Report of the First Thule Expedition 1912. 321 



however, not to tie these kamiks so tightly that the laces cut into the 

 leg and form sores, which may easily happen. This will give the dogs 

 as much trouble as the ice-splinters themselves, as the subsequent 

 wading through snow will cause the sores to break out again, and 

 make it almost impossible for them to heal. Finally, at every little 

 halt, the kamiks must be loosened, as if the dogs are allowed to lie 

 for but a quarter of an hour with the kamiks fastened over, their 

 paws will at once begin to swell. It will thus be understood that the 

 use of these kamiks is attended with considerable difficulty, as the 

 fastening takes a great deal of time, especially with large teams. They 

 are, however, as already mentioned, absolutely indispensable; we at 

 least found them so, driving as we did all through the spring without 

 having the dogs' paws hurt. 



The water from the melting ice flowed down into all the fissures 

 close into land, so that as long as we followed the coast, we had dry 

 ice underfoot, save for a narrow belt between the fissures and the 

 shore. When crossing bays, however, or some branch of a small fjord, 

 we found ourselves wading through lakes of water, often reaching above 

 the knee, to the detriment of our clothes and gear. From the middle 

 of June the crossing of Independence Fjord was a matter of so great 

 difficulty that we gave up the idea of going over to look for Mylius 

 Erichsen's report at Cape Glacier. We had now, moreover, realised 

 that he could not have touched at Cape Glacier itself, on account of 

 the "sikussaq" (fragments of inland ice packed on the fjord in the 

 course of years) which was absolutely impassable in the neighbourhood 

 of Academy Glacier, owing to the enormous number of intercrossing 

 fissures. With regard to this phenomenon, the reader is referred to 

 Freuchen's report. 



Having thus nothing definite to go upon as to where we should 

 seek Mylius Erichsen's final cairn, which, from the nature of the ice, 

 could not be at Cape Glacier, we thought it best not waste further 

 time and energy in the search, but rather to proceed as rapidly as 

 possible to deal with the main object of the expedition. 



For some days now the appearance of the country about the base 

 of Independence Fjord had gradually given us the impression that In- 

 dependence Bay must be a fjord, having no connection with Norden- 

 skjolds Inlet. We could not, however, yet come to any final conclusion; 

 anyone who has travelled in Greenland will know how deceptive the 

 apparent form of a landscape may be, with overlapping ness and point 

 that render it impossible to judge what lies behind without actual in- 

 vestigation of the spot. 



Not until the 17th of June did we reach the glacier which forms 

 a barrier at the base of Independence Fjord. We made at the same 

 time an excursion up into the hills, and looking down, saw an open 

 stretch of snowless land just where the map showed the dotted hne 



