The Dogs Took Care of the Men
Under Shackleton’s premise that the dogs needed to train to maneuver the Antarctic terrain once spring arrived, dog teams were set up for “practice.” Teams of dogs were paired with a driver, and run across the ice floes in one of the sparse moments of fun for the crew and dogs. It gave the crew a chance to get used to dog travel, and time for the dogs to get used to their driver. It was one of the few pleasures for the men in a day spent on an empty plain of snow. But on July 14, things were about to get exciting. Too exciting.
