Thursday, 30 May 1907

Amundsen

Nansen during his tenure as Norwegian ambassador to London from 1906 to 1908. [1]

Amundsen, perhaps suspecting that Nansen for whatever reasons of his own would not after all take the Fram south, wrote to him, "Forgive me that I already at this point approach you with a question. It may seem intrusive, but I hope that you will forgive me, as you know how great is my interest in this matter. Have you made a decision with respect to the journey we talked about when I was in London in February? I should prefer to be able to follow you and possibly be of some use; but should it be that this journey does not materialize, then I should very much like to have my plan -- or to use a more correct expression, your original plan -- of going through the Bering Strait and over the pole ready by autumn." [2]


Notes:

[1] Nansen Electronic Photographic Archive, Nasjonalbiblioteket.
[2] Roald Amundsen, letter to Fridtjof Nansen, 30 May 1907, quoted by Roland Huntford in Scott and Amundsen (New York : Putnam, 1980, c1979), p.201.

Monday, 27 May 1907

Scott

Scott wrote somewhat more calmly to Keltie, "But indeed you mistake me altogether if you suppose that I have ever attributed any malicious motive to you -- in my angriest motive I never did that -- no the case was this, I cherished a warm feeling of friendship for you on account of many kind things you had done -- amongst them, most conspicuous, the care & attention you gave to my mother & sisters. Then the time came when it seemed to me you might have done something which a friend should have done and you didn't do it. -- That's the whole case. I've no claim that you should have treated me differently from a hundred others that came to your office -- it is only that I thought & expected that you would and therefore I was deeply disappointed & hurt when it seemed to me that you did not." [1]


Notes:

[1] R.F. Scott, letter to Scott Keltie, 27 May, 1907, quoted by David Crane in Scott of the Antarctic (New York : Knopf, c2005), p.306.

Saturday, 25 May 1907

Scott

One of the prototype sledges being tested at Fefor in March, 1910. [1]

In order to interest potential backers, Scott had written a memorandum proposing the use of motor sledges in the Antarctic. "A glance at the figures ... for men haulage will show that it cannot be done in that way," he wrote, nor were dogs the answer. "It is only in considering the possibility of motor traction that the problem becomes practical.... I am of opinion that a very high Southern Latitude could be achieved and the possibility of the South Pole itself could be reached by the proper employment of vehicles capable of mechanical propulsion over the surface of the Great Southern Barrier." [2]

On Nansen's advice, Scott had taken 23 Siberian sled dogs with him on the Discovery, but had decided that their indifferent performance was due to their unsuitability for work in the Antarctic.

Barne had since found a backer for the motor sledges, Lord Howard de Walden, and begun developing a model; he also approached Reginald Skelton from the Discovery expedition.

"It took time," Barne wrote to Skelton, "but at length I have worked him [de Walden] up to something like enthusiasm on the subject and he has given his promise to help all he can ... he is only 27 and has rather a curious manner which may put you off at first but the manner hides great good nature.... You know his interest in motor boats -- this is his especial hobby and you will be wise to draw him out ... in other words as a matter of policy it will be expedient to let him imagine that his ideas are being worked out instead of yours -- But I can trust you to exercise tact." [3]

Scott wrote to Skelton, "Traction is the main thing and of course one turns to the motor; it matters not who first thought of it since it is so natural a thought to come to anyone." Skelton himself had made the suggestion on the Discovery in 1902. [4] "I have not told you of my scheme before," Scott went on, "because it seemed to me the moment had not come.... Now the moment has come -- There is only one person in the world that combines a knowledge of southern conditions with engineering skill and that is yourself."

Scott hoped that Skelton would come along as the expedition's second-in-command. "I have cherished the idea that if I went South again you would join -- what I want now is, not a promise that if all goes well you will come South, but your engineering skill and expert knowledge in designing and pushing forward the design of the ... motors Lord Howard will build.... I will only go South with a pretty good certainty of success and I believe that that can only be obtained by universal patience in getting the machine that is required." [5]

The sledge would be based on a caterpillar track, the first such designed specifically for use on snow; Skelton, in fact, had the idea of putting slats on the track to grip the surface.


Notes:

[1] "How Scott's Motor Sledges Behaved", The New York Times, 16 February, 1913.
[2] R.F. Scott, "The Sledging Problem in the Antarctic: Men versus Motors," quoted by Roland Huntford in Scott and Amundsen (New York : Putnam, 1980, c1979), p.232.
[3] R.F. Scott, letter to R.W. Skelton, 25 May, 1907, quoted by David Crane in Scott of the Antarctic (New York : Knopf, c2005), p.337.
[4] Roland Huntford, Scott and Amundsen (New York : Putnam, 1980, c1979), p.232 and 234.
[5] R.F. Scott, letter to R.W. Skelton, 25 May, 1907, quoted by Roland Huntford in Scott and Amundsen (New York : Putnam, 1980, c1979), p.234.

Friday, 17 May 1907

Scott

Under pressure from both Scott and Wilson, Shackleton agreed to change his plans. "I am leaving the McMurdo Sound base to you," he wrote to Scott, "and will land either at the place known as Barrier Inlet or at King Edward VII Land, whichever is the most suitable. If I land at either of these places I will not work to the westward of the 170 Meridian W. and shall not make any sledge journey going W. of that meridian unless prevented when going to the South from keeping to the East of that meridian by the physical features of the country.... I shall not touch the coast of Victoria Land at all.... If I find it impracticable to land at King Edward VII Land or at Barrier Inlet or further to the N.E., I may possibly steam north and then to westward and try to land to the West of Kaiser Wilhelm II Land, going down to the meridian that the 'Challenger' made her furthest South." He concluded, "I think this outlines my plan, which I shall rightly adhere to, and I hope that this letter meets you on the points that you desire."[1]

"By doing so," Shackleton wrote bitterly to Keltie, "I much diminish any chance of success in the way of a long journey." [2]

"My dear Shackleton," Scott replied, "I return you this copy of your letter which is a very clear statement of the arrangement to which we came. If as you say you will rigidly adhere to it, I don't think our plans will clash and I will feel on sure ground in developing my own." [3]


Notes:

[1] Ernest Shackleton, letter to R.F. Scott, 17 May, 1907, quoted by David Crane in Scott of the Antarctic (New York : Knopf, c2005), p.304.
[2] Ernest Shackleton, letter to Scott Keltie, [date not given], quoted by Roland Huntford in Scott and Amundsen (New York : Putnam, 1980, c1979), p.227.
[3] R.F. Scott, letter to Ernest Shackleton, 17 May, 1907, quoted by David Crane in Scott of the Antarctic (New York : Knopf, c2005), p.304-305.

Saturday, 20 April 1907

Amundsen

Nansen persuaded the Norwegian government to grant Amundsen 40,000 kroner, at the time about £2,200, on condition that the ethnographical collection of Netsilik artifacts made on the Gjøa be given to the state. (Amundsen had in fact already offered to make such a gift.) The grant would clear most of Amundsen's debts from the Northwest Passage and allow funds collected on his forthcoming lecture tour in America to be used for a new expedition.

Sunday, 31 March 1907

Scott

Wilson, a photograph used as the frontispiece to v.2 of Scott's Last Expedition (1913). [1]

Scott asked "Bill" Wilson to accompany him as the new expedition's chief of scientific staff and official artist.

Edward Adrian Wilson was a naturalist, doctor, and gifted amateur painter who had accompanied Scott on the Discovery as zoologist, junior surgeon, and expedition artist. On the southern journey, during which they reached a then-record of 82° 17' S, he had become close to Scott, who was deeply impressed by Wilson's quiet optimism, serenity and sense of purpose, good temper, and faith.

"Can you really mean that you would like me to go south again with you?" Wilson wrote. "If you do I may tell you that nothing in the world would please me more, and my wife is entirely with me.... As for your good opinion of me I can only say that there is nothing I would not do to deserve it." [1]

Wilson, who was something of an ascetic, wrote privately to his wife, "I am getting more and more soft and dependent on comforts, and this I hate. I want to endure hardness and instead of that I enjoy hotel dinners and prefer hot water to cold and so on -- all bad signs and something must be done to stop it." He believed that he would survive to publish his work on ornithology. "This conviction makes me absolutely fearless as to another journey South, for whatever happened I know I should come back to you.... I should not feel it was right now to desert Scott if he goes." [2]


Notes:

[1] Wikipedia.
[2] E.A. Wilson, letter to R.F. Scott, 31 March, 1907, quoted by David Crane in Scott of the Antarctic (New York : Knopf, c2005), p.336-337.
[3] E.A. Wilson, letter to Oriana Wilson, [date not given], quoted by Diana Preston in A First Rate Tragedy (Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1998, c1997), p.103.

March 1907

Scott

Letters flew between Shackleton, Keltie, and Scott.

Shackleton had been bitterly offended by Scott's account of the southern journey in The Voyage of the 'Discovery' in October 1905, which Shackleton saw as implying weakness on his part, and that having to carry Shackleton on the sledge caused the distances to be shorter than they might have been. All three members of the southern party -- Scott, Wilson, and Shackleton -- had developed scurvy, but Shackleton was the only one who had been sent home early, which Shackleton saw not only as a personal criticism but as damaging to his reputation as an explorer and the possible leader of an expedition.

Shackleton said now that he had learned of Scott's plans only when he asked George Mulock, who had replaced him on the Discovery, to join him, and found that Mulock had already agreed to accompany Scott. "I took the letter to the Geographical Society and saw Kelty [sic]. I said 'What is the meaning of this?' Kelty said 'Oh! Mulock has let the cat out of the bag.' I said 'What do you mean?' I said 'Is Scott going to go?' He said 'Yes.'" [1]

Scott was furious and wrote to Keltie, "You do not say that you told him that I contemplated getting up an expedition, but it is impossible to imagine that you omitted to mention it when you saw him. That fact must therefore be that Shackleton deliberately worded his notice so as to forestall me -- I would have not believed it of any of my own people -- and since it is so I cannot express my condemnation of such an act too strongly." [2]

Keltie replied, "Your letter makes me feel very unhappy. I feel rather sorry now that when Shackleton spoke to me first about his expedition and told me that he was going to put it in the papers next day that I did not tell him what were your intentions.... But then I thought that you wanted to keep the whole matter absolutely secret.... Of course you will understand that my position here is a difficult one.... I think that you will admit that we could not ignore his expedition altogether."

"He has evidently been quite upset," Keltie went on, "by your letter and the letter he has had from Barne, he told me he has not slept for four nights. He has evidently been thinking over alternatives. He talked of the Weddell Sea, and landing there and trying to make his say to the Pole, then he thought of making King Edward VII Land his base of operations, and leaving the old Discovery quarters to you and even hinted that he might turn his expedition to the North Pole.... As to Shackleton's capacity as a leader and his staying powers, I think you and I take the same view. He looks strong enough, but it is clear that he is not absolutely sound, and Heaven knows what may happen if he starts on his journey Pole-wards." [3]

"As to his chance of success I do not like to express an opinion. On the one hand he has lots of energy & he may select his people well -- on the other I personally never expect much in this sort of work from a man who isn't straight -- it is the first essential for the co-operation necessary for such a venture -- of course also Shackleton is the least experienced of our travellers and he was never very thorough in anything -- one has but to consider his subsequent history to see that -- he has stuck to nothing & you know better than I the continual schemes which he has fathered." [4]

Shackleton, however, wrote to Barne, "I would rather lose the chance of making a record that do anything that might not be quite right," and a few days later that he could see that "as Britishers, the position is clear." [5]

Scott replied to Shackleton, "I am sorry to have done you this injustice and I think it right to tell you how it came about. I ... have the relief of knowing that you did not intentionally wreck my plans and the thought that you had done so was very distressing to me, for it seemed an action of which an old Discovery should have been incapable and one that surprised me beyond measure in you. I apologise for having thought you guilty of it. As to Keltie we must now draw our own conclusions -- His silence seems to have been deliberately calculated to make trouble -- he must have known that I should protest and think evil things of you and that you would be deeply troubled, as I gather you are ... neither of us I expect is likely to forget it." [6]

Scott wrote to Keltie a few days later, "I confess your silence appears to me inexplicable. Now that I know the facts I must of course acquit Shackleton of want of loyalty but I cannot think that you acted a friendly part.... It is beyond me to guess what was in your mind.... I confess I am at a loss to find your motive and being a plain dealing person I have been exceedingly hurt by your act." [7]

Wilson was already taking on the role of peace-maker between Scott and Shackleton, who wrote to him, "I do not agree with you, Billy, about holding up my plans until I hear what Scott considers his rights. There is no doubt in my mind that his rights end at the base he asked for, or within reasonable distance of that base. I will not consider that he has any right to King Edward the Seventh's Land, and only regard it as a direct attempt to keep me out of the Ross quarter if he should ever propose such a thing. I have given way to him in the greatest thing of all, and my limit has been reached.... [Just] as well might Borchgrevink have objected to Scott wintering anywhere within a radius of 500 miles of Cape Adare." [8]

"The question now," Scott wrote to Shackleton, "is what you intend to do? On the one hand I do not wish to stand in the way of any legitimate scheme of yours -- on the other it must be clear to you now that you have placed yourself directly in the way of my life's work -- a thing for which I have sacrificed much and worked with steady purpose -- Two expeditions cannot go to the same spot either together or within the compass of several years -- If you go to McMurdo Sound you go to winter quarters which are clearly mine.... I do not need to remind you that it was I who took you South or of the loyalty with which you all stuck to one another or of incidents on one voyage or of my readiness to do you justice on my return." [9]

There were in fact rumours that the Pole Henryk Arctowski, oceanographer from the Belgica expedition and shipmate of Amundsen's and Cook's, was planning to return to the Ross Sea.

Scott, still unwilling to show his hand publicly, wrote to Keltie, "If you in consultation with others think it wise to announce a change of Shackleton's plan and a hint as to my own I am willing that you should do so presuming it is solely to show the world that England intends to operate in the Ross Sea -- If you think no such statement is necessary but it will be sufficient to inform foreign rivals more privately it would be a course better suited to my views." [10]


Notes:

[1] Ernest Shackleton, letter to R.F. Scott, 27 February, 1907, quoted by David Crane in Scott of the Antarctic (New York : Knopf, c2005), p.302.
[2] R.F. Scott, letter to Scott Keltie, undated, quoted by David Crane in Scott of the Antarctic (New York : Knopf, c2005), p.302.
[3] Scott Keltie, letter to R.F. Scott, 1 March, 1907, quoted by David Crane in Scott of the Antarctic (New York : Knopf, c2005), p.301.
[4] R.F. Scott, letter, [addressee not given], 2 March, 1907, quoted by David Crane in Scott of the Antarctic (New York : Knopf, c2005), p.301-302.
[5] Ernest Shackleton, letters to Michael Barne, 5 March and 7 March, 1907, quoted by David Crane in Scott of the Antarctic (New York : Knopf, c2005), p.301.
[6] R.F. Scott, letter to Ernest Shackleton, 7 March, 1907, quoted by David Crane in Scott of the Antarctic (New York : Knopf, c2005), p.302-303.
[7] R.F. Scott, letter to Scott Keltie, 11 March, 1907, quoted by David Crane in Scott of the Antarctic (New York : Knopf, c2005), p.303.
[8] Ernest Shackleton, letter to E.A. Wilson, 11 March, 1907, quoted by David Crane in Scott of the Antarctic (New York : Knopf, c2005), p.303-304.
[9] R.F. Scott, letter to Ernest Shackleton, 26 March, 1907, quoted by David Crane in Scott of the Antarctic (New York : Knopf, c2005), p.303.
[10] R.F. Scott, letter to Scott Keltie, 26 March, 1907, quoted by David Crane in Scott of the Antarctic (New York : Knopf, c2005), p.304.

March 1907

Scott

Frederick Cook announced his plans to launch an attack on the South Pole from Ross Island.

Cook had been surgeon on Peary's third Greenland expedition in 1891-92, and on de Gerlache's 1897-99 Antarctic expedition in the Belgica, during which he had become close friends with Amundsen.