Kink.] 2°° [March 20, 



the absence of ice-bergs on the border of the unknown Arctic regions 

 excludes the probability of any land of considerable extent being found 

 there. 



The Coast Regions. — As regards the ordinary geographical survey of 

 the regions bordering the sea, or intersected by its inlets, a few remarks 

 may suffice concerning certain localities hitherto very little known. 



In the first place we here have to mention the immediate environs of the 

 Cape Farewell. This point was first explored by Lieutenant Holm, who 

 in 1881 determined its situation by observations on the spot. He found it to 

 be 59° 45' N. lat. and 43° 53' W. long. It constitutes a part of one of the 

 lofty islands which here, separated by narrow sounds, gird the southern 

 part of the mainland. The travelers were struck by its barren appearance 

 even compared to Greenland. Many mountain heights of the southern- 

 most mainland have been ascended ; it may be supposed that further 

 inland they reach a height of 10,000 feet. The inlets here, barren as they 

 are, on the whole present picturesque scenery, on account of the contrast 

 between the steep rocks with overhanging glaciers and the verdant spots 

 at their foot. 



We will now pass to anotJier part of the coast, situated between 67^ and 

 6S^° N. lat. Although within the polar circle, the land nevertheless 

 assumes a more pleasant appearance, presenting lower hills which, as a 

 general rule, have no spots covered with perpetual snow and ice. Here 

 the inland ice recedes, and the space left by it is occupied by the most ex- 

 tensive tracts of lowland in Greenland. These regions have offered the 

 chief pasturing grounds for reindeer, and during the summer season the 

 natives from the south and the north formerly had here their rendezvous, 

 pursuing their favorite sport, the reindeer chase. The fjords by which the 

 country is intersected, afforded roads in various directions suitable to the 

 umiaks or skin boats, and therefore this whole complex of land and inlets 

 has always been well known to the natives. But they have rarely been 

 visited by foreigners. For this reason Lieutenant Jensen, aided by Kor- 

 nerup and Hammer, undertook the task of surveying them with the special 

 aim of affording information about their eastern boundaries in front of the 

 inland-ice. 



The travelers were surprised at the number of reindeer horns, and of 

 relics from the hunting-parties that lay scattered over an extensive space 

 of ground, giving evidence of the sport that formerly had enlivened these 

 lonely recesses, but of which very little is maintained. The reason of this 

 decline is simply the disappearance of the animals, and their sudden de- 

 crease led to the belief in genial valleys in the interior of Greenland, to 

 which the animals might have migrated. It may sound strange enough, 

 but I believe that we can derive this hypothesis from some words of a 

 document written 600 years ago, during the time of the old Norse colonies. 

 I do not see in this disappearance of the reindeer anything else but an 

 instance of the similar destruction of various kinds of game in almost every 



