Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

The lofty goal of the expedition was “to cross the Antarctic continent overland from west to east” (11)—a goal that would remain unaccomplished until 1958, and then by means of heated vehicles, planes, and powerful radios. Shackleton had braved the region twice previously. In 1901, he accompanied the British explorer Robert F. Scott to the “deepest penetration” of the continent at the time. In 1907, he led an expedition himself to within 97 miles of the Pole but was thwarted by lack of food. Upon his return to England, he was knighted and awarded heroic status. 

The “audacious” objective of the current expedition was to have a second ship leave food supplies that would enable the Endurance crew to make their way across the continent from the Weddell Sea. The expedition was typical of the 40-year-old, Irish-born Shackleton, who was motivated by “social position and the important part that money paid in it” (14), as well as by his desire to keep his wife in the style to which her wealthy father had accustomed her. He was an existential dreamer with a scattershot entrepreneurial approach, including ideas for whaling and searching for buried treasure. While he promoted the idea of scientific exploration during fundraising efforts, he also secured advance rights to potential commercial properties resulting from the voyage, promised to write a book about the trip, and sold rights to films and photos taken on the voyage. 

Shackleton utilized unorthodox interview methods to screen applicants for the crew, relying primarily on his intuition. The crewmembers would be paid minimally at the end of the voyage, no matter what their level of expertise. The voyage was nearly canceled when Britain declared war upon Germany immediately prior to the sailing date; however, both the British Admiralty, to which Shackleton had offered the services of the expedition, and Winston Churchill urged the expedition to go forward.

Shackleton dislikes the social hypocrisy necessitated by fundraising and is relieved to set sail. He is better suited to nautical confrontations than to those of the drawing room. When confronted with a young Welsh stowaway, Blackwell, Shackleton intimidates him with his rage and concludes his tirade by roaring that “if [they] run out of food and anyone has to be eaten, [Blackwell] will be first” (28). 

When the ship stops at the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, Norwegian whalers caution against the expedition due to the ice conditions in the Weddell Sea. Faced with a resolute captain, however, all local sailors offer hospitality and advice to the expedition while Shackleton’s crew awaits favorable departure conditions. 

The Endurance leaves port on December 5, 1914, outfitted with tons of coal, 69 sled dogs, and one ton of whale meat hung from the rigging to feed the dogs. The ship appears somewhat undignified but eminently well-constructed. The captain, Worsley, has no prior experience with polar pack ice and enjoys “the excitement of dodging large floes” (31). The crew is so impressed with one enormous berg that they name the 150-foot structure “The Rampart Berg” (33). Immediately after this sight, they are cheered by the sight of land; however, this is a temporary victory. By January 24, after days of waiting for the ice floes to allow passage, it is clear that the Endurance is frozen in place in the ice.

When it becomes clear that the crew will have to spend the winter on Endurance rather than proceeding with the expedition, the men are initially relieved to be spared the night watches during which they had scouted for breaks in the ice. It takes them several days to realize that their trapped situation is like “a kind of creeping resignation—a bad dream from which there [is] no waking” (37). Hubert Hudson, the navigator, and Reginald James, a young physicist, try to increase the range of their primitive radio transmitter in the hope of securing help. Their attempts are unsuccessful. The crewmembers labor to try to cut a lane for their ship through the ice floes with saws, picks, and chisels, but to no avail. Loose ice continues to circle the ship and eventually encases it. Shackleton is horribly disappointed about his failed expedition. He devotes his efforts to ensuring the survival of his men.

Additional problems include the death of 15 of the sled dogs; the ship’s doctors, Macklin and McIlroy, perform postmortems and discovered the animals had huge intestinal worms. Treatment is impossible, as there is no worm powder among the ship’s stores. The dogs who died were not huskies; rather, they were mixed-breed dogs that were purchased in Canada and then shipped to South Georgia Island. They were a “vicious […] rag-tag collection” that fought with each other and any beast whom they encountered (43). The physician, Macklin, stopped many dog fights by delivering “a thudding uppercut” to the under jaw of the aggressor dog with his mittened fist (44), causing the animal to be stunned into retreat.

As the month of May begins, “the sun appear[s] over the horizon […] and the Antarctic night [begins]” (45). This results in difficulty with perception of distance and further danger walking on the ice. Lansing notes that “they were left in darkness” (45).

The polar night involves approximately six months of total darkness and is described as a “return to the Ice Age—no warmth, no life, no movement” (47). Prior expeditions had encountered emotional problems as a result of this, but the men of the Endurance entertain themselves in a variety of ways, including singing and listening to Hussey, the meteorologist, play his banjo. This chapter enumerates the most narratively important shipmates and provides a short biography of each: Bobby Clark, the biologist who is excited by searching for specimens in the area; Tom Crean, an Irishmen with years of experience in the Royal Navy; Charlie Green, aka “Chef,” whom the men respect due to the conscientiousness with which he approaches his cooking; and Henry Hudson, an introverted navigator who is sometimes the object of practical jokes. 

Although the weather deteriorates, the crew is able to enjoy some of the magnificent natural phenomena in the area. Despite the temperature of -17 degrees in June, men enjoy watching the moonlight on the ice floes and witnessing the aurora australis, which is comparable to the northern lights. On June 22, the midpoint of the winter, the men produce a talent show, which is described in hilarious terms in their diaries.

Spring weather seems to be approaching as this chapter opens, and the men anticipate sun and higher temperatures that will allow the Endurance to break out of her icy confinement. Conversely, the barometer falls steadily for several days; high winds and snowfall start on July 14, and “the whole ship vibrate[s] as the wind screamed through the rigging at 70 miles an hour” (57). The temperature falls to -34 degrees. Shackleton becomes concerned about the amount of weight on the ship’s deck and orders men to clear the snow. The dogs, who have been housed in “dogloos” on the floe, are brought on deck, as Shackleton is afraid the ice might buckle with them on it. 

The fact that the ice is now fragmented and has left a northerly exit from the bay seems cause for celebration, but this is coupled with concern that approaching ice floes may exert undue pressure on the ship. The Endurance breaks free from the ice on August 1 as the floe entrapping it has split up. Shackleton orders all hands down to the ice to rescue the sled dogs; the floe starts battering the ship immediately after the crew and dogs get back on board. The Endurance is now “perched atop the ice […] with a 5-degree list to port” (61). The men come to feel that the Endurance is able to withstand any degree of pressure, but Shackleton tries to dispel this notion with an anecdote illustrating the effects of overconfidence.

By September 10, the temperature has reached 1.9 degrees. The men feel a sense of freedom because they can go out on deck without hats. Additionally, biologist Bobbie Clarke starts to bring up large quantities of plankton, the basis of the food chain, in his ocean dredges. This is taken as a sign that additional animals, such as seals, will follow. Since the men have not had much fresh meat in several months, there is cause for jubilation. 

Despite these hopeful signs, a general sense of apprehension and superstition pervades among the crewmembers. The two preceding ice floe incidents occurred on the first day of the month, and the men become tense at the approach of October 1; however, the pressure on the ship starts on September 30 instead and lasts for “only one terrifying hour” (67). Carpenter McNeish is in the “Ritz” dining area of the ship and records in his journal that “the giant beams over his head bent ‘like a piece of cane” (67). Captain Worsley, who is at the wheel, notes that the Endurance “shows almost inconceivable strength” in standing up to the ice floes (67). 

By October 16, Shackleton determines that ice may be opening up enough to allow the ship to sail through; however, by October 18, “the floes on either side of the Endurance close[] in against her, and [keep] closing” (68).

Pressure from the floes increases dramatically by October 24, badgering the ship until it is pinned up against two mammoth blocks of ice. Worsley, Hudson, and Greenstreet venture down into the bunkers in frigid cold, pouring buckets of boiling water onto the frozen pipes. The men take 15-minute turns at the pumps for 28 hours. Toward evening, the pressure increases, and Shackleton orders that boats be lowered and filled with gear essential to survival on the ice floes. 

Later that evening, a band of emperor penguins stand near the ship; the birds utter a “series of weird, mournful, dirge like cries” (73). This has an eerie effect on the men, none of whom have ever heard penguins emit any sounds past occasional croaks. Sailor Tom McLeod is heard to say, “Do you hear that? […] We’ll none of us get back to our homes again” (73). The following afternoon, the decks of the ship buckle and the beams break as the rudder and sternpost are dismantled by the ice floes. Shackleton knows that it is time to evacuate and tells the crew, “She’s going, boys. I think it’s time to get off” (74).