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John Huth wrote-

I do have one very specific question.   I'm writing up a chapter on dead
reckoning.    There is a quote from Robert Falcon Scott that I'd like to pin
down, and I haven't been able to dig it up.    In the 1980's Roland Huntford
wrote a book, called "The Last Place on Earth", and also a follow on called
"Amundsen and Scott".    The Last Place on Earth appeared in a Masterpiece
Theater series.

Here's what I'm interested in - during the publication of Scott's diaries,
there was a number of excisions, which, presumably were done to increase the
heroism of Scott.   In the last episode of the Masterpiece Theater series,
there is a line by a character that I assume was supposed to be Sir Clements
Markham, where he proposed to remove a phrase like "We should have kept the
bearings of our outward camps" ..... or something like that.   I'd actually
quoted that to my students, but I realize now that this could have been made
up for the series.   I was hoping that someone might know if there existed a
listing of the excised passages from Scott's diary, or if someone was aware
of this particular quote, before I commit it to print.

=======================

John should beware of giving serious credence to words spoken in any
"dramatic reconstruction".

Huntford's book "Amundsen and Scott", gives Scott's Diaries as one of his
sources. These appear to be held in the British Library as additional
manuscripts 51026 to 51041, of which the bit he is probably interested in,
the sledging diary from Nov 1911 to Mar 1912, is vol.6, manuscripts 51033-5.
These have been reproduced in facsimile by University Microfilms in 1968,
but presumably never published in book form. John may need to seek a copy of
that microfilm at an academic library. I know that a copy is held off-site
by the Bodleian in Oxford, from whose catalogue I've gleaned this
information. I imagine that the Scott Polar Research institute in Cambridge
would also hold such information, but their archives are currently closed
until end-July, when a major reconstruction job will be completed. They can
be contacted at- library@spri.cam.ac.uk

But it would help if John were more specific about the part of the journey
he is speaking of. What bearings were being referred to? Much of the travel,
over the ice shelf and on the polar plateau, covered featureless ground
where the were no landmarks to take bearings to, and the only bearings would
be astronomical or magnetic. Things were different on the Beardmore Glacier,
between mountain peaks. Huntford mentions, in "Amundsen and Scott", page
520, that during the descent of the Beardmore, "Scott had lost his way. He
had not marked the route through the labyrinth of crevasses on the way up;
nor, as he now belatedly regretted, had he kept any bearings to help him
find safety,"

Scott's own journal, in "Scott's last expedition", was published from his
diaries found in the camp where the expedition died. My copy is of the cheap
John Murray one-volume edition of 1923, which omits the reports of the
scientific work that comprised volume 2 of the original edition. On page 443
is an account of their unsuccessful attempts, on Feb 12, to find their
mid-glacier depot, ending with [At this point the bearings of the
mid-glacier depot are given, but need not be quoted.]

Is this the passage that John is referring to? In which case I'm at a loss
to understand his comment about the excision being made "to increase the
heroism of Scott". According to Huntford, Scott was incompetent at many
levels, and to me, that assessment seems convincing. Certainly, navigation
doesn't seem to have been his strong point. Markham wrote the preface to
Scott's journals, but I wonder whether the TV programme that John saw was
building up some case, for dramatic effect. Such things have happened
before. As I didn't see it, I can only guess.

John could answer his own question by comparing the published account with
the microfilmed manuscript, which would tell him exactly what had been
excluded.

George.

contact George Huxtable, at  george@hux.me.uk
or at +44 1865 820222 (from UK, 01865 820222)
or at 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK.
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