108 ON THE WAY TO THE SOUTH 



As everyone knows, all these predictions were very 

 far from being fulfilled; the exact opposite happened. 

 Since then I expect most of us who made the trip have 

 been asked the question Was not that voyage to the 

 South an excessively wearisome and tedious business? 

 Didn't you get sick of all those dogs? How on earth 

 did you manage to keep them alive? 



It goes without saying that a five months' voyage 

 in such waters as we were navigating must necessarily 

 present a good deal of monotony ; how much will depend 

 on what resources one has for providing occupation. 

 In this respect we had in these very dogs just what was 

 wanted. No doubt it was work that very often called 

 for the exercise of patience; nevertheless, like any other 

 work, it furnished diversion and amusement, and so 

 much the more since we here had to deal with living 

 creatures that had sense enough fully to appreciate and 

 reciprocate in their own way any advance that was 

 made to them. 



From the very first I tried in every way to insist upon 

 the paramount importance to our whole enterprise of 

 getting our draught animals successfuly conveyed to 

 our destination. If we had any watchword at this time 

 it was: " Dogs first, and dogs all the time." The result 

 speaks best for the way in which this watchword was 

 followed. The following was the arrangement we made : 

 The dogs, who at first were always tied up on the same 

 spot, were divided into parties of ten ; to each party one 



