i 9 02] RELAY WORK 19 



of advance. With this, even, we should have been content 

 had the dogs shown their former vigour ; but now, for some 

 reason which we could not fathom, they seemed to be losing 

 all their spirit, and they made as much fuss over drawing the 

 half-load as a few days before they had done over the whole 

 one. 



On November 18 I write: 'A dull day again, but we 

 plodded on in the same monotonous style. Starting at 11 a.m., 

 we pushed on for two and a half miles by our sledge-meter, 

 with half the load, then returned for the second half; the 

 whole operation took about four hours and a half, after which 

 we had lunch and then repeated the same performance. It 

 was n p.m. before we were in our sleeping-bags, and at the 

 end of the march the dogs were practically " done." What 

 can be the cause it is almost impossible to guess. It cannot 

 be wholly the surface, though this is certainly much worse ; 

 not only is it softer, but all day long snow-crystals are falling, 

 and these loose, light crystals enormously increase the friction 

 on the runners ; nor can it be altogether the temperature, for 

 even when it falls very chill there is no sign of improvement in 

 the pace. I fear there must be another reason which is at 

 present beyond us. We gained five miles to-day, but to do it 

 we had to cover fifteen.' 



These miles to which I refer are geographical, and not 

 statute miles : in all our journeys we calculated in the former 

 unit, for ease of reference to the degrees and minutes of 

 latitude, but it must be explained that there is a considerable 

 difference in these measurements : seven geographical miles 

 are equal to a little more than eight statute. In many cases I 

 have reduced the mileage in this book to the better-known 

 statute mile for the convenience of the reader, but in some of 

 my quotations I leave the original figure unaltered; I think 

 with this explanation it will be clear when either is used. 



A word may be added concerning the sledge-meter. Our 

 engine-room staff cleverly manufactured these instruments by 

 applying the counter apparatus of some recording blocks to 

 wheels of a certain definite diameter, and thus as one of these 



C2 



