Explorers of Antarctica in the 1900s
Journeying back from the South Pole in the year 1912, Captain Robert Falcon Scott met his untimely end. Famished, he and his colleagues succumbed to the cold. Scott’s expedition had lost their race to be the first to the South Pole, a bitter disappointment for a man already regarded as a national hero, but their courage in the face of certain death became legendary.
Since then, scientists have found out more precisely the vehement conditions that an explorer needs to overcome in traveling to Antarctica. To be exact, the temperature can reach as low as minus 90 degrees Celsius, coupled with winds that can average 67 kilometers per hour. Scott’s expedition would have been plagued with weather conditions such as these, but that doesn’t even begin to touch upon the true perils found in Antarctica.
Letters he wrote to his wife while carrying out his research duties in the Polar Regions had heavy overtones of extreme seclusion. Even today, with the most up-to-date communications equipment, scientists working at the pole often note the same sense of utter isolation. Scott was survived by his wife, and a young son.
His body was discovered months after he expired. The letters written to his wife were among his things. Scott died 11 miles away from his supply post. Captain Scott’s wife was in New Zealand, waiting for her husband to come back, when news of his death reached her.
The letters Scott wrote to her provide tremendous historical insight. At the trip’s onset, he spoke of the pleasure derived from a fine meal and his appreciation of his body’s ability to endure the conditions. There was little mention of bitter temperatures. Instead, he spoke of how a hot meal allowed the body to recoup.
The mood of the letters changed, though, as the journey progressed and the food supply started to dwindle. Scott began to focus on the fact that the frigid weather was challenging and unrelenting. The men rationed their food and allowed themselves one hot meal followed by two days of cold meals. They had only a little food to survive during their last 11 miles.
Although Scott was a pioneer in the field of exploration, he had bad luck twice over with this trek. He lost the race to the South Pole to Norwegian Roald Amundsen. History shows that Amundsen arrived on the 21st day of December, 1911, and Scott made it on the 18th day of January, 1911.
Before leaving on his final expedition, Scott was a national hero following his first expedition into the Antarctic regions from 1902-1904. The two other men with him, Lieutenant Henry Bowers and Dr. Edward Wilson held onto their beliefs of survival. Petty Officer Edgar Evans and Captain Lawrence Oats did not win their fight to survive.
When they reached 20 miles from the supply post, the explorers put back some supplies. Their supply of fuel and food was dangerously low by now. Scott described in his letters, the bitter cold of the seventy degrees below zero temperatures, and how the only inadequate defense they had was their tent. He also gave his blessing for her to remarry in the event of his death.
It is evident from Scott’s last letters, that he never regretted the choice he made, to go on this trek that ultimately led to his death. Even in his most desperate hour, he expressed that his current position was preferred to relaxing around the house. His bravery and tenacity invigorated generations of Britain’s young.
Roald Amundsmen beat Scott’s team to the South Pole by a few weeks. Captain Robert Scott perished on March 29, 1912. In 1913, “Scott’s Last Expedition” was published, chronicling his journey, as written in his journal he kept along the way.
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