

IN THE DRIFT-ICE OFF THE COAST OF GREENLAND. 19 



vessel, or several vessels. That is the sledge-road to the North 

 Pole. 



On the afternoon of the same day, Friday, July 29, we left 

 Egedesminde, and the next morning, at about three, cast anchor 

 off Godhavn, on the extreme point of Disco Island, the largest 

 island on the coast of Greenland. Just outside Godhavn the sea 

 breaks in huge rollers ; but the harbour itself is exceedingly 

 sheltered, lying, as it does, encircled by islets and rocks. 



Towards the north, on the other side of the bay, rises a chain 

 of steep mountains, which reach a height of 2000 feet. Several 

 valleys run from the sea, far up the steep mountain-slopes, 

 and down them rush foaming torrents of snow-water. One of 

 these valleys, the so-called ' Lyngmark,' lay right opposite to us, 

 its beautiful verdant appearance reminding us of Norway. Some 

 immense icebergs had run aground in the sounds to the west, and 

 ten or twelve of them towered above the narrow isthmus that 

 separated the harbour from the sea on the east. From time 

 to time they calved with tremendous crashing and turmoil, 

 throwing up clouds of spray, and raising huge waves on all sides. 

 It is therefore best to take your ship out of the way when you 

 catch sight of such wayfarers. They look very steady and reliable 

 as they approach; but if they take to calving, or capsizing, or 

 splitting into a thousand pieces, as if they had been blown up with 

 dynamite, it is advisable, even for a large vessel, to keep at a distance. 



At Godhavn we took in dogs, coal, and water, so it was some 

 time before we got away. Our scientific men, however, made 

 good use of their time by exploring the neighbourhood. Bay and 

 Schei went on a long boating expedition, and came back with 

 various spoils, among them being some valuable fossils. In the 

 mean time, we had got almost ready to start. Of the sixty tons 

 of coal that the Greenland Trade Service had kindly conveyed 

 hither, we took only forty, leaving the remaining twenty tons for 

 use on the homeward voyage. 



Here, too, I had the good fortune to get thirty-five good dogs, 

 but I did not take them on board until the last moment, for the 

 terrible noise such a pack can make, when they really begin, would, 

 in any case, be heard only too soon. 



