THE PONIES BREAK DOWN 



to-morrow with 1200 lb. weight (nine weeks' provisions), 

 and we four will pull with the ponies, two on each 

 sledge. It is late now, 11 p.m., and we have just turned 

 in. We get up at 5.30 a.m. every morning. Our march 

 for the day was 15 miles 1500 yards statute. 



November 29. — Started at 8.45 a.m. with adjusted 

 loads of 630 lb. on each sledge. We harnessed up 

 ourselves, but found that the ponies would not pull 

 when we did, and as the loads came away lightly, we 

 untoggled our harness. The surface was very soft, 

 but during the morning there were occasional patches 

 of hard sastrugi, all pointing south-south-east. This 

 is the course we are now steering, as the land is trending 

 about south-east by east. During the day still more 

 great mountains appeared to the south-east, and to 

 the west we opened up several huge peaks, 10,000 to 

 15,000 ft. in height. The whole country seems to be 

 made up of range after range of mountains, one behind 

 the other. The worst feature of to-day's march was 

 the terribly soft snow in the hollows of the great undula- 

 tions we were passing. During the afternoon one place 

 was so bad that the ponies sank in right up to their 

 bellies, and we had to pull with might and main to get 

 the sledges along at all. When we began to ascend 

 the rise on the southern side of the undulation it got 

 better. The ponies were played out by 5.45 p.m., 

 especially old Quan, who nearly collapsed, not from 

 the weight of the sledge, but from the effort of lifting 

 his feet and limbs through the soft snow. The weather 

 is calm and clear, but very hot, and it is trying to man 

 and beast. We are on a short allowance of food, for 

 we must save all we can, so as to help the advance as 

 far as possible. Marshall has taken the angles of the 

 new land to-day. He does this regularly. The hypso- 

 meter readings at 1 p.m. are very high now if there is 



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