The Pricess and the Pea by Edmund Dulac
“The fairy princess who would not rest on her seven downy mattresses because a pea lay underneath the pile might not have understood the pleasure we all derived from the irregularities of the stones, which could not possibly break beneath us or drift away; the very searching lumps were sweet reminders of our safety.”
— Ernest Shackleton, South
“Wild, Worsley, and Hurley accompanied me on an inspection of our beach before getting into the tents. I almost wished then that I had postponed the examination until after sleep, but the sense of caution that the uncertainties of polar travel implant in one’s mind made me uneasy. The outlook we found to be anything but cheering.
“I decided not to share with the men the knowledge of the uncertainties of our situation until they had enjoyed the full sweetness of rest untroubled by the thought that at any minute they might be called to face peril again. The threat of the sea had been our portion during many, many, days, and a respite meant much to weary bodies and jaded minds.
“We climbed up one of the slopes and found ourselves stopped soon by overhanging cliffs. The rocks behind the camp were much weathered, and we noticed the sharp, unworn boulders that had fallen from above. Clearly there was a danger from overhead if we camped at the back of the beach.”
— Ernest Shackleton, South
“Scenically, our present environments are some of the grandest I have ever set eye on. Cliffs that throw their serrated scarps a thousand feet into the skies are interspersed with glaciers that tumble in crevassed cascades down to the sea…It is a land of nature’s moods—inhospitable—angry… When the sun, in playful mood, pierces the mists and storm clouds, peaks and sea are glorified with transcending gradation of light and shade and then I miss my cameras and cinematograph.”
— Frank Hurley
“The smiles and laughter, which caused cracked lips to bleed afresh, and the gleeful exclamations at the sight of two live seals on the beach made me think for a moment of that glittering hour of childhood when the door is open at last and the Christmas tree in all its wonder bursts upon the vision.
“I remember that Wild, who always rose superior to fortune, bad and good, came ashore as I was looking at the men and stood beside me as easy and unconcerned as if he had stepped out of his car for a stroll in the Park.
“Every man had his pannikin of hot milk in the end, and never did anything taste better. Seal steak and blubber followed, for the seals that had been careless enough to await our arrival on the beach had already given up their lives. There was no rest for the cook. The blubber stove flared and sputtered fiercely as he cooked, not one meal, but many meals, which merged into a day-long bout of eating. We drank water and ate seal meat until every man had reached the limit of his capacity.”
— Ernest Shackleton, South
“Conceive our joy on setting foot on solid earth after 170 days of life on a drifting ice floe each day filled with anxiety patience & watching & being driven whither to an obscure destination.”
— Frank Hurley
“Most of us hardly knew whether to laugh or cry. We did not know until it was released, what a strain the last few days had been. We took childish joy in looking at the black rocks & picking up the stones, for we had stepped on no land since Dec. 5 1914.”
— Reginald James
“We had now had one hundred and eight hours of toil, tumbling, freezing, and soaking, with little or no sleep. I think Sir Ernest, Wild, Greenstreet, and I could say that we had no sleep at all. Although it was sixteen months since we had been in a rough sea, only four men were actually seasick, but several others were off color.”
— Frank Worsley
“They had been in the boats now for five and a half days…almost everyone had come to look on Worsley in a new light. In the past he had been thought of as excitable and wild—even irresponsible. But all that was changed now. During these past days he had exhibited an almost phenomenal ability, both as a navigator and in the demanding skill of handling a small boat. There wasn’t another man in the party even comparable with him, and he had assumed an entirely new stature because of it.”
— Alfred Lansing, Endurance
“At 9am at the NW end of the island we saw a narrow beach at the foot of the cliffs. Outside lay a fringe of rocks heavily beaten by the surf but with a narrow channel showing as a break in the foaming water. I decided that we must face the hazards of this unattractive landing place. Two days and nights without drink or hot food had played havoc with most of the men, and we could not assume that any safer haven lay within our reach.”
— Ernest Shackleton, South
“…early discovered that I had no-one… except Shackleton who could be trusted at the tiller, and he was fully occupied by the general supervision of the fleet. I was at the tiller the whole time we were moving.
“About 3am, Shackleton was attending to one of the semi-conscious men and asked me some question. Peering ahead through my sore and bloodshot eyes, I had just at that moment caught a glimpse of a moonlit glacier on Elephant Island, and instead of replying to the question I said as plainly as I was able with swollen and aching tongue and throat, “I can see it! I can see it!” By the time Shackleton turned the island was obscured and he afterwards told me he had a momentary dread that ‘poor old Wild’s gone off his head.’”
— Frank Wild
“At three pm. we were but 10 miles from land when it was observed that row as strenuously as we could, we were making no headway. This disheartening circumstance was caused by a strong tidal current…As evening drew on, the wind increased to a gale, raising a big cross sea, and taxing to the limit the exhausted capacities of the party. Seas raked the boats and icy sprays hurled by the wind struck one’s face like a whip. The carpenter, through exhaustion, fell asleep at the tiller, allowing a big sea to come on board, and Wild, after an unbroken spell of 24 hours, took his place… Several times we lost sight of the Wills, which we were towing, thinking she had foundered, when she would suddenly emerge from the blackness of the sea on a white crest as we would glide into a deep gulf. I enjoyed the fascination of this wild scene, exulting in our mastery over this savage elemental display. With dawn’s first light, land was observed…”
— Frank Hurley
Shackleton. 