OHYAT: Facing the Facts

It was becoming clear how bad a situation the Polar Party were in; Titus in particular. The fears Scott had hinted at earlier in his journal were now addressed straight-on. On March 10th, the day Cherry and Dimitri turned the dog teams back to Hut Point, he wrote:

Oates’ foot worse. He has rare pluck and must know that he can never get through. He asked Wilson if he had a chance this morning, and of course Bill had to say he didn’t know. In point of fact he has none. Apart from him, if he went under now, I doubt whether we could get through. With great care we might have a dog’s chance, but no more. The weather conditions are awful, and our gear gets steadily more icy and difficult to manage. At the same time of course poor Titus is the greatest handicap.... Poor chap! it is too pathetic to watch him; one cannot but try to cheer him up.

By ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO TODAY, it wasn't just Titus who was staring his end in the face:

We discussed the matter after breakfast; he is a brave fine fellow and understands the situation, but he practically asked for advice. Nothing could be said but to urge him to march as long as he could. One satisfactory result to the discussion; I practically ordered Wilson to hand over the means of ending our troubles to us, so that anyone of us may know how to do so. Wilson had no choice between doing so and our ransacking the medicine case. We have 30 opium tabloids apiece and he is left with a tube of morphine. So far the tragical side of our story. ... Know that 6 miles is about the limit of our endurance now ... We have 7 days’ food and should be about 55 miles from One Ton Camp to-night, 6 × 7 = 42, leaving us 13 miles short of our distance, even if things get no worse. Meanwhile the season rapidly advances.

– R.F. Scott