"The standard daily ration for work on the final[210]
sledge journey toward the Pole on all expeditions has been as follows:
"1 lb. pemmican, 1 lb. ship's biscuit, 4 oz. condensed milk, 1/2 oz. compressed
tea, 6 oz. liquid fuel, alcohol or petroleum. A total of 2 lbs. 4½ oz.
of solids per man, per day.
"On this ration a man can work hard and keep in good condition in the lowest
temperatures for a very long time. I believe that no other item of food,
either for heat or muscle building, is needed.
The daily ration for the dogs is one pound of pemmican per day; but so
hardy are these descendants of the arctic wolves that when there is a scarcity
of food they can work for a long time on very little to eat. I have, however,
always endeavored so to proportion provisions to the length of time in
the field, that the dogs should be at least as well fed as myself." -
Robert E. Peary in The
North Pole, published in 1910