Mr.Boyle-
The harrowing story of the "Endurance"
notwithstanding, Ernest Shackeltons' best chance for immortality may have
come in Jan 1909, when he led an expedition to a latitude 88 23'S, only
97 miles from the South Pole, before turning back. This was nearly 3 years
before Roald Amundsen reached the Pole. Had Shackelton succeeded, the legendary
race between Scott and Amundsen to "The Last Place on Earth" may have never
occurred. As an interesting footnote, Shackelton served as executive officer
for Scott in a preliminary expedition in 1901-04 aboard the "Discovery".
Shackelton was sent home early by Scott supposedly for reasons of health,
but it appears there was some controvery over this decision. Could this
possibly be a case for one of your skillful rewritings of history so as
to give Sir Ernest his just due?
Al
Posted by TCB on July 24, 2000:
In Reply to: The Antarctic Explorer posted by Al Yonan :
Dear Al: If only I'd discovered
that story before everyone else. I did write a short story many years ago
(as a student at Iowa) about an Arctic explorer, based very loosely on
Franklin's expedition, and, of course, I wrote of Mungo Park. But you're
right: that sort of suffering is my cup of tea. TCB.
--Sandye Utley, Cincinnati, Ohio
Last Page Update: 10 March 2001