|
|
|
1914
|
 |
|
August
1
|
Endurance
sails from London
|
|
August
4
|
Germany
declares war on Russian
|
|
Mid
October
|
Endurance
reaches Buenos Aires. Ernest Shackleton, Frank Hurley, and 69 sledge
dogs board |
|
October
26
|
Freshly
painted and loaded with provisions, Endurance departs |
|
November
5
|
Arrive
South Georgia island; wait a month in hopes of pack ice receding
|
|
December
5
|
Depart
South Georgia |
|
December
7
|
Ice
packs spotted
|
|
1915
|
 |
|
January
10
|
A
week away from Vahsel Bay, where men plan to disembark for trans-Antarctic
trek |
|
January
18
|
Only
80 miles from Vahsel Bay though pack ice a constant problem
|
|
January
27
|
"Stuck
fast for the season," writes Hurley. Endurance firmly lodged
in pack ice. Temperature drops to +9
|
|
February
24
|
Shackleton
orders cessation of ship's routines. Ship now a winter station.
Men out of sight of land; out of earshot of the rest of the world
|
|
March
8
|
-8°
F; blizzard; two sledges smashed on ice; winter encroaches; days
shorten
|
|
April
|
Pigs
"converted" to pork; light dwindles
|
|
April
4
|
Sounds
of ice grinding are first inkling of mounting troubles
|
|
June
|
-20°
F; twilight only at noon
|
|
June
22
|
Midwinter
dinner feast of pork, stewed apples, peas; Endurance has drifted
670 along with the pack ice
|
|
July
13
|
Blizzard
stirs up pack ice, the friction sounds "like a human being
murdered"
|
|
July
21
|
"colossal
pressure" causes pack ice to mound up like "sugar cubes"
|
|
September
|
Endurance
"struggles and groaned as if in mortal pain"; the roar
of pack ice pressure "sounds like London traffic"
|
|
October
|
Endurance
battered continually by pack ice in Antarctic spring; "moving
floes in a state of agitation," writes Hurley
|
|
October
27
|
"We
are homeless and adrift on sea ice," writes Hurley; Endurance
sinking
|
|
October
30
|
Mrs.
Chipper, most of the dogs shot; men begin an impossible 200 mile
trek to land; up to their hips in snow, they trudge less than 1
mile before halting
|
|
November
1
|
Ocean
Camp, a "colossal ice raft," established. Ice 5 feet thick;
Weddell Sea 2,000 fathoms deep
|
|
November
21
|
Endurance
finally sinks out of sight
|
|
November
22
|
Hurley
seals his professional camera and negatives into tin canisters
|
|
December
23
|
March
8 miles in one week; set up Patience Camp
|
|
1916
|
 |
|
January
14
|
More
dogs are shot; their pemmican feed becomes the
crew's food
|
|
January,
late
|
Shackleton
orders men to pick over seal bones for meat, blubber
|
|
February,
late
|
Men
find and kill 300 penguins
|
|
February
29
|
Celebrate
leap year with three meals and three hot beverages each
|
|
March
21
|
First
day of winter
|
|
March
30
|
The
rest of the dogs are shot; youngest are consumed
|
|
April
9
|
Ice
breaks up and men launch life boats; head for Elephant Island. "Ordeal
had just begun," writes Caroline Alexander
|
|
April
16
|
Reach
solid land after 497 days on sea and ice
|
|
April
19
|
In
a raging blizzard, the Boss-Shackleton-prepares and serves breakfast
to the men, who are sick and spent after spending three nights in
the open boats in stormy, frigid seas
|
|
April
20
|
Shackleton
announces a run for Elephant Island aboard James Caird
|
|
April
24
|
Caird
launched with six men aboard
|
|
On the James Caird
|
 |
|
April
28
|
"Highest,
broadest, longest swells in the world"
-James Worsley
|
|
April
30
|
Caird
freezes up, leaden, sinking. Men scrape ice off boat three times
|
|
May
2
|
Enormous
wave batters boat, but Caird withstands the punishment
|
|
May
7
|
Men
spot kelp and know they are closing in on land
|
|
May
10
|
After
a tortuous 17 days at sea, the Caird comes ashore
|
|
May
19
|
At
2 a.m., Shackleton, Worsley and Crean men set out on foot to whaling
village on the other side of South Georgia Island. Interior unmapped,
and men must scale several icy peaks in search of passage
|
|
May
20
|
36
hours later, the three men reach outpost. Children, upon seeing
their blackened faces, ripped clothes, long stringy hair, scream
and flee. Old Norwegian whaler sees them and says, "I turn
away and weep"
|
|
May
21
|
Rest
of the Caird's crew rescued from other side of island. Worsley,
clean shaven and bathed, is not recognized by the men
|
|
May
23
|
First
attempt to rescue crew on Elephant Island aborted 60 miles from
destination. Blocked by pack ice.
|
|
June
10
|
Within
sight of Elephant Island, second rescue attempt thwarted, again
by ice
|
|
July
12
|
Third
attempt to rescue men fails
|
|
August
30
|
Twenty-two
men finally rescued; Shackleton says, "I have done it... Not
a life lost and we have been through Hell.'Hurley writes: "Day
of Wonders." |
