Photo made by Frederick Cook in 1898
It is a document of 16 pages written on the ship 118 years ago. Belgica had been
blocked at that time in the ice pack since the 4th of March 1898. The movement
between the glaciers was decided by the Captain Adrien de Gerlache, supported by
his second in command, Georges Lecointe, but with Roald Amundsen and Emil
Racovitza as the most fervent opponents. While Amundsen realized “immediately
the outmost danger to which de Gerlache and Lecointe exposed the entire crew”,
the Romanian naturalist thought that the captain and his second could not “take
such an important decision prior to asking each member of the expedition for an
approval vote, since it had been decided before leaving Europe not to winter with
the ship. . .”. Belgica remained captive in the ice pack for 13 months, a terrible time
for the 17 members of the crew. Scientific research continued to be made daily.
Belgica recovered its freedom on the 14th of March 1899 after the crew dug with
extraordinary efforts a channel through the ice.
Toward the end of 1898 in an attempt to maintain as much as possible the morale
of the crew Captain de Gerlache gave instructions that the ship be prepared for
sailing away. This incident occurred 2 months before the famous meeting of the
staff on the 21st of September 1898 that we will review next.
De Gerlache started the meeting by asking if anybody had a proposal to make.
As nobody reacted, the Captain communicated his campaign plan for the year
1898–1899. Arctowski and Cook asked some questions, and afterwards de Gerlache
engaged Racovitza for his opinion on the feasibility of fishing in the Belgica
channel. The naturalist answered with coldness “Yes, Captain, you can fish
anywhere. . .”.
De Gerlache’s plan was courageous: the ship would arrive in the Montevideo
harbor from which Lecointe would sail to Belgium to try and raise funds to extend
35 An Original Document About the History of the Antarctic Expedition « Belgica »
595
It is a document of 16 pages written on the ship 118 years ago. Belgica had been
blocked at that time in the ice pack since the 4th of March 1898. The movement
between the glaciers was decided by the Captain Adrien de Gerlache, supported by
his second in command, Georges Lecointe, but with Roald Amundsen and Emil
Racovitza as the most fervent opponents. While Amundsen realized “immediately
the outmost danger to which de Gerlache and Lecointe exposed the entire crew”,
the Romanian naturalist thought that the captain and his second could not “take
such an important decision prior to asking each member of the expedition for an
approval vote, since it had been decided before leaving Europe not to winter with
the ship. . .”. Belgica remained captive in the ice pack for 13 months, a terrible time
for the 17 members of the crew. Scientific research continued to be made daily.
Belgica recovered its freedom on the 14th of March 1899 after the crew dug with
extraordinary efforts a channel through the ice.
Toward the end of 1898 in an attempt to maintain as much as possible the morale
of the crew Captain de Gerlache gave instructions that the ship be prepared for
sailing away. This incident occurred 2 months before the famous meeting of the
staff on the 21st of September 1898 that we will review next.
De Gerlache started the meeting by asking if anybody had a proposal to make.
As nobody reacted, the Captain communicated his campaign plan for the year
1898–1899. Arctowski and Cook asked some questions, and afterwards de Gerlache
engaged Racovitza for his opinion on the feasibility of fishing in the Belgica
channel. The naturalist answered with coldness “Yes, Captain, you can fish
anywhere. . .”.
De Gerlache’s plan was courageous: the ship would arrive in the Montevideo
harbor from which Lecointe would sail to Belgium to try and raise funds to extend
35 An Original Document About the History of the Antarctic Expedition « Belgica »
595