CHARCOT, Jean-Baptiste (1867-1936). Autograph letter signed ('Jean') to his sister (Madame Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau), 'Ushuwaia, Terre de Feu, République Argentine', 12 January 1904, 14 pages, 8vo (several words underlined in red and blue crayon). A fine letter from Charcot, He writes at the outset of his first expedition to Antarctica, on leaving Buenos Aires for Ano Nuevo, finishing the letter at Ushuwaia, 'la ville la plus sud du monde'. At Buenos Aires the expedition had received every assistance ('il n'y a pas d'amabilités qui n'aient été faites'). He considers how to show the expedition's appreciation, suggesting a letter from Waldeck [Rousseau], 'une petite flatterie dans une lettre de lui pour ''ce pays de progrès si ami de la France etc."' Precise instructions are given for writing to Santa Cruz and also to Buenos Aires whence letters will be relayed by whalers or other expeditions, and if there is no news of him by 1 April 1905, he recommends mounting a relief expedition under Norwegian leadership. 'Larsen est le seul ayant navigué dans les régions où nous voulons aller avec également les capitaines norvégiens Evensen et Petersen.' On no account would he accept Gerlache, declaring 's'il venait Matha et moi tout au moins sommes decidés à crever la bas plutôt que de revenir sauvés par lui'. Charcot describes his quarters, his companions and even the animals on board including the ship's mascot, 'Un petit cochon Toby Lafraque tacheté de noir et qui a déjà fait la campagne à bord de l'Uruguay....Nous avons à bord 5 chiens de Groenlande magnifique, le cochon d'Iriyan et 2 chats - Une vraie ménagerie dans laquelle nous cherchons à faire régner la concorde'. Several sombre passages emphasise his main preoccupation. 'Arriverons-nous jusqu'au bout? Le moindre accident maintenant et tout est fichu, l'honneur avec et, hélas, il faut bien l'avouer la machine est beaucoup trop faible et insuffisante à tous les points de vue. Je n'ai pas une minute sans le cauchemar d'une avarie irréparable. Ça n'est pas une vie.' Other subjects include his hopes of a reconciliation with his wife, his financial affairs which he entrusts to his sister, and his thoughts on the French press which he wishes Jaques (his nephew) to take care of through the placement of articles about the expedition. The construction of the Franais , a three-masted schooner, was completed with advice from, among others, the Belgian explorer Adrien de Gerlache. It had exhausted Charcot's considerable inheritance, and finally he was forced to equip it with a second-hand engine, the source of the problems which later befell the expedition. His original intention was to explore the waters of Greenland and the North, but the news in the spring of 1903 of the disappearance of the Swedish explorer Otto Nordenskjöld and the Antarctica inspired him instead to go South. Considerable sums were raised in Paris (particularly by the newspaper Le Matin ) to support the expedition. Its brief was to explore the west coast of Graham Land and continue to Adelaide and Alexander Islands, gathering scientific data. The Franais sailed from Le Havre on 27 August and reached Buenos Aires on 16 November 1903. Nordenskjöld, now rescued, presented Charcot with five huskies before the French left the Argentinian capital on 23 December. On 27 January 1904 they sailed from the southernmost tip of Tierra del Fuego, but on 5 February the second-hand engine began to give trouble, which persisted, and the Franais was forced to winter at Booth Island. A party including Charcot reached Petermann Island by whaleboat and, working under appallingly severe conditions, continued to Cape Tuxen and surveyed the Graham Land coast. Charcot returned to France in 1905 with an accurate map of the archipelago.
CHARCOT, Jean-Baptiste (1867-1936). Autograph letter signed ('Jean') to his sister (Madame Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau), 'Ushuwaia, Terre de Feu, République Argentine', 12 January 1904, 14 pages, 8vo (several words underlined in red and blue crayon). A fine letter from Charcot, He writes at the outset of his first expedition to Antarctica, on leaving Buenos Aires for Ano Nuevo, finishing the letter at Ushuwaia, 'la ville la plus sud du monde'. At Buenos Aires the expedition had received every assistance ('il n'y a pas d'amabilités qui n'aient été faites'). He considers how to show the expedition's appreciation, suggesting a letter from Waldeck [Rousseau], 'une petite flatterie dans une lettre de lui pour ''ce pays de progrès si ami de la France etc."' Precise instructions are given for writing to Santa Cruz and also to Buenos Aires whence letters will be relayed by whalers or other expeditions, and if there is no news of him by 1 April 1905, he recommends mounting a relief expedition under Norwegian leadership. 'Larsen est le seul ayant navigué dans les régions où nous voulons aller avec également les capitaines norvégiens Evensen et Petersen.' On no account would he accept Gerlache, declaring 's'il venait Matha et moi tout au moins sommes decidés à crever la bas plutôt que de revenir sauvés par lui'. Charcot describes his quarters, his companions and even the animals on board including the ship's mascot, 'Un petit cochon Toby Lafraque tacheté de noir et qui a déjà fait la campagne à bord de l'Uruguay....Nous avons à bord 5 chiens de Groenlande magnifique, le cochon d'Iriyan et 2 chats - Une vraie ménagerie dans laquelle nous cherchons à faire régner la concorde'. Several sombre passages emphasise his main preoccupation. 'Arriverons-nous jusqu'au bout? Le moindre accident maintenant et tout est fichu, l'honneur avec et, hélas, il faut bien l'avouer la machine est beaucoup trop faible et insuffisante à tous les points de vue. Je n'ai pas une minute sans le cauchemar d'une avarie irréparable. Ça n'est pas une vie.' Other subjects include his hopes of a reconciliation with his wife, his financial affairs which he entrusts to his sister, and his thoughts on the French press which he wishes Jaques (his nephew) to take care of through the placement of articles about the expedition. The construction of the Franais , a three-masted schooner, was completed with advice from, among others, the Belgian explorer Adrien de Gerlache. It had exhausted Charcot's considerable inheritance, and finally he was forced to equip it with a second-hand engine, the source of the problems which later befell the expedition. His original intention was to explore the waters of Greenland and the North, but the news in the spring of 1903 of the disappearance of the Swedish explorer Otto Nordenskjöld and the Antarctica inspired him instead to go South. Considerable sums were raised in Paris (particularly by the newspaper Le Matin ) to support the expedition. Its brief was to explore the west coast of Graham Land and continue to Adelaide and Alexander Islands, gathering scientific data. The Franais sailed from Le Havre on 27 August and reached Buenos Aires on 16 November 1903. Nordenskjöld, now rescued, presented Charcot with five huskies before the French left the Argentinian capital on 23 December. On 27 January 1904 they sailed from the southernmost tip of Tierra del Fuego, but on 5 February the second-hand engine began to give trouble, which persisted, and the Franais was forced to winter at Booth Island. A party including Charcot reached Petermann Island by whaleboat and, working under appallingly severe conditions, continued to Cape Tuxen and surveyed the Graham Land coast. Charcot returned to France in 1905 with an accurate map of the archipelago.
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