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Journals: Captain Scott’s Last Expedition Robert Falcon Scott OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS  ’  JOURNALS R F S was born in Devon in , the third of six children in a prosperous family. He passed the Royal Navy’s entrance examination and joined the training ship HMS Britannia a month after his thirteenth birthday. Thereafter he rose steadily through the ranks until he was made a full lieutenant in . In  his father was declared bankrupt and died three years later; Scott was forced to help support his mother and unmarried sisters. He had been serving on HMS Majestic when Clements Markham appointed him as Commander of the National Antarctic Expedition – on board the Discovery. The expedition brought him success and fame, and promotion to Captain. Stung by Shackleton’s march to within  miles of the South Pole in , Scott organized a second expedition, and the Terra Nova set sail for the Antarctic in . Beaten to the Pole by Amundsen, Scott and four of his companions died on their march back to safety in March . Scott’s gripping journals charting the expedition’s progress and tragic end were first published in  and remained in print for most of the century, an icon of national heroism. M J was educated at Oxford, Cambridge, and the University of California at Berkeley. Formerly a Fellow and Director of Studies in History at Christ’s College, Cambridge, he is currently Programme Director of the MA in Modern British History at the University of Manchester. He is the author of The Last Great Quest: Captain Scott’s Antarctic Sacrifice ().  ’  For over  years Oxford World’s Classics have brought readers closer to the world’s great literature. Now with over  titles––from the ,-year-old myths of Mesopotamia to the twentieth century’s greatest novels––the series makes available lesser-known as well as celebrated writing. The pocket-sized hardbacks of the early years contained introductions by Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot, Graham Greene, and other literary figures which enriched the experience of reading. Today the series is recognized for its fine scholarship and reliability in texts that span world literature, drama and poetry, religion, philosophy and politics. Each edition includes perceptive commentary and essential background information to meet the changing needs of readers. OXFORD WORLD’S CLASSICS ROBERT FALCON SCOTT Journals CAPTAIN SCOTT’S LAST EXPEDITION Edited with an Introduction and Notes by MAX JONES 1 3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford   Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in OxfordNew York AucklandCape TownDar es SalaamHong Kong Karachi Kuala LumpurMadrid MelbourneMexico CityNairobi New DelhiShanghaiTaipeiToronto With offices in Argentina AustriaBrazilChileCzech RepublicFranceGreece GuatemalaHungaryItaly JapanPolandPortugalSingapore South KoreaSwitzerlandThailandTurkey UkraineVietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York Editorial matter © Max Jones 2005 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published as an Oxford World’s Classics paperback 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Data available Typeset in Ehrhardt by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk Printed in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, St Ives plc ISBN 0–19–929752–5 978–0–19–929752–8 135 79108642 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS W preparing this edition for publication, I have benefited greatly from the assistance of many individuals and institutions. The commit- ment, patience, and astute comments of my editor, Judith Luna, proved invaluable throughout the process. Virginia Murray offered exemplary guidance through the papers of Scott’s original publisher, Smith, Elder (now part of the John Murray Collection), helping to unearth a wealth of previously unpublished material which has enriched this edition. After I had worked through Scott’s account of the polar journey, Francis Dods- worth meticulously compared Scott’s base journals with the published version, presenting his findings with characteristic efficiency. Susan Bayly, Robert Blyth, Bob Headland, Rory Rapple, Shirley Sawtell, the Milton online discussion group, and, in particular, Gareth Rees and Beau Riffen- burgh were generous with their expertise. Any errors which remain are, of course, my own. The team at OUP, including copy-editors Elizabeth Stratford and Edwin Pritchard, have done a fine job. The John Murray Collection, Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI), Alpine Club, Lord Kennet, and Lady Philippa Scott generously granted permission to reproduce copyright text and images in this edition. The staff at SPRI, the John Rylands University Library of Manchester, and the university libraries of Bristol and Cambridge, provided efficient support throughout, while William Frame and his colleagues at the British Library kindly arranged for me to consult Scott’s original notebooks. Both Christ’s College, Cambridge, and the new School of Arts, Histor- ies, and Cultures at the University of Manchester provided wonderful environments to pursue research, and Penny Summerfield’s thoughts on diaries in particular helped shape the Introduction. I do not have space to list all the scholars who have assisted my work on Captain Scott over the years, but I am particularly grateful to David Cannadine, Peter Clarke, Klaus Dodds, Tom Laqueur, Tom Metcalf, and Jay Winter, while Peter Straus has helped me navigate the literary world. Final thanks, as always, to my parents, George and Diana, and to Sarah, Isabelle, and Oscar, for keeping me warm amidst the ice. This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS List of Illustrations xiii Abbreviations xv Introduction xvii Composition and Publication History xlii Select Bibliography xlix A Chronology of Robert Falcon Scott and Scott’s Last Expedition liv SCOTT’S LAST EXPEDITION Preface, by Clements R. Markham  British Antarctic Expedition,        General Stowage––A Last Scene in New Zealand––Departure––On Deck with the Dogs––The Storm––The Engine-room Flooded–– Clearing the Pumps––Cape Crozier as a Station––Birds of the South––A Pony’s Memory––Tabular Bergs––An Incomparable Scene––Formation of the Pack––Movements of the Floes       A Reported Island––Incessant Changes––The Imprisoning Ice––Ski-ing and Sledging on the Floes––Movement of Bergs–– Opening of the Pack––A Damaged Rudder––To Stop or not to Stop––Nicknames––Ski Exercise––Penguins and Music–– Composite Floes––Banked Fires––Christmas in the Ice––The Penguins and the Skua––Ice Movements––State of the Ice-house–– Still in the Ice––Life in the Pack––Escape from the Pack––A Calm––The Pack far to the North––Science in the Ice  viii Contents    Land at Last––Reach Cape Crozier––Cliffs of Cape Crozier–– Landing Impossible––Penguins and Killers––Cape Evans as Winter Station––The Ponies Landed––Penguins’ Fatuous Conduct–– Adventure with Killer Whales––Habits of the Killer Whale–– Landing Stores––The Skuas Nesting––Ponies and their Ways––Dangers of the Rotting Ice      Loss of a Motor––A Dog Dies––Result of Six Days’ Work––Restive Ponies––An Ice Cave––Loading Ballast––Pony Prospects––First Trip to Hut Point––Return: Prospects of Sea Ice––A Secure Berth––The Hut––Home Fittings and Autumn Plans––The Pianola––Seal Rissoles––The Ship Stranded––Ice begins to go          Dogs and Ponies at Work––Stores for Depôts––Old Stores at Discovery Hut––To Encourage the Pony––Depôt Plans––Pony Snow-shoes––Impressions on the March––Further Impressions–– Sledging Necessities and Luxuries––A Better Surface––Chaos Without; Comfort Within––After the Blizzard––Marching Routine––The Weakest Ponies Return––Bowers and Cherry- Garrard––Snow Crusts and Blizzards––A Resented Frost-bite–– One Ton Camp.       Dogs’ and Ponies’ Ways––The Dogs in a Crevasse––Rescue Work–– Chances of a Snow Bridge––The Dog Rations––A Startling Mail–– Cross the Other Party––The End of ‘Weary Willy’––The Ice Breaks––The Ponies on the Floe––Safely Back 

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For anyone interested in the history of the Antarctic, these journals are essential reading. Dolores Geisler's Review here on Amazon beautifully captures the appeal of these fundamental documents and the character of the men involved. And, of course, there are many other excellent sources on not onl