Tag: Frank Hurley

Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, Elephant Island, July, 1916: “July was a particularly obnoxious month.”

January 7, 2017

–from Frank Hurley’s account “Shackleton’s Argonauts”— “July was a particularly obnoxious month. The variable temperatures of early spring frayed our tempers and added to our discomforts. Warmer days were marked by increased humidity, in which we felt the cold more than the actual winter. We now experienced occasional rain, and the stronger rays of the … More Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, Elephant Island, July, 1916: “July was a particularly obnoxious month.”

Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, June 23, 1916: The day after Midwinter’s Day at Cape Wild, Elephant Island

June 29, 2016

—from the diary of Thomas Orde Lees— “23 June. Midwinter’s Day is a thing of the past and once more we have been hungry again. What then do we have to look forward to now? Our rescue, whenever that may be; but almost as cheering, the certainty of the sun’s return, and therefore increasingly lengthening … More Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, June 23, 1916: The day after Midwinter’s Day at Cape Wild, Elephant Island

Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, April 13, 1916: It seemed as if evil forces were arrayed to torment us.”

April 13, 2016

–from Frank Hurley’s account published as “Shackleton’s Argonauts”— “It seemed as if evil forces were arrayed to torment us. No sooner was one peril overcome than another rose in its place. Streams of ice fragments, borne along by surface currents or drive by the winds, were driven to the lee side of our floe. For … More Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, April 13, 1916: It seemed as if evil forces were arrayed to torment us.”

Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, April 11, 1916: “. . . we gazed spellbound on a terrifying spectacle.. . . .”

April 12, 2016

–from Frank Hurley’s account published as “Shackleton’s Argonauts”— “The dawn broke, foggy, cheerless, and sinister. A piercing wind was blowing from the north-west, bringing sleet which froze in a glassy veneer. While we were making ready to get under way, fields of pack came rapidly driving down from the north. There was no choice. Our … More Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, April 11, 1916: “. . . we gazed spellbound on a terrifying spectacle.. . . .”

Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, February 2, 1916: “The venture was entirely successful”

February 3, 2016

–from Frank Hurley’s account “Shackleton’s Argonauts”— “Observations showed that the distance between our old Ocean Camp and our new Patience Camp had decreased from ten miles to six, owing to the shuffling of the ice floes. Since it was still light all night, Crean and I with the dogs left camp at one a.m. to … More Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, February 2, 1916: “The venture was entirely successful”

Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, January 1916: “….a doubtful mixture not unlike haggis.. . .”

January 24, 2016

–from Frank Hurley’s account “Shackleton’s Argonauts”— “Occasionally meals were modified with a ration of dog pemmican. This was canned by the makers in one-pound tins, and the ‘Peggy’ for the next day took the tin into his sleeping bag overnight to thaw it out. For breakfast the square of pemmican was cut into four equal … More Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, January 1916: “….a doubtful mixture not unlike haggis.. . .”

Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, January 1916: “To lose a spoon or a knife was a calamity.”

January 11, 2016

–from Frank Hurley’s account “Shackleton’s Argonauts”— “Table furniture was of the simplest. Our tent [Hurley shared a tent with Shackleton, Hudson, and James] possessed a sheath-knife which was common property. Each man had, in addition to a tin lid which served as a plate, a spoon, either a souvenir from the ‘Endurance’ or one carved … More Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, January 1916: “To lose a spoon or a knife was a calamity.”

Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, November 19, 1915: “We are all getting a little restless …”

November 20, 2015

–from the diary of Thomas Orde Lees— “ 19 November. We are all getting a little restless and wish to be off, but we could never get the boats any great distance over the present surface, although today we moved the whaler mounted on the new sledge which the carpenter has made up from the … More Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, November 19, 1915: “We are all getting a little restless …”

Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, October 29, 1915: “Poor old ship, what a battered wreck she was.”

October 30, 2015

–from Frank Hurley’s account “Shackleton’s Argonauts”— “Early next morning, before the others were astir, Wild and I rejoined our leader, and together we went aboard the ‘Endurance.’ Poor old ship, what a battered wreck she was. All the cabins along the starboard side had closed up like the bellows of a folding camera. The alleyways … More Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, October 29, 1915: “Poor old ship, what a battered wreck she was.”

Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, October 27, 1915: “The ship is doomed.”

October 27, 2015

–from Frank Hurley’s diary— “October 27. The line of pressure now assaults the ship and she is heaved to the crest of the ridge like a toy. Immense fragments are forced under the counter and wrench away the stern-post. Sir Ernest and Captain Worsley are surveying the ship’s position from the floe when the carpenter … More Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Expedition, October 27, 1915: “The ship is doomed.”