After the conquest of the South Pole by Amundsen, who, by a narrow
margin of days only, was in advance of the British Expedition under
Scott, there remained but one great main object of Antarctic
journeyings-the crossing of the South Polar continent from sea to sea.
When I returned from the Nimrod Expedition on which we had to turn back
from our attempt to plant the British flag on the South Pole, being
beaten by stress of circumstances within ninety-seven miles of our goal,
my mind turned to the crossing of the continent, for I was morally
certain that either Amundsen or Scott would reach the Pole on our own
route or a parallel one. After hearing of the Norwegian success I began
to make preparations to start a last great journey-so that the first
crossing of the last continent should be achieved by a British
Expedition. We failed in this object, but the story of our attempt is
the subject for the following pages, and I think that though failure in
the actual accomplishment must be recorded, there are chapters in this
book of high adventure, strenuous days, lonely nights, unique
experiences, and, above all, records of unflinching determination,
supreme loyalty, and generous self-sacrifice on the part of my men
which, even in these days that have witnessed the sacrifices of nations
and regardlessness of self on the part of individuals, still will be of
interest to readers who now turn gladly from the red horror of war and
the strain of the last five years to read, perhaps with more
understanding minds, the tale of the White Warfare of the South. The
struggles, the disappointments, and the endurance of this small party of
Britishers, hidden away for nearly two years in the fastnesses of the
Polar ice, striving to carry out the ordained task and ignorant of the
crises through which the world was passing, make a story which is unique
in the history of Antarctic exploration.
