Unfortunately, Scott's demise and that of his companions inevitably meant that he became the hero of the hour, eclipsing the phenomenal achievement of Amundsen and his team. This is compounded by Amundsen's own account of the expedition which makes the whole trip seem almost like a walk in the park and glosses over some of the more dramatic episodes, most notably the disastrous return from the abortive early start and the subsequent argument with Hjalmar Johansen and his dismissal from the polar party. There is a whole lot more to that story than is apparent in most of the better known accounts of the expedition, and Amundsen's treatment of Johansen, and Johansen's subsequent suicide after returning to Norway, has been the subject of much controversy, especially in later examinations of the affair. Many observers consider Amundsen's behaviour as overly harsh. However, Johansen's biographer, Ragnar Kvam Jr., claims that the argument between Amundsen and Johansen at the breakfast table the morning after the fateful return actually turned violent and ended in a fist-fight between Amundsen and Johansen in the vestibule of the hut at Framheim. Kvam cites Johansen's son, Per, as the source of this story, which in itself is strange, because if it is true then it goes a long way to supporting Amundsen's behaviour towards Johansen. The expedition was constituted as a maritime venture with Amundsen as Captain and the rest as crew. In that context striking a commanding officer was tantamount to mutiny, as Amundsen claimed afterwards, and under normal circumstances would result in instant dismissal. However, there was nowhere for Johansen to go, so he had to be kept on in some unofficial capacity. This also explains Amundsen's decision to put Prestrud in command of the side-expedition after breaking the party into two groups. Had Amundsen put Johansen, the much more experienced polar traveler, in command it would have meant a partial reinstatement, which was unacceptable if Amundsen was to maintain discipline. It is also telling that none of the others took Johansen's side in the dispute, not even Prestrud, whose life he had saved the day before. This is partly due to the iron discipline that Amundsen maintained over his men, which was reinforced by the one-on-one interviews that he held with each man after the fateful incident, but also, I believe, partly due to the recognition that Johansen had irrevocably stepped over the line if the story about the fist-fight is true.

There are some other little known details of the expedition, which Amundsen chose to ignore or gloss over in his account, and there was considerably more friction in the team than one would be led to believe from the official accounts. Let's not forget that Amundsen reserved the right to being the only public spokesperson for the expedition, which was enforced by the legal contract that he made each member sign before joining, and it was not until many years later that other accounts began to surface publicly. So many years after the event these other accounts went largely unnoticed and remained in relative obscurity.