I9II] PONIES DOING EXCELLENTLY loi 



the control of the second team to Wilson. He was very eager 

 to have it and will do well I'm sure — but certainly also the dogs 

 will not pull heavy loads — 500 pounds proved a back-breaking 

 load for 1 1 dogs to-day — they brought it at a snail's pace. 

 Meares has estimated to give them two-thirds of a pound of 

 biscuit a day. I have felt sure he will find this too little. 



The ponies are doing excellently. Their loads run up to 

 800 and 900 lbs. and they make very light of them. Oates 

 said he could have gone on for some time to-night. 



Saturday, January 28. — Camp 2. The ponies went back for 

 the last load at Camp i, and I walked south to find a way 

 round the great pressure ridge. The sea ice south is covered 

 with confused irregular sastrugi well remembered from Dis- 

 covery days. The pressure ridge is new. The broken ice of 

 the ridge ended east of the spot I approached and the pressure 

 was seen only in a huge domed wave, the hollow of which on 

 my left was surrounded with a countless number of seals — 

 these lay about sleeping or apparently gambolling in the shal- 

 low water. I imagine the old ice in this hollow has gone well 

 under and that the seals have a pool above it which may be 

 warmer on such a bright day. 



It was evident that the ponies could be brought round by 

 this route, and I returned to camp to hear that one of the ponies 

 (Keohane's) had gone lame. The Soldier took a gloomy view 

 of the situation, but he is not an optimist. It looks as though 

 a tendon had been strained, but it is not at all certain. Bowers' 

 pony is also weak in the forelegs, but we knew this before : it is 

 only a question of how long he will last. The pity is that he 

 is an excellently strong pony otherwise. Atkinson has a bad 

 heel and laid up all day — his pony was tied behind another 

 sledge, and went well, a very hopeful sign. 



In the afternoon I led the ponies out 2^ miles south to 

 the crossing of the pressure ridge, then east i }i till we struck 

 the barrier edge and ascended it. Going about Yz mile in we 

 dumped the loads — the ponies sank deep just before the loads 

 were dropped, but it looked as though the softness was due to 

 some rise in the surface. 



We saw a dark object a quarter of a mile north as we 

 reached the Barrier. I walked over and found it to be the 

 tops of two tents more than half buried — Shackleton's tents 



