AN EXPLORER’S BOTTLED TOE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2598, 4 September 1909, Page 1 (Supplement)

AN EXPLORER’S BOTTLED TOE.

Sir Philip Brocklehurst a member of *heShalLn the Ant-"rtrct-ic has returned tr? London from the Antarctic -regions minus a big toe. The severed member, preserved in. bottle of spirits, is now rounds of the .London, hospitals, doctors gcaminihg it with 'professional interest to note the effect of frost bite on bone. ‘‘l’ve not got it,” Sir Philip said with a smile when interviewed ?fter the Savage Club dinner . “I wish I had h I can’t regain possession of my toe. Ine doctors want it for hosmtal It was during a wee/k of hard clmiD ing by the party who ascended Mount Erebus under the charge of Sir Philip that he suffered the frost bite which led ultimately to the amputation of the (‘There were six of ns in the party, he said telling the story, “and the ascent and descent of the, volcano took us just under a week. We started the climb on March 6, and_ were badr at the camp again by the Mth- Thebe ght of Mount Erebus_is 13,000 ft. Very soon after we started we had to abandon our tents and push forward, . ca J*J ing only our sleeping bags of reindeer skm (wiict have the fur inside), our food, cooking stove and utensils, ana a gallon of Oil. Each .man s load weighed about 401 b. When we were nearing the top a terrible snow blizzard came on. We could neither go forward nor retreat. All that was possible was te, seek out the most sheltered spot that was available, and lie there encas , e< our sleeping bags. The blizzard lasted for 48 hours, and dunng .all that time we were in our sleeping bags with tPe snow gradually piling up around us until we were nearly'buried. “When the ceased we tinued on our way, but the great drifts of snow rendered our passage very anncult of accomplishment. It was on the same day that we reached the summit that I found my toes frostbitten. The temperature.. at ( the time was o(J Fahr. below zero—the 'equivalent ot 62 degrees of frost. How intense was the cold may be gathered from the fact that it took half an ,hour ; to melt the 'snow to water over a stove when we were preparing our food. We arrived at' the crater in the afternoon, spent the night in the vicinity,-and started the descent next morning. . It was not until a month afterwards that my toe was amputated. The surgeon was waiting for the flesh of the foot to heal sufficiently to hold out to him hopes that ah operation; would bo sucoossful.