The final leg of Shackleton’s journey takes place over two intense days and three agonizing months. These two portions are very different: the first includes an impossibly difficult overland hike with three men on the brink of death. The other is a waiting game: of telegrams and failed attempts at rescue by boat.
In this episode we wanted to relay both of those stories to you, albeit with more emphasis on the overland trek. To that end, we wanted you to see lots of South Georgia and its landscapes to get a feel for what Shackleton, Crean and Worsley were up against.
Story pages and puzzle pages
In this episode, we mostly adhered to our normal practice of telling events as they occurred, however the keen reader will notice we skipped the overland trek almost entirely. Why? First of all, similar to “Episode 4: Five Nights of Fury” we knew that there would have been very little time or energy for journal entries during the trek. Second, we hoped to elicit some curiosity from you, the reader, about what really happened. Hopefully this inspires you to do some of your own exploration! In terms of factuality, the only minor deviation is for puzzle reasons on page 55 where McCarthy and McNeish are quoted saying clueful phrases. They did indeed work on those items, but we have no knowledge of any spoken riddles that went along with the work they performed.
ENVELOPE (Exterior)
The inspiration for the design of the exterior of the envelope comes straight from a single line in Shackleton’s “South” where he mentions “the Chilian flag and the Union Jack were draped together.” We missed it the first time, but a careful re-reading of the end of Shackleton’s voyage reveals how integral the Chilean government was to both the crew’s rescue as well as their welcome. In a time when the world was racked by a war unforeseeably deadly, here was an example of practical compassion and selfless aid. It was ultimately a Chilean vessel that Shackleton borrowed that would save his men. And no less significant was the reception that the crew received. Shackleton writes the “[Chilean] people were no less enthusiastic than the British.” Some of the crew would go on to serve in the war and would tragically die, but here - in this moment - surrounded by a foreign people, they were welcomed and celebrated. We wanted to capture that as best we could and felt side-by-side flags would have made Shackleton smile.
Envelope (interior)
In the interior of the envelope, we wanted to show you, in precise detail, the topography of South Georgia. We came close to precision in thanks to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the information they have provided through the website South Georgia GIS (https://sggis.gov.gs//). Our process was as follows:
(1) Choose a Route. There is some ambiguity exactly how and where Shackleton did cross. We chose a route that worked well with our envelope layout.
(2) Determine Dimensions. We knew we wanted to fold the envelope up at 90 degrees which meant we had a long, narrow section to work with.
(3) Create Topography. We selected a few colours in our palette that worked well and separated out the mountains and glaciers, working with a talented map maker.
(4) Simplify Where Necessary. We had to round off some edges and remove a couple aspects to make a few puzzles work, but these were very minor. What is perhaps more significant is how we moved labels for things to fit our puzzles better. For example, The Trident would have likely been labeled (and appear) further south then what you see on your envelope but we really wanted to include it!
Although we have never traversed South Georgia ourselves, we would probably bring this envelope along as we estimate it is fairly accurate! We also worked in some of the same imagery from the maps in episodes 1 and 4 for continuity.
The mountain range is not accurate. It is simply a pretty picture of mountains.
carpenter’s Adz and ice sheet
A carpenter’s adz was the single implement available to Shackleton to cut their path across South Georgia. There’s really not much more to say about this one. Is it historically accurate? In concept, yes. We don’t know what the actual adz looked like. Can you imagine using this device to chop your path across glaciers?
Sketches
While these sketches are not accurate to the actual scenes of what you would see if you stood where Shackleton, Crean and Worsley stood, they were drawn with those scenes in mind and with a study of both mountain topography as well as their specific location. We like to think they’re close!
Wild’s Note
On April 23, 1916, while the crew had a brief respite on Elephant Island, Shackleton wrote Wild a letter. He granted Wild full authority over the crew. He wrote to Wild, “I have every confidence in you... May God prosper your work and your life. You can convey my love to my people and say I tried my best.” This was a solemn and heart-wrenching moment, no doubt. Therefore, in a creative response to this exchange, we imagine Wild writing something in reply. While ours lacks the same sacredness, it works well for a summative overview of the voyage to date. The facts within? All true. The existence of this note? Fabricated; but appropriate, in our opinion.
Telegrams
Shackleton may have been an extraordinary explorer, but his writings aren’t as clear or compelling as Lansing’s “Endurance”. And since Lansing does not describe any of the telegrams other than to say he “consistently appealed” to his government, this was our creative interpretation. You’ll notice the first two are written to His Majesty at Buckingham. This is because Shackleton tells us in “South” of how he did in fact receive communication from George R I (Rex Imperator). The third and fourth telegrams are written to different governments, indicating Shackleton’s change in tactics to try and save his men since a British ship was unavailable. These telegrams are also sent from - not South Georgia as one might expect - but from Port Stanley of the Falkland Islands which is where Shackleton waited impatiently to successfully rescue his men. These telegrams are all treated with the same aesthetic as the Episode 1 telegram for consistency.
Ropes and Boot
To better traverse the icy terrain of South Georgia, Lansing describes how “McNeish busied himself fixing their boots for climbing. He had removed four dozen 2-inch screws from the Caird, and he fixed eight of them into each shoe...”. However, neither of these assets are historically real photos. There was no camera gear on this portion of the expedition, but we chose to include these shots to give you a more clear feeling of what “equipment” was available to Shackleton, Crean and Worsley on their trek across South Georgia.
Worsley’s Note
Worsley’s note is a fabrication, but it is based on the retelling that Lansing provides where Crean and Worsley apparently resisted Shackleton’s idea to sled down the glacier on a coiled rope.
Additional Photos
The photos and hand drawn map on the extended journal page 62 are unaltered from the originals that were created by Hurley and Worsley respectively. The final image is an homage to the receptivity of the Chilean people and the triumph of survival from the Imperial Antarctic Expedition.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Hurley, Frank, and George Marston. State Library - New South Wales. State Library of NSW, 1914-1917. State Library of NSW,https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/. Accessed May 2024.
- Lansing, Alfred. Endurance. Basic Books, 1959.
- Shackleton, Ernest Henry. South. The Quarto Group, 2016.
- South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands GIS. South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands GIS Portal, https://sggis.gov.gs/. Accessed 28 May 2025.
If you would like to make a comment on this Episode’s historicity, please reach out to us on social media or email us at info@theescapemail.com. Thank you!