334 WORST JOURNEY IN THE WORLD 



animals ; he has been expecting it daily. On the other 

 hand, Atkinson and Oates are eager to get the poor animal 

 beyond the point at which Shackleton killed his first beast. 

 Reports on Chinaman are very favourable, and it really 

 looks as though the ponies are going to do what is hoped 

 of them." *■ From first to last Nobby, who was rescued 

 from the floe, was the strongest pony we had, and was now 

 drawing a heavier load than any other pony by 50 lbs. He 

 was a well-shaped, contented kind of animal, misnamed 

 a pony. Indeed several of our beasts were too large to fit 

 this description. Christopher, of course, was wearing him- 

 self out quicker than most, but all of them had lost a lot of 

 weight in spite of the fact that they had all the oats and 

 oil-cake they could eat. Bowers writes of his pony: 



"Victor, my pony, has taken to leading the line, like 

 his opposite number last season. He is a steady goer, and 

 as gentle as a dear old sheep. I can hardly realize the 

 strenuous times I had with him only a month ago, when it 

 took about four of us to get him harnessed to a sledge, and 

 two of us every time with all our strength to keep him 

 from bolting when in it. Even at the start of the journey 

 he was as nearly unmanageable as any beast could be, and 

 always liable to bolt from sheer excess of spirits. He is 

 more sober now after three weeks of featureless Barrier, 

 but I think I am more fond of him than ever. He has lost 

 his rotundity, like all the other horses, and is a long-legged, 

 angular beast, very ugly as horses go, but still I would not 

 change him for any other." 



The ponies were fed by their leaders at the lunch 

 and supper halts, and by Oates and Bowers during the 

 sleep halt about four hours before we marched. Several 

 of them developed a troublesome habit of swinging their 

 nosebags off", some as soon as they were put on, others in 

 their anxiety to reach the corn still left uneaten in the 

 bottom of the bag. We had to lash their bags on to their 

 headstalls. "Victor got hold of his head rope yesterday, 

 and devoured it : not because he is hungry, as he won't eat 

 all his allowance even now." 2 



1 Scott's Last Expedition, vol. i. pp. 470, 471. 2 Bowers. 



