g out
of Amundsen's presence in the Antarctic," wrote the English explorer,
"but as any attempt at a race might have been fatal to our chance of
getting to the Pole at all, I decided to do exactly as I should have
done had not Amundsen been here. If he gets to the Pole he will be
bound to do it rapidly with dogs, and one foresees that success will
justify him."

Although the Norwegian explorer left his winter quarters on 8th
September for his dash to the Pole, he started too early; three of
his party had their feet frostbitten, and the dogs suffered severely,
so he turned back, and it was not till 20th October, just a week before
Scott's start, that he began in real earnest his historic journey.
He was well off for food, for whales were plentiful on the shores of
the Bay, and seals, penguins, and gulls abounded. The expedition was
well equipped, with eight explorers, four sledges, and thirteen dogs
attached to each.

"Amundsen is a splendid leader, supreme in organisation, and the
essential in Antarctic travel is to think out the difficulties before
they arise." So said those who worked with him on his most successful
journey.

Through dense fog and blinding blizzards the Norwegians now made their
way south, their Norwegian skis and sledges proving a substantial help.
The crevasses in the ice were very bad; one dog dropped in and had
to be abandoned; another day the dogs got across, but the sledge fell
in, and it was necessary to climb down the crevasse, unpack the sledge,
and pull up piece by piece till it was possible to raise the empty
sledge. So intense was the cold that the very brandy froze in the bottle
and was served out in lumps.

"It did not taste much like brandy then," said the men, "but it burnt
our throats as we sucked it."

The dogs travelled well. Each man was responsible for his own team;
he fed them and made them fond of him. Thus all through November the
Norwegians travelled south, till they reached the vast plateau
described by Shackleton. One tremendous peak, fifteen thousand feet
high, they named "Frithjof Nansen."

On 14th December they reached their goal; the weather was beautiful,
the ground perfect for sledging.

"At 3 p.m. we made halt," says Amundsen. "According to our reckoning,
we had reached our destination. All of us gathered round the colours--a
beautiful silken flag; all hands took hold of it, and, planting it
on the spot, we gave the vast plateau on which the Pole is situate