Shackleton.

“[The carpenter] fitted the mast of the Stancomb Wills fore and aft inside the James Caird as a hog-back and thus strengthened the keel with the object of preventing our boat ‘hogging’—that is, buckling in heavy seas. He had not sufficient wood to provide a deck, but by using the sledge runners and box lids he made a framework extending from the forecastle aft to a well. It was a patched-up affair, but it provided a base for a canvas covering.

“We had a bolt of canvas frozen stiff, and this material had to be cut and then thawed out over the blubber stove, foot by foot, in order that it might be sewn into the form of a cover.

“When it had been nailed and screwed into position it certainly gave an appearance of safety to the boat, though I had an uneasy feeling that it bore a strong likeness to stage scenery, which may look like a granite wall and is in fact nothing better than canvas and lath.”

— Ernest Shackleton, South

“A boat party might make the voyage and be back with relief within a month, provided that the sea was clear of ice and the boat survive the great seas. […] The hazards of a boat journey across 800 miles of stormy ocean were obvious, but I calculated that at worst the venture would add nothing to the risks of the men left on the island.

“I had at once, to tell Wild that he must stay behind, for I relied upon him to hold the party together while I was away, and, should our attempt…end in failure, to make the best of his way to Deception Island in the spring. I determined to take Worsley with me a I had a very high opinion of his accuracy and quickness as a navigator.”

— Ernest Shackleton, South

“The icy fingers of the gale searched every cranny of our beach and pushed relentlessly through our worn garments and tattered tents. The snow, drifting from the glacier and falling from the skies, swathed us and our gear and set traps for our stumbling feet. The rising sea beat against the rocks and shingle and tossed fragments of floe ice within a few feet of our boats.

“Once during the morning the sun shone through the racing clouds and we had a glimpse of blue sky; but the promise of fair weather was not redeemed. The consoling feature of the situation was that our camp was safe. We could endure the discomforts, and I felt that all hands would be benefited by the opportunity for rest and recuperation.”

— Ernest Shackleton, South

“The heat of our bodies soon melted the snow and refuse beneath us, and the floor of the tent became an evil-smelling yellow mud. The snow drifting from the cliff above us weighted the sides of the tent, and during the night a particularly stormy gust brought our little home down on top of us. We stayed underneath the snow-laden cloth till the morning, for it seemed a hopeless business to set about re-pitching the tent amid the storm that was raging in the darkness of the night.”

– Ernest Shackleton, South

“The spit was by no means an ideal camping ground; it was rough, bleak and inhospitable – just an acre or two of rock and shingle, with the sea foaming around it except where the snow slope, running up to a glacier, formed the landward boundary.

“We were suffering from bad salt-water boils. Our wrists, arms and legs were attacked. Apparently this infliction was due to constant soaking with sea water, the chafing of wet clothes, and exposure.

“But some of the larger rocks provided a measure of shelter from the wind, and as we clustered round the blubber stove, with the acrid smoke blowing into our faces, we were quite a cheerful company.

“After all, another stage of the homeward journey had been accomplished and we could afford to forget for an hour the problems of the future.

“We ate our evening meal while the snow drifted down from the surface of the glacier, and our chilled bodies grew warm. Then we dried a little tobacco at the stove and enjoyed our pipes before we crawled into our tents.”

– Ernest Shackleton, South