Dogloo village, 1915

“All hands engaged in building igloos, or as the sailors term them, dogloos, from ice blocks and snow.”

— Frank Hurley

“Worsley took a party to the floe on the 26th and started building a line of igloos and “dogloos” round the ship. These little buildings were constructed, Esquimaux fashion, of big blocks of ice, with thin sheets for the roofs. Boards or frozen sealskins were placed over all, snow was piled on top and pressed into the joints, and then water was thrown over the structures to make everything firm. The ice was packed down flat inside and covered with snow for the dogs, which preferred, however, to sleep outside except when the weather was extraordinarily severe. The tethering of the dogs was a simple matter. The end of a chain was buried about eight inches in the snow, some fragments of ice were pressed around it, and a little water poured over all. The icy breath of the Antarctic cemented it in a few moments.”

— Ernest Shackleton, South

“Putting the dogs ashore meant each dog could be given a longer lead than was possible on deck and therefore more freedom. Fastening the chains is a simple matter. A hole is made in the ice with a crowbar 6in deep, filled up with water, which instantly freezes and secures the chain tightly enough to hold back a steamroller.”

— Thomas Orde-Lees