South With Scott Book

SOUTH POLAR EXPEDITION--OUTFIT AND AIMSIt is nine years since the last supporting party bid farewell to CaptainScott and his four brave companions, whose names are still fresh in thememory of those who were interested in Captain Scott's last PolarExpedition. The Great War has come and gone and the majority of us wishto forget it, but the story of Scott undoubtedly appeals still to a greatnumber of people. It is a good story, and my only hope is that I canretell it well enough to make my volume worth while reading after so muchhas already been published concerning the work of the British AntarcticExpedition of 1910.The main object of our expedition was to reach the South Pole and securefor the British nation the honour of that achievement, but the attainmentof the Pole was far from being the only object in view, for Scottintended to extend his former discoveries and bring back a rich harvestof scientific results. Certainly no expedition ever left our shores witha more ambitious scientific programme, nor was any enterprise of thisdescription ever undertaken by a more enthusiastic and determinedpersonnel. We should never have collected our expeditionary funds merelyfrom the scientific point of view; in fact, many of our largestsupporters cared not one iota for science, but the idea of the Polaradventure captured their interest. On the other hand, a number of oursupporters affected a contempt for the Polar dash and only interestedthemselves in the question of advanced scientific study in the Antarctic.As the expedition progressed, however, the most unenthusiastic member ofthe company developed the serious taste, and in no case did we ever hearfrom the scientific staff complaints that the Naval members failed tohelp them in their work with a zeal that was quite unexpected. Thisapplies more particularly to the seamen and stokers.Read More