wing to the snow balling
in between his toes where the hair is unusually long. Bullet, who is fat
and did not pull, celebrated his arrival in camp by going for Bielchik
who had pulled splendidly all day! There is much mirage, and Observation
Hill and Castle Rock are reversed."[288] We reached Hut Point the next
day. Lappy's feet were still bad, and Dimitri wrapped him in his
windproof blouse and strapped him on to the sledge. All went well until
we got on to the sea-ice, when Lappy escaped and arrived an easy first.

Dog-driving is the devil! Before I started, my language would not have
shamed a Sunday School, and now--if it were not Sunday I would tell you
more about it. It takes all kinds to make a world and a dog-team. We had
aristocrats like Osman, and Bolsheviks like Krisravitza, and lunatics
like Hol-hol. The present-day employer of labour might stand amazed when
he saw a crowd of prospective workmen go mad with joy at the sight of
their driver approaching them with a harness in his hands. The most
ardent trade unionist might boil with rage at the sight of eleven or
thirteen huskies dragging a heavy load, including their idle master, over
the floe with every appearance of intense joy. But truth to tell there
were signs that they were getting rather sick of it, and within a few
days we were to learn that dogs can chuck their paws in as well as many
another. They had their king, of course: Osman was that. They combined
readily and with immense effect against any companion who did not pull
his weight, or against one who pulled too much. Dyk was unpopular among
them, for when the team of which he was a member was halted he
constantly whined and tugged at his harness in his eagerness to go on:
this did not allow the rest of the team to rest, and they were
justifiably resentful. Sometimes a team got a down upon a dog without our
being able to discover their doggy reason. In any case we had to watch
carefully to prevent them carrying out their intentions, their method of
punishment always being the same and ending, if unchecked, in what they
probably called justice, and we called murder.

I have referred to the crusts on the Barrier, where the snow lies in
layers with an air-space, perhaps a quarter of an inch, or more, between
them. These will subside as you pass over them, giving the inexperienced
polar traveller some nasty moments until he learns that they are not
crevasses. But the dogs thought they were rabbits, and