Letters that spell polar adventure
WHEN Robert Mossman left his life as an Edinburgh scientist behind to sail to the end of the Earth on the historic Scottish Antarctic expedition he could hardly have i magined the i ncredible sights that would await him.
But he meticulously recorded the marvels of flying fish that landed on the deck of the ship, the harpooning of a giant sunfish and the antics of penguins which were the crew’s constant companions during nearly eight months marooned in the ice.
And now a scrapbook of 17 letters charting his life on the expedition from 1902 to 1905 is set to fetch up to £3,000 at auction this week.
Mossman was a 32-year-old meteorologist on board the Scotia, a refurbished whaling vessel, on the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, led by natural scientist William Speirs Bruce. He sent the letters to his father and another relation, Isabella, between 1902 and 1905.
They describe his fellow crewmen, and their experiences ranging from Christmas dinners on the ship to sailing through shark-infested waters and encounters with extraordinary wildlife including a sea elephant seal.
The scrapbook of letters, photos and clippings will be auctioned by Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh on Wednesday.
Cathy Marsden, the company’s book specialist, said yesterday that Moss- man’s correspondence recounted the story of the expedition ‘in a very personal manner’.
She added: ‘Robert Mossman was one of the six scientific personnel on board the ship and was the appointed meteorologist and expert in magnetics. His letters to his father and Isabella give an excellent impression of his journey.
‘He describes flying fish landing on deck near the Cape Verde Islands, shark-infested waters before reaching Port Stanley, Christmas dinner on board the ship and being “frozen in” at Laurie Island for nearly eight months.’
The expedition set up the Orcadas del Sud manned meteorological station in April 1903 on Laurie Island in the South Orkneys on the north-east tip of the Antarctic Peninsula which has been in operation ever since.