298 CLIMATIC COXDITIOXS OF THE GLACIAL EPOCH. 



resident in Greenland, and al^o to those visiting the country for the purpose 

 of investigating it scientifically. This distinguished explorer is, however, 

 not one of those M'ho believe that the whole country is buried under the 

 snow. In discussing this subject he remarks as follows : " There are many 

 reasons for believing that the inland ice merely forms a continuous ice-frame 

 running parallel with the coast, and surrounding a land free from ice, perhaps 

 even in its southern parts woody, which might be of no small importance 

 to the rest of Greenland."* 



Everything connected with the condition of the interior of Greenland is of 

 so much interest that it will be desirable to mention the principal attempts 

 which have been made to settle the question of the nature and extent of the 

 inland ice. 



In 1751 Dalager started from the bottom of a deep fiord situated just 

 north of Frederikshaab (latitude 62". 31'), reached the border of the inland 

 ice, and advanced eight miles over it, to some mountain summits projecting 

 above its surfoce,t since known as " Dalager's Nunatakker," where a reindeer 

 hunt was imdertaken. The surface of the ice — for part of the way, at 

 least — was "as smooth as a street in Copenhagen;" portions, however, 

 were excessively rough. The jDrincipal obstacle encountered seems to have 

 been defective shoe-leather. Of course the peculiarities of the ice sur- 

 face at that early time would have excited no attention, and this expedi- 

 tion has no importance except as being the first one in which the surface of 

 the inland ice was actually ti-avelled over.J A previous attempt, in 1728, to 

 ride across Gi'eenland on horseback of course proved a failure. 



In October, 1860, Dr. Hayes made an excursion into the interior, on the 

 inland ice, as he supposed ; as Nordenskjold thinks, however, not on that, 

 " but on a smaller ice-field coimectetT with it.'' The point of departure in 

 this case was Port Foulke, which is in a much higher latitude (78°, namely) 

 than that of Dalager's attempt. The surface of the ice must have been com- 

 paratively smooth, as he made much more rapid progress than any other 



* Redogorelse for en Expedition till GibnlauJ, Ar 1870. Aftiyuk ur Ofversigt ;if K. Vet. — Akad. Forh. 

 1870. No. 10, p. 21. Also Arctic Manual, p. 390. 



+ Such a peak or crest projecting above the general level of the inland ice is called a " Nunatak ;" plural, 

 "Xunatakker." 



J There is a brief description of this exploration in Krantz's History of Greenland (ipioted in the Arctic 

 Manual, p. 391). The original, in Danish, has not been accessible to the present writer, nor was it to Norden- 

 skjold himself. (See Geological Magazine, Vol. l.X. p. 2S9.) 



