Table Of ContentJournals:
Captain Scott’s Last
Expedition
Robert Falcon Scott
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
’
JOURNALS
R F S was born in Devon in , the third of six
children in a prosperous family. He passed the Royal Navy’s entrance
examination and joined the training ship HMS Britannia a month after
his thirteenth birthday. Thereafter he rose steadily through the ranks
until he was made a full lieutenant in . In his father was
declared bankrupt and died three years later; Scott was forced to help
support his mother and unmarried sisters. He had been serving on HMS
Majestic when Clements Markham appointed him as Commander of the
National Antarctic Expedition – on board the Discovery. The
expedition brought him success and fame, and promotion to Captain.
Stung by Shackleton’s march to within miles of the South Pole in
, Scott organized a second expedition, and the Terra Nova set sail
for the Antarctic in . Beaten to the Pole by Amundsen, Scott and
four of his companions died on their march back to safety in March .
Scott’s gripping journals charting the expedition’s progress and tragic
end were first published in and remained in print for most of the
century, an icon of national heroism.
M J was educated at Oxford, Cambridge, and the University of
California at Berkeley. Formerly a Fellow and Director of Studies in History
at Christ’s College, Cambridge, he is currently Programme Director of the
MA in Modern British History at the University of Manchester. He is the
author of The Last Great Quest: Captain Scott’s Antarctic Sacrifice ().
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OXFORD WORLD’S CLASSICS
ROBERT FALCON SCOTT
Journals
CAPTAIN SCOTT’S LAST EXPEDITION
Edited with an Introduction and Notes by
MAX JONES
1
3
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ISBN 0–19–929752–5 978–0–19–929752–8
135 79108642
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
W preparing this edition for publication, I have benefited greatly
from the assistance of many individuals and institutions. The commit-
ment, patience, and astute comments of my editor, Judith Luna, proved
invaluable throughout the process. Virginia Murray offered exemplary
guidance through the papers of Scott’s original publisher, Smith, Elder
(now part of the John Murray Collection), helping to unearth a wealth of
previously unpublished material which has enriched this edition. After I
had worked through Scott’s account of the polar journey, Francis Dods-
worth meticulously compared Scott’s base journals with the published
version, presenting his findings with characteristic efficiency. Susan Bayly,
Robert Blyth, Bob Headland, Rory Rapple, Shirley Sawtell, the Milton
online discussion group, and, in particular, Gareth Rees and Beau Riffen-
burgh were generous with their expertise. Any errors which remain are, of
course, my own. The team at OUP, including copy-editors Elizabeth
Stratford and Edwin Pritchard, have done a fine job.
The John Murray Collection, Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI),
Alpine Club, Lord Kennet, and Lady Philippa Scott generously granted
permission to reproduce copyright text and images in this edition. The
staff at SPRI, the John Rylands University Library of Manchester, and
the university libraries of Bristol and Cambridge, provided efficient sup-
port throughout, while William Frame and his colleagues at the British
Library kindly arranged for me to consult Scott’s original notebooks.
Both Christ’s College, Cambridge, and the new School of Arts, Histor-
ies, and Cultures at the University of Manchester provided wonderful
environments to pursue research, and Penny Summerfield’s thoughts on
diaries in particular helped shape the Introduction. I do not have space to
list all the scholars who have assisted my work on Captain Scott over the
years, but I am particularly grateful to David Cannadine, Peter Clarke,
Klaus Dodds, Tom Laqueur, Tom Metcalf, and Jay Winter, while Peter
Straus has helped me navigate the literary world. Final thanks, as always,
to my parents, George and Diana, and to Sarah, Isabelle, and Oscar, for
keeping me warm amidst the ice.
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CONTENTS
List of Illustrations xiii
Abbreviations xv
Introduction xvii
Composition and Publication History xlii
Select Bibliography xlix
A Chronology of Robert Falcon Scott and Scott’s Last Expedition liv
SCOTT’S LAST EXPEDITION
Preface, by Clements R. Markham
British Antarctic Expedition,
General Stowage––A Last Scene in New Zealand––Departure––On
Deck with the Dogs––The Storm––The Engine-room Flooded––
Clearing the Pumps––Cape Crozier as a Station––Birds of the
South––A Pony’s Memory––Tabular Bergs––An Incomparable
Scene––Formation of the Pack––Movements of the Floes
A Reported Island––Incessant Changes––The Imprisoning
Ice––Ski-ing and Sledging on the Floes––Movement of Bergs––
Opening of the Pack––A Damaged Rudder––To Stop or not to
Stop––Nicknames––Ski Exercise––Penguins and Music––
Composite Floes––Banked Fires––Christmas in the Ice––The
Penguins and the Skua––Ice Movements––State of the Ice-house––
Still in the Ice––Life in the Pack––Escape from the Pack––A
Calm––The Pack far to the North––Science in the Ice
viii Contents
Land at Last––Reach Cape Crozier––Cliffs of Cape Crozier––
Landing Impossible––Penguins and Killers––Cape Evans as Winter
Station––The Ponies Landed––Penguins’ Fatuous Conduct––
Adventure with Killer Whales––Habits of the Killer Whale––
Landing Stores––The Skuas Nesting––Ponies and their
Ways––Dangers of the Rotting Ice
Loss of a Motor––A Dog Dies––Result of Six Days’ Work––Restive
Ponies––An Ice Cave––Loading Ballast––Pony Prospects––First
Trip to Hut Point––Return: Prospects of Sea Ice––A Secure
Berth––The Hut––Home Fittings and Autumn Plans––The
Pianola––Seal Rissoles––The Ship Stranded––Ice begins to go
Dogs and Ponies at Work––Stores for Depôts––Old Stores at
Discovery Hut––To Encourage the Pony––Depôt Plans––Pony
Snow-shoes––Impressions on the March––Further Impressions––
Sledging Necessities and Luxuries––A Better Surface––Chaos
Without; Comfort Within––After the Blizzard––Marching
Routine––The Weakest Ponies Return––Bowers and Cherry-
Garrard––Snow Crusts and Blizzards––A Resented Frost-bite––
One Ton Camp.
Dogs’ and Ponies’ Ways––The Dogs in a Crevasse––Rescue Work––
Chances of a Snow Bridge––The Dog Rations––A Startling Mail––
Cross the Other Party––The End of ‘Weary Willy’––The Ice
Breaks––The Ponies on the Floe––Safely Back
Description:For anyone interested in the history of the Antarctic, these journals are essential reading. Dolores Geisler's Review here on Amazon beautifully captures the appeal of these fundamental documents and the character of the men involved. And, of course, there are many other excellent sources on not onl
