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Nor did the Antarctic represent to Shackleton merely the grubby means to a financial end. In a very real sense he needed it—something so enormous, so demanding, that it provided a touchstone for his monstrous ego and implacable drive. In ordinary situations, Shackleton’s tremendous capacity for boldness and daring found almost nothing worthy of its pulling power; he was a Percheron draft horse harnessed to a child’s wagon cart. But in the Antarctic—here was a burden which challenged every atom of his strength.
A leader of men.
Thus, while Shackleton was undeniably out of place, even inept, in a great many everyday situations, he had a talent—a genius, even—that he shared with only a handful of men throughout history—genuine leadership. He was, as one of his men
Can’t argue with his leadership qualities.
The ship had been named the Polaris. After the sale, Shackleton rechristened her Endurance, in keeping with the motto of his family, Fortitudine vincimus—“By endurance we conquer.”
Ship named after a family motto.
Leonard Hussey, an irrepressible, peppery little individual, was signed on as meteorologist even though he had practically no qualifications for the position at the time. Shackleton simply thought Hussey “looked funny,” and the fact that he had recently returned from an expedition (as an anthropologist) to the torrid Sudan appealed to Shackleton’s sense of whimsy. Hussey immediately took an intensive course in meteorology and later proved to be very proficient. Dr.
Anthropologist,meteorologist same same!
In the Antarctic, plankton—tiny one-celled plants and animals—is the basis for all life. The smallest fishes subsist on it, and they in turn become the food of larger fish, which are eaten by squids and seals and penguins, who constitute the food for killer whales, sea leopards, and giant sperm whales. The cycle of life begins with plankton, and when it is present, the other creatures of the Antarctic are never far behind. Five
Life in Antarctica.
There was even a trace of mild exhilaration in their attitude. At least, they had a clear-cut task ahead of them. The nine months of indecision, of speculation about what might happen, of aimless drifting with the pack were over. Now they simply had to get themselves out, however appallingly difficult that might be.
They knew the task at hand.
Throughout the night, the hoarse croaking of the penguins, punctuated by the explosive sound of schools of whales blowing, created almost a din. When dawn finally came the weather was clear and bright, with a moderate
westerly wind blowing. Once again the men could see Clarence Island, and to the left of it, very faintly, the chain of peaks on Elephant Island. Worsley counted ten of them. But the bearing of Clarence Island had
Sure all the animals sign than open waters were close.
By one o’clock, a sickening thought had begun to spread through the party. What if darkness came and the ice was still tight? With the beating it was taking, the berg could not possibly last until the next morning. They would be pitched into the sea during the night. The men made feeble jokes about it, tried to resign themselves, or simply tried not to think about it. Greenstreet
took his diary and attempted to write: “. . . a very anxious time as our floe was rocking and rolling heavily being. . . .” The diary ended there in midsentence. It was no good; he couldn’t
How they could joke about it and make jokes I have no idea.
ultimately to Deception Island, some hundred miles beyond. Here the remains of a volcano’s cone made an excellent harbor, and the place was a frequent port of call for whalers. Too, there was thought to be a cache of food at Deception Island for the use of castaways. But most important, there was a small, rude chapel there, built by the whalers. Even if no ships stopped at the island, Shackleton was sure they could tear down the church and use its lumber to build a boat large enough to accommodate all of them. They
Always the optimist, Shackleton . Could see ahead.
Shackleton confirmed the almost shocking truth of it. They would have to move. There could hardly have been a more demoralizing prospect. Having barely escaped the sea’s hungry grasp a scant twenty-four hours before, now to have to return to it. . . . But the need was indisputable. They could see that only great good fortune had permitted them to land where they were. The cliffs at the head of the beach
Could not get a break.
beyond all doubt his ability to pit his matchless tenacity against the elements—and win. But the sea is a different sort of enemy. Unlike the land, where courage and the simple will to endure can often see a man through, the struggle against the sea is an act of physical combat, and there is no escape. It is a battle against a tireless enemy in which man never actually wins; the most that he can hope for is not to be defeated.
Like combat, against the sea. Unrelenting, unlike the land.
It gave Shackleton a feeling of uneasiness. He now faced an adversary so formidable that his own strength was nothing in comparison, and he did not enjoy being in a position where boldness and determination count for almost nothing, and in which victory is measured only in survival.
Surviving is the goal
On April 27, three days out from Elephant Island, their luck turned bad. About noon a raw and penetrating mistlike rain began to fall, and the wind slowly started to move around toward the north—dead ahead. They were now perhaps 150 miles north of Elephant Island and still well within the zone where they might encounter ice. Thus they could not afford to be blown a single mile to the south. Shackleton and Worsley spent several minutes discussing the possibilities and finally decided
Rain, they’re luck turned bad.
the Atlantic Ocean eastward beyond South Georgia is a void all the way to South Africa, nearly 3,000 miles away. If, through a miscalculation or because of a southerly gale, they missed the island, there would be no second chance. The land would then lie to windward of them, and they could never beat back toward it. They
The old now or never thing.
