In recent months I have written several times about some milestones in the history of Antarctica. After all, there are 100 years since Norwegian Roald Amundsen and his British rival Robert Falcon Scott raced each other across Antarctica to be the first person to reach the South Pole. Today marks another step in the race and unfortunately, this is one of those dates that still haunts us a century later.
As I mentioned last week, Scott and his two remaining companions, Edward Wilson and Henry Bowers, were caught in a vicious snowstorm that lasted at least nine days. During this period, they ran slowly for food and fuel. With nothing to eat and not to keep warm, his last forces fled their tired bodies. At that time they had been marching across Antarctica for months over four and a half years and have thoroughly exhausted in mind, body, and spirit. Physical balance on this trip was heavy, but on reaching the Pole to find that they had been beaten by Amundsen was the most terrible blow imaginable.
So, Scott, Wilson, and Bowers ended up in this shop, hoping beyond hope that the weather would clear long enough for them to cover the remaining eleven miles to its "One-Ton Depot." A cache of the offer to give them everything they need to complete their journey back to his ship, the Terra Nova, which was waiting off the coast for his return. Given the distances had covered on the Antarctic continent, eleven miles just seemed very much at all. He might have been eleven light-years, however, they were not able to travel through this storm.
It was on that date, exactly 100 years ago today that Scott made his last diary entry that has been so diligently keeping all these weeks. This final entry would only say: "For the love Last login after the sight of God to our people," These words tell us that Scott knew they were made for and Britain would never see their families or ... Historians say that when his tent was found about eight months later, it was considered by the positions of their bodies that Scott was the last of the expedition died.
These are not the last words we hear from Scott, but he also wrote a series of letters to his relatives. They were discovered in his body and while we do not know the content of all of them, they write a "message to the public" was in many ways an explanation of why he felt compelled to explore Antarctica for King and his country. The letter concludes with the following statement:
"We I took risks, we knew, things went against us, so we have no reason to complain, but bend to the will of Providence, determined still to do our best to the last ... If we had lived, he would have had a story to tell of courage, endurance, and courage of my companions which have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale, but surely, undoubtedly rich countries like ours will see that those who rely on us are well planned. "
These words show his indomitable spirit and the British stiff upper lip that was registered at the end of its brand. They were also the words that would make him a hero in the UK, where it is venerated to this day. Scott is a symbol of the great heritage of this country to explore and while he may have failed in his mission, he remained a true Englishman, even in the face of its inevitable end.
For me personally, Robert Falcon Scott remains one of the most tragic characters in the story, but someone who is also a source of great inspiration. He had a spirit of adventure and exploration that I think is equally important in this day and age as it was 100 years ago. His story is one we should never forget and think about when we look for excuses to stop our own adventures. After all, I can think of worse things to ask "What would Scott?"
Lmddhu
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