SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION JOURNAL

TheTerra Nova ship left from New Zealand in 1910 and planned to last until 1913. Robert Falcon Scott wrote in his diary the hardships they underwent on their journey to the Antarctica. He stopped writing on March 29,1912 when he and three more men of his team met their ends in a hard blizzard. His diary was found on November 12, 1912 in the tent along with the frozen bodies of Robert Scott, Henry Bowers and Edward Wilson.He intended to be the first man to set foot on the South Pole although it also had a scientific purpose, that is, to study the meteorology, the biology and geology of the place.

Their ill-fated journey proved to be hard from the very first months on being struck by hurricanes, by getting stuck in the pack ice for three weeks, by losing three motorized sleds and seeing their horses die.The greatest blow hit them on their arrival in the Antarctica when they found out that the Norwegian Roald Admundsen had already landed in Antarctica

Tuesday, January 16. Camp 68. Height 9768. T. -23.5...Bowers' eyes detected a black speck ahead... Soon we knew.. it was a black flag, tied to a sledge bearer, nearby the remains of a camp... This told us the whole story.The Norwegians had forestalled us and are first at the Pole. It is a terrible disappointment and I am very sorry for my loyal companions... It will be a wearisome return

To reach to the Pole they had to walk over 800 miles with no one to help if things went wrong. They only had themselves. A large group started the walk carrying with them many supplies and at intervals they established a supply depot for the return journey. At each depot a certain number of the group turned back. At the final depot only five went ahead to the Pole. After two months they reached it on 18 January 1913 to discover Admundsen had beaten them

The journal changes tone on the journey back, giving way to disappointment,tiredness and deadly end. The winter was extremely hard, causing frost-bite and blisters ,with feet badly hurt and running short of food, hopes to get back home faded. The first to die was Edgard Evans. Then it was Titus Oates.

Saturday, March 17. Scott wrote Titus Oates felt he could not go on and asked his friends to leave him behind but they refused to obey him. He had gone through great suffering but Scott describes him as a 'brave soul'. In an act of compassion for his friends, in order to save their lives, Oates, the next day left the tent and went into the blizzard, saying 'I'm going out and I may be some time'. He never returnedThe last three: Scott, Wilson and Bowers carried on slowly

Scott wrote that they stuck by their sick companions to the last moment and never abandoned them. They remained by the side of Edgard Evans until two hours after his death. In some other moment he stated he could hardly write 'as the cold is intense,-40 at midday'

They got within 11 miles of the last depot as a blizzard hit them for 8 days and they could go no further. With no food left,they awaited death in the tent and Scott produced a series of letters addressed to his wife and the wives and mothers of those who died by his side.

'Since writing the above we have got to within 11miles of our depot with one hot meal and two days cold food and we should have got through but have been held for four days by a frightful storm' he writes

'I think the best chance has gone. We have decided not to kill ourselves but to fight it to the last for that depot but in the fighting there is a painless end, so don't worry' he wrote to his wife. 'Quite the worst aspect of this situation is the thought that I shall never see you again''For God's sake, look after our people'

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

http://cburrell.wordpress.com/2011/02/15/scott-journals/

http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/key_quotes_from_scott.pdf

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6244541.stm

http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/rfl/web/antarctica/ej_scott.html

http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/virtualbooks/viewrecadd/index.html#