igoa] HISTORY OF OUR DOG TEAM 345 



flexible, was liable to chafe, and when the small, sharp strands 

 stuck out at all angles it was not pleasant to handle. Finally 

 we had to revert to the single trace of rope, which was secured 

 to the harness with a hitch and to the main trace with a 

 toggle ; whilst half-way along it was a swivel, which helped to 

 counteract the constant restless twisting of the animal. 



We also had many trials to find out how the dogs should 

 be placed with regard to the sledge, finally arranging a long 

 central trace, along which they were secured in pairs. Thus 

 arranged our dog-team trailed out to rather a long procession. 

 First came the leading dog, led by one of the party ; after 

 him, two by two, the remainder of the team, the ' wheelers ' 

 being close back on the sledge. Even with this simple 

 arrangement the traces would sometimes be worked into a 

 bad tangle, which it was only possible to unravel with bare 

 fingers — a task that was not looked forward to with any 

 pleasure, especially in the early morning. In this respect 

 there is a curious habit in dogs, which appears to be some 

 survival of a remote wild age, and which most people will 

 doubtless have noticed : a dog rarely coils himself down to 

 sleep without turning round several times, as though arranging 

 some imaginary lair. However pleasing this habit may be 

 to watch on ordinary occasions, one does not contemplate 

 it with delight in a sledge dog, knowing that one will eventually 

 have to disentangle the twisted confusion that results. 



It may be of interest perhaps to explain briefly how we 

 came to be possessed of a dog-team. In the early days of 

 preparation which preceded our departure from London the 

 subject of dogs very naturally arose, and it became evident 

 that if we were to obtain a team arrangements would have 

 to be made in good time. The German expedition, which 

 was to start simultaneously with our own, had already secured 

 a team in Eastern Siberia, where, it is reported, the dogs are 

 both larger and stronger than in the West. It was too late 

 for us to copy this example, but I shortly got into com- 

 munication with an agent, Mr. Wilton, who was then in 

 Archangel, and who undertook to fulfil our requirements. At 



