The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-02-11
CAPT. SCOTS
TRAGIC STORY
Written When He
Knew Death Stared
Him, in the Face
Suffering From Cold and Loss
Of Supplies for More
Than Year

London, Feb 11-Whi1e cabinet min
listers. and high officials, today, WED
with each other in paying tributes to
Captain Robert F. Scott, the Antarc-
tic explorer, and his four companions
who perfshed after reaching the south
pole, a, year ago, his relatives were
making every effort to reach Mrs
Scott, who is out on the Pacific ocean
on her way to New Zealand, expect
ing to meet her husband.
Leaving their little son Peter with
relatives in England, Mrs. Scott
started from London five weeks ago
and on Feb. 5, sailed from San Fran
cisco aboard the liner Aorangi. The
ships First stop is Tahati.
One of the most tragic documents in
the worlds history is the last message
Captain Scott left for the world It
was written on March Is, 1912. when
tortures from cold, privation, knew
that he and his companions were
doomed to die. In 1t he told how he
and his little band for more than
year had undergone the greatest suf-
fering from cold and loss of supplies
and equipment without rnurmuring.
The message stated~that the horrible
fate about to overtake the brave men
was not due to faulty organization or
miemanagement on the part of any
body but to unavoidable misfortune
It contained glowing tribute to Scotts
four companions who had acconpa-
MED him in the dash to the pole and
back to within IL miles of a depot
when the fatal blizzard overlook
them.
New light on the utter unselfishness
and generosity of Captain Scott was
Central News, who in 1912 made
contract with the expIorer for the ex-
elusive rights, to all news Of the south
Captain Scott sought no personal re-
ward for himself and his sole stipula-
ton was that whatver the news agen-
qy might pay for the stories they re-
ceived, should be divided equally
among the members of the Scott expe-
dition exclusive OF himself.
was so meagre because he entered in
to an elaborate cipher code with the
News.
story of a successful journey to the
end of the earth, the triumph of which
was swallowed up by death in one of
its most agonizig1g forms.
Petty Officer Evans died as the re-
suit Of fall. Captain L. E. Oates,
frost-bithen until he could not pro-
free so that death might no longer
delay the rest and Scott, Wilson and
Bowers froze- to death several days
later The last entry IN the diary
were found only II miles from One
Ton depot where the expedition had
lett supplies.
Captain Scott paid a touching tri~
butte to the bravery and se1f-sacrifice
of Captain Oates. The loss of their
pony transport in March, 1911, was
the first misfortune that overlook the
explorers, causing them to get a, lat
er start for the pole than they PLAN
ned and also necessarily cutting down
the amount of supplies that they
could carry.
On the outward journey. because of
the delayed start, the expedition en-
t1>rI1 fn6I iT7r1s amt
weather and a long gale caused a
complete halt at the SS parallel. In
! the lower reaches of the glacier they
ran into heavy snow which impeded
progress, making drains supplies
and endurance for which they were
unprepared.
tions and equipment. Arrangements
for the return from the pole were
quite adequate and the explorer main
tanned that nobody would have done
different than he and his men in the
weather they encountered at that time
of the year. The biggest surprise of
the Journey came at the Barrier. The
temperature was from minus 20 TO
| minus so all the time.
Scott said he did not think human
| beings ever endured suoh a month
as they did in the four weeks before
the diary ended. When they arrived
within II miles of One Ton depot,
food for two days. Tt was then that
Oates became unable to go further
and finally walked out of the tent
into the blizzard to die.
The diary then concluded, it is be-
1ieved,> on the day Of Captain Scott's
death, with the congratulation that
| the party had proved Englishmen
| could endure hardships and meet
| death with as great bravery as ever
| in the past.
Captain Scott's last message to the
human documents in the worlds his
tory, which the freezing explorer is
believed to have finished on the day
| he died, follows:
| Message to the .pubIic-The causes
of this disaster are not due to faulty
organization but to misfortune in all
| the risks that had to be undertaken.
| ''F'irst@The loss of the pony trans
port in March, 1911, obliged me to
start later than I had intended and
| obliged the limits of the stuff trans
ported to be narrowed.
| 'tSecond-The weather throughout
! the outward journey, especially the
long gale in S3 degrees south, stopped
as; the soft snow in the lower reaches
the pace. We fought these untoward
events with will and conquered but
it ate into our provision reserve Ev-
4ery detail of food supplies, clothing
I and depots made on the interior ice
sheet and during long stretches of the
| 500 miles to the pole and back worked
'"The advance party would have re-
| turned to the glacier in fine form and
with a surplus of food but for the
astonishing failure of the man whom
we had least expected to fail.
Seaman Evans was thought to be
| the strong man of the party and
| fine weather but on our return we did
not get a single completely fine day,
and with our sick companion it was
doub1y difficult
and Evans received concussion of the
brain. He died natural death but