Part 14 (1/2)

THROUGH STORMY SEAS

The ice was here, the ice was there, The ice was all around: It cracked and growled, and roared and howled, Like noises in a swound.--COLERIDGE.

No sooner was it known that Scott intended to lead another Antarctic expedition than he was besieged by men anxious to go with him. The selection of a small company from some eight thousand volunteers was both a difficult and a delicate task, but the fact that the applications were so numerous was at once a convincing proof of the interest shown in the expedition, and a decisive answer to the dismal cry that the spirit of romance and adventure no longer exists in the British race.

On June 15, 1910, the _Terra Nova_ left Cardiff upon her great mission, and after a successful voyage arrived, on October 28, at Lyttelton. There an enormous amount of work had to be done before she could be ready to leave civilization, but as usual the kindness received in New Zealand was 'beyond words.'

A month of strenuous labour followed, and then, on [Page 212]

November 26, they said farewell to Lyttelton, and after calling at Port Chalmers set out on Tuesday, the 29th, upon the last stage of their voyage. Two days later they encountered a stiff wind from the N. W. and a confused sea.

'The s.h.i.+p a queer and not altogether cheerful sight under the circ.u.mstances.

'Below one knows all s.p.a.ce is packed as tight as human skill can devise--and on deck! Under the forecastle fifteen ponies close side by side, seven one side, eight the other, heads together and groom between--swaying, swaying continually to the plunging, irregular motion.'

Outside the forecastle and to leeward of the fore hatch were four more ponies, and on either side of the main hatch were two very large packing-cases containing motor sledges, each 16 X 5 X 4.

A third sledge stood across the break of the p.o.o.p in the s.p.a.ce hitherto occupied by the after winch, and all these cases were so heavily lashed with heavy chain and rope las.h.i.+ngs that they were thought to be quite secure. The petrol for the sledges was contained in tins and drums protected in stout wooden packing-cases, which were ranged across the deck immediately in front of the p.o.o.p and abreast the motor sledges.

Round and about these packing-cases, stretching from the galley forward to the wheel aft, coal bags containing the deck cargo of coal were stacked; and upon the coal sacks, and upon and between the motor sledges, and upon the ice-house were the thirty-three dogs. Perforce they had to be chained up, and although [Page 213]

they were given as much protection as possible, their position was far from pleasant. 'The group formed,' in Scott's opinion, 'a picture of wretched dejection: such a life is truly hard for these poor creatures.'

The wind freshened with great rapidity on Thursday evening, and very soon the s.h.i.+p was plunging heavily and taking much water over the lee rail. Cases of all descriptions began to break loose on the upper deck, the princ.i.p.al trouble being caused by the loose coal bags, which were lifted bodily by the seas and swung against the lashed cases. These bags acted like battering rams, no las.h.i.+ngs could possibly have withstood them, and so the only remedy was to set to work and heave coal sacks overboard and re-lash the cases.

During this difficult and dangerous task seas continually broke over the men, and at such times they had to cling for dear life to some fixture to prevent themselves from being washed overboard. No sooner was some appearance of order restored than another unusually heavy wave tore away the las.h.i.+ngs, and the work had to be done allover again.

As the night wore on the sea and wind continued to rise, and the s.h.i.+p to plunge more and more. 'We shortened sail to main topsail and staysail, stopped engines and hove to, but to little purpose.'

From Oates and Atkinson, who worked through the entire night, reports came that it was impossible to keep the ponies on their legs. But worse news was to follow, for in the early morning news came from the engine-room that the pumps had choked, and that the water had risen over the gratings.

[Page 214]

From that moment, about 4 A.M., the engine-room became the center of interest, but in spite of every effort the water still gained.

Lashly and Williams, up to their necks in rus.h.i.+ng water, stuck gamely to the work of clearing suctions, and for a time, with donkey engine and bilge pump sucking, it looked as if the water might be got under. But the hope was short-lived; five minutes of pumping invariably led to the same result--a general choking of the pumps.

The s.h.i.+p was very deeply-laden and was in considerable danger of becoming waterlogged, in which condition anything might have happened.

The hand pump produced nothing more than a dribble and its suction could not be reached, for as the water crept higher it got in contact with the boiler and eventually became so hot that no one could work at the suctions. A great struggle to conquer these misfortunes followed, but Williams had at last to confess that he was beaten and must draw fires.

'What was to be done? Things for the moment appeared very black.

The sea seemed higher than ever; it came over lee rail and p.o.o.p, a rush of green water; the s.h.i.+p wallowed in it; a great piece of the bulwark carried clean away. The bilge pump is dependent on the main engine. To use the pump it was necessary to go ahead.

It was at such times that the heaviest seas swept in over the lee rail; over and over again the rail, from the forerigging to the main, was covered by a solid sheet of curling water which swept aft and high on the p.o.o.p. On one [Page 215]

occasion I was waist deep when standing on the rail of the p.o.o.p.'

All that could be done for the time being was to organize the afterguard to work buckets, and to keep the men steadily going on the choked hand-pumps, which practically amounted to an attempt to bale out the s.h.i.+p! For a day and a night the string of buckets was pa.s.sed up a line from the engine-room; and while this arduous work was going on the officers and men sang chanteys, and never for a moment lost their good spirits.

In the meantime an effort was made to get at the suction of the pumps; and by 10 P.M. on Friday evening a hole in the engine-room bulkhead had been completed. Then E. R. Evans, wriggling over the coal, found his way to the pump shaft and down it, and cleared the suction of the coal b.a.l.l.s (a mixture of coal and oil) which were choking it. Soon afterwards a good stream of water came from the pump, and it was evident that the main difficulty had been overcome. Slowly the water began to decrease in the engine-room, and by 4 A.M. on Sat.u.r.day morning the bucket-parties were able to stop their labours.

The losses caused by this gale were serious enough, but they might easily have been worse. Besides the damage to the bulwarks of the s.h.i.+p, two ponies, one dog, ten tons of coal, sixty-five gallons of petrol, and a case of biologists' spirit were lost. Another dog was washed away with such force that his chain broke and he disappeared, but the next wave miraculously [Page 216]

washed him back on board. In a few hours everyone was hopeful again, but anxiety on account of the ponies remained. With the s.h.i.+p pitching heavily to a south-westerly swell, at least two of these long-suffering animals looked sadly in need of a spell of rest, and Scott's earnest prayer was that there might be no more gales. 'December ought to be a fine month in the Ross Sea; it always has been, and just now conditions point to fine weather. Well, we must be prepared for anything, but I'm anxious, anxious about these animals of ours.'

Meanwhile Bowers and Campbell had worked untiringly to put things straight on deck, and with the coal removed from the upper deck and the petrol re-stored, the s.h.i.+p was in much better condition to fight the gales. 'Another day,' Scott wrote on Tuesday, December 6, 'ought to put us beyond the reach of westerly gales'; but two days later the s.h.i.+p was once more plunging against a stiff breeze and moderate sea, and his anxiety about the ponies was greater than ever. The dogs, however, had recovered wonderfully from the effects of the great gale, their greatest discomfort being that they were almost constantly wet.

During Friday, December 9, some very beautiful bergs were pa.s.sed, the heights of which varied from sixty to eighty feet. Good progress was made during this day, but the ice streams thickened as they advanced, and on either side of them fields of pack began to appear.

Yet, after the rough weather they had [Page 217]