South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition, 1914-1917
reach Cape Evans within a few days. But a prolonged blizzard took the
ice out right up to the Point, so that the open water extended at the
end of April right up to the foot of Vinie’s Hill. Then came a spell of
calm weather, and during the first week of May the sea-ice formed
rapidly. The men made several short trips over it to the north. The sun
had disappeared below the horizon in the middle of April, and would not
appear again for over four months.
The disaster that followed is described by both Richards and Joyce.
“And now a most regrettable incident occurred,” wrote Richards. “On the
morning of May 8, before breakfast, Captain Mackintosh asked Joyce what
he thought of his going to Cape Evans with Hayward. Captain Mackintosh
considered the ice quite safe, and the fine morning no doubt tempted
him to exchange the quarters at the hut for the greater comfort and
better food at Cape Evans.” (Mackintosh naturally would be anxious to
know if the men at Cape Evans were well and had any news of the ship.)
“He was strongly urged at the time not to take the risk, as it was
pointed out that the ice, although firm, was very young, and that a
blizzard was almost sure to take part of it out to sea.”
However, at about 1 p.m., with the weather apparently changing for the
worse, Mackintosh and Hayward left, after promising to turn back if the
weather grew worse. The last sight the watching party on the hill
gained of them was when they were about a mile away, close to the
shore, but apparently making straight for Cape Evans. At 3 p.m. a
moderate blizzard was raging, which later increased in fury, and the
party in the hut had many misgivings for the safety of the absent men.
On May 10, the first day possible, the three men left behind walked
over new ice to the north to try and discover some trace as to the fate
of the others. The footmarks were seen clearly enough raised up on the
ice, and the track was followed for about two miles in a direction
leading to Cape Evans. Here they ended abruptly, and in the dim light a
wide stretch of water, very lightly covered with ice, was seen as far
as the eye could reach. It was at once evident that part of the ice
over which they had travelled had gone out to sea.
The whole party had intended, if the weather had held good, to have
attempted the passage across with the full moon about May 16. On the
date on which Mackintosh and Hayward left it was impossible that a
sledge should travel the distance over the sea-ice owing to the sticky
nature of the surface. Hence their decision to go alone and leave the
others to follow with the sledge and equipment when the surface should
improve. That they had actually been lost was learned only on July 15,
on which date the party from Hut Point arrived at Cape Evans.
The entry in Joyce’s diary shows that he had very strong forebodings of
disaster when Mackintosh and Hayward left. He warned them not to go, as
the ice was still thin and the weather was uncertain. Mackintosh seems
to have believed that he and Hayward, travelling light, could get
across to Cape Evans quickly before the weather broke, and if the
blizzard had come two or three hours later they probably would have
been safe. The two men carried no sleeping-bags and only a small meal
of chocolate and seal meat.
The weather during June was persistently bad. No move had been possible
on May 16, the sea-ice being out, and Joyce decided to wait until the
next full moon. When this came the weather was boisterous, and so it
was not until the full moon of July that the journey to Cape Evans was
made. During June and July seals got very scarce, and the supply of
blubber ran short.
Meals consisted of little but seal meat and porridge. The small stock
of salt was exhausted, but the men procured two and a half pounds by
boiling down snow taken from the bottom layer next to the sea-ice. The
dogs recovered condition rapidly and did some hunting on their own
account among the seals.
The party started for Cape Evans on July 15. They had expected to take
advantage of the full moon, but by a strange chance they had chosen the
period of an eclipse, and the moon was shadowed most of the time they
were crossing the sea-ice. The ice was firm, and the three men reached
Cape Evans without difficulty. They found Stevens, Cope, Gaze, and Jack
at the Cape Evans Hut, and learned that nothing had been seen of
Captain Mackintosh and Hayward. The conclusion that these men had
perished was accepted reluctantly. The party at the base consisted now
of Stevens, Cope, Joyce, Richards, Gaze, Wild, and Jack.
The men settled down now to wait for relief. When opportunity offered
Joyce led search-parties to look for the bodies or any trace of the
missing men, and he subsequently handed me the following report:
“I beg to report that the following steps were taken to try and
discover the bodies of Captain Mackintosh and Mr. Hayward. After our
party’s return to the hut at Cape Evans, July 15, 1916, it was learned
that Captain Mackintosh and Mr. Hayward had not arrived; and, being
aware of the conditions under which they were last seen, all the
members of the wintering party were absolutely convinced that these two
men were totally lost and dead—that they could not have lived for more
than a few hours at the outside in the blizzard that they had
encountered, they being entirely unprovided with equipment of any sort.
“There was the barest chance that after the return of the sun some
trace of their bodies might be found, so during the spring—that is,
August and September 1916—and in the summer—December and January
1916–17—the following searches were carried out:
“(1) Wild and I thoroughly searched Inaccessible Island at the end of
August 1916.
“(2) Various parties in September searched along the shore to the
vicinity of Turk’s Head.
“(3) In company with Messrs. Wild and Gaze I started from Hut Point,
December 31, 1916, at 8 a.m., and a course was steered inshore as close
as possible to the cliffs in order to search for any possible means of
ascent. At a distance of half a mile from Hut Point we passed a snow
slope which I had already ascended in June 1916; three and a half miles
farther on was another snow slope, which ended in Blue Ice Glacier
slope, which we found impossible to climb, snow slope being formed by
heavy winter snowfall. These were the only two places accessible.
Distance on this day, 10 miles 1710 yds covered. On January 1 search
was continued round the south side of Glacier Tongue from the base
towards the seaward end. There was much heavy pressure; it was
impossible to reach the summit owing to the wide crack. Distance
covered 4 miles 100 yds. On January 2 thick weather caused party to lay
up. On 3rd, glacier was further examined, and several slopes formed by
snow led to top of glacier, but crevasses between slope and the tongue
prevented crossing. The party then proceeded round the Tongue to Tent
Island, which was also searched, a complete tour of the island being
made. It was decided to make for Cape Evans, as thick weather was
approaching. We arrived at 8 p.m. Distance 8 miles 490 yds.
“I remain, etc.,
“ERNEST E. JOYCE.
“_To_ Sir ERNEST SHACKLETON, C.V.O.,
“_Commander_, I.T.A.E.”
In September Richards was forced to lay up at the hut owing to a
strained heart, due presumably to stress of work on the sledging
journeys. Early in October a party consisting of Joyce, Gaze, and Wild
spent several days at Cape Royds, where they skinned specimens. They
sledged stores back to Cape Evans in case it should be found necessary
to remain there over another winter. In September, Joyce, Gaze, and
Wild went out to Spencer-Smith’s grave with a wooden cross, which they
erected firmly. Relief arrived on January 10, 1917, but it is necessary
now to turn back to the events of May 1915, when the _Aurora_ was
driven from her moorings off Cape Evans.
CHAPTER XVI
THE _AURORA’S_ DRIFT
After Mackintosh left the _Aurora_ on January 25, 1915, Stenhouse kept
the ship with difficulty off Tent Island. The ice-anchors would not
hold, owing to the continual breaking away of the pack, and he found it
necessary much of the time to steam slow ahead against the floes. The
third sledging party, under Cope, left the ship on the afternoon of the
31st, with the motor-tractor towing two sledges, and disappeared
towards Hut Point. Cope’s party returned to the ship on February 2 and
left again on February 5, after a delay caused by the loose condition
of the ice. Two days later, after more trouble with drifting floes,
Stenhouse proceeded to Cape Evans, where he took a line of soundings
for the winter quarters. During the next month the _Aurora_ occupied
various positions in the neighbourhood of Cape Evans. No secure
moorings were available. The ship had to keep clear of threatening
floes, dodge “growlers” and drifting bergs, and find shelter from the
blizzards. A sudden shift of wind on February 24, when the ship was
sheltering in the lee of Glacier Tongue, caused her to be jammed hard
against the low ice off the glacier, but no damage was done. Early in
March Stenhouse sent moorings ashore at Cape Evans, and on March 11 he
proceeded to Hut Point, where he dropped anchor in Discovery Bay. Here
he landed stores, amounting to about two months’ full rations for
twelve men, and embarked Spencer-Smith, Stevens, Hook, Richards,
Ninnis, and Gaze, with two dogs. He returned to Cape Evans that
evening.
“We had a bad time when we were ‘sculling’ about the Sound, first
endeavouring to make Hut Point to land provisions, and then looking for
winter quarters in the neighbourhood of Glacier Tongue,” wrote
Stenhouse afterwards. “The ice kept breaking away in small floes, and
we were apparently no nearer to anywhere than when the sledges left; we
were frustrated in every move. The ship broke away from the fast ice in
blizzards, and then we went dodging about the Sound from the Ross
Island side to the western pack, avoiding and clearing floes and
growlers in heavy drift when we could see nothing, our compasses
unreliable and the ship short-handed. In that homeless time I kept
watch and watch with the second officer, and was hard pressed to know
what to do. Was ever ship in such predicament? To the northward of Cape
Royds was taboo, as also was the coast south of Glacier Tongue. In a
small stretch of ice-bound coast we had to find winter quarters. The
ice lingered on, and all this time we could find nowhere to drop
anchor, but had to keep steam handy for emergencies. Once I tried the
North Bay of Cape Evans, as it apparently was the only ice-free spot. I
called all hands, and making up a boat’s crew with one of the firemen
sent the whaler away with the second officer in charge to sound. No
sooner had the boat left ship than the wind freshened from the
northward, and large bergs and growlers, setting into the bay, made the
place untenable. The anchorage I eventually selected seemed the best
available—and here we are drifting, with all plans upset, when we ought
to be lying in winter quarters.”
A heavy gale came up on March 12, and the _Aurora_, then moored off
Cape Evans, dragged her anchor and drifted out of the bay. She went
northward past Cape Barne and Cape Royds in a driving mist, with a
heavy storm-sea running. This gale was a particularly heavy one. The
ship and gear were covered with ice, owing to the freezing of spray,
and Stenhouse had anxious hours amid the heavy, ice-encumbered waters
before the gale moderated. The young ice, which was continually forming
in the very low temperature, helped to reduce the sea as soon as the
gale moderated, and the _Aurora_ got back to Cape Evans on the evening
of the 13th. Ice was forming in the bay, and on the morning of the 14th