The final fate of the expedition remains, despite months spent searching the island, a mystery. No trace has been found of even a single member of the nineteen man expedition. The condition of the huts, demolished as they are, indicates a catastrophe of some kind, though time and the elements have erased any evidence of what that might have been. Manning insists that it must have been a meteorological event – an unprecedented Antarctic storm of some sort – but I have my doubts.
A single photograph was found in the ruins of hut #2, a facsimile of which is reproduced above. The man is expedition leader Norman Hunt-Levy. The skeleton bears a superficial resemblance to that of a sea elephant, though certain morphological differences in the skull structure have caused much consternation amongst the zoological team. On the back is written the words “juvenile – killed by accident.”
I found this photo in my ‘reference’ folder. I have no idea where I got it from, but it seems to be from an Australian Antarctic expedition circa 1901. The skeleton is that of an elephant seal. As far as I know.
