VARIOUS METHODS OF HAULAGE 



allowance, I may mention, was reduced very con- 

 siderably when food began to run short on the southern 

 and northern journeys, but we had no fault to find 

 with the quality of the biscuits. The addition of the 

 plasmon certainly increased their food- value. Tea and 

 cocoa were selected as our beverages for use on the 

 march. We used tea for breakfast and lunch, and 

 cocoa, which tends to produce sleepiness, for dinner 

 at night. Sugar is a very valuable heat-forming 

 substance, and our allowance of this amounted to about 

 a third of a pound for each man for a day. We also 

 took chocolate, cheese and oatmeal, so that, though 

 there was not very much variety, we felt we were 

 getting the most nutritious food possible. We had a 

 much more varied selection of foods at the winter 

 quarters, and the supplies taken on the sledging journeys 

 could be varied to some extent according to the necessities 

 of the occasion. 



In considering the various methods of haulage in 

 the Antarctic the experience of the National Antarctic 

 Expedition proved of very great value. Until the 

 Discovery wintered at the head of McMurdo Sound 

 no sledge journey had been made over the surface 

 of the Great Ice Barrier, and, indeed, when the Dis- 

 covery left England there was an idea amongst many 

 of the best authorities that very little sledging would 

 be necessary. It was thought that the main part of 

 the exploration would be undertaken by the ship 

 itself. Preparations had been made in the event of a 

 landing, and the equipment, as far as the sledges, 

 harness, and so on, were concerned, was excellent. 

 The expedition was dependent, however, on dogs for 

 haulage purposes, and the use of these animals on the 

 Barrier was not at all successful. Only twenty dogs 

 were taken with the Discovery, and the trouble they 



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