Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance

Endurance spends the rest of the month of December making its way through ice. The crew is entertained by the whales, penguins, petrels, and albatrosses that surround them, as well as the animals on board the ship, including Mrs. Chippy, the sled dogs, rats, mice, and two pigs for a future roast. Their progress is slow, and they are behind Shackleton’s schedule to reach Antarctica by the end of December. At Christmas, they have not yet crossed the Antarctic Circle. They continue to move slowly southward across the Weddell Sea, sometimes sailing north when the ice is impossible to pass. The sun is always out, and mirages constantly form, making it difficult to determine if an iceberg is real or “phantom.” Knowing the difference is essential as the ship passes several hundred icebergs a day.

On New Year’s Eve, Endurance finally crosses the Antarctic Circle, and the crew celebrates by singing “Auld Lang Syne” as the dogs howl along with them. However, the ice becomes even thicker, and open water remains elusive. On days when they are unable to make any progress, Shackleton secures Endurance to an iceberg or floe so the crew and dogs can get some exercise. They generally play hockey or soccer. The men must remain cautious of the killer whales circling the waters around them. The whales attack through the ice from below and can just as easily grab a man instead of a seal.

At one point when they are on a floe, they decide to test the motor sledge after joking around and pretending it is an ice cream wagon. They find it “awkward and impractical” and decide never to use it again (22). The weather remains bleak a few weeks into January, and on the 19th, “the fist of Antarctica closed around the ship” (22). After sailing 12,000 miles and plowing through 1,000 miles of ice, they are surrounded by an enormous ice pack. Although they have less than 100 miles to Antarctica, they will never reach it. 

Once the ship is enclosed by ice, the crew has nothing to do but wait. They keep busy with work and activities. Frank Hurley takes pictures, and Charles Green, the cook, makes food for everyone. The scientists continue their experiments, and physicist Reginald James toys with the radio, although it barely picks up any signals. Meteorologist Leonard Hussey takes readings of the weather as the summer comes to an end. On February 17, the sun sets “below the horizon at midnight for the first time” (24), which means fall and winter are fast approaching.

Shackleton is nervous that they may end up spending winter on the ship. At first, he does not give up hope. He regularly looks out for open water and keeps the engines fired up so they can make a break from the ice at any time. However, by March 16, he resigns himself to the fact that they will have to wait for spring to reach the continent. Shackleton’s main concerns are that they may drift off course, as the ice they are trapped in continues to move, and that they may suffer from extreme boredom. Fortunately, they need to hunt regularly to keep a fresh supply of meat. Although many of the animals begin migrating north towards the end of the month, the population of seals continues to provide an easy source of meat. They are one of the easier animals to kill since they are not afraid of humans. The crew can “ski or walk up to the trusting animals and club them to death” (27).  

The crew brings the seals back to the ship using dogsleds. They find that the dogs are “the most dependable source of entertainment” (28). They build “dogloos,” which are small shelters for the dogs made of snow and sealskin roofs. The dogloos, built outside, become increasingly more elaborate as the weeks pass, with “church spires, minarets, porches, and domes” (28). They name the area “Dog Town,” and many of the dogs prefer to stay there and sleep in their dogloos rather than in the kennel. On June 15, the crew holds a dog-sled racing competition among the six drivers of the dog sled teams that are planned for their trek across Antarctica. They call the race, which takes place on a 700-yard course, the “Antarctic Dog Derby” (29). Frank Wild and his dog team win the race.

The crew becomes anxious when 14 dogs suddenly die. After performing autopsies, the two doctors—Alexander Macklin and James McIlroy—find they had worms. Despite the loss, some of the dogs have puppies, which a few of the men adopt as pets. The puppies are unfit to pull sleds, despite attempts to get them to do so, and are kept on board with the crew. The men become very attached to the puppies and sled dogs, sometimes even sleeping in the dogloos with them.

Although the dogs fight with each other constantly, the crew members generally do not. With Shackleton as their leader, men from vastly different backgrounds are able to put aside their differences. To prevent them from getting cabin fever during the many weeks stuck in ice, Shackleton maintains a strict routine. The crew members are regularly weighed to make sure they are eating the appropriate amount. They play games, read aloud, give lectures, and hold mock trials. On June 22, Midwinter’s Day, they throw “a raucous party” (37). Strict mealtimes are kept, and chores are regularly done between meals. Occasionally the men venture off the ship to get some air despite the freezing cold temperatures. The ship continues to drift north with the ice pack.