314 Knl'd Rasmussen. 



longing to reach so fair a landmark, we have vowed to find for it a 

 fitting name. 



At last we pitch our tent at its very foot, and true to our vow, 

 christen it Cape Renaissance, promising one another that the spirit and 

 the deeds which that name calls to mind shall be our beacon through 

 the work that lies before us on the unknown coasts in the blue haze 

 ahead. 



The spring is now already far advanced. The sun is wreaking its 

 will on snow and ice; its rays are loosening the fetters of the flood. 

 Forward is the word, out over the ice as long as it will bear us, to 

 find new fields and better hunting grounds. 



High time to leave this Zig-Zag Vale behind, and see what lies 

 beyond Cape Renaissance. 



27 May. 



Danmarks Fjord. 



Once out on the sea ice, which was firm and level, with just a 

 few drifts here and there, the dogs picked up wonderfully, and soon 

 fell into their old pace again. The sun was strong now, however; the 

 skin simply peeled off our faces, and our eyes were dazzled to such 

 a degree that we had to be very careful all the time to avoid snow- 

 blindness. 



On the very first day we sighted a couple- of musk ox through 

 the glass. Bulls they were; four kilometres away inshore. We called 

 a halt at once, and went ofï in chase. We were extremely glad to get 

 them, and the dogs, who had been well fed now for the past week, 

 were soon in fine form. 



About 1 km. inshore we found a piece of driftwood. 



Next day we got a "Tiggak", an old fjord seal, which was lying 

 out on the thick ice of the fjord, basking in the sun; its skin bore 

 the marks of many a furious fight. This seal, and the circumstances 

 under which it was captured, will be found mentioned in Freuchen's 

 zoological report. 



I may, however, in this connection, briefly refer to the methods 

 we employed for hunting seal on this expedition: equipped as we 

 were according to Eskimo principles, we naturally did our hunting in 

 the traditional Eskimo fashion. 



A seal sunning itself on the ice may be stalked; "ariardlungo" 

 as the Eskimos say. The hunter, carrying nothing but his rifle or 

 harpoon, crawls towards his game, taking care to imitate as far as 

 possible the movement and sound made by a seal. The moment he 

 finds himself observed, he endeavours to attract and retain the 

 attention of the victim in spe, by scraping at the ice or snow, wallowing 

 about, and uttering sealish noises; in a word, playing to the best of 

 his ability the part of a seal newly emerged from the water. The 



