Report on the expedition. 117 
as long as our sledge would sink down into the slushy snow, often 
1/; meter or more. 
This we achieved by fastening the flattened sheet-iron from the 
provision-boxes underneath the cross-boards of the sledge, so as to get 
a comparatively smooth surface on which to drag the sledge, when it 
sank far down into the snow, and the snow was so wet that it could not 
support the runners. Two skies were lashed under this sheet-iron in 
order to give it sufficient stiffening, and now we had a sledge, which was 
serviceable on hard ice and almost equally good in slushy snow. 
We made one more attempt to cross the Dijmphna Sound in the early 
morning of July 45th, but we could not force the sledge through the 
mixture of snow and water, which was so deep and soft that the sledge 
capsized in it, and we ourselves fel into holes between the ice-blocks 
— holes so deep that only the shoulders were above the surface of the 
snow. The lakes on the ice had a great extent and a depth of as much 
as half a meter. It was absolutely impossible to cross the fjord under 
these circumstances, and we had to wait, until holes were melted in the 
ice, through which the water could be drained off, and on July 6th we 
were once more back at our old camping site. 
A fourth attempt to cross the Dijmphna Sound was made on July 
7th, and this time we were successful, as a good road was found on the 
level ice outside the pressure-ridges, which filled the mouth of the fjord, 
and at last — on July Sth — we were ready to leave Mallemukfjældet 
with our remaining outfit. 
We had been in the vicinity of Mallemukfjeldet from June 20th 
to July 8th, and during this period we had only shot 8 sea-gulls and 1 
hare. We had consequently been compelled to use more of our provi- 
sions than we had expected, but we had still enough to last us until we 
could reach Bagatellerne. The problem of food was, however, more 
difficult as regards the dogs, of which we had only three left, seeing that 
they would not eat the food found in the depots, and we had to feed 
them on our scanty rations to keep them in comparatively good wor- 
king trim. 
The snow had entirely disappeared from the land during the eighteen 
days we had been there, and larger or smaller rivulets were rushing down 
the slopes through every little creak or valley. The vegetation on land 
had become green, and buds were seen on the flowerplants, but no flowers 
as yet; neither had the willows unfolded their leaves. 
The animal life at the outer end of Dijmphna Sound was very scanty, 
and even the fulmars, ivory-gulls and glaukos-gulls were few compared 
for instance with the rookery on Nakkehoved. Of other birds we saw 
some geese, a few snow-buntings, one owl and one loom. On land we 
noticed but one hare and two foxes, and saw no traces of musk-ox. 
On the sea-ice we saw some few seals and the traces of one bear. 
The Dijmphna Sound between Holm’s Land and Hovgaard Island must 
