And now I can hardly believe that it was all true. Yet it _was_ true—gloriously so. I, too, have seen and known and learnt; I, too, have companioned with the great souls who help to make our island history. Sir Ernest Shackleton, Commander Frank Wild and the others, all great of heart and fearless of soul, had been my shipmates and my friends.
It was a memorable year indeed, and for all time I know I must carry with me a vision of tumbling waves by day and phosphorescent breakers in the darkness; the grind and bellow of the closing pack, the rush and roar of broken waters at the growlers’ feet; the hushed noises of the seals as they come to the surface in the still water of the pack; and always shall I see in mind’s-eye the glory of the Antarctic night.
And most poignant yet inspiring of all my memories there is that of the lonely cross outlined against the whirling drive of the South Georgian sleet, the sign which remains to tell of the great spirit that led us forth into the Frozen South and died, yet lives again, as a magnet to draw the brave away from the sleek comforts of life into that outer world of daring where men may gaze in awe upon the wonders of the Lord.
Albatrosses, fishing for, 183, 191 flight of, 80, 88
Antarctic exploration, Commander Wild on, 172
Argles, Mr., 155, 156, 157, 190 a series of accidents, 157, 221 catches a penguin, 163
Ascension Island, 231 intense heat of, 231 _et seq._
Campbell, Captain Gordon, war work of, 14
Cape Verde Islands, impressions of, 49, 51
Carr, Major, accident to, 82 as barber, 154 in a football match, 169 meteorological experiments of, 40, 62, 64, 66, 109, 178, 215 studies manœuvres of an albatross, 81
Compass adjustment, experiences of, 11, 15
Cook, Captain, discovers South Georgia, 97
Cronk, Mr., and his farm at Ascension Island, 234
Dell, Mr., as coal-trimmer, 155 asked to carry on, 102 electrician of _Quest_, 62, 64, 97, 122 injured in a gale, 90 skins a sheep, 225
Douglas, Mr., 206, 208, 215 and a defective harpoon, 143 and Sir E. Shackleton’s grave, 194 as footballer, 169 buys lace at St. Helena, 229 geological researches of, 44, 52, 233 rejoins _Quest_, 109 replaces _Quest’s_ cook in the galley, 45 scientific observations in South Georgia, 77 surveys St. Paul’s Rocks, 62, 64