DOGS BEAT PONIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 308, 30 December 1929, Page 9

DOGS BEAT PONIES.

THE HARDY "HUSKIES."

3f.Z. MADE FEMMICAN.

SLEEP IN SNOW 50 BELOW ZERO

(By RUSSELL. by Syd-

iipy "Sun" and New York "Times."-)

LITTLE -AMERICA, Antarctica, Oct. 18. No more efficient method of travel aver the ice and snow of the Polar regions has been found than by the use of dog teams, especially where, extended' journeys -in moderate weather are undertaken and depots must be established. ■ . .■, Remarkable journeys have .been, made with doge, including Peary's journeys to the North Pole, Amundsen's to the South Pole, and the long trip by Rasniusseu across Arctic America. <■ . It is generally conceded now that the English methods of man-hauling or using ponies on long journeys were wrong, and that much of the suffering and tragedy of the<& heroic episodes might have been avoided if dogs had been used. ; As a matter' of fact, Sir Douglas Mawson, who. this year- will explore the coast, of Antarctica; in the Australian quadrant, used dogs on his former expedition, and Sir Ernest Shackleton also came to the conclusion after ■ almost reaching the South .Pole on a hard journey, during which ho lost all his ponies, that dogs were the best means of transport, and he took them' on life second expedition. Sleep Out 50 Degrees Below Zero. When properly conditioned, dogs will stand a good deal of exposure, although at very low temperatures they' become exhausted, as will any other creature, and wear out quickly. .. The clogs at Little America have slept outdoors in temperatures ae low as 50 below zero, and by this time seem to havo developed marked resistance to cold. • Their coats , have increased in thickness, arid'even the pads of their feet have become 'covered more thigkly with hair. During- the summer journeys, of course, severe temperatures .will seldom, if ever, be encountered. And as for the work, the dogs, when in good condition, seem to*enjoy it. There are. several. ways of harnessing dogs, but the method used here, is the Alaskan gang-hitch: They are harnessed in pairs on either sj.de of a long line, called the gang line, which is attached to the sledge. One dog travels at the end of the gang line as leader, and it is to him that the drivers yell .commands to "Gee/ , meaning. to turn to the right, and "Haw" to turn to the left. Behind the leader these other dogs are fastened .two by two on either side of the gang line. ■ Their shoulders lit into a collar from which a lead line runs to the gang line in front to keep them from pulling too far out to the side. From' either side of the collar traces supported 'by straps across the back run back .to la '. wooden spreader, over which the ends- of the traces extend, and fasten to a trace , line attached behind the dog to the gang line. The-other dogs are similarly fastened, -'so that 'when' bntlie trail; they run side by side in pairs, the. gang line snapping between them. They pull out from,it slightly, as .they'throw all their 'weight on the traces. . :. , , ,

They can in this way haul a'etonish'ingly heavy loads; and seven or eight dogs frequently hauled more than a ton last year while freighting from the ship to the base. That, of course, ? is too much for the trail, . and when the geological party starts out nine dogs in each team will pull more than 11001b, divided between two sledges, fastened one behind the other. ...:

The loads will become lighter as the party progresses,' and after the half-way mark is passed and the geological party begins to lay down its own depots, the weight will decrease rapidly. The supporting party will establish the'depots to the half-way mark", and their loads will decrease after the first depot is passed. Pemmidan Food for the Animals. The dogs will be fed on the trail on a pemmican' compounded according to a. formula developed by Dr. John E.« S. Malcolm, Professor of Dietetics at Otago University at Dunedin, New Zealand.;' The pemmican was remade there in the plant of Hudson Brothers by volunteer workmen of the plant, who laboured all night after their regular work, and also on the Sunday before departure, so as to have the dog food ready in _ time. It has proved successful so far as it has been used. It> is packed in cakes which are frozen, aud so keep their shape. ■ There will be five dog teams, each hauling two sledges. The load sledges will be of a rigid double-ended type developed by Arthur Walden. Each of them will have twd gee poles, long poles extending upward from the front of the sledge at an angle of about 40 degrees, on which the driver can throw his weight and so turn the sledge and guide it around obstacles. The sledges are. fastened together by cross chains, so that the first always follows in the path of the second. Gee poles were used long ago in Alaska, but have never been used before in the Antarctic. They serve also during the march as supports on which to hang wet gloves, socks, and other articles of clothing to dry. The trailing sledgeg are of flexible construction of Norwegian type. Three of them are single-ended Norwegian army sledges, which have been lightened by cutting the superfluous wood and relashed with rawhide by Bernt Balchen and Sverre Strom.

The two other trailing sledges were made i>y Balchen and Strom, cut with knives out of ash and hickory. The runners are hickory and the top part is of ash.

These sledges are beautiful examples of a'craftsmanship.which goes back to the- early days of the Norsemen. They weigh about 561b and will carry more than half a ton each, and are so flexible that they will bend and twist without breaking in going over rough surface. They are lashed,with rawhide. Food Packed in Canvas Tanks. The driver runs on skis, or on foot beside tlie gee pole at the head of the'front sledge, moving from one side to the other to guide it as circumstance requires. When the trail is smooth and the dogs are running easily, the driver can lean on the gee pole and coast along on £he skis, relieving himself of much of the fatigue of keeping up-with, the team. ■ .• s The loads are distributed between the two sledges so that- the heaviest load, of about 8001b, will, be on the front, and 3001b on the rear sledge. This distribution of the load increases the factor of safety in going over snow-bridged crevases. The sledges are long,-so ae to spread the load over as much surface as possible.