FIRST AND LAST I M PRESSI ONS 97 



introduction to this little-known land and the last 

 view of the receding mountains of the south coast 

 on our return voyage remain as permanent records 

 of the beginning and end of a memorable summer 

 in Greenland. 



We had our first sight of Greenland late in the 

 evening, about an hour before midnight, at close 

 quarters: the sun had set, we were still south of 

 the Arctic Circle: on each side of the ship were 

 rocky islands and promontories with occasional 

 patches of snow on their flanks, and the summits 

 hidden by clouds. Beyond the headlands in gradu- 

 ally deepening gloom were faintly outlined hills 

 receding into the arms of a fjord. On passing a 

 part of the coast where we were told was a small 

 fishing settlement the steamer, with a suddenness 

 that seemed to break the spell, gave two shrill 

 whistles and soon afterwards a solitary Eskimo 

 was dimly seen as a black speck vigorously 

 paddling his kayak in the hope of overhauling us 

 and probably expecting to be taken on board. This 

 was a fitting introduction to a land where the very 

 existence of the inhabitants depends upon their 

 skill in the use of the incomparable kayak. 



It is comparatively seldom that a passenger in 

 one of the Danish government steamers has the 

 good fortune to see Cape Farewell or the adjacent 

 parts of the coast. The abundance of ice and the 

 prevalence of fogs and storms necessitate a course 

 well out to sea. On our outward voyage Cape 

 Farewell was passed at a distance of about thirty 

 miles in the middle of the night : a violent storm 



