Wilson’s leg doesn’t improve.

On this same day, the Second Returning Party reached one of the Barrier depots and discovered there was less oil than there should be – somehow it had leaked from the sealed cans. Later science would prove this was on account of the effect of cold on the leather washers used in the oilcan lids, which broke the seal and allowed the fuel to evaporate from the can. The oilcans they used were bright red and often left on top of depots to make them show up better, but the exposure to the sun only accelerated the evaporation.

31 JANUARY 1912
The Polar Party reached the depot where Birdie's skis had been left a month ago.

3 FEBRUARY 1912

This morning we were forced to put Mr Evans on his ski and strap him on, as he could not lift his legs. I looked at them again and found that they are rapidly getting worse, things are looking serious on his part, but we have been trying to pump him up he will get through alright, but he begins to think different himself, but if we get to One Ton and can geta change of food it may relieve him. He is a brick, there is plenty of pluck: one cannot but admire such pluck.

– William Lashly

4 FEBRUARY 1912
The Polar Party were coming to the edge of the Polar Plateau, where it begins to descend into the Beardmore Glacier, and came upon some crevasses by surprise. Into one of these both Scott and P.O. Evans fell – Evans evidently got some sort of concussion, though it was undiagnosed at the time. Scott wrote:

Every sign points to getting away off this plateau. The temperature is 20º lower than when we were here before; the party is not improving in condition, especially Evans, who is becoming rather dull and incapable. Thank the Lord we have good food at each meal, but we get hungrier in spite of it. Bowers is splendid, full of energy and bustle all the time.

Nevertheless, this is about where Birdie stopped keeping his diary.