Peripatectic Cats: Mrs. Chippy, Nigeraurak, and Trim

Image courtesy of Peggy Nelson’s Twitter novel Shackleton

“When Ernest Shackleton set out for Antarctica in 1914, his carpenter, Harry ‘Chippy’ McNish, brought along a tabby who was quickly named ‘Mrs. Chippy,’ though he proved to be a male. When the Endurance was crushed by pack ice, Shackleton ordered the ‘weakling’ cat to be shot, a decision for which McNish never forgave him. Cat and carpenter were reunited in 2004, when a life-size bronze statue of Mrs. Chippy was added to McNish’s grave in Wellington…"

Read the rest of the Futility Closet post here to learn about the cats Nigeraurak and Trim. An excellent little post from the Twitter novel Shackleton by artist Peggy Nelson can be found here.

I also recommend the slim volume, Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition: The Remarkable Journal of Shackleton's Polar-Bound Cat by Caroline Alexander.

Whisky found in Sir Ernest Shackleton’s hut recreated

via howtobearetronaut
“Three crates of Mackinlay’s whisky and two more of brandy were recovered last year from beneath the floor of the hut, where they had been abandoned by the unsuccessful British expedition to the South Pole in 1907-09. One case was taken to New Zealand to be carefully thawed at the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, and three of its bottles were later flown to Scotland. Now Richard Paterson, master blender at White & Mackay, which own the Mackinlay’s brand, has painstakingly recreated the original. The Glasgow-based distillery plans to produce 50,000 bottles of Shackleton's whisky at £100 a time, with 5 per cent of the sale price going to New Zealand’s Antarctic Heritage Trust, which recovered the hoard. Mr Paterson has dedicated eight weeks to blending and fine-tuning a range of malts to come up with the replica...”
Read the rest here.

Antarctica, 1911-1914

Wreck of the 'Gratitude', Macquarie Island,
1911 / Format: Silver gelatin photoprint

via Brain Pickings
“In the summer of 1911, a group of Australian scientists, adventurers and explorers set out to make history by undertaking the first Australian expedition to Antarctica, a three-year journey into the frozen unknown. Under the leadership of Dr. Douglas Mawson, they set sail for Macquarie Island and the virgin parts of Antarctica. . . ”

Read the rest, and see more images, here. More on Frank Hurley — who was also the photographer during Ernest Shackleton’s fabled Endurance expedition to Antarctica, 1914-1917 — can be found here.