''South'' is a book by

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of ...

describing the second expedition to Antarctica led by him, the

Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917 is considered to be the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossing ...

of 1914 to 1917. It was published in London by

William Heinemann William Henry Heinemann (18 May 1863 – 5 October 1920) was an English publisher of Jewish descent and the founder of the Heinemann publishing house in London. Early life On 18 May 1863, Heinemann was born in Surbiton, Surrey, England. Heine ...

in 1919."South: the story of Shackleton's last expedition, 1914–1917"

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...

. Retrieved 30 December 2018.

Background

The book of Shackleton's earlier ''Nimrod'' Expedition of 1907–1909 was written, based on Shackleton's dictation, by Edward Saunders, a reporter on the ''

Lyttelton Times The ''Lyttelton Times'' was the first newspaper in Canterbury, New Zealand, publishing the first edition in January 1851. It was established by the Canterbury Association as part of its planned settlement of Canterbury and developed into a libera ...

'' in Christchurch, New Zealand. Saunders was recommended to Shackleton by the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Sir

Joseph Ward Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, (26 April 1856 – 8 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 17th prime minister of New Zealand from 1906 to 1912 and from 1928 to 1930. He was a dominant figure in the Liberal and Unit ...

; he accompanied Shackleton to Britain to work on ''The Heart of the Antarctic'', which appeared in November 1909. Saunders was again involved in ''South'', Shackleton working with Saunders in New Zealand and Australia early in 1917. Saunders later wrote, "If I said that any chapter was entirely mine, I should be telling an untruth. My work was complementary to his. I could say that Shackleton had a remarkable gift of literary suggestion...."

Leonard Hussey Leonard Duncan Albert Hussey, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (6 May 1891 – 25 February 1964) was an English meteorologist, archaeologist, explorer, medical doctor and member of Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expe ...

, a member of the expedition, was with Shackleton during the north Russian campaign, and did the final editing without payment. The rights of the book were assigned to the heirs of Sir Robert Lucas-Tooth, a benefactor of the expedition, who died in 1915. Shackleton was unable to repay money borrowed for the expedition. Lucas-Tooth's heirs required repayment of the loan; other benefactors had written off their loans. The book is dedicated to "my comrades who fell in the White Warfare of the South and on the red fields of France and Flanders".

Summary

In the preface, Shackleton wrote "... I think that though failure in the actual accomplishment must be recorded, there are chapters in this book of high adventure, strenuous days, lonely nights, unique experiences, and above all, records of unflinching determination, supreme loyalty and generous self-sacrifice on the part of my men which ... still will be of interest to readers who now turn gladly from the red horror of war ... to read ... the tale of the White Warfare of the South." The preface includes the programme published before the expedition. The ''

Endurance Endurance (also related to sufferance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from a ...

'' would take the Transcontinental party to the

Weddell Sea The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha ...

; the Transcontinental party would cross the Antarctic continent, about , from the Weddell Sea to the

Ross Sea The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Clark Ross who vi ...

via the South Pole. It would be the first such journey; it was hoped it would be completed in about five months. On the other side of the pole, the ''

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

'' would take out the

Ross Sea party The Ross Sea party was a component of Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914–1917 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Its task was to lay a series of supply depots across the Great Ice Barrier from the Ross Sea to the Beardmore Glacier, along the polar ...

, which would lay down depots on the route of the Transcontinental party and go south to assist that party. The Transcontinental party would take magnetic and meteorological observations during the journey. Other parties of the expedition would be engaged in scientific work, studying the geology and meteorological conditions; the ships would be equipped for hydrographic work. The book describes the progress of the ''Endurance'' through

pack ice Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "fasten ...

in the Weddell Sea; the ship was eventually held in pack ice and drifted with it. The ship was crushed and sank. The party camped on the ice which drifted north; when the ice no longer supported them they took to the three boats from the ship and made for

Elephant Island Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, in the Southern Ocean. The island is situated north-northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, west-so ...

. Shackleton and five others, in one of the boats, the '' James Caird'', made the sea journey to

South Georgia South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east� ...

, where Shackleton and two others crossed the mountainous interior of the island to reach the whaling station and summon help. The men still on Elephant Island were rescued by Captain

Luis Pardo Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish language, Spanish form of the originally Germanic language, Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese language, Portuguese and ...

, commanding the Chilean Navy's ''

Yelcho The ''Yelcho'' was built in 1906 by the Scottish firm Geo. Brown and Co. of Greenock, on the River Clyde for towage and cargo service of the Chilean ''Sociedad Ganadera e Industrial Yelcho y Palena'', Puerto Montt. In 1908 she was sold to the Ch ...

'', a small steamer lent to Shackleton by the Chilean government. The experiences of the Ross Sea party are then described.

Ernest Joyce Ernest Edward Mills Joyce AM ( – 2 May 1940) was a Royal Naval seaman and explorer who participated in four Antarctic expeditions during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, in the early 20th century. He served under both Robert Falcon ...

's diary is quoted for the description of laying depots, during which

Arnold Spencer-Smith Arnold Patrick Spencer-Smith (17 March 1883 – 9 March 1916) was an English clergyman and amateur photographer who joined Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914–1917 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition as chaplain on the Ross Sea party, who were ...

died from exhaustion; after depot-laying was done,

Aeneas Mackintosh Aeneas Lionel Acton Mackintosh (1 July 1879 – 8 May 1916) was a British Merchant Navy officer and Antarctic explorer, who commanded the Ross Sea party as part of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–1917. T ...

and

Victor Hayward Victor George Hayward (23 October 1887 – 8 May 1916) was a London-born accounts clerk whose taste for adventure took him to Antarctica as a member of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–17. He had previo ...

died, falling through ice attempting to walk to their base at Cape Evans. The log of

Joseph Stenhouse Commander Joseph Russell Stenhouse, DSO, OBE, DSC, RD, RNR (1887–1941) was a Scottish-born seaman, Royal Navy Officer and Antarctic navigator, who commanded the expedition vessel during her 283-day drift in the ice while on service with t ...

, first officer of the ''Aurora'', is quoted for the description of the drift of the ship for several months in pack ice, unable to manoeuvre, after it broke away from moorings at

Cape Evans Cape Evans is a rocky cape on the west side of Ross Island, Antarctica, forming the north side of the entrance to Erebus Bay. History The cape was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition, 1901–04, under Robert Falcon Scott, wh ...

. The last chapter describes the subsequent involvement of the expedition members in the First World War; three were killed and five wounded. Appendix I, "Scientific Work", consists of articles by members of the expedition who were scientists: "Sea-ice nomenclature" by

James Wordie Sir James Mann Wordie CBE FRS FRSGS LLD (26 April 1889 – 16 January 1962) was a Scottish polar explorer and geologist. Friends knew him as Jock Wordie. He was President of the Royal Geographical Society from 1951 to 1954. Early life and ed ...

, "Meteorology" by

, "Physics" by

Reginald W. James Reginald William James (9 January 18917 July 1964) was a British researcher and teacher of physics in England and South Africa. He is best known for his service in the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1916, for which he was awarde ...

and "South Atlantic Whales and Whaling" by

Robert Selbie Clark Dr Robert Selbie Clark (11 September 1882 – 29 September 1950) was a Scottish marine zoologist and explorer. He was the biologist on Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917, and served as the direct ...

. Appendix II, "The expedition huts at McMurdo Sound", by Shackleton, describes the huts known to him, for the benefit of future Antarctic explorers: (1) The National Antarctic Expedition's hut at Hut Point; (2)

Cape Royds Cape Royds is a dark rock cape forming the western extremity of Ross Island, facing on McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. It was discovered by the Discovery Expedition (1901–1904) and named for Lieutenant Charles Royds, Royal Navy, who acted as meteoro ...

Hut; (3) Cape Evans Hut; (4) Depots south of Hut Point.

References

Cited sources

External links

* * * {{Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition Ernest Shackleton Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition Books about Antarctica 1919 non-fiction books British autobiographies Heinemann (publisher) books

Background

Summary

See also

References

Cited sources

External links