The Heart Of The Antarctic: Being The Story Of The British Antarctic Expedition 1907-1909 (With original photos)

Excerpt:

Men go out into the void spaces of the world for various reasons. Some are actuated simply by a love of adventure, some have the keen thirst for scientific knowledge, and others again are drawn away from the trodden paths by the " lure of little voices," the mysterious fascination of the unknown. I think that in my own case it was a combination of these factors that determined me to try my fortune once again in the frozen south. I had been invalided home before the conclusion of the Discovery expedition, and I had a very keen desire to see more of the vast continent that lies amid the Antarctic snows and glaciers. Indeed the stark polar lands grip the hearts of the men who have lived on them in a manner that can hardly be understood by the people who have never got outside the pale of civilisation. I was convinced, moreover, that an expedition on the lines I had in view could justify itself by the results of its scientific work. The Discovery expedition had brought back a great store of information, and had performed splendid service in several important branches of science. I believed that a second expedition could carry the work still further. The Discovery expedition had gained knowledge of the great chain of mountains running in a north and south direction from Cape Adare to latitude 82° 17' South, but whether this range turned to the south-east or eastward for any considerable distance was not known, and therefore the southern limits of the Great Ice Barrier plain had not been defined. The glimpses gained of King Edward VII Land from the deck of the Discovery had not enabled us to determine either its nature or its extent, and the mystery of the Barrier remained unsolved. It was a matter of importance to the scientific world that information should be gained regarding the movement of the ice-sheet that forms the Barrier. Then I wanted to find out what lay beyond the mountains to the south of latitude 82° 17' and whether the Antarctic continent rose to a plateau similar to the one found by Captain Scott beyond the western mountains. There was much to be done in the field of meteorology, and this work was of particular importance to Australia and New Zealand, for these countries are affected by weather conditions that have their origin in the Antarctic. Antarctic zoology, though somewhat limited, as regarded the range of species, had very interesting aspects, and I wanted to devote some attention to mineralogy, apart from general geology. The aurora australis, atmospheric electricity, tidal movements, hydrography, currents of the air, ice formations and movements, biology and geology, offered an unlimited field for research, and the despatch of an expedition seemed to be justified on scientific grounds quite apart from the desire to gain a high latitude.