

Map of a part of Greenland, on 

 which Rasmussen outlined in 1916 the 

 intended route to Peary Land over the 

 inland ice cap. The expedition was 

 delayed until 1917, when an early start 

 in April allowed the sea ice route to b:- 

 followed instead. The fjords and inlets 

 explored are supposed to be those along 

 the North Greenland coast between In- 

 dejiendence and Sherard Osborn fjords 



try. It is reportoil 

 tliat lie took only 

 suflicii'iit ptMumioan 

 to insure safety on 

 the return trip 

 which was to be 

 made over the in- 

 lauil ice cap. 



One of the most 

 iiit'M-esting items in 

 t he report of the 

 1!)J"J expedition 

 was a discovery of 

 "t(>nt rinf^s," circles 

 of stones in position for fastening tents to the 

 ground, showing a former temporary occupation by 

 iinos. To search for evidences of previous per- 

 manent occupation was one of the aims of the Sec- 

 ond Thule Expedition. In describing these tent rings, 

 Uasniussen gives a picture of the isolated Peary Land 

 as a place of abounding animal and plant life. 



"And here we found ourselves as it were trans- 

 ported to another quarter of the globe. We sighted 

 musk ox even before reaching land, and our first im- 

 ]>ression, as soon as we had crossed the ice limit up 

 on to the shore [from Independence Fjord], was one 

 of fertility and life. It was a real delight to see, 

 not clay, nor rocks, nor gravel, but earth; mould, 

 dotted everywhere with red blossoming saxifrage. 

 Along the river banks were tracks of musk ox, hare, 

 and lemming, and in the air above, the skuas shrieked 

 out a welcome. . . . Naturally also, it was here that 

 we made one of the most interesting discoveries of 

 the expedition, encountering at several places old 

 Eskimo tent rings as evidence of previous occupa- 

 tion. . . . The tents faced towards the northeast, 

 the entrances looking out towards the fjord. The 

 hunting grounds appeared to have been chosen with 

 unerring instinct, for the fjord was full of seals 

 basking in the sun. . . . Those [tent rings] on the 

 eastern side were of unusually small circumference. 

 . . . The tent rings on the western side of the 

 Fjord, numbering five in all, were considerably 

 larger. . . . The largest of the best preserved rings 

 measured 4 m. long by 2.70 broad. The ground out- 

 side each of them was strewn with bones of musk 

 ox and seal, showing that the tent-dwellers had not 

 lacked meat." 



The following outline by Mr. Easmussen giving 

 the original plans for work will be of especial in- 

 terest for comparison with the accomplished results 

 when these are known in detail. — The Editor. 



Plans for the Second Thule Expedition 

 to North Greenland 



Bv K N U D RASMUSSEN 



IT may Vje remembered that in 1912, on the 

 First Thule Expedition, Freuchen and I 

 found ourselves obliged to shape our 

 course for home without having been able to 

 penetrate entirely through the newly discov- 

 ered Adam Bierings Land to the neighbor- 

 hood of Nordenskiold Inlet and Sherard Os- 

 born Fjord. When we made the decision to 

 return, we had been out for more than four 

 months on a continuous march of very ardu- 



ous nature through unknown country. As 

 soon, therefore, as we had succeeded in sur- 

 veying the base of Independence Fjord with 

 its immediate surroundings, and thus defi- 

 nitely ascertained that Peary Land was con- 

 nected by land with Greenland, it was neces- 

 sary, both for our own sake and that of the 

 dogs, to make our way back over the inland 

 ice, postponing the exploration of the last 

 unknown regions in Greenland until a more 



393 



