CHAPTER XXXVIIICREVASSES
Ourretreat began early on the morning of December 2, and after a week's struggle on the glacier Mackay, just before camping-time on the 9th, sighted open water on the northern edge of the Drygalski Ice Barrier, from three to four miles away. This convinced us that we could not hope for sea-ice over which to sledge westwards to that part of the shore where we proposed to make our final depot, before attempting the ascent of the great inland plateau in order to reach the Magnetic Pole.
On the 10th, however, at the end of the day's sledging we rejoiced to find ourselves off the true glacier type of surface, and on to one of the undulating barrier type. This improvement enabled us to steer westwards, and on the following day we had a fine view of "Terra Nova" Bay, and as far as could be judged the edge of the Drygalski Ice Barrier on the north was scarcely a mile distant.
So surprised were we at the general appearance of the outline of the ice, which did not seem to agree with the shape of this region as shown on the Admiralty chart, that we halted a little earlier than usual to reconnoitre. Mackay started off with the field-glasses to a conspicuous ice-mound about half a mile to the north-west, Mawson began to change his plates, while I went out with my sketch-book to get an outline panoramic view of the grand coast ranges in sight.
So few had been the crevasses of late that I failed totake my ice-axe with me and I had scarcely gone half a dozen yards from the tent when the lid of a crevasse collapsed under me, and let me down nearly up to my shoulders.
I only saved myself from going right down by throwing out my arms and staying myself on the snow-lid on either side. The lid was so rotten that I did not dare to move for fear that I might be thrown into the abyss, but fortunately Maws on was near, and on my calling to him he brought an ice-axe and chipped a hole in the firm ice on the edge of the crevasse nearest to me. Then he inserted the chisel edge of the ice-axe in the hole and, holding on to the pick-point, swung the handle towards me. Grasping this, I was able to climb out on to the solid ice.
On the following day we sledged on until we were close to the ice-mound already mentioned, and decided that as this mound commanded such a general view of the surrounding country, it must also be a conspicuous object to any one approaching the Drygalski Glacier by sea from the north. And so we decided that as we could find no trace of the "low, sloping shore"—as it was called on the Admiralty chart—we would make our depot at this spot.
We estimated that we still had 220 miles to travel from this depot on the Drygalski Glacier to the Magnetic Pole, and therefore it was necessary to make preparations for a journey there and back of at least 440 miles. We considered that withdétoursthe journey might possibly amount to 500 miles.
Our first business, therefore, was to lay in a stock of provisions sufficient to last us for our journey, and after Mackay had killed some seals and Emperor penguins we started cooking our meat for the trip. Our calculationwas that the total weight—when we depoted one sledge with spare equipment and all our geological specimens—would be 670 lb. But we were very doubtful whether we, in our stale and weakened condition, would be able to pull such a load.
We unpacked and examined both sledges, and found that of the two, the runners of the Duff sledge were the less damaged.
On the 14th we were still busy preparing for the great trek inland. Mackay was cooking meat, Mawson was employed in transferring the scientific instrument boxes and other things from the Christmas Tree sledge to the Duff sledge, while I was engaged on fixing up depot flags, writing letters to the commander of theNimrod, Lieutenant Shackleton, and my family, and fixing up a milk-tin to serve as a post office on to the depot flag-pole.
When we were fully prepared the Christmas Tree sledge was dragged to the top of the ice-mound, where we cut trenches with our ice-axes in which to embed the runners of the sledge; then we fixed the runners into these grooves, piled the chipped ice on top, and then lashed the flag-pole about six feet high with the black flag displayed on the top of it very carefully to the sledge. We all felt quite sorry to part with the Christmas Tree sledge, which by this time seemed to us like a bit of home.
Anxious as we were to start for our dash towards the Pole, we were prevented by a furious blizzard from getting on our way until the 16th. Then we were delighted to find that, in consequence of our three days' rest we were able to pull our sledge with comparative ease.
Soon afterwards we reached another open tide-crack, and had to spend some time in going round it, and on the far side of this crack we encountered a large pressureridge forming a high and steep slope which barred our advance. Its height was about eighty feet, but if we were to go on there was nothing to do but drag our sledge up the slope, a most exhausting work which was made more difficult still by the fact that this ice-slope was traversed by numerous crevasses.
At last we got up the slope, only to see in the dim light that a succession of similar slopes were ahead of us, becoming continually higher and steeper. The ice, too, became a perfect network of crevasses, some of which were partly open, but most of them covered with snow lids.
Suddenly, when crossing one of these lids, and just as he was about to reach firm ice on the other side, we heard a slight crash, and Mawson instantly disappeared. Fortunately the toggle at the end of his sledge-rope held, and he was left swinging in the empty space between the walls of the crevasse, being suspended by his harness attached to the sledge-rope.
Mackay and I hung on to the rope in case it should part at the toggle, but when Mawson called out for the alpine rope to be passed down to him I left Mackay and hurried back to the sledge to get it. Just, however, as I was trying to disengage a coil of rope, Mawson called out that he felt he was going, so I returned to help Mackay in his effort to keep a strain on Mawson's harness rope. Then Mawson said that he was all right, and the rope having suddenly cut back through the lid of the crevasse was probably the reason why he had felt that he was falling.
I now held on to the harness rope while Mackay got the alpine rope, and made a bow-line at the end in which Mawson could put his foot. In the meantime Mawson, who was down about eight feet below the level of the snowy lid, secured some ice crystals from the side of thecrevasse and threw them up for subsequent examination.
The alpine rope having been lowered, we eventually hoisted him up little by little to the under surface of the snow-lid, but as his harness rope had cut back a narrow groove in this snow-lid several feet from where the snow gave way under him, he found his head and shoulders pressing against the under side of the snow-lid and had difficulty in breaking through this in order to get out his head.
At last the top of his head appeared, and presently he got safely out on the near side of the crevasse, a deliverance for which we were all supremely thankful. After this too-exciting episode we were extra-cautious in crossing crevasses, but the ice was simply seamed with them.
Twice when our sledge was being dragged up ice-pressure ridges it rolled over sideways with one runner in a crevasse, and once the whole sledge all but disappeared into a crevasse, the snow-lid of which partly collapsed under its weight. Had it gone down completely we should certainly have been dragged down with it, as it weighed nearly one-third of a ton.
It was clear to us that these numerous crevasses which we had reached were caused not by the Drygalski but by the Nansen Glacier.
On the 20th we held a council of war, the question being whether we should continue in the direction of the Mount Nansen Glacier, or whether we should retreat and try to find some other way to the plateau. Mackay was in favour of hauling ahead over the glacier, while Mawson and I favoured retreat, and at last we decided to retreat once more.