RESTIVE PONIES 
we departed again in the same order. Half-way over the 
floe my rear pony got his foreleg foul of his halter, then 
got frightened, tugged at his halter, and lifted the unladen 
sledge to which he was tied — then the halter broke and 
away he went. But by this time the damage was done. 
My pony snorted wildly and sprang forward as the sledge 
banged to the ground. I just managed to hold him till 
Oates came up, then we started again ; but lie was 
thoroughly frightened — all my blandishments failed when 
he reared and plunged a second time, and I was obliged 
to let go. He galloped back and the party dejectedly 
returned. At the camp P.O. Evans got hold of the pony, 
but in a moment it was off again, knocking Evans off 
his legs. Finally he was captured and led forth once 
more between Oates and Anton. He remained fairly 
well on the outward journey, but on the homeward 
grew restive again ; Evans, who was now leading him, 
called for Anton, and both tried to hold him, but to 
no purpose — he dashed off, upset his load, and came 
back to camp with the sledge. All these troubles arose 
after he had made three journeys without a hitch and we 
had come to regard him as a nice, placid, gritty pony. 
Now Pm afraid it will take a deal of trouble to get him 
safe again, and we have three very troublesome beasts 
instead of two. I have written this in some detail to 
show the unexpected difficulties that arise with these 
animals, and the impossibility of knowing exactly where 
one stands. The majority of our animals seem pretty 
quiet now, but any one of them may break out in this way 
if things go awry. There is no doubt that the bumping 
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