South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition, 1914-1917
large sperm whales appeared close ahead of the ship in fairly open
water, and were making westward. They remained sufficiently long on the
surface to render their identification easy. Farther south, blue whales
were only seen occasionally, and fin whales could only be identified in
one or two cases. Killers, however, were numerous, and the lesser piked
whale was quite frequent. There was no doubt about the identity of this
latter species as it often came close alongside the ship. From April to
September (inclusive) the sea was frozen over (with the exception of
local “leads”), and whales were found to be absent. In October whales
again made their appearance, and from then onwards they were a daily
occurrence. Identification of the species, however, was a difficult
matter, for the _Endurance_ was crushed and had sunk, and observations
were only possible from the ice-floe, or later on from the boats. The
high vertical “spout” opening out into a dense spray was often visible,
and denoted the presence of blue and fin whales. The lesser piked whale
again appeared in the “leads” close to our “camp” floe, and was easily
identified. An exceptional opportunity was presented to us on December
6, 1915, when a school of eight bottlenose whales (_Hyperoodon
rostratus_) appeared in small “pool” alongside “Ocean” Camp in lat. 67°
47´ S., long. 52° 18´ W. These ranged from about 20 ft. to a little
over 30 ft. in length, and were of a uniform dark dun colour—the large
specimens having a dull yellow appearance. There were no white spots.
At the edge of the pack-ice during the first half of April 1916, about
lat. 62° S. and long. 54° W. (entrance to Bransfield Strait), whales
were exceedingly numerous, and these were chiefly fin whales, though a
few seemed to be sei whales. It is interesting to note that the fishing
season 1915–1916 was exceptionally productive—no less than 11,860
whales having been captured in the Falkland area alone.
The South Atlantic whaling industry, then, has reached a critical stage
in development. It is now dependent on the captures of the large fin
and blue whales, humpbacks having been rapidly reduced in numbers, so
that the total stock appears to have been affected. With regard to the
other species, the southern right whale has never been abundant in the
captures, the sperm whale and the sei whale have shown a good deal of
seasonal variation, though never numerous, and the bottlenose and
lesser piked whale have so far not been hunted, except in the case of
the latter for human food. The vigorous slaughter of whales both in the
sub-Antarctic and in the sub-tropics, for the one area reacts on the
other, calls for universal legislation to protect the whales from early
commercial extinction, and the industry, which is of world-wide
economic importance, from having to be abandoned. The British
Government, with the control of the world’s best fisheries, is
thoroughly alive to the situation, and an Inter-departmental Committee,
under the direction of the Colonial Office, is at present devising a
workable scheme for suitable legislation for the protection of the
whales and for the welfare of the industry.
APPENDIX II
THE EXPEDITION HUTS AT McMURDO SOUND
By SIR E. H. SHACKLETON
The following notes are designed for the benefit of future explorers
who may make McMurdo Sound a base for inland operations, and to clear
any inaccuracies or ambiguities concerning the history, occupation, and
state of these huts.
(1) THE NATIONAL ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION’S HUT AT HUT POINT—THE HEAD OF
McMURDO SOUND
This hut was constructed by Captain Scott in 1902, by the Expedition
sent out by the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal Society, the
Government, and by private subscription. Captain Robert F. Scott was
appointed to the command of the Expedition. I served as Third
Lieutenant until February 1903, when I was invalided home through a
broken blood vessel in the lungs, the direct result of scurvy
contracted on the Southern journey. The _Discovery_ hut was a large
strong building, but was so draughty and cold in comparison with the
ship, which was moored one hundred yards away, that it was, during the
first year, never used for living quarters. Its sole use was as a
storehouse, and a large supply of rough stores, such as flour, cocoa,
coffee, biscuit, and tinned meat, was left there in the event of its
being used as a place of retreat should any disaster overtake the ship.
During the second year occasional parties camped inside the hut, but no
bunks or permanent sleeping quarters were ever erected. The discomfort
of the hut was a byword on the Expedition, but it formed an excellent
depot and starting-point for all parties proceeding to the south.
When the _Discovery_ finally left McMurdo Sound, the hut was stripped
of all gear, including the stove, but there was left behind a large
depot of the stores mentioned above. I was not aware of this until I
returned to McMurdo Sound in February 1908, when I sent Adams, Joyce,
and Wild across to the hut whilst the _Nimrod_ was lying off the ice.
On the return of the party they reported that the door had been burst
open, evidently by a southerly blizzard, and was jammed by snow outside
and in, so they made an entrance through one of the lee windows. They
found the hut practically clear of snow, and the structure quite
intact. I used the hut in the spring, _i.e._ September and October
1908, as a storehouse for the large amount of equipment, food, and oil
that we were to take on the Southern journey. We built a sort of
living-room out of the cases of provisions, and swept out the debris.
The Southern Party elected to sleep there before the start, but the
supporting party slept outside in the tents, as they considered it
warmer.
We still continued to use the lee window as means of ingress and egress
to avoid continual shovelling away of the snow, which would be
necessary as every southerly blizzard blocked up the main entrance. The
various depot parties made use of the hut for replenishing their
stores, which had been sledged from my own hut to Hut Point. On the
night of March 3, 1909, I arrived with the Southern Party, with a sick
man, having been absent on the march 128 days. Our position was bad, as
the ship was north of us. We tried to burn the Magnetic Hut in the hope
of attracting attention from the ship, but were not able to get it to
light. We finally managed to light a flare of carbide, and the ship
came down to us in a blizzard, and all were safely aboard at 1 a.m. on
March 4, 1909. Before leaving the hut we jammed the window up with
baulks of timber, to the best of our ability, in the storm and
darkness. The hut was used again by the Ross Sea Section of this last
Expedition. The snow was cleared out and extra stores were placed in
it. From reports I have received the _Discovery_ Hut was in as good
condition in 1917 as it was in 1902.
The stores placed there in 1902 are intact. There are a few cases of
extra provisions and oil in the hut, but no sleeping gear, or
accommodation, nor stoves, and it must not be looked upon as anything
else than a shelter and a most useful _pied-à-terre_ for the start of
any Southern journey. No stores nor any equipment have been taken from
it during either of my two Expeditions.
(2) CAPE ROYDS HUT
For several reasons, when I went into McMurdo Sound in 1908 in command
of my own Expedition, known as the British Antarctic Expedition, after
having failed to land on King Edward VII Land, I decided to build our
hut at Cape Royds—a small promontory twenty-three miles north of Hut
Point. Here the whole shore party lived in comfort through the winter
of 1908. When spring came stores were sledged to Hut Point, so that
should the sea-ice break up early between these two places we might not
be left in an awkward position. After the return of the Southern Party
we went direct north to civilization, so I never visited my hut again.
I had left, however, full instructions with Professor David as to the
care of the hut, and before the whole Expedition left, the hut was put
in order. A letter was pinned in a conspicuous place inside, stating
that there were sufficient provisions and equipment to last fifteen men
for one year, indicating also the details of these provisions and the
position of the coal store. The stove was in good condition, and the
letter ended with an invitation for any succeeding party to make what
use they required of stores and hut. The hut was then locked and the
key nailed on the door in a conspicuous place. From the report of
Captain Scott’s last Expedition the hut was in good condition, and from
a still later report from the Ross Sea side of this present Expedition,
the hut was still intact.
(3) CAPE EVANS HUT
This large and commodious hut was constructed by Captain Scott at Cape
Evans on his last Expedition. The party lived in it in comfort, and it
was left well supplied with stores in the way of food and oil, and a
certain amount of coal. Several of the scientific staff of this present
Expedition were ashore in it, when the _Aurora_, which was to have been
the permanent winter quarters, broke adrift in May 1915, and went north
with the ice. The hut became the permanent living quarters for the ten
marooned men, and thanks to the stores they were able to sustain life
in comparative comfort, supplementing these stores from my hut at Cape
Royds. In January 1917, after I had rescued the survivors, I had the
hut put in order and locked up.
To sum up, there are three available huts in McMurdo Sound.
(a) The _Discovery_ Hut with a certain amount of rough stores, and only
of use as a point of departure for the South.
(b) Cape Royds Hut with a large amount of general stores, but no
clothing or equipment now.
(c) Cape Evans Hut with a large amount of stores, but no clothing or
equipment and only a few sledges.
(4) DEPOTS SOUTH OF HUT POINT
In spite of the fact that several depots have been laid to the south of
Hut Point on the Barrier, the last being at the Gap (the entrance to
the Beardmore Glacier), no future Expedition should depend on them as
the heavy snowfall obliterates them completely. There is no record of
the depots of any Expedition being made use of by any subsequent
Expedition. No party in any of my Expeditions has used any depot laid
down by a previous Expedition.
INDEX
Adare, Cape
Admiralty
Range
Agag
Aitken
Albatross
Allardyce Range
Allen, James
Amphipods
Amundsen
(dog)
“Ancient Mariner,”
Animal life in Weddell Sea
_See also_ Penguins Seals _and_ Bird life
Annewkow Island
Antarctic Circle
Derby
Argentine
Armitage, Cape
Lieut.
Atmospheric effects
_See also_ Mirage _and_ Sun
Attempt to cut ship out
_Aurora,_
Aurora Australis
Australia
Bakewell
Barne Glacier
Barrier
Great Ice
surface
Beardmore Glacier
Beaufort Island
Belgica Straits
Bergs
Bergschrund
Bernsten, Mr.
Bird life in Weddell Sea
Black Island
Blackborrow
Blizzards, severe
Blue Ice Glacier
Bluff
depot
Boats
Bovril
British territory
Brocklehurst, Capt. H. Courtney
Browning
Bruce, Dr. W. S.
Buenos Ayres
Burberry clothing
Butler Point depot
Caird Coast
Sir James
_Caird, James_ (boat)
Candlemas Volcano
Cape Barne
Bernacchi
Bird
Cotter
Crozier
Evans
Horn weather
Hudson
pigeons
Ross
Royds
Valentine
Wild
Castle Rock
Cave Cove
Cheetham
Chile
Christmas celebrations
Clarence Island
Clark
Coal, Antarctic
on deck
Coats’ Land
Con (dog)
Cook
Cope
Corner Camp
Coulman Islands
Crean
Current meter
Cyclone
Danger Islands
Davis, Captain John K.
Daylight saving
Deception Islands
_Diatoms_