THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC 



979 



DAY WITH THE MOTOR-CAR ON THE SEA ICE 



garberdine, each suit consisting of a 

 short blouse, trouser overalls, and a 

 helmet cover. 



For use in the winter quarters we took 

 four dozen Jaeger camel's-hair blankets 

 and sixteen camel's-hair triple sleeping 

 bags. 



THE MANCHURIAN PONIES 



I decided to take ponies, dogs, and a 

 motor-car to assist in hauling our sledges 

 on the long journeys that I had in view, 

 but my hopes were based mainly on the 

 ponies. Dogs had not proved satisfactory 

 on the Barrier surface, and I did not ex- 

 pect mv dogs to do as well as they actually 

 did. The use of a motor-car was an ex- 

 periment which I thought justified by my 

 experience of the character of the Bar- 

 rier surface, but I knew that it would 

 not do to place much reliance on the 

 machine in view of the uncertainty of 

 the conditions. I felt confident, however, 

 that the hardy ponies used in northern 

 China and Manchuria would be useful 

 if they could be landed on the ice in 

 good condition. 



I had seen these ponies in Shanghai, 

 and I had heard of the good work they 

 did on the Jackson-Harmsworth expedi- 

 tion. They are accustomed to hauling 

 heavy loads in a very low temperature, 

 and they are hardy, sure-footed, and 

 plucky. I noticed that they had been 

 used with success for very rough work 

 during the Russo-Japanese war, and a 

 friend who had lived in Siberia gave me 

 some more information regarding their 

 capabilities. 



I therefore got into communication 

 with the London manager of the Hong- 

 kong and Shanghai bank (Mr. C. S. 

 Addis), and he was able to secure the 

 services of a leading firm of veterinary 

 surgeons in Shanghai. A qualified man 

 went to Tientsin on my behalf, and from 

 a mob of about two thousand of the 

 ponies, brought down for sale from the 

 northern regions, he selected fifteen cf 

 the little animals for my expedition. 



The ponies chosen were all over twelve 

 years and under seventeen years in age, 

 and had spent the early part of their lives 

 in the interior of Manchuria. Thev were 



