Ernest Henry Shackleton

“ The creaking snow, blown down and packed hard by the southerly blizzard from the slopes above us, made the most perfect going. The ever-changing views of the broken ice-cliffs and mountain slopes drew us on. ”

“ The moon shone full, dimming the stars and paling the sky in the zenith, though round the horizon its colour deepened into a rich ultramarine. On our right towered the mighty volcano, swelling up at first in long glittering snow slopes, which formed a noble pedestal to the beetling rocky spurs which buttressed the summit cone and ice-cap. ”

“ AFTER watching the man painting the lamp post with a brush fixed on a breast drill, for some time in silence, I say to the boy with green hair, ‘I believe I could do it better myself.’ The brush catches me a blow in the ribs, and the man rushes at me with a chopper in one hand and a hammer in the other, when realising that I can fly I take huge leaps without any effort, a most delightful sensation. ”

“ Behold! when all things were made ready, there came unto Shackleton a messenger from the palace of the King, yea even from the Great King himself, saying unto him;
Lo! The King, may he live for ever, hath heard from his Councillors of the noble work which thou wouldest do, and he would have thee take thy ship Nimrod to the city of Cowes, and there abide for a space till he may come to thee. ”

“ And a certain man rose up and spake unto him saying, Behold! I have a ship which is so strongly built that no tempest can do it any hurt, neither can it be crushed by ice.
Give unto me six thousand pieces of gold, and I will deliver the ship unto thee, with all things in good order and ready for thee to start on thy journey.
And because he was in great haste, Shackleton bought the ship which he had not seen, for it was in a far country, but when it had been delivered unto him, he found that many shekels were needed to make the ship fit to go forth. ”

“ Also from this land of Australia took he two more; one of whom was a man learned in many arts and sciences, and who did bid fair to become known amongst the wise men; he was also of great length of limb and appetite.
The other was dark of hair, and short of stature, and had fought in the armies of the Great, King; also was he a mighty hunter.
In the fulness of time came Shackleton and all his people to New Zealand, where his ship Nimrod did await him, and for the space of fourteen days did he abide there. ”

“ Joyce is having a rough time, the bulwarks are stove in and we are now constantly awash. The rest of the watch consists of fierce inrushes of water, which terrify the ponies and send every loose article, regardless of weight, swinging about the confined space. The grey dawn at length appearing, we begin to have faith in the coming day. ”

“ With everything apparently united to afford him plenty of employment and make him happy, yet, strange to say, he has his moments of despondency. No other occupation could cause a man to have such a low opinion of his own powers.
To a casual observer stoning raisins appears to be easy enough, and until my first day as messman I had been a very casual observer, and when the autocrat at the head of the Food Department gave me some raisins after lunch, and told me to stone them, I looked forward to a restful interlude in what had so far been a strenuous day. ”

“ Racked and seared by the inner fires, gripped close by the outer snows.
Proud, unconquered and unyielding, whilst the untold aeons passed,
Inviolate through the ages, your ramparts spurning the blast,
Till men impelled by a strong desire, broke through your icy bars ”

“ It is a sight for the gods to see a well-known F. R. S, drying a wet plate with a wetter cloth, and looking ruefully at the islands of grease remaining, after he has spent five minutes hard work on it. I suppose that nowhere else in the world is it a common sight to see two geologists and a meteorologist washing up dishes as if they had been used to nothing else.
The above programme is repeated three times in the day, with slight variations at lunch, tea, and dinner, and is in itself, in my opinion, sufficient work to last three men and a boy for a week. ”

“ I volunteer to raid the galley and make some cocoa. Here there is a scene of wild confusion; the floor is flooded, littered with coal, and slippery with grease; after many 'mishaps, “Scottie” coming along gives valuable assistance.
Crash! a huge sea strikes us, and the ship literally staggers with the weight of it; water pours through the door, roof, and every available crevice; the fire is smothered and the galley fills with steam ”

“ Then turned they the ship towards the rising of the sun, and would have gone to that land which has been called King Edward VII Land, in honour of the Great King;
But they could not, for their way was barred by mountains and plains of ice, which were broken up and scattered abroad over the whole face of the waters, in such quantity that no ship fashioned by the hand of man could force its way through, or withstand the pressure thereof. ”

“ Are mingled in some of their dreams, For the songs they gustin gurgle
Are allied to bibulous themes.
And subjects re barmaids and bottles,
Whisky and barrels of beer, Are mixed with amorous pleadings
That sound decidedly queer. Darling you really love me? Stutters one dreaming swain; The watchman whispers “Never,”
And the dreamer writhes in pain.
From the corner cabin a mutter,
The listener kens not what; It sounds like “yon pale moon,”
Or some other poetic rot.
Murder is done in another’s dream
And falls from shuddering heights ”

“ For about a quarter of an hour everybody is too busily engaged to be captious, but about the time tea or coffee are being passed round, they begin to find their tongues, and I sit down to my breakfast, which is stone-cold, beneath a fire of criticisms as to my fitness, or rather my lack of fitness for the post. ”

“ Many of the great leviathans of the deep did they see, like unto the one which the traveller Jonah of old time did explore, and also vast numbers of the fierce beasts of the sea that do abound in this strange country. ”

“ To my horror I find that though the leaps are high yet they do not carry me far; and on the fourth or fifth the man is waiting for me with the hammer. I give myself up for lost, and come down receiving a fearful blow on the head. ”

“ A meal in the Antarctic is a very diflerent affair from one at home, and a description will come better from the messman than from anyone else, for as the saying is, “The onlooker sees most of the game,” and as far as my experience goes, the messman at a meal is very much in the position of a spectator. ”

“ The timbers of the stable groan and creak, and we doubt their ability to carry the weight of boats and gear resting on them. Gaining confidence we seat ourselves on a sack of wet bran and fall to talking fitfully, the lamp splutters, goes out, and is lit with difficulty; the ponies snort, stamp, kick and keep us anxious. ”

“ To a lover of human nature it is very gratifying to see artists, geologists, biologists, meteorologists and other ‘ologists’ and ‘ists’ fighting in vast numbers and with earnest purpose, for the privilege of sweeping out the hut after dinner, and relieving the messman of this exercise. ”

“ Under his arm, or flipper, he carries a heavy truncheon, fashioned from the backbone of a seal. As he stood before us, all this could be taken in at a glance.
I have had many a painful interview with gamekeepers, and people of that kidney, but this one would take all my diplomacy to meet. But a bland smile and a voluble tongue might pull us through. ”

“ Yet another did speak long and loudly of the many pieces of gold which he did give to the poor, and to the sick and needy, and then did press into the hand of the man who would go exploring, three rolled pieces of dried leaves, which the people of the land do burn in their mouths, in order that they may be comforted. ”

“ The ponies on the weather side kick frantically, one has his fore legs, over the bar; Joyce is up and pushing him back before I can extricate myself from the tangle, when I do I only hold on to a rope and render what assistance I can.
This is followed by a succession of seas aboard, and we heap curses on the helmsman for letting us fall off our course. Occasionaly we are swept off our feet, and can only hold on and do little to soothe the ponies. They suffer continually and we pity them, hoping for finer weather. ”

“ Now I say unto ye, great shall be the benefit to the people of thy country, when the way to this land has been opened up, and the ships of the King shall be able to travel in safety thereto, and trade with the peoples who dwell therein. ”

“ Laying the table is an art in itself. The tastes of all members have to be catered for, and that means that it is necessary to have two or three different kinds of jam, marmalade, honey and golden syrup, dripping and butter. I have seen men spreading chutney on their bread, and putting honey in their porridge, and from the way it has disappeared, I have reason to believe that they take worcestershire sauce with their fruit. ”

“ Then was there one who had contrived a chariot of fearsome design, which would travel over the land without horses, even up steep hills and over rocky places, and could also make great noises and noisome stenches to frighten the wild beasts. ”

“ Then in his trouble did he say, Lo! are there not many men in the country of the Great King who possess many thousands of talents of gold and of silver, now will I betake myself unto them, and they will gladly give me of their shekels. ”

“ I went on, thinking it well to avoid an answer to his last question. “Whose estate do we happen to have trespassed upon? I was not aware that there were any private grounds in this district.”
“Oo jeest Mr Forsteri, Aptenodytes Forsteri, a cousin o’ the M. P., I’m surprised ye didna ken, man! Its a vera auld family.”
“No doubt” I replied, “but you see we are strangers here. But does all the ground about here belong to Mr Forsteri?” ”

“ They did come to that great high wall of ice which is there set up, and which is called the Great Ice Barrier.
And there did they diligently search for a certain haven in which to place the ship, and in which the ship Discovery had rested beforetime, but lo! it was not. ”

“ And Shackleton and the rest of the company did abide yet a few days more with their own people, and then departed in large and swift ships to the land of New Zealand.
¶ Now it is well known of all men that many thousands of miles south of the rising of the Sun, there lieth a vast continent which is also part of the dominions of the Great King, and is called Australia. ”

“ He is allowed to go out into the cold, and obtain enough ice to fill both the boiler from which we ourselves drink, and the eighteen gallon melting pot which provides the fresh water for the Cavalry Commissariat Department, and he may do this as often as he likes. ”