We have been fortunate, in this issue, in finding three such experts on the subject of the sledge dog and dog-driving as Captain Helmer Hanssen, Dr Seymour Hadwen, and Mr Andrew Croft, willing to contribute their views on the subject. The first on the list, Captain Helmer Hanssen, needs no introduction; he will be remembered as one of Amundsen's companions on his South Polar journey, and on the North West Passage Expedition on board the Gjoa. Dr Hadwen, the second on the list, has gone deeply into the matter both from the point of view of a veterinary surgeon, and of a lover of the animals, and a dog-driver. He has incorporated in his article the results of practical experience in Alaska, as well as more academic work in the Eastern Arctic. Mr Croft spent a winter in Western Greenland, prior to Martin Lindsay's expedition, learning dog-driving from the best exponents of the art in Greenland. He was in charge of the dogs both on the British Trans-Greenland expedition, 1934, and again in 1935–36, with the Oxford University Arctic expedition in North East Land.

When I was asked by the Editor of The Polar Record to write a short note about sledge dogs, I did so, sensible of the appropriateness of the request, in that the year 1936 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of Roald Amundsen's journey to the South Pole.

A sledge dog seems, to have been made by nature for travelling in snow and ice, like the camel for the desert, the horse for the open land and the goat for the mountain. He sleeps comfortably in all kinds of weather, without shelter other than the snow; and when hungry, will eat any kind of food, as he needs must in barren countries, where food is scarce. I have known dogs enjoy a meal of bamboo sticks.

In reading of Arctic exploration one is struck with the ill-fate which has often beset the dogs accompanying the explorers. Recently Baashuus-Jessen (1935) has carefully studied the accounts of many of these important expeditions and, according to this author, the lack of proper food containing right amounts of fat, minerals and vitamins was the principal cause of nervous diseases and malnutrition in the animals. In the Arctic and Antarctic regions, nevertheless, some most successful journeys have been accomplished with the aid of dogs. Unfortunately, it should be added that though the explorers reached their goals, it was often at the expense of their animals. Without doubt, also, when a stage is reached where dogs have to be sacrificed to feed the living, the latter are not in much better condition than those which were killed. Personally I should like to see or hear of an expedition, to one of the Poles or to some other place difficult of access, where all the dogs would return in good condition, to show the world what could be done with proper food and management. This article has been written for the Institute in the hope that the information about sledge-dogs may be of some assistance to those about to undertake expeditions in the Arctic regions. In this connection I should like to say that no other domesticated animal can withstand the hardships of the north better than the dog. He can follow man wherever he goes, and I have wondered why he is not more used, for instance, in mountaineering at the lower levels. The dog, being a native animal, winters well if he is properly fed, and should be at his best when the days begin to lengthen, which is just the time of year long journeys are undertaken. I will conclude by hoping that some of our young men will make a study of this matter: first of all by getting a thorough understanding of the mechanical laws involved in traction and harnessing; secondly, in working out balanced rations with the food available in the different countries where the dogs are to be driven, and also by making a study of hygiene and of preventive measures against disease and parasites; and lastly, by getting some actual practice in dog driving.

Very little is known of the ancestry of these dogs, but they probably accompanied the Eskimos on their gradual migrations, lasting many hundreds of years, from Mongolia along the Arctic coasts of Canada, and eventually to Greenland itself.

Less than a thousand inhabitants live on the east coast of Greenland, nearly all of them being in the Angmagssalik and Scoresby Sound districts; and the Eskimo there depends mainly on his hunting kayak for his livelihood. The snowfall is comparatively heavy, especially during the spring, and on account of the windless conditions prevalent at this season, surfaces are very soft and heavy. For this and other reasons these Eskimos do not sledge very much, and there are no expert dog-drivers on the whole of the east coast. Their dogs are for the most part poor, and during the summer months, invariably underfed.