1876 SLEDGES. 307 



through them. The heavy eight-man sledges stood the 

 great strain in what would be a surprising manner 

 even to the carpenters who made them. The sailors 

 are even beginning to think that now with the pliable 

 uprights it is impossible to break them. They are 

 certainly a great triumph of ingenious workmanship, 

 but the small sledges are far too slight for our work ; 

 indeed, they were never intended for it ; even Sir 

 Leopold M'Clintock never expected that we should 

 have to travel over such heavy ice. They are 

 broken by sliding too quickly down an inclined hum- 

 mock or sastrugi, and striking the front horns against 

 the next ridges, the weight of the cargo acting like 

 a battering ram. The drag ropes reversed would of 

 course enable the sledge to be eased down ; but in 

 misty weather the snow-road is so deceptive that the 

 crew do not become aware of the declivity until they 

 have floundered to the bottom of it themselves, it- 

 is as much as they can do to escape out of the way of 

 the descending sledge; fortunately at the bottom of 

 most of the inclines there is usually soft snow in 

 which it buries itself and so generally escapes. The 

 eight-man sledges being longer and stronger are better 

 fitted for the rough work than the smaller ones. 



4 The sledge which has been to the " Discovery " 

 and also to Greenland and back this season, after all 

 the perils and numerous capsizes it has gone through 

 without being much damaged, is naturally a favourite 

 one with both Egerton and Lieut. Eawson. Many jokes 

 are made that the latter broke his own before starting 

 on his long journey on purpose to obtain Egerton's well- 

 tried one. If so, he was successful, for while Egerton 



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