Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
94
Because it was early in the season with everything frozen tight, Campbell's party encoun-
tered neither the slushiness nor the wet blizzards that had been such a drag on David's
progress.
On October 26, camped at Depot Island, the party picked up the letters left by Da-
vid's party, as well as all of the rock specimens, and continued down the coast. At Cape
Roberts at the southern entrance to Granite Harbour, the men found the depot left by
Taylor's geological party six months earlier, and after months, their hunger was tempo-
rarily sated. Priestley writes, “The day and night of the 29th merged into one glorious
feast, and when we started again on the following morning our mouths were sore from
nibbling biscuit, and pretty well three day's sledging allowance had been accounted for.
In fact, I had served out a week's butter, raisins, and lard amongst the six of us, and the
only thing we carried away with us externally was a small piece of butter and lard each.”
On November 1 the party picked up another cache from Taylor's party at Cape Bernacchi,
which included pemmican in addition to more raisins. From Butter Point they took a
southerly route around McMurdo Sound to stay on solid ice.
Their arrival at Hut Point was greeted with crushing news when they read in a note
left in the hut that Scott and all his party had perished the previous year, and that a search
party had set oV to the south only a week before. Campbell's party had not pushed far
into the white spaces of the map, but their gaze into darkness was perhaps deeper than
any party before or after. They had stood on the banks of the Styx and for many months
had seen clearly the other side. They had stared down Death through their determined
goodwill and camaraderie, only to be cut to the heart by this news of their lost comrades.
Such was their conflicted spirit as they trudged the final leg back to the base at Cape
Evans for the survivors' ritual washing and food.
