Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

Shackleton’s desire to keep the crew safe results in their marching through snow and ice for a distance of almost 200 miles over the course of five days. While previously optimistic, the crew comes to realize just how precarious their chances of survival are when they reach “Mark Time Camp” (125). They are demoralized, just as Shackleton had feared they would be. Food is beginning to run short. Orde-Lees, the storekeeper, slaughters three seals one morning while out on his skis; however, Shackleton refuses to allow a party to return to the site, in order to return the carcasses to camp, contending that there are adequate food stores. Shackleton’s decision for this is based on optimism: There will be more than sufficient stores and the party will be rescued. The men, however, doubt the competence of a leader who would make such a decision. Additionally, Shackleton demands that some of the sled dogs be shot in order to keep them from using too large a proportion of the limited stores. This creates an emotional conundrum for the crew, who have “a deep emotional attachment” to the animals, whose “devotion and loyalty to the men was above question” (130).