Monday, 8 May 1911

Scott

Scott's "Southern Journey" lecture notes, 8 May 1911. [1]

Keen to take advantage of the wide array of knowledge amongst his staff, Scott instituted a series of thrice-weekly lectures -- quickly dubbed "Universitas Antarctica" -- Wilson opening with a paper on "Antarctic Flying Birds", then Simpson the next evening on coronas.

One of the more eagerly-attended was no doubt Scott's own. "As one of the series of lectures," he wrote in his diary, "I gave an outline of my plans for next season on Monday evening. Everyone was interested naturally. I could not but hint that in my opinion the problem of reaching the Pole can best be solved by relying on the ponies and man haulage. With this sentiment the whole company appeared to be in sympathy. Everyone seems to distrust the dogs when it comes to glacier and summit. I have asked everyone to give thought to the problem, to freely discuss it, and bring suggestions to my notice. It's going to be a tough job; that is better realised the more one dives into it." [2]

Scott proposed leaving on 3 November, estimating a return to Hut Point on 27th March. "Therefore," he added, "the Pole party will almost certainly be too late for the ship." [3]

The ponies could be taken only as far as the foot of the Beardmore Glacier; after that it would be man-hauling.

"I for one am delighted at the decision," Bowers wrote cheerfully. "After all, it will be a fine thing to do that plateau with man-haulage in these days of the supposed decadence of the British race." [4]

Simpson noted privately, "It appears that with all our resources, there is little margin, and a few accidents or a spell of bad weather would not only bring failure but very likely disaster." [5]

The Polar party would have to spend seventy-five days at high altitude on the Plateau. Scott finished, Debenham recorded, by saying, "I don't know whether it is possible for men to last out that time. I almost doubt it." [6]

Wilson remained philosophical, if somewhat fatalistic. "Things generally turn out for the best," he wrote in his diary, "and generally in a different way to what one expects." [7]


Notes:

[1] "Lecture notes 'Southern Journey 1911 - 12', 8 May 1911", under Recent Acquisitions, Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand. "These handwritten notes by Capt. Robert Falcon Scott set out his plans for journey to the South Pole during the British Antarctic Expedition 1910-13. Various lectures were given to the men of the expedition during the long winter months spent in the hut at Cape Evans. Recently discovered by a London bookseller and acquired by Canterbury Museum, this manuscript gives details of Scott's plans for the journey in which he and four of his companions lost their lives."
[2] R.F. Scott, diary, 8-9 May, 1911, quoted in Scott's Last Expedition, v.1.
[3] Frank Debenham, diary, 8 May, 1911, quoted by Roland Huntford in Scott and Amundsen (New York : Putnam, 1980, c1979), p.395.
[4] H.R. Bowers, letter to Kathleen Scott, 27 October, 1911, quoted by Roland Huntford in Scott and Amundsen (New York : Putnam, 1980, c1979), p.395-396.
[5] George Simpson, quoted by Roland Huntford in Scott and Amundsen (New York : Putnam, 1980, c1979), p.396.
[6] Frank Debenham, diary, 8 May, 1911, quoted by Roland Huntford in Scott and Amundsen (New York : Putnam, 1980, c1979), p.395.
[7] E.A. Wilson, [date not given], quoted by Roland Huntford in Scott and Amundsen (New York : Putnam, 1980, c1979), p.395.