The First Black Antarctica Explorer
Diary of George W. Gibbs
Note: In the early 1930's, the USS Bear was purchased by Admiral Richard Byrd, USN, the arctic explorer, for $1,050 for his Second Antarctic Expedition. Refit by 1932, it sailed in late 1933 with a volunteer crew headed for the Antarctic and reached there January 1934. It took part in the 1939-1941 US Antarctic Expedition and was back in Boston by May 1941.
Today is very beautiful. It is snowing and there are hundreds of people waving goodbye to the crew of the USS Bear, departing for the South Pole. Some were crying and some apparently happy. Up until today, I had wondered how one felt when people were asking for autographs, and newspapers were asking for pictures. En route on the first day, caught in a windstorm. – November 2, 1939
Today was another one of those rolling and rocking days. Water is coming all over the side of the ship. It is awfully hard for me to write at all tonight. The [75 huskie sled] dogs are howling as usual. – Dec 3, 1939
Today at noon, en route to Little America, we ate our first meal south of Cape Horn. If Cape Horn is as rough as this sea is tonight, I am not as anxious to go around it as I was. I can hardly write, as we are in a sea, that is a sea. If you don’t know what I mean, try breaking a wild horse in. Of course, the horse would get tired and give in, but this is getting to be a 24-hour routine. We had a heavy sleet this morning. It’s very cold and the boys are putting heavy underwear on. – Dec. 27, 1939
Anchored this morning in the Bay of Whales, digging holes in the ice with picks and shovels. This was the only way of tying the ship up along the ice… When the Bear came up to the ice close enough for me to get ashore, I was the first man aboard the ship to set foot in Little America and help tie her lines deep into the snow. I met Admiral Byrd, he shook my hand and welcomed me to Little America and for being the first Negro to set foot in Little America. – January 14, 1940
Anchored in Bay of Whales. The wind is calm today and of course it is very cold, but a beautiful day in Little America. As far as one can see is ice covered with snow, hills and high mountains of ice ridges. It is 12 o’clock midnight, the sun is very high and the wind is terrific. I walked more than two miles (3.2km) on the ice tonight, and in doing so, I went down to my waist in a crevasse, but came out okay. – Jan. 18, 1940
Today we are still underway weaving in and out of icebergs. It was really wonderful how some icebergs look apparently like houses and other shipmates see groups of people on a hill. Tonight we are anchored and tied up to an ice shelf. On this land of ice, where we are thousands of miles of ice and mountains, it’s really beautiful. Since our water supply is not any too good, Taylor and I went over the bow of the ship and jumped down on the ice. We got some snow to melt for drinking water as the ship’s water is rusty and has to be strained before it is clear. It was cold getting snow, but I enjoyed it anyhow. – Jan. 25, 1940
En route for magnetic South Pole. About half of the fellows who live on the ice came aboard the Bear to have coffee and say goodbye to us until next year as we are leaving Little America and will go by ship, as close as we can possibly get, to the magnetic South Pole. Then, Admiral Byrd plans to fly over it from the ship and explore. Also, he wants to observe why it causes the compass needlepoint to move temporarily off its course. Admiral Byrd believes in using the Bear as his base to fly back and forth. We will find the cause, thus improving the compass magnetically. – Feb. 1, 1940
En route East Base. We came within 200 miles (322km) of the Magnetic South Pole and Admiral Byrd attempted a flight over the magnetic South Pole, but consequently the wind changes too often with the westerly gales, and it is impossible without a runway and a temporary base. – Feb. 7, 1940
Laying to where Captain James Cook in 1774 discovered this bay and island including an enormous iceberg and from here made his way farther south in the Antarctic than any other person so far… It is our goal to explore farther south than he did… This latitude and longitude are very beautiful with an iceberg apparently hundreds of miles long and very blue in color. – Feb. 23, 1940
Everyone aboard the Bear worked all night last night in order to leave as early as possible for the United States via a few South American ports and Panama. The ice party was sorry to see us leave, yet as we pulled out at 23 minutes and 15 seconds after 10 o’clock this morning, they waved goodbye and smiling said we will look for you when the next Antarctic summer sets in today. We went through a small pack ice and are at present in smooth seas. This is a beautiful night with a full moon out and everyone is happy to be en route home. – March 11, 1940
En route Valparaiso S.A. Today we are all well on our way and with two-thirds of our trip behind us. We expect to arrive on Sunday April 21. Tonight finds us still with good weather although she is still rolling. Oh well, this is the Bear. There are two Naval officers aboard U.S.N. who at times make this cruise very hard for me and if it wasn’t for the Captain aboard here, I would certainly be put ashore on arrival or at least another U.S.N. ship. But for his sake and Mother’s, I will try to stick it out, at least until I get home. – April 18, 1940
At 12 o’clock today, the crew of this ship and officers were invited to a clambake, all of us aboard went to it. We left this ship in a Chilean tugboat and were taken to a beautiful island where everyone enjoyed delicious clams and other shell fish, turkey, pork sausages, fresh sheep soup and assorted wines. There were about twenty Chilean officers and sailors with us and they gave us a wonderful time. The population is 3,000 in Puerto Montt. Exports are fruit and sheep. The Chileans are very congenial people towards any nationality. – April 22, 1941
“The Call of Antarctica: Exploring and Protecting Earth's Coldest Continent” by Leilani Raashida Henry. Text copyright © 2022 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Twenty-First Century Books ™, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this text excerpt may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
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