i9u] MARCHING ROUTINE 165 
off the picketing rope and yoked to the sledge. Oates 
watches his animal warily, reluctant to keep such a nervous 
creature standing in the traces. If one is prompt one 
feels impatient and fretful whilst watching one's more 
tardy fellows. Wilson and Mcarcs hang about ready to 
help with odds and ends. Still wc wait : the picketing 
lines must be gathered up, a few pony putties need 
adjustment, a party has been slow striking their tent. 
With numbed fingers on our horse's bridle and the animal 
striving to turn its head from the wind one feels resentful. 
At last all is ready. One says i All right, Bowers, go 
ahead,' and Birdie leads his big animal forward, starting, 
as he continues, at a steady pace. The horses have got 
cold and at the word they are off, the Soldier's and one 
or two others with a rush. Finncsko give poor foothold 
on the slippery sastrugi, and for a minute or two drivers 
have some difficulty in maintaining the pace on their 
feet. Movement is warming, and in ten minutes the 
column has settled itself to steady marching. 
The pace is still brisk, the light bad, and at intervals 
one or another of us suddenly steps on a slippery patch 
and falls prone. These arc the only real incidents of the 
march — for the rest it passes with a steady tramp and 
slight variation of formation. The weaker ponies drop a 
bit but not far, so that they are soon up in line again 
when the first halt is made. We have come to a single halt 
in each half march. Last night it was too cold to stop 
long and a very few minutes found us on the go 
again. 
As the end of the half march approaches I get out my 
