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THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



make our skin clothes and eat our food 

 in return. They are a clean lot and as 

 honest as the day is long. Nothing is 

 ever taken although things are left about 

 under their noses all the time .... 



EXTRACTS FROM LETTER WRITTEN BY W. 

 ELMER EKBLAW, NORTH STAR BAY, NORTH 

 GREENLAND, JANUARY 16, 1914 



. . . .1 am writing this letter at the 

 polar cabin of Herr Knud Rasmussen at 

 this place, on my return trip from Cape 

 Melville whither I went with him to 

 examine a great meteorite near there. 

 He has purchased it from Koodlooktoo, 

 the Eskimo who found it for the museum 

 of the University of Copenhagen. I am 

 making as careful a report as my facili- 

 ties permit to be sent to the king of 

 Denmark, secure in the conviction that 

 you will fully approve my thus taking 

 upon myself the responsibility for an 

 action which I deem but an international 

 courtesy and scientific duty .... 



We are all in good health, quite 

 enthusiastic despite our failure to get 

 the wireless messages through, and ex- 

 cept for the fact that our dogs are not 

 in condition, well ready for the coming 

 dash to Crocker Land . . . 



My 300-mile journey to Cape Melville 

 and return during this midwinter moon 

 has l)een fraught with much adventure, 

 much interesting and novel experience, 

 and all the scientific observation I could 

 make by moonlight and the waxing mid- 

 day twilight. It is a journey I should 

 like very much to make by daylight, 

 for the geological phenomena of interest 

 to science are numerous and varied and 

 would richly reward the investigator. I 

 wish I might stay here five years in- 

 stead of three, for even so, I should be 

 busy every possible moment on the prob- 

 lems I have already encountered. There 

 is great work to be done here by some 



enthusiast, particularly in geology and 

 botany. I feel sure that in the Pre- 

 Cambrian formations and in the glacial 

 phenomena, results could be obtained 

 that would throw much light on the 

 geology of all North America . . . 



Herr Knud Rasmussen has shown me 

 every courtesy. I feel he is a man 

 worthy of your personal attention to 

 which I commend him should he ever 

 come to New York. He is a gentleman, 

 a capable and trained explorer and a 

 carefully educated ethnologist. 



LETTER WRITTEN BY DONALD B. MACMILLAN 

 AT ETAH, JANUARY 21, 1914 



Ekblaw is just in from Melville Bay . . . 

 Rasmussen is most kind and offers to help 

 us in every way possible. He had plans 

 for an attack on Crocker Land this year 

 but most generously gave them up when 

 he read of our intentions. 



We have only three weeks now before 

 leaving on the long trip. Eighteen 

 sledges will leave here from February 7 

 to 9 loaded with about 9000 pounds of 

 food and equipment. Four sledges will 

 probably return from the head of Beit- 

 stad Fiord; others will go on to Cape 

 Thomas Hubbard. From here I am 

 planning to send Dr. Hunt south to run 

 in unexplored coastline and Tanquary 

 north. Ekblaw, Green and myself with 

 eight Eskimo will head out northwest 

 over the Polar Sea. When leaving Etah 

 we shall have food for eighty days. 

 This, I hope, will put us on the shores of 

 Crocker Land and back to Cape Thomas 

 Hubbard. For the 300-mile trip home 

 we shall depend upon the game of the 

 country, remaining in EUesmere Land 

 just as long as we possibly can .... Nat- 

 urally I am very much disappointed over 

 the failure of our wireless. Possibly the 

 big station in Hudson Bay has not been 

 installed so you may hear from us yet. 



