368 P. Freuchen. 



extraordinarily rugged, ridged and undulating, presenting a picture of 

 utter confusion when viewed through the glass. Time did not permit 

 of our going across to make a closer investigation of the spot; we sup- 

 posed, however, that in the course of the 20 years which had elapsed 

 since Peary visited this region, the ice must have crept up over these 

 two flat nunataks, and ultimately covered them. 



Save for the features stated above. Game Land consists of rocky 

 heights with deep ravines and valleys, where lakes and streams, in con- 

 junction with the shelter afforded by the hills, render the region excel- 

 lently adapted to vegetation, which again serves to maintain a large 

 stock of game, chiefly musk ox. 



The rock samples which we brought home from here have been 

 determined as sandstone in the case of the lower strata ; the upper strata 

 consisted, here as at the other places we visited, of diabase, which is 

 seldom if ever found elsewhere in great continuous formations of this 

 character. 



The rock formation of the country is thus rendered extremely regular, 

 the hard diabase protecting the softer sandstone beneath; the summits 

 of the hills are the remains of a great plateau, which has gradually been 

 cut up by ravines. These are for the most part quite narrow at the 

 bottom, the masses of disintegrated material from either side meeting 

 in the middle, and here, in the summer, the rivers pour down in torrents 

 between great boulders or heaps of smaller stones, the water being pro- 

 vided by the melting of the snow which remains in the ravines until 

 summer sets in. 



In many places, however, the rock formation lies farther back, 

 yielding place to large hollows and narrow, elongated lakes, which form 

 the haunt of the many musk ox which we saw; clean-trodden paths 

 show that they have their regular routes, and the vegetation, which in 

 view of the geographical situation is abundant, doubtless renders the 

 country far more hospitable than many regions lying farther south. 



We now drove down a tongue of ice which had become separated 

 from the main glacier by a narrow strip of land, and entered a valley 

 which we afterwards called the „High Road Valley" on account of the 

 constant stream of musk ox passing through it; here we remained from 

 the 16th July to the 7th August, during which time we laid in a store 

 of provision for ourselves and the dogs sufficient to serve us on the home- 

 ward journey. 



The lakes were at this time not yet thawed, nor did they thaw 

 that summer save in portions near the banks. It is hardly probable 

 that they contained salmon; we kept a good look out for same, but 

 saw no air-bubbles such as are made by the fish when snapping up mos- 

 quito larvæ. A pair of red-throated divers {Colymbus septentrionalis) had 

 their haunt on the lake. 



On the 22nd July, I went out with the Eskimo Inukitsoq to Navy 



