I. Introduction. 



WHEN "Danmark-Ekspeditionen" set out on June 24th 1906, it 

 was the intention that the leader of the Expedition, Ludvig 

 Mylius-Erichsen, should liimself take charge of the ethnographic 

 interests, but the tragic course of circumstances, as is so well known, 

 decided things otherwise. On March 28th 1907 Mylius-Erichsen 

 left the station at Danmarks Havn and never returned. The ethno- 

 graphic investigations at the station remained then at a standstill, 

 until the Second-in-command of the Expedition, Alf Trolle, First- 

 Lieutenant of the Navy, on November 30th 1907 instructed me to 

 undertake the ethnographic work. 



In the course of the winter I then arranged and labelled the 

 things that had been found up to date, read up the ethnographic 

 literature and made extracts of the ethnographic data from the day- 

 books of the Expedition, as also from Mylius-Erichsen's papers. 



On the basis of the knowledge acquired in this way I drew up 

 the plan for the ethnographic investigations of the coming summer, 

 resolving to use most energy in the collecting of objects, so that I 

 might be able to return home to Denmark with ethnographic acqui- 

 sitions comparable more or less with the other scientific achieve- 

 ments of the Expedition, even though the subject had remained 

 untouched the whole of the summer of 1907. 



These are the circumstances which led to this work appearing 

 under my name as author. The material has been collected by 

 Mylius-Erichsen and myself, but what is written is the expression 

 of my own opinion on what I have seen in the field. The poor library 

 on the subject in the possession of the Expedition was of but little 

 assistance to me in general; but, on the other hand, I owe my com- 

 rades of the Expedition who helped me my warmest thanks for the 

 support they gave my work in every respect. 



I would likewise express my best thanks to Vice-Inspector Herluf 

 Winge, who has most kindly determined the bones brought home, to 

 Professor H. P. Steensry for his help in various ways and Thomas 



