Ethnographic Description of the Eskimo Settlements 185 



луеге undertaken by First-Lieutenant H. Bistrup and the investi- 

 gations south of Bessels Fjord which were made by Hakon Jarner, 

 Stud, polyt. Both of these carried out the investigations according 

 to instructions given them by me. As a matter of fact, almost all 

 the members of the Expedition have contributed something to the 

 collection and on practically all the journeys made there has been 

 one of the members who was particularly engaged in noting occur- 

 rences of ethnographic interest. And it may be specially mentioned, 

 that it was entirely due to the mate Gustav Thostrup and Dr. 

 A. Wegener, that w^e at all came into possession of ethnographic 

 material in the spring of 1907 ; on their own initiative and respon- 

 sibility they brought in all the things collected at Eskimonæsset 

 (lat. 80° 26'). 



During the period that I was making ethnographic observations 

 — whilst drawing up a special chart of the district round about 

 the Кар Bismarck station — the engineer Herman A. Koefoed acted 

 as my indispensable assistant, both in physical and mental regards. 



The investigations were continued even after the ship had left 

 Danmarks Havn and on Renskæret and Maroussia I received excel- 

 lent help from Dr. J. Lindhard and Army-Captain J. P. Koch — 

 without which I should not have been able to get these two im- 

 portant localities investigated. 



Student Frits Johansen has assisted me in various ethnographic 

 investigations to the best of his ability, and only a very forced de- 

 parture from the land prevented the Chief-engineer Ivar Wein- 

 SCHENCK and the mate Gustav Thostrup from carrying out the 

 promise given me with the utmost willingness to make excavations 

 on Syttenkilometernæsset, whilst I myself was working at other 

 places. Lastly, L. Peter E. Freuchen, student of medicine, devoted 

 the greatest care in the packing of the fragile skulls and parts of 

 skeletons. 



Occurrence of earlier settlements. The east coast of 

 Peary Land was traversed by J. P. Koch, Aage Bertelsen and Tobias 

 Gabrielsen, лvho found no trace of earlier Eskimo occupation. They 

 had indeed but little opportunity for investigating, but would never- 

 theless scarcely have missed noticing the presence of building re- 

 mains, had there been any. The probability is, that there has not 

 been any Eskimo settlement here. 



The south coast was visited by Mylius-Erichsen's sledge- 

 team, it is true, but all their supplies had so run short at that time 

 that the visit only had the character of a very necessary hunting 

 excursion, whose main object put all else in the shade excepting 



XLIV. 1Г) 



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