sledging on account of
its width, softness, comparative warmth and because of the fact that
ordinary cord is not so easy to manipulate in cold weather. Large
buttons of leather or bone were not nearly so popular as small, smooth
lengths of stick engaging cross-wise with loops of cord--known as
toggles, which became quite a mania with some members of the Expedition.
Whetter, for instance, was known as the "Toggle King," because of the
multitude of these stick-and-cord appendages which hung from every part
of his clothing.

Under the burberrys thick, but light, suits of Jaeger fleece were worn.
They combined trousers and a sleeveless coat, over which a woollen
jersey was worn. In calm weather these with underclothing were
all-sufficient, but in the average fifty-mile wind at any temperature in
the neighbourhood of zero Fahrenheit, they felt distinctly porous.

In less windy weather the luxury of discarding burberrys, either partly
or wholly, was an indulgence which gave great satisfaction.

Finnesko were the favourite foot-gear--soft and commodious reindeer-skin
fur boots. Once these were stuffed with Lapp saennegras or manilla
fibre, and the feet covered with several pairs of socks, cold could
be despised unless one were stationary for some time or the socks or
padding became damp. Even though the padding were wet, violent exercise
kept the temperature "balance" in the warm direction, especially if one
were also under the stimulus of a recent hot meal.

Of course, on smooth ice or polished snow in even moderate winds it was
useless to try and keep one's feet in finnesko, although practice gave
great agility in calmer weather. As already indicated, spiked crampons
on approved models, tested on the glacier-slopes in a hurricane wind,
were almost always worn encasing the finnesko. With so many coverings
the feet often became uncomfortably hot, and for odd jobs about the Hut
and not far abroad spiked leather boots gave most satisfaction.

There were various coverings for the hands: felt mitts, mittens,
instrument-gloves and wolfskin mitts.

The first were used in conjunction with fingerless mittens. The wear and
tear on these was greater than on any other item of clothing. It was a
common sight to see them ragged, canvas-covered, patched, repatched and
again repatched, to be at last reluctantly thrown away. There were two
compartments in a single glove, one for the thumb and the other for the
fingers. It is much easier