The South Pole quotes

What an infinite distance seems to separate that region from these surroundings! And yet it is only four months since my gallant comrades and I reached the coveted spot.

I write the history of the South Pole! If anyone had hinted a word of anything of the sort four or five years ago, I should have looked upon him as incurably mad. And yet the madman would have been right.

One circumstance has followed on the heels of another, and everything has turned out so entirely different from what I had imagined.

On December 14, 1911, five men stood at the southern end of our earth's axis, planted the Norwegian flag there, and named the region after the man for whom they would all gladly have offered their lives -- King Haakon VII.

Thus the veil was torn aside for all time, and one of the greatest of our earth's secrets had ceased to exist.

Since I was one of the five who, on that December afternoon, took part in this unveiling, it has fallen to my lot to write -- the history of the South Pole.

… present day, who are so well supplied with information about the most distant parts of the earth, and have all our modern means of communication at their command, find it difficult to understand the intrepid courage that is implied by the voyages of these men.

They shaped their course toward the dark unknown, constantly exposed to being engulfed and destroyed by the vague, mysterious dangers that lay in wait for them somewhere in that dim vastness.

The beginnings were small, but by degrees much was won. One stretch of country after another was discovered and subjected to the power of man. Knowledge of the appearance of our globe became ever greater and took more definite shape.

And yet even to-day we hear people ask in surprise: What is the use of these voyages of exploration? What good do they do us?

Little brains, I always answer to myself, have only room for thoughts of bread and butter.

The first name on the roll of discovery is that of Prince Henry of Portugal, surnamed the Navigator, who is ever to be remembered as the earliest promoter of geographical research. To his efforts was due the first crossing of the Equator, about 1470.

It is not merely difficult to grasp this; it is simply impossible -- to us, who with a motion of the hand can set the screw going, and wriggle out of the first difficulty we encounter.

These men were heroes -- heroes in the highest sense of the word.

It was in lat. 69º 15' S. and long. 176º 15' E. that Ross found the open sea. On the following day the horizon was perfectly clear of ice.

The ice conditions here are extremely unfavourable, and navigation in the highest degree risky. A coast full of submerged reefs and a sea strewn with icebergs was what the Frenchmen had to contend with. The exploration of such regions demands capable men and stout vessels.

Sir Ernest Shackleton! -- the name has a brisk sound.

At its mere mention we see before us a man of indomitable will and boundless courage. He has shown us what the will and energy of a single man can perform.

Everyone was spellbound. Was it possible? Could it be true? Shackleton, Lieutenant R.N.R., had fought his way to lat. 88º 23' S.

Seldom has a man enjoyed a greater triumph; seldom has a man deserved it better.

As the details of Sir Ernest Shackleton's expedition will be fresh in the minds of English readers, it is unnecessary to recapitulate them here. A few points may, however, be noted, for comparison with the Fram's expedition.

"The deity of success is a woman, and she insists on being won, not courted. You've got to seize her and bear her off, instead of standing under her window with a mandolin." -- Rex Beach.

"The North Pole is reached."

In a flash the news spread over the world. The goal of which so many had dreamed, for which so many had laboured and suffered and sacrificed their lives, was attained. It was in September, 1909, that the news reached us.

"The North Pole is reached."

In a flash the news spread over the world.

The goal of which so many had dreamed, for which so many had laboured and suffered and sacrificed their lives, was attained. It was in September, 1909, that the news reached us.

If the expedition was to be saved, it was necessary to act quickly and without hesitation.

Just as rapidly as the message had travelled over the cables I decided on my change of front -- to turn to the right-about, and face to the South.

It was true that I had announced in my plan that the Fram's third voyage would be in every way a scientific expedition, and would have nothing to do with record-breaking;

There must be some misunderstanding or other at the bottom of the Englishmen's estimate of the Eskimo dog's utility in the Polar regions.

Can it be that the dog has not understood his master? Or is it the master who has not understood his dog?

The right footing must be established from the outset; the dog must understand that he has to obey in everything, and the master must know how to make himself respected.

I still cannot help smiling when I think of the compassionate voices that were raised here and there -- and even made their way into print -- about the "cruelty to animals" on board the Fram.

Presumably these cries came from tender-hearted individuals who themselves kept watch-dogs tied up.

Besides our four-footed companions, we took with us a two-footed one, not so much on account of the serious work in the Polar regions as for pleasant entertainment on the way. This was our canary "Fridtjof."

I am for a glass of toddy. Let who will eat plum-cake and swill hot coffee -- heartburn and other troubles are often the result of this kind of refreshment.

A little toddy doesn't hurt anybody.

The consumption of alcohol on the Fram's third voyage was as follows: One dram and fifteen drops at dinner on Wednesdays and Sundays, and a glass of toddy on Saturday evenings. On holidays there was an additional allowance.

The sledging provisions must be mentioned briefly. I have already spoken of the pemmican.

I have never considered it necessary to take a whole grocer's shop with me when sledging; the food should be simple and nourishing, and that is enough -- a rich and varied menu is for people who have no work to do.

Besides the pemmican, we had biscuits, milk-powder, and chocolate. The biscuits were a present from a well-known Norwegian factory, and did all honour to their origin.

He showed visible signs of surprise when he found out, by reading the name on the ship's side, that it was the Fram he had before him.

"Lord, I thought you were a Russian!"

he exclaimed. This supposition was presumably intended to serve as a sort of excuse for his small hurry in coming on board.

From the very first I tried in every way to insist upon the paramount importance to our whole enterprise of getting our draught animals successfully conveyed to our destination. If we had any watchword at this time it was:

"Dogs first, and dogs all the time."

The result speaks best for the way in which this watchword was followed. The following was the arrangement we made: The dogs, who at first were always tied up on the same spot, were divided into parties of ten;

For my own share I took the fourteen that lived on the bridge. Feeding the animals was a manoeuvre that required the presence of all hands on deck; it therefore took place when the watch was changed.

The Arctic dog's greatest enjoyment in life is putting away his food; it may be safely asserted that the way to his heart lies through his dish of meat.

We acted on this principle, and the result did not disappoint us. After the lapse of a few days the different squads were the best of friends with their respective keepers.

They were not satisfied until we had gone round, patting and talking to every one. If by chance one was so careless as to miss a dog, he at once showed the most unmistakable signs of disappointment.

There can hardly be an animal that is capable of expressing its feelings to the same extent as the dog.

Joy, sorrow, gratitude, scruples of conscience, are all reflected as plainly as could be desired in his behaviour, and above all in his eyes. We human beings are apt to cherish the conviction that we have a monopoly of what is called a living soul;

I need not hint more explicitly at the cause of them, if it is remembered that there were dogs lying about everywhere, who had eaten and drunk well in the course of the day. But after a time the oaths gave way to jokes.

There is nothing in the world that custom does not help us to get over.

It is the universal practice on board ship to divide the day and night into watches of four hours; the two watches into which the crew is divided relieve each other every four hours.

It was not without a certain longing that I looked forward to our arrival at Madeira: it would be grand to be able to speak out! No doubt the others who knew of the plan were equally eager.

Secrets are neither amusing nor easy to carry about -- least of all on board a ship, where one has to live at such close quarters as we had.

We were chatting together every day, of course, and the uninitiated could not be deterred from leading the conversation round to the ugly difficulties that would embitter our lives and hinder our progress when rounding the Horn.

I think what chiefly amused them was their failure to smell a rat before.

"How could I have been such an ass as not to think of it long ago?"

said Beck, as he sent a nearly new quid into the sea. "Of course, it was as plain as a pikestaff. Here we are with all these dogs, this fine 'observation house,' with its big kitchen-range and shiny cloth on the table, and everything else.

Or a great and dangerous fissure, which we should not be able to cross without going a long way round? We naturally expected something of the sort. This mighty and terrible monster would, of course, offer resistance in some form or other.

The mystic Barrier! All accounts without exception, from the days of Ross to the present time, had spoken of this remarkable natural formation with apprehensive awe.

It was as though one could always read between the lines the same sentence: "Hush, be quiet! the mystic Barrier!"

All accounts without exception, from the days of Ross to the present time, had spoken of this remarkable natural formation with apprehensive awe. It was as though one could always read between the lines the same sentence: "Hush, be quiet! the mystic Barrier!"

One, two, three, and a little jump, and the Barrier was surmounted!

We looked at each other and smiled; probably the same thought was in the minds of all of us. The monster had begun to lose something of its mystery, the terror something of its force; the incomprehensible was becoming quite easy to understand.

We looked at each other and smiled; probably the same thought was in the minds of all of us. The monster had begun to lose something of its mystery, the terror something of its force; the incomprehensible was becoming quite easy to understand.

Without striking a blow we had entered into our kingdom.

The Barrier was at this spot about 20 feet high, and the junction between it and the sea-ice was completely filled up with driven snow, so that the ascent took the form of a little, gentle slope. This spot would certainly offer us no resistance.

What lies behind the night -- that smoke-black mass -- we know. That part we have explored, and have come off victorious. But what does the dazzling day to the south conceal?

Inviting and attractive the fair one lies before us. Yes, we hear you calling, and we shall come. You shall have your kiss, if we pay for it with our lives.

The following day -- Sunday -- brought the same fine weather. Of course, there could now be no thought of Sunday for us. Not one of us would have cared to spend the day in idleness. We were now divided into two parties:

It gave exactly the impression of having come up simply to pay us its respects. We were sorry to repay its attention so poorly, but such is the way of the world.

With a final bow it ended its days in the frying-pan.

On January 18 we began bringing up the materials for the hut, and as soon as they arrived the builders began to put them up. It is no exaggeration to say that everything went like a well-oiled machine.

We had good reason to be happy. Another important point had been got over, and in much shorter time than I had ever hoped. Our path to the goal was opening up; we began to have a glimpse of the castle in the distance.

The Beauty is still sleeping, but the kiss is coming, the kiss that shall wake her!

It was a happy party that assembled in the hut the first evening, and drank to the future to the music of the gramophone.

He had seen us a long way off on the Barrier, the rascal, and now the table was laid with all manner of dainties. But seal-steaks and the smell of coffee were what attracted us, and it was no small quantity that disappeared that evening.

Home! -- that word has a good sound, wherever it may be, at sea, on land, or on -- the Barrier.

How comfortable we made ourselves that night! The first thing we did now was to dry all our reindeer-skin clothes; they were wet through. This was not to be done in a hurry.

It glittered and shone, red and gold, against the jagged row of mighty masses of ice that bounds our Barrier on the north.

A spirit of peace breathed over all. But from Framheim the smoke ascended quietly into the air, and proclaimed that the spell of thousands of years was broken.

The sledges were heavily loaded when they went southward. I saw them slowly disappear over the ridge by the starting-place. It was a quiet time that followed after all the work and hurry of preparation.

The total weight of this depot was 4,200 pounds. In 81ºS., 1/2 ton of dogs' pemmican. In 82ºS., pemmican, both for men and dogs, biscuits, milk-powder, chocolate, and paraffin, besides a quantity of outfit. The weight of this depot amounted to 1,366 pounds.

Winter! I believe most people look upon winter as a time of storms, cold, and discomfort.

They look forward to it with sadness, and bow before the inevitable -- Providence ordains it so. The prospect of a ball or two cheers them up a little, and makes the horizon somewhat brighter;

"Doubt? How can one be in doubt about what one has heard with one's own ears and seen with one's own eyes?" And yet you have been deceived, like so many others!

The whistling northern and southern lights have never existed. They are only a creation of your own yearning for the mystical, accompanied by your own breath, which freezes in the cold air.

Goodbye, beautiful dream! It vanishes from the glorious landscape." Perhaps it was stupid of me to call attention to that; my guests have now lost much of the beautiful mystery, and the landscape no longer has the same attraction.

"Yes," was the answer; "here she comes." And Solveig's Song followed. It was a pity Borghild Bryhn was not there; I believe the most rapturous applause would not have moved her so much as the way her song was received here that evening.

As the notes rang clear and pure through the room, one could see the faces grow serious.

No doubt the words of the poem affected them all as they sat there in the dark winter night on the vast wilderness of ice, thousands and thousands of miles from all that was dear to them. I think that was so;

but for some reason or other the occupants of the Clothing Store would not give their adherence to the wooden-sole principle, and continued to work all through the winter in their reindeer-skin and sealskin boots.

They preferred stamping their feet to acknowledging the incontestable superiority of wooden soles in such conditions.

As the sledges were finished, they were numbered from one to seven, and stored in the clothing department. The three old sledges we should have to use were made for the Fram's second expedition.

one might imagine that the floor of one would be sewed on to the side of another. But nothing of the sort happened. When the tents were brought out for the first time and set up, they proved to be perfect.

One would have thought they had been made in a big sail-loft instead of in a snow-drift.

Neat-fingered fellows like this are priceless on such an expedition as ours.

… -- but it is in a great measure -- indeed, I may say that this is the greatest factor -- the way in which the expedition is equipped -- the way in which every difficulty is foreseen, and precautions taken for meeting or avoiding it.

Victory awaits him who has everything in order -- luck, people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time; this is called bad luck.

But pray do not think this is an epitaph I wish to have inscribed on my own tomb. No;

The dogs had not been let loose that morning, and every man was now in his tent harnessing them. Meanwhile I stood contemplating the packed sledges that stood there ready to begin the long journey.

I tried to work up a little poetry -- "the ever-restless spirit of man" -- "the mysterious, awe-inspiring wilderness of ice" -- but it was no good; I suppose it was too early in the morning.

I abandoned my efforts, after coming to the conclusion that each sledge gave one more the idea of a coffin than of anything else, all the cases being painted black.

I sat with my back to the dogs, looking aft, and was enjoying the brisk drive. Then suddenly the surface by the side of the sledge dropped perpendicularly, and showed a yawning black abyss, large enough to have swallowed us all, and a little more.

A few inches more to one side, and we should have taken no part in the Polar journey.

We guessed from this broken surface that we had come too far to the east, and altered our course more westerly. When we had reached safer ground, I took the opportunity of putting on my ski and driving so;

There is, however, one form of entertainment that may be indulged in under these circumstances without scruple, and that is a good nap.

Happy the man who can sleep the clock round on days like these; but that is a gift that is not vouchsafed to all, and those who have it will not own up to it.

I have heard men snore till I was really afraid they would choke, but as for acknowledging that they had been asleep -- never!

At the same time, Wisting threw a line to Hanssen and hauled him out of his unpleasant position -- although, I thought to myself, as we went on: I wonder whether Hanssen did not enjoy the situation?

Stretched across a giddy abyss, with the prospect of slipping down it at any moment -- that was just what he would like.

We secured the sledge, completed our seventeen miles, and camped.

It was nothing very luxurious -- three or four dry oatmeal biscuits, that was all. If one wanted a drink, one could mix snow with the biscuit -- "bread and water."

It is a diet that is not much sought after in our native latitudes, but latitude makes a very great difference in this world.

It anybody had offered us more "bread and water," we should gladly have accepted it.

We set our tent on a good, solid foundation, and were well pleased with the day's work. The altitude was 8,960 feet above the sea. The sun was now in the west, and shining directly upon the huge mountain masses.

It was a fairy landscape in blue and white, red and black, a play of colours that defies description.

Clear as it now appeared to be, one could understand that the weather was not all that could be wished, for the south-eastern end of Mount Thorvald Nilsen lost itself in a dark, impenetrable cloud, which led one to suspect a continuation in that direction, …

We simply took off a mit, and laid the warm hand on the frozen spot as we went; when we thought we had restored sensation, we put the hand back into the mit. By this time it would want warming.

One does not keep one's hands bare for long with the thermometer several degrees below zero and a storm blowing.

In spite of the unfavourable conditions we had been working in, the sledge-meters that evening showed a distance of fifteen and a half miles. We were well satisfied with the day's work when we camped.

I hailed them, and asked how they were getting on. "Oh, all right," was the answer; "we've just finished." -- "What does the crevasse look like?" -- "Oh, as usual," they shouted back; "no bottom."

I mention this little incident just to show how one can grow accustomed to anything in this world.

There were these two -- Wisting and Hassel -- lying over a yawning, bottomless abyss, and having their photograph taken; neither of them gave a thought to the serious side of the situation.

Although the prospects were not very promising, we halted at 11 a.m. and made ready to catch the sun if it should be kind enough to look out. Hassel and Wisting used one sextant and artificial horizon, Hanssen and I the other set.

I don't know that I have ever stood and absolutely pulled at the sun to get it out as I did that time.

If we got an observation here which agreed with our reckoning, then it would be possible, if the worst came to the worst, to go to the Pole on dead reckoning;

it looked wonderfully well in the pure, clear air and the shining white surroundings. 88º 23' was past; we were farther south than any human being had been. No other moment of the whole trip affected me like this.

The tears forced their way to my eyes; by no effort of will could I keep them back. It was the flag yonder that conquered me and my will.

Luckily I was some way in advance of the others, so that I had time to pull myself together and master my feelings before reaching my comrades. We all shook hands, with mutual congratulations;

Sir Ernest Shackleton's name will always be written in the annals of Antarctic exploration in letters of fire.

Pluck and grit can work wonders, and I know of no better example of this than what that man has accomplished.

The cameras of course had to come out, and we got an excellent photograph of the scene which none of us will ever forget. We went on a couple of miles more, to 88º 25', and then camped.

or -- No, it was an impossibility; with the speed at which we had travelled, we must reach the goal first, there could be no doubt about that. And yet -- and yet --

Wherever there is the smallest loophole, doubt creeps in and gnaws and gnaws and never leaves a poor wretch in peace.

"What on earth is Uroa scenting?" It was Bjaaland who made this remark, on one of these last days, when I was going by the side of his sledge and talking to him. "And the strange thing is that he's scenting to the south.

I cannot say -- though I know it would sound much more effective -- that the object of my life was attained. That would be romancing rather too bare-facedly. I had better be honest and admit straight out that

I have never known any man to be placed in such a diametrically opposite position to the goal of his desires as I was at that moment.

The regions around the North Pole -- well, yes, the North Pole itself -- had attracted me from childhood, and here I was at the South Pole. Can anything more topsy-turvy be imagined?

The night before Christmas Eve we slaughtered Svartflekken. There was no mourning on this occasion Svartflekken was one of Hassel's dogs, and had always been a reprobate. I find the following in my diary, written the same evening:

"Slaughtered Svartflekken this evening. He would not do any more, although there was not much wrong with his looks. Bad character. If a man, he would have ended in penal servitude."

He was comparatively fat, and was consumed with evident satisfaction.

Down over its side the blocks of ice lay scattered pell-mell. And farther down on the east rose Don Pedro Christophersen, partly in shadow, partly gleaming in the sun -- a marvellously beautiful sight.

And all was so still; one almost feared to disturb the incomparable splendour of the scene.

We now knew the ground well enough to be able to go straight ahead without any detours. The huge avalanches were more frequent than on the outward journey. One mass of snow after another plunged down; Don Pedro was getting rid of his winter coat.

They circled round us once or twice and then settled on the beacon. Can anyone who reads these lines form an idea of the effect this had upon us? It is hardly likely.

They brought us a message from the living world into this realm of death -- a message of all that was dear to us.

I think the same thoughts filled us all. They did not allow themselves a long rest, these first messengers from another world; they sat still a while, no doubt wondering who we were, then rose aloft and flew on to the south. Mysterious creatures!

The bill of fare was identically the same every day, perhaps a fault in the eyes of many; variety of diet is supposed to be the thing.

Hang variety, say I; appetite is what matters.

To a man who is really hungry it is a very subordinate matter what he shall eat; the main thing is to have something to satisfy his hunger.

There was not a breath of wind; the sound of the surf at the bottom of the precipice now and then reached my ears -- this was the only thing that broke the vast silence.

One's own dear self becomes so miserably small in these mighty surroundings; it was a sheer relief to get back to the company of my comrades.

"

Perhaps the only difference was that we used a razor that day instead of the usual beard-clipper. On Christmas Day we took a holiday, and Lindström prepared a banquet of skua gulls.

Despise this dish as one may, it tasted undeniably of -- bird.

The numerous snow-houses were now in a sad way. Under the weight of the constantly increasing mass, the roofs of most of the rooms were pressed so far in that there was just enough space to crawl on hands and knees.

Thinking that perhaps our friend had had a relapse of snow-blindness, I went in to announce our return. Lindström was standing before his range in the best of health when I entered the kitchen. "The Fram's come!" he shouted, before I had shut the door.

"Tell me something I don't know," said I, "and be so kind as to give me a cup of water with a little syrup in it if you can."

I thought somehow that the cook had a sly grin on his face when he brought what I asked for, but with the thirst I had after the stiff march, I gave a great part of my attention to the drink.

Nevertheless, anyone who sees a living penguin for the first time will always be attracted and interested, both by the dignified Emperor penguin, with his three feet of stature, and by the bustling little Adelie.

Not only in their upright walk, but also in their manners and antics, these birds remind one strikingly of human beings.

It has been remarked that an Emperor is the very image of "an old gentleman in evening dress," and the resemblance is indeed very noticeable.

For the present, therefore, we must continue to regard these islands as doubtful.

Moral: Don't go on voyages of discovery, my friend; you're no good at it!

As soon as we were out of Ross Sea and had entered the South Pacific Ocean, the old circus started again -- in other words, the Fram began her everlasting rolling from one side to the other.

But at the last moment the Fram gave a wriggle of her body and was instantly at the top of the wave, which slipped under the vessel.

Can anyone be surprised if one gets fond of such a ship?

Then she went down with the speed of lightning from the top of the wave into the trough, a fall of fourteen or fifteen yards.

From noon to 4 p.m. there was a calm, with heavy sea. Immediately after a gale sprang up from the north-west, and in the course of a couple of days it slowly moderated to a breeze from the same quarter.

Sunday, March 5, a hundred icebergs; Sunday March 12, a hurricane; and Sunday, March 19, a cyclone: truly three pleasant "days of rest."

The curves given on the next page, which show the course of barometric pressure for a week, from Monday to Monday, are interesting.

nor was it very long before eight men came tearing down. There was great enthusiasm. The first man on board was the Chief; I was so certain he had reached the goal that I never asked him.

Not till an hour later, when we had discussed all kinds of other things, did I enquire "Well, of course you have been at the South Pole?"

We lay there for a couple of days; on account of the short distance from Framheim, provisions, outfit, etc., were brought on board.

but on returning to the house, nothing can be discovered on the clothing. Where the sign for snow occurs in the column for Remarks, it means drift; these days are included among days of precipitation.

Sleet was observed only once, in December. Rain never.

The figures indicate how many tenths of the visible heavens are covered by clouds (or mist). No instrument is used in these observations; they depend on personal estimate.

Any attempt to measure the quantity of precipitation -- even approximately -- had to be abandoned.

Snowfall never occurred in still weather, and in a wind there was always a drift that entirely filled the gauge.

On June 1 and 7 actual snowfall was observed, but it was so insignificant that it could not be measured; it was, however, composed of genuine flakes of snow. It sometimes happened that precipitation of very small particles of ice was noticed;

Remarks of the Oceanographical Investigation carried out by the "Fram" in the North Atlantic in 1910 and in the South Atlantic in 1911. By Professor Björn Helland-Hansen and Professor Fridtjof Nansen

In the earliest ages of the human race the sea formed an absolute barrier.

Men looked out upon its immense surface, now calm and bright, now lashed by storms, and always mysteriously attractive; but they could not grapple with it. Then they learned to make boats;