I love the history of Antarctica (probably more than I love the science).
This is the last letter of Robert Falcon Scott before he and his men froze to death in their tents on their fatal Terra Nova Expedition....attempting to reach the South Pole.
"We took risks, we knew we took them; things have come out against us, and therefore we have no cause for complaint, but bow to the will of Providence, determined still to do our best to the last....Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale, but surely, surely, a great rich country like ours will see that those who are dependent on us are properly provided for."
Robert Falcon Scott
It breaks my heart to read this letter. Even in death he is inspirational....(and he pleads that their surviving families are taken care of).
Eight months later in 1912, a rescue party discovered their frozen bodies in the tent. They found the letters and a roll of film of their final days. They left the bodies in the tent.
In 2011 scientists "rediscovered" the bodies of Scott and his men. Through bathymetric measurements, one of their routine survey flights located their bodies frozen in a glacier in the Ross Ice Shelf....100 years later still encased in their frozen grave.
A century of storms and snow has covered the tent and bodies. It inches towards the Ross Sea. Glaciologists speculate that in about 275 years the bodies will reach the Ross Sea, float away, and melt into the open ocean....the end of a fallen hero.
Would you be proud of us today, Scott? The other day I complained that the sauna in my dorm was too harsh on my skin.
This is the last letter of Robert Falcon Scott before he and his men froze to death in their tents on their fatal Terra Nova Expedition....attempting to reach the South Pole.
"We took risks, we knew we took them; things have come out against us, and therefore we have no cause for complaint, but bow to the will of Providence, determined still to do our best to the last....Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale, but surely, surely, a great rich country like ours will see that those who are dependent on us are properly provided for."
Robert Falcon Scott
It breaks my heart to read this letter. Even in death he is inspirational....(and he pleads that their surviving families are taken care of).
Eight months later in 1912, a rescue party discovered their frozen bodies in the tent. They found the letters and a roll of film of their final days. They left the bodies in the tent.
A century of storms and snow has covered the tent and bodies. It inches towards the Ross Sea. Glaciologists speculate that in about 275 years the bodies will reach the Ross Sea, float away, and melt into the open ocean....the end of a fallen hero.
Would you be proud of us today, Scott? The other day I complained that the sauna in my dorm was too harsh on my skin.
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| Robert Falcon Scott |
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| Tuning up his snowmobile |
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| This is one of the last photos found on their roll of film |
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| The London Times newsapaper clipping |
"We should go forth on the shortest walk, perchance, in the spirit of undying adventure, never to return; prepared to send back our embalmed hearts only, as relics to our desolate kingdom..."-Thoreau
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't hazard a guess as to whether or not Captain Scott would be proud of "us" but perhaps he would be proud of those who entomb his memory in the written word and honor him through that remembrance. So maybe not us but definitely you.
I find Shackleton and Scott's stories so inspiring and so tragic. And I feel like the world will always remember Columbus, Magellen, DeLeon, DeSoto, Cortez, Perry, Lewis and Clark. But everyone seems to have forgotten about Shackleton and Scott's conquests.
DeleteA man's interest in the world is only the overflow from his interest in himself, people only care about what they touch; less than 1% of the world touches Antarctica, which makes it the responsibility of the few to educate the many. This is why I enjoy your entries, a combination of witticism and experience.
ReplyDeleteSo true (about few worldly ties to Antarctica). I shall continue to educate with my silly little blog lest we forget ;-)
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