Report of the First Thule Expedition 1912. 301 



every other day as a rule. Among the Eskimos at any rate, this is a 

 common practice. We found, however, that we should have done better 

 to vary the food a little more with meat and blubber, -and I would 

 therefore strongly advise others who may have occasion to travel 

 under similar conditions, and using similar fodder, to bear this in 

 mind. In the first place, meat and blubber are easier to manage, as 

 both can be cut up without having to be previously thawed, in ad- 

 dition to which, I obtained the impression that walrus hide alone, 

 when not generously eked out with blubber, offers too little actual 

 nourishment, much of it passing quite undigested through the intestines. 

 With regard to this point, however, I should add that the Eskimos, 

 whose theories have been tested by the experience of generations, 

 regard walrus hide as unsurpassed. My own opinion as stated above 

 is based on the fact that our dogs collapsed in a surprisingly short 

 time after we reached the coast, when they were obliged to live on 

 short rations for the first few days owing to our not finding game. 



Throughout the whole of the run over the inland ice, however, 

 they were in splendid working form, and in spite of the daily stages 

 without rests, we were able to increase the distances continually, the 

 sledges, however, naturally growing lighter all the time. Our last seven 

 days' runs, for instance, will show that we were not driving with 

 worn out teams, the distances being 91, 70, 72, 66, 78, 88 km. and 

 the time varying from 9 to 12 hours. 



The greatest altitude reached was 2225 m. Unfortunately we were 

 unable to note the lowest temperature encountered, as our spirit ther- 

 mometer was broken, so that we could frequently make no record 

 beyond the fact that the mercury was frozen. 



On the 9th of May we reached the east coast at Danmarks Fjord 

 on the 17th day's run and 25th day since our ascent of Clemens 

 Markhams Glacier, having lain weatherbound for eight days in all. 

 The distance covered was 1048 km., with an average speed of 62 km, per 

 days run. I append a table showing the distances as covered from our 

 station to the east coast. 



We had some considerable difficulty in getting down from the 

 inland ice to ground, being brought up short against a steep wall 

 some 20 m. high. In making a descent there is always the risk of 

 unforeseen obstacles, as it is frequently impossible to get a complete 

 view of the he of the ground before one has gone too far to turn 

 back and try another way. We had thus no reasonable alternative to 

 making an attempt at clearing the obstacle in question, as by going 

 back, we ran the risk of wearing out the dogs in the ascent, only 

 to encounter the same difficulties again, situated as we were in un- 

 known country and with no maps to aid us. 



It is no new thing, however, for an Eskimo traveller to lower 

 himself down over the edge of a glacier. The method of proceeding 



