Endurance Part IV

Perce Blackboro

As the twenty-eight men attempt to survive in the open waters, their physical conditions begin to deteriorate. The excitement many felt at the chance to sail in the waters quickly transformed to despair as rowing toward land proved harder then anything the men had previously endured. Most men were frostbitten, sore, and had not slept in days. Blackboro's feet became so cold that he could no longer feel them. This meant he may never walk again.

"He never complained, though he knew that it was only a matter of time until gangrene set in. Even if he lived, it seemed unlikely that this youngster who had stowed away a year and a half before would ever walk again."

Blackboro was the ship's stowaway. The young man snuck aboard the Endurance seeking an adventure. The unforseen disaster that was the exploration would leave him permanently disabled. Blackboro's story reminded me of another I had heard during the horrible earthquakes in Haiti. A United States student, Christa Brelsford, had her leg amputated after a house collapsed on her during an earthquake while on a volunteer trip to Haiti. Like Blackboro, Brelsford was an adventerous person, often traveling and hiking. Brelsford also did not complain about her condition, merely becoming determine to live her life to the fullest. Blackboro had the same outlook. He complained so little about this possibly life altering event, that Shackleton even forgot about the young man's feet in the excitement of landing ashore.

Elephant Island

This section also marks a turning point  in the story, as the men wash up onto land for the first time in over a year. This will no doubt be a huge milestone for the crew. It came at the perfect time, as many men seemed on the verge of giving up. Mentally, physically, and emotionally, the men are drained. Land offers the men what the floe and ship could not, stability.