222 WORST JOURNEY IN THE WORLD 
Of these ten Christopher was the only real devil with 
vice, but he was a strong pony, and it was clear that he would 
be useful if he could be managed. Bones, Snatcher, Victor 
and Snippets were all useful ponies. Michael was a highly- 
strung nice beast, but his value was doubtful; Chinaman 
was more doubtful still, and it was questionable sometimes 
whether Jehu would be able to pull anything at all. This 
leaves Nobby and Jimmy Pigg, both of which were with 
us on the Depdt Journey. Nobby was the best of the two ; 
he was the only survivor from the sea-ice disaster, and | 
am not sure that his rescue did not save the situation with 
regard to the Pole. Jimmy Pigg was wending his way 
slowly back from Corner Camp at this time and so was also 
saved. He was a weak pony but did extremely well on the 
Polar Journey. It may be coincidence that these two ponies, 
the only ponies which had gained previous sledging experi- 
ence, did better according to their strength than any of 
the others, but I am inclined to believe that their familiarity 
with the conditions on the Barrier was of great value to 
them, doing away with much useless worry and exhaustion. 
And so it will be understood with what feelings of 
anxiety any cases of injury or illness to our ponies were 
regarded. The cases of injury were few and of small im- 
portance, thanks to the care with which they were exercised 
in the dark on ice which was by no means free from in- 
equalities. Let me explain in passing that this ice is almost 
always covered by at least a thin layer of drifted snow and 
for the most part is not slippery. Every now and then there 
would be a great banging and crashing heard through the 
walls of the hut in the middle of the night. The watchman 
would run out, Oates put on his boots, Scott be audibly 
uneasy. It was generally Bones or Chinaman kicking their 
stalls, perhaps to keep themselves warm, but by the time 
the watchman had reached the stable he would be met by 
a line of sleepy faces blinking at him in the light of the 
electric torch, each saying plainly that he could not pos- 
sibly have been responsible for a breach of the peace! 
But antics might easily lead to accidents, and more 
than once a pony was found twisted up in some way 
