hich formed our fuel, and drifted up with snow by the
blizzards, formed an extremely sheltered and even warm stable. The ponies
stood in stalls with their heads towards the hut and divided from it by a
corridor; the bars which kept them in carried also their food boxes. They
lay down very little, the ground was too cold, and Oates was of opinion
that litter would not have benefited them if we had had space in the ship
to bring it. The floor of their stall was formed of the gravel on which
the hut was built. On any future occasion it might be worth consideration
whether a flooring of wood might add to their comfort. As you walked down
this narrow passage you passed a line of heads, many of which would have
a nip at you in the semi-darkness, and at the far end Oates had rigged up
for himself a blubber stove, more elaborate than the one we had made
with the odds and ends at Hut Point, but in principle the same, in that
the fids of sealskin with the blubber attached to them were placed on a
grid, and the heat generated caused them to drop their oil on to ashes
below which formed the fire. This fire not only warmed the stable, but
melted the snow to water the ponies and heated their bran mashes. I do
not wonder that this warm companionable home appealed to their minds when
they were exercising in the cold, dark, windy sea-ice: they were always
trying to get rid of their leader, and if successful generally went
straight back to the hut. Here they would dodge their pursuers until such
time as they were sick of the game, when they quietly walked into the
stable of their own accord to be welcomed with triumphant squeals and
kickings by their companions.

I have already spoken of their exercise. Their ration during the winter
was as follows:

8 A.M. Chaff.

12 NOON. Snow. Chaff and oats or oil-cake alternate days.

5 P.M. Snow. Hot bran mash with oil-cake, or boiled oats and chaff;
finally a small quantity of hay.

In the spring they were got into condition on hard food all cold, and by
a carefully increased scale of exercise during the latter part of which
they drew sledges with very light loads.

Unfortunately I have no record as to what changes of feeding stuffs Oates
would have made if it had been possible. Certainly we should not have
brought the bales of compressed fodder, which as I have already
explained,[144] was theoretically green wheat cut young, but practically
no manner of use as a food, though