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The use and abuse of dogs on Scott's and Amundsen's South Pole expeditions
Citation
Murray, C, The use and abuse of dogs on Scott's and Amundsen's South Pole expeditions, Polar Record, 44, (231) pp. 303-310. ISSN 0032-2474 (2008) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2008 Cambridge University Press
Official URL: http://journals.cambridge.org/
DOI: doi:10.1017/S0032247408007493
Abstract
In the century since Roald Amundsen and Robert F. Scott led the first and second expeditions to reach the
South Pole, commentators have frequently passed judgement on the different means of transport that the two explorers
employed. In hindsight, and since he ‘won,’ they have consistently praised Amundsen for using dogs exclusively and
criticised Scott for not doing the same. Surprisingly, however, almost no attention has been given to the experience of
Amundsen’s dogs, whose extreme suffering seems to have vanished into a collective blind spot. Here, with the aim of
restoring balance to one part of the vexed historiography of the two explorers, that record is set straight. Amundsen’s
troubled and contradictory attitude towards his animals is also explored and common misconceptions about Scott’s
views on the use of dogs for transport are confuted.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Research Division: | History, Heritage and Archaeology |
| Research Group: | Historical studies |
| Research Field: | Historical studies not elsewhere classified |
| Objective Division: | Culture and Society |
| Objective Group: | Heritage |
| Objective Field: | Heritage not elsewhere classified |
| UTAS Author: | Murray, C (Dr Ian Murray) |
| ID Code: | 54202 |
| Year Published: | 2008 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 4 |
| Deposited By: | IASOS |
| Deposited On: | 2009-02-12 |
| Last Modified: | 2009-07-28 |
| Downloads: | 517 View Download Statistics |
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