Journal of the lst 2 months Dec 1910, Jan 1911 of the Terra Nova expedition

[Griffith] Taylor Collection. “Journal of the lst 2 months Dec 1910, Jan 1911 of the Terra Nova expedition, some of which was published in the Melbourne Argus, and in fact he was composing this journal with that publication in mind (see p. 34).

p. 17: “Yesterday Wright and I did some German, prodding Gran when we wanted to know a queer word. He is Norwegian.”

p. 21: Tuesday 6th: “Nearly everyone on board is studying nautical almanacks and sledging tables and logs etc. I have been reading some of Hess on glaciers 9in German) and Ponting on Japan.” (Taylor also notes that he wrote six articles for the Argus which appeared in 1912.) “This morning Wilson and I had a scrap on glaciology. He follows the water erosion heresy. However I’ve lent him Dawson’s (?) essay on it. I guess he’ll soon be a concert.

p. 37 Dec 7 1910: “The Pianola is Ok but we have nor [sic] song-words for our rolls. I fear me I am delving into the library of 70 novels.”

p. 38 lists all their nicknames.

p. 39: “We must get out of the pack for unhappy is the writer who hath no history!” referring to his journal.

p. 44: 26 Dec 1910: “Have been reading a v. interesting book called Condition of Life in the Sea by Johnstone (Fisheries Lab. Liverpool, Cambridge 1908). But Taylor says nothing about it.

p. 45 After Cycle of Life [see Taylor South with Scott], he gives a long rhyme in form of prose, ending: “The protoplasm passes on its never ending round. The finish of my ditties in this very line is found.”

p. 47: Nelson [Marie Antoinette Bronte] is reactionary in his ethics. Dr. Bill has a great antipathy to H. G. Wells as a private individual and won’t have anything to do with his books, whereas I like them all and am reading them over again now.”

p. 51: “I have done 87 ½ pages of Argus stuff and propose to hand it over to Deb later on.” [Taylor was writing for an Australian paper which published quite a bit of this material.]

p. 54-55: on provisions for Western party: “This left about 4 or 5 lbs extra. So I took 1 German dic. 1 Germ geol brochure by Nussbach 1 book German verse & Tennyson. Deb takes my Browning. Autocrat at Breakfast Table and Hints to Travellors. Wright has Theory of Electrons Theory of Thermodynamics (German) Chessboard & maps of the world! Evans seemed nonplussed when I told him of our choice! He said he’d have some magazines.” (see below)

p. 74 Jan 16 1911 “Deb had an unpleasant time having a tooth out.”

This part of diary ends on p. 79. Second starting on p. 80 is called “New Zealand 1910 diary.”

p. 85 “Narrative of Western Geological Parties 1911-1912”: This was sledging trip of Griffith, Debenham, Wright, & PO Evans, to examine Dry Valleys and Koettlitz Glacier.

p. 95: “That evening we discussed literature. Evans disliked Dickens and Kipling whom Debenham and I enjoyed thoroughly. He preferred a well known foreign writer whose name he very sensibly pronounced Dum-ass. Our sledging library was quite extensive for each of us had devoted a pound of our personal allowance to books. I will give the catalogue if only as a caution to later explorers. Debenham took my Browning and the Autocrat, Evans had a William le Quex and the Red Magazine; Wright had two mathematical books, both in German. I took Debenhams Tennyson and three German books. The Red Magazine, the Autocrat and Browning were most often read; Evans contribution being an easy winner. Somehow we didn’t hanker after German.”

p. 97: “Boots” were major desideratum. “The rough scrambling on the rocks…had ruined mine completely. Deep contractions formed in the leather across the toe and behind the ankle and raised great blisters and even boils in Debenham’s case.”

“For days a loose boot nail which had accidentally been pressed into the sole when it was wet, clung like a leech.”

p. 101: A glacial stream reminds Taylor of Coleridge’s Kubla Khan: “There Alph the sacred river ran…” so them named the stream the Alph.

p. 106 has note that Griffith finished this section on 5/7/13 at Lamer, Cherry-Garrard’s home.

Part II: Geological Expedition to Granite Harbour

p. 118: “Gran was reading Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island this trip, so we named an example of polar architecture “Granite House” from that exciting melodrama.”

p. 119-120: Dec. 6: “…when I tire of writing this diary I snooze a bit, and then read Harker’s “Dendrology” (Debenham’s) and then snooze more. Or Poe’s Tales (too fantastic and oriental to please me) most of them, or Martin Chuzzlewit or German Grammar. Forde is reading the “Mysterious Island” which Gran has nearly finished at last.”

p. 131 15 Jan 1912: “Gran started a drama—a great nature play, full of storms and currents with a strong substratum of melodrama. It was called “Tangholman Lighthouse” and we used to urge him to fill it full of incident and cut out the nature part of it. I read Martin Chuzzlewit for the nth time and found it as always very interesting, while Forde tackled “Incomparable Bellairs”—a book which charmed Gran—but luckily Forde made it last a very long time.

p. 132—an Ode to Trygve Gran and his Nature play.

p. 175: Three books from the Terra Nova expedition library, plus the Martin Chuzzlewit (1880 ed) “carried by me on the Second Winter Journey” were give to the University of New England (Arindale) by Taylor when the Univ. opened its new Geography Department.

p. 227: Taylor also had an Aurora Australis which I think is also there.