Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
3
Fire, Ice, and the Magnetic Pole
Further Discoveries in Victoria Land
One year before Discovery's return, Ernest Shackleton had come home to his own
hero's welcome, because news of the southern journey with Scott and Wilson had fired
the public's imagination about hostile, polar wastelands bested by the explorers' will. Pri-
vately, Shackleton was deeply ashamed of his failure to hold up on the march, and, with
the incentive of personal vindication, he sought to return to the Ross Sea and the icy in-
terior beyond. He announced in 1907 his intention to lead an expedition to the Antarctic,
which would attempt to reach both the Geographic and the Magnetic South Poles, not
simply for the glory of England but also for sound scientific research. The party would
be small, fifteen or so, composed of highly capable specialists. A single ship would leave
the men on the continent and return to New Zealand for the winter, thus eliminating
the need for a support vessel. He would use dogs to some extent for transport, but Shack-
leton, like Scott, had developed a mistrust of dogs during the Discovery Expedition; he
planned to rely primarily on Manchurian ponies for hauling toward the poles. He also
intended to use the first motorcar in Antarctica on the southern journey. This forerunner
of modern-day snowmobiles was an open-seated contraption with large, wooden-spoked
wheels, one of which is on display at the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, New
Zealand.
This was Shackleton's personal expedition. He worked without a committee, mak-
ing all the decisions on the organization and outfitting himself. Without the financial
support of the government or the societies, he was forced to make numerous appeals to
wealthy individuals, mostly without success. Finally, enough commitments were forth-
coming for him to begin seeking public support, but several promises for large sums were
