Santa takes a break

From ca. 1900.  Via Victorianon.

Featured Pipe Smoker: Captain Robert Falcon Scott

Robert Falcon Scott (1868 - 1912)

Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman.

These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale, but surely, surely, a great rich country like ours will see that those who are dependent on us are properly provided for.

Robert Falcon Scott was a Royal Navy officer who made two expeditions into Antarctica. During the last one, he reached the South Pole, but he and his four companions died while trying to return. Their bodies were discovered several months later, and left buried beneath a cairn of snow.

The above photo was taken during that expedition in 1911.

Link:  Captain Scott's final letter revealed for the first time