Re: [Paddlewise] Shackleton exhibit - books

Alex Ferguson wrote:
> 
> Further to Ralph's comments -
> 
> > The story--
> >  His ship, the Endurance, got caught by the ice
> > in the Wendell Sea a few hundred miles from the Antarctica coast with 28
> > men and 70 dogs and one cat.
> 
> Further reading - there's a book out recently about the
> captain of the Endurance, Captain Worsley, as far as I
> remember, a New Zealander. A second book just spotted in
> the bookshop "Mrs Chip's last expedition", this is the journal
> "by" the cat, which actually was male, and belonged to the
> carpenter, hence "Chips". Shakleton shot the cat sometime
> during the expedition (just before the boat voyage?) and the
> carpenter, one of those on the James Caird, never forgave
> him.
> 
> Alex
> --

I believe that the Worsely book is a re-issue of his earlier book,
Shackleton's Boat Voyage, as is a new print of Shackleton's own book,
South.  I just read the latter and will look for the former as it comes
highly recommended.

Caroline Alexander, the author of the new book that works into the
exhibit a lot (The Endurance, Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic
Expedition-published in 1998 and now in 1999 in cooperation with the
Museum to get those striking foto reproductions), also wrote the Mrs.
Chippie's Last Voyage book.  The latter book was/is very popular in
Britain and the "dominions."  When Ms. Alexander, a striking redhead
Englishwoman raised in Florida, went around Britain, Ireland, Australia
and New Zealand (the crews were from these places) looking for never
published papers and diaries and other personal things from the families
of the crew, doors were opened to her when they suddenly realized "Oh,
your the Chippie lady!!!"  So her cat's story led to a terrific broader
book.  The opening foto in her new book is of Mrs. Chippie and of the
fellow who stowed away on the voyage (Shackleton had decided he had
enough crew and the guy snook on with help from some of his former
shipmates).  Mrs. Chippie was shot fairly early on and over the next or
so the rest of the dogs too.  The crew, to a man, all felt that was the
worse thing for them in the entire saga.  Several puppies were born on
the voyage and had grew up with the crew for a full year and it was hard
to destroy them.  But it was a matter of survival; besides some of the
younger dogs made good eating and their dog food pemmicans added to the
crew's larder as well.

At the lectures that I have attended and in articles about the
Shackleton voyage lots of questions are raised about the level of
leadership that it took to carry the saga off without a loss of life and
caliber of the men (A connected voyage by another ship, the Aurora, to
set up supply depots on the other end of the anticipated trek across the
South Pole to the Ross Sea, had three fatalities and not as good a
leadership or crew, although Shackleton praises them highly.)

Some of our discussions on Paddlewise seem to dovetail nicely with the
Shackleton experiences.  We have discussed things like leadership and
group dynamics, cold water survival and gear, eats, and even ballast. 
No Canadian ballast rocks however, but rather bags filled with pebbles
and sand that were used in the James Caird to help her in that 850 mile
voyage to South Georgia Island.  Shackleton did a lot of things to make
it all work:

1.  he kept them all busy almost at all times but allowing rest periods
and play.  They often played football and had dogteam races etc. 
Application to paddling: If you make a game of some aspects of a group
trip, it makes the trip smoother.

2.  he gave them only so much information and withheld his own private
misgivings but not being foolishly optimistic...a nice balance. 
Paddling Lesson: Sharing information is good to a point and getting
inputs, but one person really has to take responsibility eventually.

3.  he kept changing plans as situations changed rapidly rather than
doggedly being stubborn and sticking to something.  Paddling Lesson:
know when to adjust plans as situations change...you don't have to make
that ambitious crossing...there may be alternatives.

4.  he made certain that the men always had things before the officers
had them...something unusual in that day and age of rank has its
privileges.  They got the reindeer sleeping bags, the officers the wool
ones.  The crew took note of that.  Paddling lesson?  I don't know, I'm
taking the best stuff. :-) 

5.  the work of swabbing decks and wardroom floors were shared by all. 
There is a famous Hurley foto of the wardroom floor being hand washed by
some of the scientists as well as crew.  Paddling lesson?  probably
none.

6.  a handful of his group had plenty of previous polar experience
either arctic or antarctic or both.  He constantly drilled the crew in
dog handling, evacuation drills, etc.  At some point when he comments on
the Aurora tragedy at the Ross Sea he notes sternly that the people did
not read the lessons about the area that was in papers in plain sight at
the hut, i.e. ignorance contributed to the tragedy there.  Paddling
lesson: really understand the area, study everything before hand, have
some reliable experienced and dependable people around.

7. he had been with Scott on one of the latter's attempts at reaching
the South Pole.  Shackleton himself earlier had backed off at one point
when he was just 100 to 200 miles from the pole when he realized that he
could not make it there and return...better to try another day. 
Paddling lesson: there is a point when to turn around if weather gets
bad or not to go paddling at all.

8. he kept check on troublemakers.  Even if he didn't like a person, he
never let them know it though, just soft-talked them.  Alexander has
diary entries and letters where a crewperson felt highly about
Shackleton and thought he was held in high regard by Shackleton when it
was clear he wasn't.  When it came time to take five other people for
the brutal attempt to cross 800 miles of ocean to reach South Georgia
Island, Shackleton took two people he considered troublemakers with him
rather than leave them behind where they might demoralize other
survivors and cause disastrous dissention.  One was the carpenter; the
other I believe the bosun's mate who was a terrible bully.  The 22 men
who stayed behind had an equally rough go of it that would have been
breeding ground for trouble if those two had stayed.  Paddling Lesson: 
If you have to take someone with you while leaving a group behind, take
John Winters and Tim Ingrham.  :-)

The points go on.  I suggest reading Shackleton's own book as starters
and Alexander's book as well.  Hell read 'em all even Mrs. Chippie's
version. :-)

Sorry, this is so long.

ralph




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Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter
PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024
Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com
"Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag."
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