CHAPTER IV
NEW LANDS
Leaving the land party under my charge at Commonwealth Bay
on the evening of January 19, the `Aurora' set her course to round a headland
visible on the north-western horizon. At midnight the ship came abreast
of this point and continued steaming west, keeping within a distance of
five miles of the coast. A break in the icy monotony came with a short tract
of islets fronting a background of dark rocky coastline similar to that
at Cape Denison but more extensive.
Some six miles east of D'Urville's Cape Discovery, a dangerous reef was
sighted extending at right angles across the course. The ship steamed along
it and her soundings demonstrated a submerged ridge continuing some twelve
miles out to sea. Captain Davis's narrative proceeds:
``Having cleared this obstacle we followed the coastline to the west from
point to point. Twelve miles away we could see the snow-covered slopes rising
from the seaward cliffs to an elevation of one thousand five hundred feet.
Several small islands were visible close to a shore fringed by numerous
large bergs.
``At 10 P.M. on January 20, our progress to the west was stopped by a fleet
of bergs off the mainland and an extensive field of berg-laden pack-ice,
trending to the north and north-east. Adelie Land could be traced continuing
to the west. Where it disappeared from view there was the appearance of
a barrier-formation, suggestive of shelf-ice, running in a northerly direction.
Skirting the pack-ice on a north and north-west course, we observed the
same appearance from the crow's-nest on January 21 and 22.''
The stretch of open, navigable, coastal water to the north of Adelie Land,
barred by the Mertz Glacier on the east and delimited on the west by more
or less compact ice, has been named the D'Urville Sea. We found subsequently
that its freedom from obstruction by ice is due to the persistent gales
which set off the land in that locality. To the north, pack-ice in variable
amount is encountered before reaching the wide open ocean.
The existence of such a ``barrier-formation,''** as indicated above, probably
resting on a line of reef similar to the one near Cape Discovery, would
account for the presence of this ice-field in practically the same position
as it was seen by D'Urville in 1840.
** An analysis of the data derived from the later voyages of the `Aurora'
makes it practically certain that there is a permanent obstacle to the westerly
drift of the pack-ice in longitude 137 degrees E. There is, however, some
uncertainty as to the cause of this blockage. An alternative explanation
is advanced, namely, that within the area of comparatively shallow water,
large bergs are entrapped, and these entangle the drifting pack-ice.
At a distance, large bergs would be undistinguishable from shelf-ice, appearances
of which were reported above.
Quoting further: ``We were unable to see any trace of the high land reported
by the United States Squadron (1840) as lying to the west and south beyond
the compact ice.
``At 1.30 A.M. on the 23rd the pack-ice was seen to trend to the south-west.
After steaming west for twenty-five miles, we stood south in longitude 182
degrees 30' E, shortly afterwards passing over the charted position of Cote
Clarie. The water here was clear of pack-ice, but studded with bergs of
immense size. The great barrier which the French ships followed in 1840
had vanished. A collection of huge bergs was the sole remnant to mark its
former position.
``At 10 A.M., having passed to the south of the charted position of D'Urville's
Cote Clarie, we altered course to S. 10 degrees E. true. Good observations
placed us at noon in latitude 65 degrees 2' S. and 132 degrees 26' E. A
sounding on sand and small stones was taken in one hundred and sixty fathoms.
We sailed over the charted position of land east of Wilkes's Cape Carr in
clear weather.
``At 5.30 P.M. land was sighted to the southward--snowy highlands similar
to those of Adelie Land but greater in elevation.
``After sounding in one hundred and fifty-six fathoms on mud, the
ship stood directly towards the land until 9 P.M. The distance to the nearest
point was estimated at twenty miles; heavy floe-ice extending from our position,
latitude 65 degrees 45' S. and longitude 132 degrees 40' E., right up to
the shore. Another sounding realized two hundred and thirty fathoms, on
sand and small stones. Some open water was seen to the south-east, but an
attempt to force a passage in that direction was frustrated.
``At 3 A.M. on the 24th we were about twelve miles from the nearest point
of the coast, and further progress became impossible. The southern slopes
were seamed with numerous crevasses, but at a distance the precise nature
of the shores could not be accurately determined.''
To this country, which had never before been seen, was given the name of
Wilkes's Land; as it is only just to commemorate the American Exploring
Expedition on the Continent which its leader believed he had discovered
in these seas and which he would have found had Fortune favoured him with
a fair return for his heroic endeavours.
``We steered round on a north-westerly course, and at noon on January 24
were slightly to the north of our position at 5.30 A.M. on the 23rd. A sounding
reached one hundred and seventy fathoms and a muddy bottom. Environing us
were enormous bergs of every kind, one hundred and eighty to two hundred
feet in height. During the afternoon a westerly course was maintained in
clear water until 4 P.M., when the course was altered to S. 30 degrees W.,
in the hope of winning through to the land visible on the southern horizon.''
Ship's tracks in the vicinity ot Totten's Land and
North's Land
At 8 P.M. the sky was very clear to the southward, and the
land could be traced to a great distance until it faded in the south-west.
But the ship had come up with the solid floe-ice once more, and had to
give way and steam along its edge. This floating breakwater held us off
and frustrated all attempts to reach the goal which we sought.
``The next four days was a period of violent gales and heavy seas which
drove the ship some distance to the north. Nothing was visible through swirling
clouds of snow. The `Aurora' behaved admirably, as she invariably does in
heavy weather. The main pack was encountered on January 29, but foggy weather
prevailed. It was not until noon on January 31 that the atmosphere was sufficiently
clear to obtain good observations. The ship was by this time in the midst
of heavy floe in the vicinity of longitude 119 degrees E., and again the
course had swung round to south. We had soon passed to the south of Balleny's
Sabrina Land without any indication of its existence. Considering the doubtful
character of the statements justifying its appearance on the chart, it is
not surprising that we did not verify them.
``At 11 A.M. the floes were found too heavy for further advance. The ship
was made fast to a big one and a large quantity of ice was taken on board
to replenish the fresh-water supply. A tank of two hundred gallons' capacity,
heated within by a steam coil from the engineroom, stood on the poop deck.
Into this ice was continuously fed, flowing away as it melted into the main
tanks in the bottom of the ship.
``At noon the weather was clear, but nothing could be discerned in the south
except a faint blue line on the horizon. It may have been a 'lead ' of water,
an effect of mirage, or even land-ice--in any case we could not approach
it.''
The position as indicated by the noon observations placed the ship within
seven miles of a portion of Totten's High Land in Wilkes's charts. As high
land would have been visible at a great distance, it is clear that Totten's
High Land either does not exist or is situated a considerable distance from
its charted location. A sounding was made in three hundred and forty fathoms.
Ship's track in the vicinity of Knox Land and Budd
Land
Towards evening the `Aurora' turned back to open water and
cruised along the pack-ice. A sounding next day showed nine hundred and
twenty-seven fathoms.
It was about this time that a marked improvement was noted in the compass.
Ever since the first approach to Adelie Land it had been found unreliable,
for, on account of the proximity to the magnetic pole, the directive force
of the needle was so slight that very large local variations were experienced.
The longitude of Wilkes's Knox Land was now approaching. With the exception
of Adelie Land, the account by Wilkes concerning Knox Land is more convincing
than any other of his statements relating to new Antarctic land. If they
had not already disembarked, we had hoped to land the western party in that
neighbourhood. It was, therefore, most disappointing when impenetrable ice
blocked the way, before Wilkes's``farthest south'' in that locality had
been reached. Three determined efforts were made to find a weak spot, but
each time the
`Aurora' was forced to retreat, and the third time was extricated only with
great difficulty. In latitude 65 degrees 5' S. longitude 107 degrees 20'
E., a sounding of three hundred fathoms was made on a rocky bottom. This
sounding pointed to the probability of land within sixty miles.
Repulsed from his attack on the pack, Captain Davis set out westward towards
the charted position of Termination Land, and in following the trend of
the ice was forced a long way to the north.
At 7.40 A.M., February 8, in foggy weather, the ice-cliff of floating shelf-ice
was met. This was disposed so as to point in a north-westerly direction
and it was late in the day before the ship doubled its northern end. Here
the sounding wire ran out for eight hundred and fifty fathoms without reaching
bottom. Following the wall towards the south-south-east, it was interesting
at 5.30 P.M. to find a sounding of one hundred and ten fathoms in latitude
64 degrees 45'. A line of large grounded bergs and massive floe-ice was
observed ahead
trailing away from the ice-wall towards the north-west.
On plotting the observations, it became apparent that the shelf-ice was
in the form of a prolonged tongue some seven miles in breadth. As it occupied
the position of the ``Termination Land'' which has appeared on some charts,
(after WiIkes) it was named Termination Ice-Tongue.
A blizzard sprang up, and, after it had been safely weathered in the lee
of some grounded bergs, the `Aurora' moved off on the afternoon of February
11. The horizon was obscured by mist, as she pursued a tortuous track amongst
bergs and scattered lumps of heavy floe. Gradually the sea became more open,
and by noon on February 12 the water had deepened to two hundred and thirty-five
fathoms. Good progress was made to the south; the vessel dodging icebergs
and detached floes.
The discovery of a comparatively open sea southward of the main pack was
a matter of some moment. As later voyages and the observations of the Western
Party showed, this tract of sea is a permanent feature of the neighbourhood.
I have called it the Davis Sea, after the captain of the `Aurora', in appreciation
of the fact
that he placed it on the chart.
At noon, on February 13, in latitude 65 degrees 54 1/2' S. longitude 94
degrees 25' E., the western face of a long, floating ice-tongue loomed into
view. There were five hundred fathoms of water off its extremity, and the
cliffs rose vertically to one hundred feet. Soon afterwards land was clearly
defined low in the south extending to east and west. This was thenceforth
known as Queen Mary Land.
The sphere of operations of the German expedition of 1902 was near at hand,
for its vessel, the `Gauss', had wintered, frozen in the pack, one hundred
and twenty-five miles to the west. It appeared probable that Queen Mary
Land would be found to be continuous** with Kaiser Wilhelm II Land, which
the Germans had reached by a sledging journey from their ship across the
intervening sea-ice.
** Such was eventually proved to be the case.
The `Aurora' followed the western side of the ice-tongue for about twenty
miles in a southerly direction, at which point there was a white expanse
of floe extending right up to the land. Wild and Kennedy, walking several
miles towards the land, estimated that it was about twenty-five miles distant.
As the surface over which they travelled was traversed by cracks and liable
to drift away to sea, all projects of landing there had to be abandoned;
furthermore, it was discovered that the ice-tongue, alongside of which the
ship lay, was a huge iceberg. A landing on it had been contemplated, but
was now out of question.
The main difficulty which arose at this juncture was the failing coal-supply.
It was high time to return to Hobart, and, if a western base was to be formed
at all, Wild's party would have to be landed without further delay. After
a consultation, Davis and Wild decided that under the circumstances an attempt
should be made to gain a footing on the adjacent shelf-ice, if nothing better
presented itself.
The night was passed anchored to the floe, on the edge of which were numerous
Emperor penguins and Weddell seals. A fresh south-easterly wind blew on
February 14, and the ship was kept in the shelter of the iceberg. During
the day enormous pieces were observed to be continually breaking away from
the berg and drifting to leeward.
Captain Davis continues: ``At midnight there was a strong swell from the
north-east and the temperature went down to 18 degrees F. At 4 A.M., February
15, we reached the northern end of the berg and stood first of all to the
east, and then later to the south-east.
``At 8.45 A.M., shelf-ice was observed from aloft, trending approximately
north and south in a long wall. At noon we came up with the floe-ice again,
in about the same latitude as on the western side of the long iceberg. Land
could be seen to the southward. At 1 P.M. the ship stopped at the junction
of the floe and the shelf-ice.''
Wild, Harrison and Hoadley went to examine the shelf-ice with a view to
its suitability for a wintering station. The cliff was eighty to one hundred
feet in height, so that the ice in total thickness must have attained at
least as much as six hundred feet. Assisted by snow-ramps slanting down
on to the floe, the ascent with ice-axes and alpine rope was fairly easy.
Two hundred yards from the brink, the shelf-ice was thrown into pressure-undulations
and fissured by crevasses, but beyond that was apparently sound and unbroken.
About seventeen miles to the south
the rising slopes of ice-mantled land were visible, fading away to the far
east and west.
The ice-shelf was proved later on to extend for two hundred miles from east
to west, ostensibly fusing with the Termination Ice-Tongue, whose extremity
is one hundred and eighty miles to the north. The whole has been called
the Shackleton Ice-Shelf.
Wild and his party unanimously agreed to seize upon this last opportunity,
and to winter on the floating ice.
The work of discharging stores was at once commenced. To raise the packages
from the floe to the top of the ice-shelf, a ``flying-fox`` was rigged.
``A kedge-anchor was buried in the sea-ice, and from this a two-and- a-half-inch
wire-hawser was led upwards over a pair of sheer-legs on top of the cliff
to another anchor buried some distance back. The
whole was set taut by a tackle. The stores were then slung to a travelling
pulley on the wire, and hauled on to the glacier by means of a rope led
through a second pulley on the sheer-legs. The ship's company broke stores
out of the hold and sledged them three hundred yards to the foot of an aerial,
where they were hooked on to the travelling-block by which the shore party,
under Wild, raised them to their destination.''
``It was most important to accelerate the landing as much as possible, not
only on account of the lateness of the season--the `Gauss' had been frozen
in on February 22 at a spot only one hundred and seventy miles away--but
because the floe was gradually breaking up and floating away. When the last
load was hoisted, the water was lapping within ten yards of the ``flying-fox''.
A fresh west-north-west wind on February 17 caused some
trouble. Captain Davis writes:
``February 19. The floe to which we have been attached is covered by a foot
of water. The ship has been bumping a good deal to-day. Notwithstanding
the keen wind and driving snow, every one has worked well. Twelve tons of
coal were the last item to go up the cliff.''
In all, thirty-six tons of stores were raised on to the shelf-ice, one hundred
feet above sea-level, in four days.
``February 20. The weather is very fine and quite a contrast to yesterday.
We did not get the coal ashore a moment too soon, as this morning the ice
marked by our sledge tracks went to sea in a north-westerly direction, and
this afternoon it is drifting back as if under the influence of a tide or
current. We sail at 7 A.M.
to-morrow.
``I went on to the glacier with Wild during the afternoon. It is somewhat
crevassed for about two hundred yards inland, and then a flat surface stretches
away as far as the eye can see. I wished the party `God-speed' this evening,
as we sail early to-morrow.''
Early on February 21, the ship's company gave their hearty farewell cheers,
and the `Aurora' sailed north, leaving Wild and his seven companions on
the floating ice.
The bright weather of the immediate coastal region was soon exchanged for
the foggy gloom of the pack.
``February 21, 11 P.M. We are now passing a line of grounded bergs and some
heavy floe-ice. Fortunately it is calm, but in the darkness it is difficult
to see an opening. The weather is getting thick, and I expect we shall have
trouble in working through this line of bergs.
``February 22. I cannot explain how we managed to clear some of the bergs
between 11 P.M. last night and 3 A.M. this morning. At first stopping and
lying-to was tried, but it was soon evident that the big
bergs were moving and would soon hem us in: probably in a position from
which we should be unable to extricate ourselves this season.
``So we pushed this way and that, endeavouring to retain freedom at any
cost. For instance, about midnight I was `starboarding' to clear what appeared
to be the loom of a berg on the starboard bow, when, suddenly, out of the
haze a wall seemed to stretch across our course. There was no room to turn,
so `full speed astern' was the only alternative. The engines responded immediately,
or we must have crashed right into a huge berg. Until daylight it was ice
ahead, to port and to starboard--ice everywhere all the time. The absence
of wind saved us from disaster. It was a great relief when day broke, showing
clearer water to the northward.''
On February 23, the `Aurora' left the shelter of Termination Ice-Tongue,
and a course was set nearly true north. There was a fresh breeze from the
north-east and a high sea. The ship was desperately short of ballast and
the coal had to be carefully husbanded. All movable gear was placed in the
bottom of the ship, while the ashes were saved, wetted and put below. The
ballast-tanks were found to be leaking and Gillies had considerable trouble
in making them watertight.
The distance from the Western Base in Queen Mary Land to Hobart was two
thousand three hundred miles, through the turbulent seas of the fifties
and forties. It was the end of a perilous voyage when the `Aurora' arrived
in Hobart with nine tons of coal.
On March 12, the captain's log records:
``The `Aurora' has done splendidly, beating all attempts of the weather
to turn her over. We had two heavy gales during the first week of March,
but reached Hobart safely to-day, passing on our way up the Derwent the
famous Polar ship, `Fram', at anchor in Sandy Bay. Flags were dipped and
a hearty cheer given for Captain Amundsen and his gallant comrades who had
raised the siege of the South Pole.''
CHAPTER V -FIRST
DAYS IN ADELIE LAND
