Chapter Ctoo 



THE STAFF 



HPHE personnel of an expedition of the character I pro- 

 A posed is a factor on which success depends to a very- 

 large extent. The men selected must be qualified for 

 the work, and they must also have the special qualifica- 

 tions required to meet polar conditions. They must 

 be able to live together in harmony for a long period 

 without outside commmunication, and it must be re- 

 membered that the men whose desires lead them to 

 the untrodden paths of the world have generally 

 marked individuality. It was no easy matter for me 

 to select the staff, although over four hundred applica- 

 tions arrived from persons wishing to join the expedition. 

 I wanted to have two surgeons with the shore-party, 

 and also to have a thoroughly capable biologist and 

 geologist, for the study of these two branches of 

 science in the Antarctic seemed to me to be of 

 especial importance. After much consideration I 

 selected eleven men for the shore-party. Three of 

 them only, Adams, Wild and Joyce, had been known 

 to me previously, while only Wild and Joyce had 

 previous experience of polar work, having been 

 members of the Discovery expedition. Every man, 

 however, was highly recommended, and this was 

 the case also with the officers whom I selected 

 for the Nimrod. The names of the men appointed 

 with their particular branches of work, were as 

 follows : 



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