使用者:SyaNHs/一個偉大的冒險家,一個值得尊敬的對手
羅伯特·法爾肯·斯科特 Robert Falcon Scott | |
---|---|
出生 | 英國樸茨茅斯 | 1868年6月6日
逝世 | 1912年3月29日 南極洲羅斯冰架 | (43歲)
教育程度 | 海軍學員培養計劃,HMS不列顛尼亞號 |
職業 | 皇家海軍軍官及南極探險家 |
配偶 | 凱瑟琳·布魯斯 |
兒女 | 彼得·斯科特爵士 |
父母 | 約翰·愛德華·斯科特及漢娜·斯科特 |
羅伯特·法爾肯·斯科特,CVO(Robert Falcon Scott,1868年6月6日—1912年3月29日),英國皇家海軍軍官以及著名的南極探險家。他曾經領導過兩次對南極的探險遠征:1901年至1904年的探索號遠征(英文:Discovery Expedition)以及於1910年至1913年所進行的他生命中最後一次探險,特拉諾瓦遠征(英文:Terra Nova Expedition)。1912年1月17日,斯科特一行五人在第二次遠征中到到了南極,但是在那裡他們發現挪威探險者羅爾德·阿蒙森已經先於他們到達南極。在沮喪的回程途中,斯科特與他的四位隊員因為疲勞,飢餓及極端天氣等問題最終於返回途中遇難身亡。
在委任負責探索號遠征之前,在那個充滿着軍階晉升競爭的維多利亞時代,斯科特只是一位遵於傳統的英國皇家海軍軍官。作為海軍軍官的斯科特只是想申請指揮皇家科考船探索號(英文:RRS Discovery),而並未對極地探索表現出什麼興趣[1]。然而,當他邁出這一步時,他的名字就同南極探索緊密的聯繫到了一起。在他生命最後的十二年中,他一直從事這項事業。
在他的死訊傳來後,斯科特成為了英國的標誌性英雄長達半個世紀,英國全境各處都能看見他的紀念雕像。在20世紀末的二十年中,坊間總是流傳着是斯科特個人的失職才導致他與隊員全軍覆沒的傳言,史上也從未有如同那個時代一樣如此對斯科特的個人能力等諸多方面進行懷疑。不過到了21世紀後,評論家們在認同斯科特的勇敢,理性且富有責任感並承認他犯下了一些錯誤的同時,還是將這次「悲劇的遠征」歸結於他們遠征隊的時運不濟。
早年
[編輯]家庭背景
[編輯]Scott was born on 6 June 1868, the third child out of six and elder son of John Edward and Hannah (née Cuming) Scott of Stoke Damerel, near Devonport, Devon. Although his father was a brewer and magistrate, there were naval and military traditions in the family, Scott's grandfather and four uncles all having served in the army or navy.[2] John Scott's prosperity came from the ownership of a small Plymouth brewery which he inherited from his father and which he subsequently sold.[3] In later years, when Scott was establishing his naval career, the family would suffer serious financial misfortune, but his early childhood years were spent in comfort.
In accordance with the family's tradition, Robert and his younger brother Archibald were predestined for careers in the armed services. Robert spent four years at a local day school before being sent to Stubbington House School, Hampshire, a cramming establishment preparing candidates for the entrance examinations to the naval training ship 「Britannia」號1820 (6) at Dartmouth. Having passed these exams Scott, aged 13, began his naval career in 1881, as a cadet.[4]
Early naval career
[編輯]In July 1883, Scott passed out of Britannia as a midshipman, seventh overall in a class of 26.[5] By October, he was en route to South Africa to join 「Boadicea」號1875 (6), the flagship of the Cape squadron, the first of several ships on which he served during his midshipman years. While stationed in St Kitts, West Indies, on 「Rover」號1874 (6), he had his first encounter with Clements Markham, then Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS), who would loom large in Scott's later career. On this occasion, 1 March 1887, Markham observed Midshipman Scott's cutter winning that morning's race across the bay. Markham's habit was to "collect" likely young naval officers with a view to their undertaking polar exploration work in the future. He was impressed by Scott's intelligence, enthusiasm and charm, and the 18-year-old midshipman was duly noted.[6]
In March 1888 Scott passed his examinations for sub-lieutenant, with four first class certificates out of five.[7] His career progressed smoothly, with service on various ships and promotion to lieutenant in 1889. In 1891, after a long spell in foreign waters, he applied for the two-year torpedo training course on 「Vernon」號shore establishment (6), an important career step. He graduated with first class certificates in both the theory and practical examinations. A small blot occurred in the summer of 1893 when, while commanding a torpedo boat, Scott ran it aground, a mishap which earned him a mild rebuke.[8]
During the research for his dual biography of Scott and Roald Amundsen,[9] polar historian Roland Huntford investigated a possible scandal in Scott's early naval career, related to the period 1889–90 when Scott was a lieutenant on 「Amphion」號1883 (6). According to Huntford, Scott "disappears from naval records" for eight months, from mid-August 1889 until 26 March 1890. Huntford hints at involvement with a married American woman, of cover-up, and protection from senior officers. Biographer David Crane reduces the missing period to eleven weeks, but is unable to clarify further. He rejects the notion of protection by senior officers on the grounds that Scott was not important or well-connected enough to warrant this. Documents that may have offered explanations are missing from Admiralty records.[10]
In 1894, while serving as torpedo officer on the depot ship 「Vulcan」號1889 (6), Scott learned of the financial calamity that had overtaken his family. John Scott, having sold the brewery and invested the proceeds unwisely, had lost all his capital and was now virtually bankrupt.[11] At the age of 63, and in poor health, he was forced to take a job as a brewery manager and move his family to Shepton Mallet, Somerset. Three years later, while Robert was serving with the Channel squadron flagship 「Majestic」號1895 (6), John Scott died of heart disease, creating a fresh family crisis.[11] Hannah Scott and her two unmarried daughters now relied entirely on the service pay of Scott and the salary of younger brother Archie, who had left the army for a higher-paid post in the colonial service. Archie's own death in the autumn of 1898, after contracting typhoid fever, meant that the whole financial responsibility for the family rested on Scott.[11]
Promotion, and the extra income this would bring, now became a matter of considerable concern to Scott.[12] Early in June 1899, while home on leave, he had a chance encounter in a London street with Clements Markham (now knighted and RGS President), and learned for the first time of an impending Antarctic expedition under the auspices of the Royal Geographical Society. It was an opportunity for early command and a chance to distinguish himself. What passed between them on this occasion is not recorded, but a few days later, on 11 June, Scott appeared at the Markham residence and volunteered to lead the expedition.[6]
Discovery Expedition 1901–1904
[編輯]![Partial view of a ship moored to a quayside. Prominent visible features are a mast with three crossbeams, two smaller masts, a funnel, a lifeboat and rigging. Packing cases are lined up on the quay, and a gangplank with "RRS Discovery" on it leads to the ship.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Discovery_Dundee_0762m.jpg/220px-Discovery_Dundee_0762m.jpg)
The British National Antarctic Expedition, later known as the Discovery Expedition, was a joint enterprise of the RGS and the Royal Society. A long-cherished dream of Markham's, it required all of his skills and cunning to bring the expedition to fruition, under naval command and largely staffed by naval personnel. Scott may not have been Markham's first choice as leader but, having decided on him, the older man's support remained constant.[13] There were committee battles over the scope of Scott's responsibilities, with the Royal Society pressing to put a scientist in charge of the expedition's programme while Scott merely commanded the ship. Eventually, however, Markham's view prevailed;[14] Scott was given overall command, and was promoted to the rank of commander[15] before Discovery sailed for the Antarctic on 31 July 1901.
Although experience of Antarctic or Arctic waters was almost entirely lacking within the 50-strong party, there was very little special training in equipment or techniques before the ship set sail.[16] Dogs were taken, as were skis, but hardly anyone knew how to use them. In Markham's view, professionalism was considered less praiseworthy than "unforced aptitude",[17] and possibly Scott was influenced by Markham's belief. In the first of the two full years which Discovery spent in the ice, this insouciance was severely tested, as the expedition struggled to meet the challenges of the unfamiliar terrain. An early attempt at ice travel resulted in the death of George Vince, who slipped over a precipice on 4 February 1902.[18]
![Wooden structure with door and two small windows. To the left is an open lean-to. In the background are partly snow-covered mountains.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Scott_hut_mcmurdo.jpg/220px-Scott_hut_mcmurdo.jpg)
The expedition had both scientific and exploration objectives; the latter included a long journey south, in the direction of the South Pole. This march, undertaken by Scott, Ernest Shackleton and Edward Wilson, took them to a latitude of 82°17'S, about 530英里(850公里) from the pole. A harrowing return journey brought about Shackleton's physical collapse and his early departure from the expedition.[19] The second year showed improvements in technique and achievement, culminating in Scott's western journey which led to the discovery of the Polar Plateau. This has been described by one writer as "one of the great polar journeys".[20] The scientific results of the expedition included important biological, zoological and geological findings.[21] Some of the meteorological and magnetic readings, however, were later criticised as amateurish and inaccurate.[22]
At the end of the expedition it took the combined efforts of two relief ships and the use of explosives to free Discovery from the ice.[23] Afterwards, Scott remained unconvinced that dogs and ski were the keys to efficient ice travel. In the following years he continued to express the British preference for man-hauling (the practice of propelling sledges by manpower, unassisted by animals),[24] a view he maintained until very late in his Antarctic career. His insistence during the expedition on Royal Navy formalities had made for uneasy relations with the merchant navy contingent, many of whom departed for home with the first relief ship in March 1903. Second-in-command Albert Armitage, a merchant officer, was offered the chance to go home on compassionate grounds, but chose to interpret the offer as a personal slight, and refused.[25] Armitage also promoted the idea that the decision to send Shackleton home on the relief ship arose from Scott's animosity rather than Shackleton's physical breakdown.[26] Although there were later tensions between Scott and Shackleton, when their polar ambitions directly clashed, in public mutual civilities were preserved;[27] Scott joined in the official receptions that greeted Shackleton on his return in 1909 after the Nimrod Expedition,[28] and the two were exchanging polite letters about their respective ambitions in 1909–10.[29]
Between expeditions
[編輯]Popular hero
[編輯]Discovery returned to Britain in September 1904. The expedition had caught the public imagination, and Scott became a popular hero. He was awarded a cluster of honours and medals, including many from overseas, and was promoted to the rank of captain.[30] He was invited to Balmoral Castle, where King Edward VII created him a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO).[31]
Scott's next few years were crowded. For more than a year he was occupied with public receptions, lectures and the writing of the expedition record, The Voyage of the Discovery. In January 1906, he resumed his full-time naval career, first as assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence at the Admiralty and, in August, as flag-captain to Rear-Admiral Sir George Egerton on 「Victorious」號1895 (6).[32] He was now moving in ever more exalted social circles – a telegram to Markham in February 1907 refers to meetings with the Queen and Crown Prince of Portugal, and a later letter home reports lunching with the Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet and Prince Heinrich of Prussia.[33]
Dispute with Shackleton
[編輯]By early 1906, Scott had sounded out the RGS about the possible funding of a future Antarctic expedition.[34] It was therefore unwelcome news to him that Ernest Shackleton had announced his own plans to travel to Discovery's old McMurdo Sound base and launch a bid for the South Pole from there.[35] Scott claimed, in the first of a series of letters to Shackleton, that the area around McMurdo was his own "field of work" to which he had prior rights until he chose to give them up, and that Shackleton should therefore work from an entirely different area.[36] In this, he was strongly supported by Discovery's former zoologist, Edward Wilson, who asserted that Scott's rights extended to the entire Ross Sea sector.[37] This Shackleton refused to concede. Finally, to end the impasse, Shackleton agreed, in a letter to Scott dated 17 May 1907, to work to the east of the 170°W meridian and therefore to avoid all the familiar Discovery ground.[36] It was a promise that, in the event, he was unable to keep after his search for alternative landing grounds proved fruitless. He based his expedition at Cape Royds in McMurdo Sound, and this breach of agreement caused a profound shift in the Scott–Shackleton relationship.[38] Historian Beau Riffenburgh states that the promise to Scott "should never ethically have been demanded", and compares Scott's intransigence on this matter unfavourably with the generous attitudes of the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen, who gave freely of his advice and expertise to all, whether they were potential rivals or not.[39]
Marriage
[編輯]Scott, who because of his Discovery fame had entered Edwardian society, first met Kathleen Bruce early in 1907, at a private luncheon party.[40] She was a sculptor, socialite and cosmopolitan who had studied under Auguste Rodin[41] and whose circle included Isadora Duncan, Picasso and Aleister Crowley.[42] Her initial meeting with Scott was brief, but when they met again later that year, the mutual attraction was obvious. A stormy courtship followed; Scott was not her only suitor – his main rival was would-be novelist Gilbert Cannan – and his absences at sea did not assist his cause.[43] However, Scott's persistence was rewarded and, on 2 September 1908, at the Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace, the wedding took place.[44] Their only child, Peter Markham Scott, was born on 14 September 1909.[45]
By this time, Scott had announced his plans for his second Antarctic expedition. Shackleton had returned, having narrowly failed to reach the Pole, and this gave Scott the impetus to proceed.[46] On 24 March 1909, he had taken the Admiralty-based appointment of naval assistant to the Second Sea Lord which placed him conveniently in London. In December he was released on half-pay, to take up the full-time command of the British Antarctic Expedition 1910, to be known as the Terra Nova Expedition from its ship, Terra Nova.[47]
Terra Nova Expedition 1910–1913
[編輯]![Map of a segment of Antarctica, identifying the polar marches of Scott and Amundsen. The track of Scott's journey shows the approximate locations of the deaths of the members of his polar party.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Antarctic_expedition_map_%28Amundsen_-_Scott%29-en.svg/250px-Antarctic_expedition_map_%28Amundsen_-_Scott%29-en.svg.png)
Preparation
[編輯]It was the expressed hope of the RGS that this expedition would be "scientific primarily, with exploration and the Pole as secondary objects"[48] but, unlike the Discovery Expedition, neither they nor the Royal Society were in charge this time. In his expedition prospectus, Scott stated that its main objective was "to reach the South Pole, and to secure for the British Empire the honour of this achievement".[48][49] Scott had, as Markham observed, been "bitten by the Pole mania".[48]
Scott did not know that he would be in a race until he received Amundsen's telegram in Melbourne, in October 1910.[50] Before this, he had set about fashioning the expedition according to his own preferences, without the restraints of a joint committee. So far as transport was concerned, he decided that dogs would be one element in a complex strategy that also involved horses and motor sledges, and much man-hauling. Scott knew nothing of horses, but felt that as they had seemingly served Shackleton well, he ought to use them.[51] Dog expert Cecil Meares was going to Siberia to select the dogs, and Scott ordered that, while he was there, he should deal with the purchase of Manchurian ponies. Meares was not an experienced horse-dealer, and the ponies he chose proved mostly of poor quality, and ill-suited to prolonged Antarctic work.[29] Meanwhile, Scott spent time in France and Norway, testing motor-sledges, and recruited Bernard Day, from Shackleton's expedition, as his motor expert.[52]
First season
[編輯]![Man sitting cross-legged at table, pipe in hand, apparently writing. Much clutter of clothing, books and equipment is in the background.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Robert_Falcon_Scott_by_Herbert_Ponting.jpg/220px-Robert_Falcon_Scott_by_Herbert_Ponting.jpg)
The expedition itself suffered a series of early misfortunes, which hampered the first season's work and impaired preparations for the main polar march. On its journey from New Zealand to the Antarctic, Terra Nova was trapped in pack ice for 20 days,[53] far longer than other ships had experienced, which meant a late-season arrival and less time for preparatory work before the Antarctic winter. One of the motor sledges was lost during its unloading from the ship, disappearing through the sea ice.[54] Deteriorating weather conditions and weak, unacclimatised ponies affected the initial depot-laying journey, so that the expedition's main supply point, One Ton Depot, was laid 35英里(56公里) north of its planned location at 80°S. Lawrence Oates, in charge of the ponies, advised Scott to kill ponies for food and advance the depot to 80°S, which Scott refused to do. Oates is reported as saying to Scott, "Sir, I’m afraid you’ll come to regret not taking my advice."[55] Six ponies died during this journey. On its return to base, the expedition learned of the presence of Amundsen, camped with his crew and a large contingent of dogs in the Bay of Whales, 200 miles (320 km) to their east.[56]
Scott refused to amend his schedule to deal with the Amundsen threat, writing, "The proper, as well as the wiser course, is for us to proceed exactly as though this had not happened".[57] While acknowledging that the Norwegian's base was closer to the pole and that his experience as a dog driver was formidable, Scott had the advantage of travelling over a known route pioneered by Shackleton. During the 1911 winter his confidence increased; On 2 August, after the return of a three-man party from their winter journey to Cape Crozier, Scott wrote, "I feel sure we are as near perfection as experience can direct".[58]
Journey to the Pole
[編輯]The march south began on 1 November 1911, a caravan of mixed transport groups (motors, dogs, horses), with loaded sledges, travelling at different rates, all designed to support a final group of four men who would make a dash for the Pole. Scott had earlier outlined his plans for the southern journey to the entire shore party,[59] without being specific about precise roles – no one knew who would form the final polar team. During the journey, Scott sent a series of conflicting orders back to base concerning the future use of the expedition's dogs, leaving it unclear whether they were to be saved for future scientific journeys or were to assist the polar party home.[60] Scott's subordinates back at base were unsure of Scott's intentions, and consequently failed to use the dogs in a concerted attempt to relieve the returning polar party when the need arose.[61]
The southbound party steadily reduced in size as successive support teams turned back. By 4 January 1912, the last two four-man groups had reached 87°34'S.[62] Scott announced his decision: five men (Scott, Edward Wilson, Henry Bowers, Lawrence Oates and Edgar Evans) would go forward, the other three (Teddy Evans, William Lashly and Tom Crean) would return. The chosen group marched on, reaching the Pole on 17 January 1912, only to find that Amundsen had preceded them by five weeks. Scott's anguish is indicated in his diary: "The worst has happened"; "All the day dreams must go"; "Great God! This is an awful place".[63]
Last march
[編輯]![Five men(three standing, two sitting on the icy ground) in heavy polar clothing. All look exhausted and unhappy. The standing men are carrying flagstaffs and a Union flag flies from a mast in the background. Scott's party at the South Pole. Left to right: Wilson; Bowers; Evans; Scott; Oates](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Scottgroup.jpg/220px-Scottgroup.jpg)
The deflated party began the 800-英里(1,300-公里) return journey on 19 January. "I'm afraid the return journey is going to be dreadfully tiring and monotonous", wrote Scott on the next day.[64] However, the party made good progress despite poor weather, and had completed the Polar Plateau stage of their journey, approximately 300 miles (500 km), by 7 February. In the following days, as the party made the 100-英里(160-公里) descent of the Beardmore Glacier, the physical condition of Edgar Evans, which Scott had noted with concern as early as 23 January, declined sharply.[65] A fall on 4 February had left Evans "dull and incapable",[66] and on 17 February, after a further fall, he died near the glacier foot.[67]
With 400 miles (670 km) still to travel across the Ross Ice Shelf, the party's prospects steadily worsened as, with deteriorating weather, frostbite, snow blindness, hunger and exhaustion, they struggled northward.[68] On 16 March, Oates, whose condition was aggravated by an old war-wound to the extent that he was barely able to walk,[69] voluntarily left the tent and walked to his death.[70] Scott wrote that Oates' last words were "I am just going outside and may be some time".[71]
After walking a further 20 miles, the three remaining men made their final camp on 19 March, 11英里(18公里) short of One Ton Depot, but 24 miles (38 km) beyond the original intended location of the depot. The next day a fierce blizzard prevented their making any progress.[72] During the next nine days, as their supplies ran out, with frozen fingers, little light, and storms still raging outside the tent, Scott wrote his final words, although he gave up his diary after 23 March, save for a final entry on 29 March, with its concluding words: "Last entry. For God's sake look after our people".[73] He left letters to Wilson's mother, Bowers' mother, a string of notables including his former commander Sir George Egerton, his own mother and his wife.[74] He also wrote his "Message To The Public", primarily a defence of the expedition's organisation and conduct in which the party's failure is adduced to weather and other misfortunes, but ending on an inspirational note, with these words:
We took risks, we knew we took them; things have come out against us, and therefore we have no cause for complaint, but bow to the will of Providence, determined still to do our best to the last ... Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale, but surely, surely, a great rich country like ours will see that those who are dependent on us are properly provided for.[75]
Scott is presumed to have died on 29 March 1912, possibly a day later. The positions of the bodies in the tent when it was discovered eight months later suggested that Scott was the last of the three to die.[76]
Reputation
[編輯]Glorification
[編輯]The bodies of Scott and his companions were discovered by a search party on 12 November 1912 and their records retrieved. Their final camp became their tomb; a high cairn of snow was erected over it, topped by a roughly fashioned cross.[77] In January 1913, before Terra Nova left for home, a large wooden cross was made by the ship's carpenters, inscribed with the names of the lost party and Tennyson's line from his poem Ulysses: "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield", and was erected as a permanent memorial on Observation Hill, overlooking Hut Point.[78]
The world was informed of the tragedy when Terra Nova reached Oamaru, New Zealand, on 10 February 1913.[79] Within days, Scott became a national icon.[80] A fierce nationalistic spirit was aroused; the London Evening News called for the story to be read to schoolchildren throughout the land,[81] to coincide with the memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral on 14 February. Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts Association, asked: "Are Britons going downhill? No! ... There is plenty of pluck and spirit left in the British after all. Captain Scott and Captain Oates have shown us that".[82] Eleven-year-old Mary Steel wrote a poem which ended:
- Though naught but a simple cross
- Now marks those heroes』 grave,
- Their names will live forever!
- Oh England, Land of the Brave![83]
The survivors of the expedition were suitably honoured on their return, with polar medals and promotions for the naval personnel. In place of the knighthood that might have been her husband's had he survived, Kathleen Scott was granted the rank and precedence of a widow of a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.[84][85] In 1922, she married Edward Hilton Young, later Lord Kennet (she becoming Lady Kennet), and remained a doughty defender of Scott's reputation until her death, aged 69, in 1947.[86]
An article in The Times, reporting on the glowing tributes paid to Scott in the New York press, claimed that both Amundsen and Shackleton were "[amazed] to hear that such a disaster could overtake a well-organized expedition".[87] On learning the details of Scott's death, Amundsen is reported as saying, "I would gladly forgo any honour or money if thereby I could have saved Scott his terrible death".[88] Scott was much the better wordsmith of the two, and the story that spread throughout the world was largely that told by him, with Amundsen's victory reduced in the eyes of many to an unsporting stratagem.[89] Even before Scott's death was known, Amundsen had been offended by what he felt was a "sneering toast"' from RGS President Lord Curzon, at a meeting held supposedly to honour the polar victor. Curzon had called for "three cheers for the dogs". According to Huntford's account, this slight caused Amundsen to resign his honorary RGS fellowship.[90][91]
The response to Scott's final plea on behalf of the dependents of the dead was enormous by the standards of the day. The Mansion House Scott Memorial Fund closed at £75,000 (2009 approximation £5.5 million). This was not equally distributed; Scott's widow, son, mother and sisters received a total of £18,000 (£1.3 million). Wilson's widow got £8,500 (£600,000) and Bowers's mother £4,500 (£330,000). Edgar Evans's widow, children and mother received £1,500 (£109,000) between them.[92][93]
In the dozen years following the disaster, more than 30 monuments and memorials were set up in Britain alone. These ranged from simple relics (Scott's sledging flag in Exeter Cathedral) to the foundation of the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge. Many more were established in other parts of the world, including a statue crafted by his widow for his New Zealand base in Christchurch.[94][95] In 1948 his final expedition was the subject of a film, Scott of the Antarctic, where he was played by John Mills as a classic "stiff upper lip" British hero. The US scientific base at the South Pole, founded in 1957, is called the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, to honour the memories of both polar pioneers. In space, asteroid 876 Scott was named after him.
Decades of storms and snow have covered the cairn and tent, which are now encased in the Ross Ice Shelf as it inches towards the Ross Sea. In 2001 glaciologist Charles Bentley estimated that the tent with the bodies was under about 75 feet (23 m) of ice and about 30 miles (48 km) from the point where they died; he speculated that in about 275 years the bodies would reach the Ross Sea, and perhaps float away inside an iceberg.[96]
Modern reaction
[編輯]Scott's reputation survived the period after World War II, beyond the 50th anniversary of his death.[97] In 1966, Reginald Pound, the first biographer given access to Scott's original sledging journal, revealed personal failings which cast a new light on Scott,[97] although Pound continued to endorse his heroism, writing of "a splendid sanity that would not be subdued".[98] Within the following decade, further books appeared, each of which to some degree challenged the prevailing public perception. The most critical of these was David Thomson's Scott's Men (1977); in Thomson's view, Scott was not a great man, "at least, not until near the end";[99] his planning is described as "haphazard" and "flawed",[100] his leadership characterized by lack of foresight.[101] Thus by the late 1970s, in Jones's words, "Scott's complex personality had been revealed and his methods questioned".[97]
![Three figures are depicted in coloured glass, standing by a cairn of snow topped by a large cross. The scene is framed by a decorative arch.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Scott_memorial_binton.jpg)
In 1979 came the most sustained attack on Scott, from Roland Huntford's dual biography Scott and Amundsen in which Scott is depicted as a "heroic bungler".[102] Huntford's thesis had an immediate impact, becoming the new orthodoxy.[103] Even Scott's heroism in the face of death is challenged; Huntford sees Scott's Message to the Public as a deceitful self-justification from a man who had led his comrades to their deaths.[97] After Huntford's book, debunking Captain Scott became commonplace; Francis Spufford, in a 1996 history not wholly antagonistic to Scott, refers to "devastating evidence of bungling",[104] concluding that "Scott doomed his companions, then covered his tracks with rhetoric".[105] Travel writer Paul Theroux summarised Scott as "confused and demoralised ... an enigma to his men, unprepared and a bungler".[106] This decline in Scott's reputation was accompanied by a corresponding rise in that of his erstwhile rival Shackleton, at first in the United States but eventually in Britain as well.[107] A 2002 nationwide poll in the United Kingdom to discover the "100 Greatest Britons" showed Shackleton in eleventh place, Scott well down the list at 54th.[107]
The early years of the 21st century have seen a shift of opinion in Scott's favour, in what cultural historian Stephanie Barczewski calls "a revision of the revisionist view".[108] Meteorologist Susan Solomon's 2001 account The Coldest March ties the fate of Scott's party to the extraordinarily adverse Barrier weather conditions of February and March 1912 rather than to personal or organizational failings, although Solomon accepts the validity of some of the criticisms of Scott.[109] In 2004 polar explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes published a biography which was a strong defence of Scott and an equally forthright rebuttal of Huntford; the book is dedicated "To the Families of the Defamed Dead".[108][110] Fiennes was later criticised by the reviewer of another book for the personal nature of his attacks on Huntford, and for his apparent assumption that his own experiences as a polar explorer gave him unique authority.[111]
In 2005 David Crane published a new Scott biography which, according to Barczewski, goes some way towards an assessment of Scott "free from the baggage of earlier interpretations".[108] What has happened to Scott's reputation, Crane argues, derives from the way the world has changed since the heroic myth was formed: "It is not that we see him differently from the way they [his contemporaries] did, but that we see him the same, and instinctively do not like it."[112] Crane's main achievement, according to Barczewski, is the restoration of Scott's humanity, "far more effectively than either Fiennes's stridency or Solomon's scientific data."[108] Daily Telegraph columnist Jasper Rees, likening the changes in explorers' reputations to climatic variations, suggests that "in the current Antarctic weather report, Scott is enjoying his first spell in the sun for twenty-five years".[113]
Notes and references
[編輯]- ^ Crane, p. 84
- ^ Crane, p. 14–15
- ^ Crane, p. 22
- ^ Fiennes, p. 17
- ^ Crane, p. 23
- ^ 6.0 6.1 Crane, p. 82
- ^ Crane, p. 34
- ^ Crane, p.50
- ^ Scott and Amundsen, later republished as The Last Place On Earth. See Sources section.
- ^ Huntford, pp. 121–23, and Crane, footnote pp. 39–40
- ^ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Fiennes, p. 21 引用錯誤:帶有name屬性「Fiennes_21–23」的
<ref>
標籤用不同內容定義了多次 - ^ Crane, p. 59
- ^ Crane, p. 90
- ^ Preston. pp. 28–29
- ^ Crane, p. 63
- ^ Scott, Voyage of the Discovery Vol I p. 170: "Our ignorance was deplorable"
- ^ Huntford, Shackleton, p. 134
- ^ Crane, pp. 161–167
- ^ Preston, p. 60–67
- ^ Crane, p. 270
- ^ Fiennes, p. 148
- ^ Huntford, pp. 229–30, Crane, pp. 392–93
- ^ Preston, pp. 78–79
- ^ Jones, p. 71, quoting from The Voyage of the Discovery
- ^ Preston, pp. 67–68
- ^ Crane, pp. 240–41
- ^ Crane, p. 310
- ^ Crane, p. 396–97
- ^ 29.0 29.1 Preston, p. 113
- ^ Crane, p. 309
- ^ Preston, pp. 83–84
- ^ Preston, p. 86
- ^ Crane, p. 334. The telegram related to a collision involving Scott's ship, 「Albemarle」號1901 (6). Scott was cleared of blame.
- ^ Preston, p. 87
- ^ Shackleton publicly announced his plans to the RGS on 7 February 1907. Scott had enjoined RGS Secretary Keltie to secrecy about his own intentions. Crane, p. 335
- ^ 36.0 36.1 Crane, p. 335 引用錯誤:帶有name屬性「Crane_335-341」的
<ref>
標籤用不同內容定義了多次 - ^ Riffenburgh, pp. 113–14
- ^ Preston, p. 89
- ^ Riffenburgh, p. 118
- ^ Crane, p. 344
- ^ Preston, p. 94
- ^ Crane, p. 350
- ^ Crane, pp. 362–66
- ^ Crane, pp. 373–74
- ^ Crane, p. 387
- ^ Preston, pp. 100–01
- ^ Fiennes, p. 161
- ^ 48.0 48.1 48.2 Crane, pp. 397–99
- ^ In the film Ninety Degrees South, the narrator H. G. Ponting says that Scott set out from the London docks with "enthusiasm for achievement for the honour of his country."
- ^ Crane, pp. 425–28
- ^ Preston, p. 107. Also Crane, pp. 432–33
- ^ Preston, p. 112
- ^ Huxley, Vol I pp. 30–71
- ^ Huxley, Vol I pp. 106–07
- ^ Crane, p.466.
- ^ Huxley, Vol I pp. 187–88
- ^ Huxley, Vol I, pp. 187–88
- ^ Huxley, Vol I, p. 369
- ^ Huxley, Vol I, p. 407
- ^ Cherry-Garrard, pp. 30–32
- ^ See Atkinson's account in L. Huxley, Vol II, pp. 298–306
- ^ Huxley, Vol I, p. 528
- ^ Huxley, Vol I, pp. 543–44
- ^ Huxley, Vol I, p. 548
- ^ Huxley, Vol I, p. 551
- ^ Huxley, Vol I, p. 560
- ^ Huxley, Vol I, pp. 572–73
- ^ Huxley, Vol I pp. 574–80
- ^ Huxley, Vol I, p. 589: "Titus Oates is very near the end" – Scott diary entry, 11 March 1912
- ^ Huxley, Vol I, pp. 591–92
- ^ Huxley, Vol I p. 592
- ^ Huxley, Vol I p. 594
- ^ Huxley, p. 595
- ^ Huxley, Vol I pp. 597–604
- ^ From "Scott's Message to the Public", Huxley, Vol I pp. 605–07
- ^ Huxley, Vol I p. 596, Jones, p. 126. Huntford says (p. 509) that Bowers was probably the last to die, citing evidence on p. 528.
- ^ Huxley, Vol II, pp. 345–47
- ^ Huxley, Vol II, p. 398
- ^ Crane, pp. 1–2
- ^ Preston, p. 230
- ^ Jones, pp. 199–201
- ^ Jones, p. 204
- ^ Jones, p. 205–06
- ^ Preston, p. 231
- ^ This honour did not entitle Kathleen Scott to call herself "Lady Scott". Although both Fiennes, p. 383, and Huntford, p. 523, refer to her as "Lady Scott", this is not in accordance with The Times announcement, 22 February 1913
- ^ Preston, p. 232
- ^ Unattributed. The Polar Disaster. Captain Scott's Career., Naval Officer And Explorer.. The Times. 1913-02-11: 10.
- ^ Huntford, p. 525
- ^ Amundsen, publisher's note, 1976 edition.
- ^ Huntford, p. 538
- ^ Jones, p. 90
- ^ Jones, pp. 106–108. £34,000 (2009 = £2.5m) in total went to relatives, £17,500 (£1.2 million) to the publication of the scientific results, £5,100 (£370,000) to meet expedition debts, and the balance to the creation of suitable monuments and memorials.
- ^ All present-day values calculated on RPI basis per Measuringworth Five Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a UK Pound Amount, 1830 to Present. MeasuringWorth.com. [14 October 2010].
- ^ See Jones, p. 295–96 for a full listing of British memorials.
- ^ Captain Scott Memorial. New Zealand Historic Places Trust. [11 March 2011].
- ^ Williams, Jack. Heroic age still lives in Antarctica. USA Today. 16 January 2001 [24 February 2011].
- ^ 97.0 97.1 97.2 97.3 Jones, pp. 287–89
- ^ Pound, pp. 285–86
- ^ Thomson, Preface, p. xiii
- ^ Thomson, p. 153 and p. 218
- ^ Thomson, p. 233
- ^ Huntford, p. 527
- ^ Jones, p. 8
- ^ Spufford, p. 5
- ^ Spufford, pp. 104–05
- ^ Quoted in Barczewski, p. 260
- ^ 107.0 107.1 Barczewski, p. 283
- ^ 108.0 108.1 108.2 108.3 Barczewski, pp. 305–311
- ^ Solomon, pp. 309–327; see also Barczewski, p. 306
- ^ Fiennes's book was published in the United States as Race to the Pole: Tragedy, Heroism and Scott's Antarctic Quest. Barczewski, p. 378.
- ^ Dore, Jonathan. Crucible of Ice. New York Times. 3 December 2006 [14 April 2009].
- ^ Crane, p. 11
- ^ Rees, Jasper. Ice in our Hearts. Daily Telegraph (London). 18 December 2004 [14 April 2009].
Sources
[編輯]Books
[編輯]- Amundsen, Roald. The South Pole. London: C. Hurst & Company. 1976. ISBN 0-903983-47-8. 已忽略未知參數
|red=
(幫助) - Barczewski, Stephanie. Antarctic Destinies: Scott, Shackleton and the Changing Face of Heroism. London: Hembledon Continuum. 2007. ISBN 976 1 84725 192 3 請檢查
|isbn=
值 (幫助). - Cherry-Garrard, Apsley. The Worst Journey in the World: Antarctic 1910–13 1965. Harmondsworth, Middlesex (UK): Penguin Travel Library. 1970. ISBN 0 14 009501 2. OCLC 16589938.
- Crane, David. Scott of the Antarctic: A Life of Courage, and Tragedy in the Extreme South. London: HarperCollins. 2005. ISBN 978 0 00 715068 7. OCLC 60793758.
- Fiennes, Ranulph. Captain Scott. London: Hodder & Stoughton. 2003. ISBN 0 340 82697 5. OCLC 52695234.
- Huntford, Roland. The Last Place on Earth. London: =Pan Books. 1985. ISBN 0 330 82697 5 請檢查
|isbn=
值 (幫助). OCLC 12976972. - Huntford, Roland. Shackleton. London: Hodder & Stoughton. 1985. ISBN 0 340 25007 0. OCLC 13108800.
- Huxley, Leonard (編). Scott's Last Expedition Vols I and II. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1913. OCLC 1522514.
- Jones, Max. The Last Great Quest: Captain Scott's Antarctic Sacrifice. Oxford (UK): Oxford University Press. 2003. ISBN 0 19 280483 9. OCLC 59303598.
- Pound, Reginald. Scott of the Antarctic. London: Cassell & Company. 1966. 已忽略未知參數
|reg=
(幫助) - Preston, Diana. A First Rate Tragedy: Captain Scott's Antarctic Expeditions paperback. London: Constable. 1999. ISBN 0 09 479530 4. OCLC 59395617.
- Riffenburgh, Beau. Nimrod: Ernest Shackleton and the Extraordinary Story of the 1907–09 British Antarctic Expedition paperback. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. 2005. ISBN 0 7475 7553 4 請檢查
|isbn=
值 (幫助). OCLC 56659120. - Solomon, Susan. The Coldest March: Scott's Fatal Antarctic Expedition. London: Yale University Press. 2001. ISBN 0300089678. OCLC 45661501.
- Spufford, Francis. I May Be Some Time: Ice and the English Imagination paperback. London: Faber & Faber. 1997. ISBN 0 571 17951 7. OCLC 41314703.
- Thomson, David. Scott's Men. London: Allen Lane. 1977. ISBN 0 7139 1034 8.
Online
[編輯]- Dore, Jonathan. Crucible of Ice. New York Times. 3 December 2006 [14 April 2009].
- Rees, Jasper. Ice in our Hearts. Daily Telegraph (London). 18 December 2004 [14 April 200].
Further reading
[編輯]- Caesar, Adrian:The White: Last Days in the Antarctic Journeys of Scott and Mawson 1911–1913 Pan MacMillan, Sydney, 1999, ISBN 0 330 36157 0
- Huxley, Elspeth: Scott of the Antarctic Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1977 ISBN 0297774376 OCLC 3618208
- Tally, Ted: Terra Nova: a play, Dramatist's Play Service, 1998
External links
[編輯]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Scott's original expedition diaries Read digital copies online using the British Library's Turning the Pages system.
- Scott of the Antarctic Original reports from The Times
- Dennis Rawlins (2002), "Scott's Navigational Math", DIO, volume 2, number 2, pages 74ff. (Refutes the charges that Scott's navigation was inferior to or essentially differed from Amundsen's.)
- The Voyages of Captain Scott - 古騰堡計劃
- Letter from Scott to his wife
- British Services Antarctic Expedition 2012 - In the Spirit of Scott
- 1868 births
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- Anglo-Scots
- English explorers
- Explorers of Antarctica
- Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order
- Recipients of the Polar Medal
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- Antarctic expedition deaths
- Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
- People of the Victorian era
- People of the Edwardian era
- Recipients of the Cullum Geographical Medal