Young Knights of the Empire | Page 3

your Country.
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ANTARCTIC SCOUTING.
All Boy Scouts know of Sir Ernest Shackleton, a brother peace-scout of the Empire--and
a first-class one, too.
On one of his voyages of exploration to the South Pole he was very nearly successful in
getting to that point, he was within ninety-seven miles of it, in fact, when his food
supplies gave out, and he and those with him were in great danger of starving, and had,
most unwillingly, to turn back to regain their ship.
They had left the ship when they had got her as far south as was possible through the ice;
they then went on foot over land and sea, all hard frozen and covered with snow, and they
took their food with them, and stored depots, or what Scouts would call "caches," to use

on their return journey. For weeks they struggled along over difficult ground.
One day in January, although they had cut down their rations and ate as little as possible
(so little indeed that they were getting weak), they found that they were coming to the
end of their food, and they must either turn back or go on and die, in which case the
record of their work would have been lost. So they planted a flagstaff with the Union
Jack on it, and left a box containing a notice that they had annexed the land for Great
Britain and King Edward VII.
They took a long look with their field-glasses in the direction of the South Pole to see if
any mountains were to be seen, but there were none. And then they started on their
desperate tramp to the ship.
They made a number of interesting and useful discoveries. They came upon mountains
and glaciers of ice, and mineral rocks of coal and limestone.
And they found tiny insects which are able to live in the ice, and when they boiled them,
they did not kill them!
They found that the penguins, the great wingless birds which sit up and look just like
people, enjoyed listening to a gramophone, which they set going for their benefit.
But their journey back was a very anxious and trying experience for them.
In order to guide them they had planted flags here and there along their path, but storms
came and blew them down, and it was, therefore, most difficult to find their way from
one food depot to another. They did it largely by spooring their old tracks.
This is how Sir Ernest Shackleton describes their doings on one particular day:
"We were thirty miles from our depot. Although we could see it in the distance, it was
practically unattainable, for soft snow covered treacherous crevasses, and as we stumbled
along in our search for food we seemed to get no nearer to our longed-for goal. The
situation was desperate.
"Two of our party, utterly worn out and exhausted, fell in harness, but with the greatest
pluck again pushed on as soon as they had temporarily recovered. It was with a feeling of
devout thankfulness that we crossed the last crevasse and secured some food. Beyond a
little tea we had had nothing for thirty-four hours, and previously to that our last meal
consisted merely of one pannikin of half-cooked pony maize-not much foundation for
work under such conditions, and with an extremely low temperature. Under these
conditions we marched sixteen miles in twenty-two hours.
"On another occasion during that same journey we were all struck down with dysentery,
and this at a distance of ninety miles from our depot. Though the weather was fine, we
were all too weak to move, but here, as on other occasions, Providence came to our
rescue, and strong southerly blizzards helped us along.

"From December 4th, 1908, to February 23rd, 1909, we lived in a state of constant
anxiety, intensified by more acute knowledge gained from narrow escapes and close
contact with death. Over and over again there were times when no mortal leadership
could have availed us.
"It was during these periods that we learnt that some Power beyond our own guided our
footsteps. If we acknowledged this--as we did--down among the ice, it is only fitting that
we should remember it now when the same Power has brought us safely home through all
these troubles and dangers. No one who has seen and experienced what we have done
there can take credit to himself for our escape from what appeared to be overwhelming
difficulties."
Sir Ernest Shackleton also praises the conduct of his officers and men as helping largely
to their success. He says:
"We were all the best of comrades. Every man denied himself, and was eager to do his
level best."
True Scouts, all of them.
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