I'J.AXS FOR TllK ^ECOXD TILULE KXrKDlTlOX 



;i\)b 



coiivtMiiout tiino, wlion tho work oould be 

 entcrod upon with ri'iu'wcd stiiMii^tli. 



In the winter of 1!>14 the first attempt to 

 larry out this plan was made, witli Freuchen 

 as leader; owinj^- to a fall througli a lissure, 

 however, duriny the ascent to the inland 

 iee, he was obliged to turn back, and has not 

 siiu-e been able to set out ajjain. Thus the 

 expedition in question still remains an un- 

 redeemeil jiromise on the part of our Thule 

 Arctic station, and I shall make an attempt 

 to realize it this year fl!»l(i|. The plan may 

 be brietly stated as follows: 



1 shall leave Copenhajien April 1, arriving 

 at Holstensborg, in South Greenland, about 

 April 20. From here, by forced marches 

 through the Danish colonies up to Upernivik 

 I hope to reach Thule in time to begin the 

 ascent of the inland ice by June 1 at the 

 latest. We shape our course from Clemens 

 Markham Glacier toward Sherard Osbom 

 Fjord, about ()<>() km. over the inland ice, 

 and if able to descend here, will ])ush on to 

 Xordenskiiild Inlet and the country between 

 there and Independence Fjord. 



Should we be unable to get down at Sher- 

 ard Osborn Fjord, we shall then make di- 

 rectly for Adam Bierings Land, endeavor- 

 ing to find a route thence to the unknown 

 regions which are to be surveyed. By the 

 tenth or fifteenth of August we must be 

 ready to start back over the inland ice, so as 

 to reach Thule in time to begin the home- 

 ward voyage on board the "Kap York," 

 leaving there early in September. 



The main object of the expedition will be 

 the exploration and survey of the country 

 between Indepemlence Fjord and Nor- 

 denskiold Inlet, Victoria Inlet and Sherard 

 Osborn Fjord. 



The investigation of these regions offers, 

 in addition to geographical results, also eth- 

 nographical problems of very considerable 

 interest ; it will be important to ascertain, 

 for instance, with regard to the theory of 

 Eskimo migrations, whether winter houses 

 of the Eskimo exist in the great fjords men- 

 tioned. It will be remembered that in Peary 

 Land tent rings have been found but no win- 

 ter houses, the northern limit of which, on 

 the east coast of North Greenland, lies at 

 So])hus ]\Iiillers Xess and Eskimo Ness, in 

 Anidrup Land and Holms Land respectively, 

 whereas the northern limit on the west coast 

 of Greenland is in the vicinity of the Hum- 

 boldt Glacier and Hazen Ijake in Grant Land. 

 In order to obtain thorough knowledge of the 

 Eskimo migrations, therefore, we have still to 

 investigate the great fjords of Nares Land 

 and the northwest coast of Peary Land. 



Among the geological questions to be 

 dealt with by the exjiedition, it will suffice 

 to mention the following: 



During the course of the last century, the 

 whole of West and East Greenland has been 

 geologically investigated by various expedi- 

 tions; the range from Sherard Osborn Fjord 

 to Peary Land, however, with the large un- 

 known fjords of the latter country, most dif- 

 firult of access, still remains as a missing 



link between the east and west coasts, and 

 until exploiations have been made here it 

 will be impossible to form a comi)lete geo- 

 logical ])icture of Greenland. As the coasts 

 and fjords of this, the most northerly region, 

 still remain to be surveyed geographically, 

 so also, from a geological point of view, the 

 investigations hitherto made have yet to be 

 comiileted by investigation of these regions, 

 and it shoidd be a point of honor with us to 

 see that this work is accomplished l)y a 

 Danish geologist. 



We know tliat there is a range of moun- 

 tains in Peary Land presumably forming a 

 continuation of the system discovered in 

 Grinnell Land. It will therefore be one 

 object of the expedition to ascertain the 

 extent and age of this range. It will be 

 remembered tliat Peary Land runs out as an 

 ice-free and i)artly snow-free alpine country 

 north of the inland ice, which remarkable 

 feature offers a peculiarly favorable field 

 for geological work generally, such as is 

 rarely encountered in these latitudes. 



The entire journey out and home over the 

 inland ice amounts to something like 2000 

 km. and there will thus be opportunities for 

 making various investigations as to the 

 physical condition of the inland ice itself. 



In addition to the work here mapped out, 

 the expedition will include careful noting of 

 meteorological conditions and the collecting 

 of botanical and zoological specimens. 



As in the case of the First Thule Expedi- 

 tion, our equipment will be based through- 

 out on Eskimo principles, food being pro- 

 cured by hunting carried on simultaneously 

 with the scientific work. 



The expedition is equipped and financed 

 by the station at Thule, the administration 

 of which is in the hands of a committee, with 

 Mr. M. lb Nyeboe, civil engineer, as chair- 

 man. The scientific work hitherto carried 

 out, and further contemplated by the sta- 

 tion, has, however, rendered it advisable that 

 we place ourselves in more direct connection 

 with scientists, and a committee has there- 

 fore been formed, consisting of the fol- 

 lowing gentlemen, representing different 

 branches of science: H. Jungersen, Ph.D., 

 professor at the University of Copenhagen 

 (zoology) ; I. P. Koch, captain in the Dan- 

 ish Army (Arctic Exploration) ; O. B. B0g- 

 gild, professor at the University of Copen- 

 hagen (geology and mineralogy) ; H. P. 

 Steensby, professor at the University of 

 Copenhagen (geography and ethnography) ; 

 C. H. Ostenfeld, Ph. D., manager of the 

 Museum of Botany in Copenhagen (botany). 



Finally, I should mention, that the ]ilan 

 of the Second Thule Expedition is but a link 

 in the chain of various scientific investiga- 

 tions which it shoulil be possible to carry out 

 from the station at Thule as a base. This 

 fact is not least among the considerations 

 that have led to the desire for cooperation 

 with a permanent scientific committee, so 

 composed as to include our most distin- 

 guished experts in the various branches of 

 Science rej>resented. 



