THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC 



gave and their eventual collapse and failure are matters 

 of common knowledge amongst those interested in 

 Antarctic exploration. The knowledge I gained of 

 the Barrier surface on that occasion suggested to me 

 the feasibility of using ponies for traction purposes, 

 for I had heard that in Siberia and Northern Manchuria 

 ponies of a peculiarly hardy and sturdy stock did 

 excellent work in hauling sledges and carrying packs 

 over snow and ice at very low temperatures and under 

 very severe weather conditions. 



It seems to be generally assumed that a Manchurian 

 pony can drag a sledge over a broken trail at the rate 

 of twenty to thirty miles a day, pulling not less than 

 twelve hundred pounds. Some authorities even put 

 the weight to be hauled at eighteen hundred pounds, 

 but this is, I think, far too heavy a load. It was a risk 

 to take ponies from the far north through the tropics 

 and then across two thousand miles of stormy sea on 

 a very small ship, but I felt that if it could be done it 

 would be well worth the trouble, for, compared with 

 the dog, the pony is a far more efficient animal, one 

 pony doing the work of at least ten dogs on the food 

 allowance for ten dogs, and travelling a longer dis- 

 tance in a day. 



We established ourselves at the winter quarters 

 with eight ponies, but unfortunately we lost four of 

 them within a month of our arrival. The loss was 

 due, in the case of three of the four, to the fact that 

 they were picketed when they first landed on sandy 

 ground, and it was not noticed that they were eating 

 the sand. I had neglected to see that the animals 

 had a supply of salt given to them, and as they found 

 a saline flavour in the volcanic sand under their feet, 

 due to the fact that the blizzards had sprayed all the 

 land near the shore with sea water, they ate it at odd 



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