SUPERIORITY OF DOGS 59 



Our dogs lived on dog's flesh and pemmican the whole 

 way, and this enabled them to do splendid work. 



And if we ourselves wanted a piece of fresh meat we 

 could cut off a delicate little fillet; it tasted to us as 

 good as the best beef. The dogs do not object at all; 

 as long as they get their share they do not mind what 

 part of their comrade's carcass it comes from. All that 

 was left after one of these canine meals was the teeth of 

 the victim and if it had been a really hard day, these 

 also disappeared. 



If we take a step farther, from the Barrier to the 

 plateau, it would seem that every doubt of the dog's 

 superiority must disappear. Not only can one get the 

 dogs up over the huge glaciers that lead to the plateau, 

 but one can make full use of them the whole way. 

 Ponies, on the other hand, have to be left at the foot of 

 the glacier, while the men themselves have the doubtful 

 pleasure of acting as ponies. As I understand Shackle- 

 ton's account, there can be no question of hauling the 

 ponies over the steep and crevassed glaciers. It must 

 be rather hard to have to abandon one's motive power 

 voluntarily when only a quarter of the distance has 

 been covered. I for my part prefer to use it all 

 the way. 



From the very beginning I saw that the first part of 

 our expedition, from Norway to the Barrier, would be 

 the most dangerous section. If we could only reach 

 the Barrier with our dogs safe and well, the future 



