19"] THE DEATH OF ( HACKENSCHMIDT 5 231 
there had been no option but to put him out of misery- 
Anton considers the death of Hackcnschmidt to have been 
an act of i cusscdncss ' — the result of a determination to 
do no work for the Expedition ! ! Although the loss is 
serious I remember doubts which I had as to whether this 
animal could be anything but a source of trouble to us. 
He had been most difficult to handle all through, showing 
a vicious, intractable temper. I had foreseen great diffi- 
culties with him, especially during the early part of any 
journey on which he was taken, and this consideration 
softened the news of his death. The dog had been left 
behind in a very sick condition, and this loss was not a 
great surprise. 
These items were the worst of the small budget of 
news that awaited me ; for the rest, the hut arrangements 
had worked out in the most satisfactory manner possible 
and the scientific routine of observations was in full swine. 
After our primitive life at Cape Armitagc it was wonderful 
to enter the precincts of our warm, dry Cape Evans home. 
The interior space seemed palatial, the light resplendent, 
and the comfort luxurious. It was very good to cat in 
civilised fashion, to enjoy the first bath for three months, 
and have contact with clean, dry clothing. Such fleeting 
hours of comfort (for custom soon banished their delight) 
are the treasured remembrance of every Polar traveller. 
They throw into sharpest contrast the hardships of the 
past and the comforts of the present, and for the time he 
revels in the unaccustomed physical contentment that 
results. 
I was not many hours or even minutes in the hut 
