Madhouse At The End Of The Earth: The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night - Sancton - B +

                      On August 16, 1897, the Belgica sailed from Antwerp, Belgium. The expedition's commandant was 31 year old Adrien de Gerlache. Somehow, de Gerlache convinced the state, and the Belgium Geographic Society to sponsor an expedition to find the South Magnetic Pole. With a few exceptions, he recruited a crew that could only be described as an ill-disciplined rabble. One notable exception was First Mate Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian who would conquer the pole over a decade later. The other was Dr. Frederick Cook, an American physician who had previously worked on an Arctic expedition. The sail south highlighted the problems with the crew and led to the dismissal of four Belgians at a Chilean port. On Jan. 23rd, they spotted land and began their exploration of the continent. It had been decades since any European had been this far south and the Antarctic was a blank slate. There were no charts and no one had any idea about the size or shape of the landmass. The ship's naturalist "collected specimens from 4000 species of plants, animals, fungi, algae, and diatoms, 110 of which were unknown to science." De Gerlach was determined to reach the farthest south and continued on as the days shortened and it became colder. On March 5th, the Belgica was trapped in sea ice.

                       Wintering through the polar night was a decision de Gerlach had made on his own. He did not share this with his men and none was more anxious than Cook, the only one to have experienced months of darkness.  There were 18 men aboard. They built snowbanks around the ship to provide insulation. As they moved toward 24 hours of darkness, the most difficult aspect of the crew's life was their meals. Their cook was not really a cook and offered up the same undesirable meal daily. Cook did his best to try and keep the spirits up of everyone onboard. Amundsen prospered because he knew he wanted to someday lead an expedition and spent his time learning all he could. Finally, on May 16, the sun disappeared for 70 days. The men exercised less and suffered from insomnia. In June, a twenty-eight year old Belgian died. As the ship's physician, Cook was extremely concerned and found that the absence of light was wreaking havoc on the men's health. He required those who seemed the most worn down to stand naked before a fire. Also, scurvy was setting in. Life without fresh food for months could be fatal. Cook had them eat raw penguin and seared whale blubber to keep them alive. 

                      On July 22nd, the sun returned. "With the advent of daylight, the Belgica colony churned slowly back to life." However, the men's health continued to deteriorate. Cook advised de Gerlache that no further exploration was possible. They needed to extricate themselves, or they would die. As 1898 headed toward a close, the weather warmed, but the ice did not give up the ship. The crew began to use ice saws to cut an escape path. They cut a path in early February, but the cruel ice closed up their man made canal and de Gerlach was forced to put them on half-rations. On the 12th, the ocean waves were felt for the first time in a year, the canal reopened and the ship's engines began to turn the propeller. "By the first of March, she had muscled her way to within five miles of the open ocean." On the 14th, they were free.

                        The ship arrived in Antwerp in November and the men were feted as national heroes. Although de Gerlache would make a few trips to the Arctic, his diminished health precluded long term ventures. Amundsen would use the knowledge gained on this trip to complete the first North-West Passage in an icebound ship and, more importantly, become the first to the South Pole in 1911. Cook claimed to have reached the North Pole in 1908 and was widely hailed, but he ws also questioned by many. Eventually, the exploring world turned against him.  He would ultimately go to federal prison for fraud.

                         This is superb well-written book. I have read about the expeditions of Amundsen, Shackleton and Scott, but somehow missed this first one to the Antarctic in the the 20th century. Thanks to Patrick and Jennifer Lucas for the loan of the book.