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OHYARN - Meanwhile, back at Cape Evans ...
We've still got two parties out on the trail, and their adventures are about to get a lot more harrowing. I really must lay out what the situation was back at the base, though, before we get swept away in all that, because it will affect reactions and decisions down the road.
So, although there are no significant anniversaries to single out, here is my attempt to fill you in on what was going on ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO ROUGHLY NOWISH:
There were people at base who had not gone on the trip to the pole. Chief among them was Dr George Simpson, meteorologist, nicknamed 'Sunny Jim' apparently because of his resemblance1 to a character used to sell breakfast cereal. He needed to stay in one place, with his equipment, to take the daily readings necessary to build up an accurate model of Antarctic weather systems, and so was in charge of the scientific program while Bill Wilson was away.
1Drawn by Dennis Lillie, marine biologist on the Terra Nova, and godsend to anyone trying to caricature these guys a hundred years later
The dog teams returned from supporting the Southern Party on January 4th, having had a slog back thanks to the heavy snow deposited by the big blizzard at the beginning of December. Cecil Meares, the dog driver, had spent years all over Asia from Tibet to Siberia (possibly as a spy?) and was both garrulous and antisocial – he was full of stories about the exotic lands he'd visited, but eventually grew bored with 'civilisation' at base and retired to near-hermitude with the dogs out at Hut Point.
When the First Returning Party arrived at Cape Evans on January 28th, Atch Atkinson became the senior Navy man, and as such was in charge of the non-scientific day-to-day business of the camp, which he expected to last only until Lt. Teddy Evans, the nominal second-in-command, came back with the Second Returning Party. He in turn was only likely to have command until the return of Scott's Polar Party in March. In everyone's expectations the prospects were good:
When the official plans and written orders were drawn up in October of 1911, Scott had given Meares specific orders with regards to the dog teams. After assisting the Southern Party, their role was twofold. First, if they were fit enough after returning, to supplement the stores at One Ton Depot in early January with food and fuel for the returning parties, as well as "as much dog food as you can conveniently carry"2. Should the dogs not be fit, this job was to be carried out by a man-hauling party. The second part was to head back out in early February and meet the returning Polar Party between 82° and 83°S, probably around March 1st, in the hope they could be rushed back to meet the ship, which was expected to return with supplies for the next year and depart again for New Zealand by March 10th.
2This line is from Scott's orders, which can be found reprinted verbatim in Teddy's book South With Scott.
Because Scott had kept the dog teams out longer than he originally planned, and they had had a hard trip back, the dogs were too freshly exhausted to make the first trip out to One Ton, so that job was taken up by a party of men from base, as per the instructions. Unfortunately, somewhere in the chain of communication something got dropped, and the dog food didn't get all the way to One Ton Depot. It's unclear whether they took any at all; if they did, they left it at Corner Camp, a depot about a third of the way from base to One Ton.
Well before turning back at the base of the Beardmore in December, Meares had been considering leaving with the ship, and made no secret of it. It seems to have been generally understood that Atch would fulfill his orders regarding the dogs should he depart before carrying them out. The Terra Nova brought news that clinched it: Meares' father had died, and he had to return to England to sort out the estate. Sunny Jim, meanwhile, had to return to his meteorological work in India, not least because of news that the office in Simla was short-staffed due to illness. The third notable person to go back (though one who would have less effect on the following events) was the photographer Ponting.
But all this was in the future – the ship wouldn't be leaving until the season was closing in, and they still had about a month of relatively good weather to go. Before the Terra Nova had reached Cape Evans, it had taken the Northern Party – six men who had been studying the geology and penguins quite a way up the coast from McMurdo Sound – to a spot further south where they were to spend a little while doing some more science. The plan was to leave them there while the ship unloaded supplies for the next year at Cape Evans, then pick them up again afterward. From Feb. 7th to 14th they unloaded the ship, which had to anchor three miles away from the hut as the sea was still iced over to an unprecedented degree. Among the things they unloaded were some trained mules from India, which Scott had ordered to replace the ponies after a discussion with Oates, and fourteen new sledge dogs, only two of which turned out to be any good for sledging.
Wow, okay, that's a lot to keep track of ... I hope I did an adequate job explaining it. By way of a recap/summation (or in other words, tl;dr):
- First Returning Party arrived safe and relatively sound; subsequent parties expected to do likewise
- Ship returned with new supplies (and animals)
- Assorted men preparing to pack up and go home with the ship when she left, including the interim head of the scientific staff and the dog expert
- Northern Party landed in new location with food and gear for a few weeks of summer fieldwork
So, although there are no significant anniversaries to single out, here is my attempt to fill you in on what was going on ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO ROUGHLY NOWISH:
There were people at base who had not gone on the trip to the pole. Chief among them was Dr George Simpson, meteorologist, nicknamed 'Sunny Jim' apparently because of his resemblance1 to a character used to sell breakfast cereal. He needed to stay in one place, with his equipment, to take the daily readings necessary to build up an accurate model of Antarctic weather systems, and so was in charge of the scientific program while Bill Wilson was away.
1Drawn by Dennis Lillie, marine biologist on the Terra Nova, and godsend to anyone trying to caricature these guys a hundred years later
The dog teams returned from supporting the Southern Party on January 4th, having had a slog back thanks to the heavy snow deposited by the big blizzard at the beginning of December. Cecil Meares, the dog driver, had spent years all over Asia from Tibet to Siberia (possibly as a spy?) and was both garrulous and antisocial – he was full of stories about the exotic lands he'd visited, but eventually grew bored with 'civilisation' at base and retired to near-hermitude with the dogs out at Hut Point.When the First Returning Party arrived at Cape Evans on January 28th, Atch Atkinson became the senior Navy man, and as such was in charge of the non-scientific day-to-day business of the camp, which he expected to last only until Lt. Teddy Evans, the nominal second-in-command, came back with the Second Returning Party. He in turn was only likely to have command until the return of Scott's Polar Party in March. In everyone's expectations the prospects were good:
Scott was going to reach the Pole, probably without great difficulty, for when we left him on the edge of the plateau he had only to average seven miles a day to go there on full rations. We ourselves had averaged 14.2 geographical miles a day on our way home to One Ton Depôt, and there seemed no reason to suppose that the other two parties would not do likewise, and the food was not only sufficient but abundant if such marches were made. Thus we were content as we wandered over the cape, or sat upon some rock warmed by the sun and watched the penguins bathing in the lake which had formed in the sea-ice between us and Inaccessible Island. All round us were the cries of the skua gulls as they squabbled among themselves, and we heard the swish of their wings as they swooped down upon a man who wandered too near their nests. Out upon the sea-ice, which was soggy and dangerous, lay several seal, and the bubblings and whistlings and gurglings which came from their throats chimed musically in contrast to the hoarse aak, aak, of the Adélie penguins: the tide crack was sighing and groaning all the time: it was very restful after the Barrier silence.The original plan was for the expedition to last two years, but for various reasons a third year was tacked on shortly after they arrived in the Antarctic. Some people were not free to extend their stay, however, and when the ship finally arrived on the 4th of February it brought news from home that changed others' plans.Apsley Cherry-Garrard, The Worst Journey in the World
When the official plans and written orders were drawn up in October of 1911, Scott had given Meares specific orders with regards to the dog teams. After assisting the Southern Party, their role was twofold. First, if they were fit enough after returning, to supplement the stores at One Ton Depot in early January with food and fuel for the returning parties, as well as "as much dog food as you can conveniently carry"2. Should the dogs not be fit, this job was to be carried out by a man-hauling party. The second part was to head back out in early February and meet the returning Polar Party between 82° and 83°S, probably around March 1st, in the hope they could be rushed back to meet the ship, which was expected to return with supplies for the next year and depart again for New Zealand by March 10th.
2This line is from Scott's orders, which can be found reprinted verbatim in Teddy's book South With Scott.
Because Scott had kept the dog teams out longer than he originally planned, and they had had a hard trip back, the dogs were too freshly exhausted to make the first trip out to One Ton, so that job was taken up by a party of men from base, as per the instructions. Unfortunately, somewhere in the chain of communication something got dropped, and the dog food didn't get all the way to One Ton Depot. It's unclear whether they took any at all; if they did, they left it at Corner Camp, a depot about a third of the way from base to One Ton.
Well before turning back at the base of the Beardmore in December, Meares had been considering leaving with the ship, and made no secret of it. It seems to have been generally understood that Atch would fulfill his orders regarding the dogs should he depart before carrying them out. The Terra Nova brought news that clinched it: Meares' father had died, and he had to return to England to sort out the estate. Sunny Jim, meanwhile, had to return to his meteorological work in India, not least because of news that the office in Simla was short-staffed due to illness. The third notable person to go back (though one who would have less effect on the following events) was the photographer Ponting.
But all this was in the future – the ship wouldn't be leaving until the season was closing in, and they still had about a month of relatively good weather to go. Before the Terra Nova had reached Cape Evans, it had taken the Northern Party – six men who had been studying the geology and penguins quite a way up the coast from McMurdo Sound – to a spot further south where they were to spend a little while doing some more science. The plan was to leave them there while the ship unloaded supplies for the next year at Cape Evans, then pick them up again afterward. From Feb. 7th to 14th they unloaded the ship, which had to anchor three miles away from the hut as the sea was still iced over to an unprecedented degree. Among the things they unloaded were some trained mules from India, which Scott had ordered to replace the ponies after a discussion with Oates, and fourteen new sledge dogs, only two of which turned out to be any good for sledging.
Wow, okay, that's a lot to keep track of ... I hope I did an adequate job explaining it. By way of a recap/summation (or in other words, tl;dr):
- First Returning Party arrived safe and relatively sound; subsequent parties expected to do likewise
- Ship returned with new supplies (and animals)
- Assorted men preparing to pack up and go home with the ship when she left, including the interim head of the scientific staff and the dog expert
- Northern Party landed in new location with food and gear for a few weeks of summer fieldwork