straps.................. 55 lb. 0 oz.
A third sledge, 12 ft. long and strong rope lashings (spare spars
mentioned elsewhere acting as decking)........ 60 lb. 0 oz.

Fuel: Kerosene, 6 gallons in one-gallon tins..... 60 lb. 0 oz.

Food: Man Food: 9 weeks' supplies for 3 men on the ration scale;
also 25 lb. weight of special foods--'perks'..... 475 lb. 0 oz.

Dog Food: Dried seal meat, blubber and pemmican; also the weight of
the tin and bag-containers.............. 700 lb. 0 oz.

Total........................ 1723 lb. 11.3 oz.

Madigan's and Stillwell's parties broke trail to the east on the morning
of the 17th while we were still attending to the sledges and dogs
preparatory to departure. It was decided that Gadget, a rather miserable
animal, who had shown herself useless as a puller thus far, should be
killed. The following dogs then remained:--Basilisk, Shackleton, Ginger
Bitch, Franklin, John Bull, Mary, Haldane, Pavlova, Fusilier, Jappy,
Ginger, George, Johnson, Castor, Betli and Blizzard.

We went in pursuit of the other six men over a surface of rough
sastrugi. The dogs, who were in fine fettle, rushed the sledges along,
making frantic efforts to catch up to the parties ahead, who showed as
black specks across the white undulating plain.

At noon all lunched together, after which we separated, shaking hands
warmly all round and interchanging the sledgers' "Good luck!" Our dogs
drew away rapidly to the east, travelling on a slight down grade; the
other two parties with their man-hauled sledges following in the same
direction. The surface was splendid, the weather conditions were ideal,
the pace, if anything, too rapid, for capsizes were apt to occur in
racing over high sastrugi. Any doubts as to the capability of the
dogs to pull the loads were dispelled; in fact, on this and on many
subsequent occasions, two of us were able to sit, each one on a sledge,
while the third broke trail ahead.

In sledging over wide, monotonous wastes with dogs as the motive power,
it is necessary to have a forerunner, that is, somebody to go ahead and
point the way, otherwise the dogs will run aimlessly about. Returning
over old tracks, they will pull along steadily and keep a course. In
Adelie Land we had no opportunity of verifying this, as the continuous
winds soon obliterated the impression of the runners.

If the weather is reasonably good and food is ample, sledging dogs enjoy
their work. Their desi