'/•///•; />.I.Y/>7A AUCTIC STATIOX at CODIfAVX 



589 



C'iii-cl'iil ,i(!\iiT. tlinl he has won the cnii- 

 (i(li'i)c(' and iTspcct of the iiatixfs. in 

 like iiit'a>iiiv a> lie lias won tlu' iVicnd- 

 >lii|i (iL' llic Danes. The l']skini(is eonie 

 lo hini with all tlu'ir lales, and I I'adi- 

 ti(Mis. and diseoveries — a constant mine 

 (d' information and data for liiiu. 



I"e\\ men ai-e bettor versed in the 

 tales ami traditions of the Eskimo than 

 he. .\nd id' tales and legends they ha\c 

 lei^ion. One of the most interesting- 

 stories aeeounts for the southern flora 

 and fanna of the island. They say that 

 Disco with its In.xuriant vegetation at 

 ont^ time lay nnieh farther south, oif a 

 ]ii-o>|)ei'oiis \ illage. In this village dwelt 

 a gri'at hnntei' who was also a sorcerer. 

 Tired of going around this island every 

 time he went out to sea, he finally de- 

 cided to tow it away. By his magic 

 power he was able to do this without 

 trouble. Pulling a hair from his head 

 he attached one end to the island and 

 the other to his kayak, and started 

 northwar(L He proceeded without mis- 

 hap until h(> reached the spot where the 



island is at present situated. Just as 

 hi' was about to pass Nugsuak Penin- 

 sida. an old wnman, a rival magician, 

 laughed derisively to see him working 

 so hard. TTei- ridicule spoiled his charm, 

 the hair by which he was towing broke, 

 and J)isco settled to its present site. 

 V.xor since that time, the island has re- 

 tained its southern climate and vegeta- 

 t ion. 



If the I'^skimos were still as supersti- 

 tious as they used to be, llerr Porsild 

 would surely seem a magician or ange- 

 kok to them. And in all truth they 

 would not be far from right. By the 

 magic of bis purposeful character and 

 determined personality, he has achieved 

 the establishment of his station and the 

 wonderful results that have come from 

 it. To him and others like him is due 

 much of the extensive knowledge we 

 have of Greenland, knowledge much 

 more thorough and complete than our 

 knowledge of Labrador or the regions 

 about Hudson Bay, territories much 

 nearer to us. and much more accessible. 





m 



A 



S^OIS^k^EPp^E/i 1 



\ 'P:. G.OOH/V M ^, 



lZ<y^<i 



HithiTii) \niiMililislMil rnriddii l>> (Ksiiin l-llustroni, ilir Swnlisli artist. — Translation: In the rays 

 of tlie M-ttiiig sun (A) ilie spftti'i- .sliip — rfliTiiiig lo tlic spfi-torlilce transparency of tlie little Eskimo 

 skin boat (B) — with its captain, Herr Porsild (C), and its sails all set (D), and ladon witli kitchen- 

 middens rich in material for arehseological study (E), sails toward the Danish Arctic Station (F). 

 Drawn by Ossian Elgstrom (G), a floating mine 



