“Turned in but could not sleep. Thought the whole matter over & decided to retreat to more secure ice: it is the only safe thing to do… Am anxious: For so big a party & 2 boats in bad conditions we could do nothing: I do not like retreating but prudence demands this course: Everyone working well except the carpenter: I shall never forget him in this time of strain & stress.”
—Ernest Shackleton
“And the Crew agree to conduct themselves in an orderly, faithful, honest and sober manner, and to be at all times diligent in their respective Duties, and to be obedient to the lawful commands of the said Master, or of any Person who shall lawfully succeed him… whether on board, in boats or on shore…
“…disobedience to lawful commands will be legally punishable.”
— Ernest Shackleton
The cook sledge is under the charge of “Potash & Perlmutter.” “The “Colonel” really deserves a V.C. for the gallant way in which he has taken charge of & stuck to the culinary Dept. under the most adverse condition. He wears a furry cap, snow goggles, & a beard, which however is hardly distinguishable from the soot & blubber that covers the rest of his face….His Lieutenant de Cuisine, the Chef, is equally black, indefatigable and good natured.”
— Frank Worsley
Pickle jar from Shackleton’s Nimrod Expedition, 1907-09
“The Endurance has been crushed and abandoned at 69° 5′ South, 51° 35′ West, and the members of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition are now at 67° 9′ South, 52° 25′ West, and proceeding to the west across the ice in the hopes of reaching land. The message concluded: ‘All well.’ Dated December 23, 1915, and signed, ‘Ernest Shackleton.'”
— Alfred Lansing, Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage
[Image of pickle jar from the Nimrod Expedition. Auctioned in 2010: Lot # 275: SHACKLETON’S HUT ANTARCTICA ARTIFACT PICKLE JAR, “appears to have been washed.” Item listed as sold.]
“[Should a visitor arrive at midnight…] he would notice that… it was still light, the sun never setting at this time of year in this latitude. He would have to pass a line of dogs tethered in teams to wires… secured at one end to their own loaded sledges and at the other to an iron stanchion driven deeply in the snow. The sledge trace is in position and the harnesses all secured in place and ready to be put on the dogs… The sledges are loaded and lashed…everything ready to be moved at a moment’s notice.”
— Alexander Macklin
“…personally I think that we ought to push west as hard as we can. We know that there is land 200 miles west, therefore the pack edge should be somewhere about 150 – 180 miles off in that direction… At our present rate of drift it would take us to the end of March to reach the latitude of Paulet Island, and even then we cannot be certain of breaking out. Consequently my view is, ‘Make as hard and as far as possible to the west.’ The drift will take us north, and the resulting direction will be NW, the direction in which we want to go… Anyway we will see what they think of things tomorrow.”
— Alexander Macklin
“My idea is to stay here — unless the drift should become large to the East… The advantages of waiting a little longer are that the drift will convey us part of our journey without any exertion on our part, that probably we should be able to keep 3 boats, and that in the meantime leads may open in the pack.”
— Frank Worsley
“The Boss seems keen to try to strike to westward, as we don’t make headway as we are. That will mean travelling light and taking only two boats at the most and leaving a lot of provisions behind. As far as I have seen the going is awful, everything being in a state of softness far worse than when we left the ship, and in my opinion it would be a measure to be taken only as a last resort and I sincerely hope he will give up the idea directly. There have been great arguments about the matter in our tent…”
— Lionel Greenstreet
“an anxious time… but everybody is cheerful….We are getting a good allowance of food, and we have adapted ourselves pretty well to this tent life. I feel just as happy here as I did in hospital with all its comforts… If we come through alive and safe it will be a great experience to look back on.”
— Alexander Macklin
Shackleton. 