INTRODUCTION 



from Sherard Osborne Fjord to Peary Land, with the latter's 

 unknown fjords, still stands as the missing link between the east 

 and the west coast ; until these regions have been examined no 

 complete picture of Greenland can be formed. And just as 

 the coasts and fjords up here at the northern extremity are still 

 waiting to be charted, so the keystone of the journeys of 

 geological exploration can only be laid through an examination 

 of these regions. 



In addition to the work which I have now outlined, careful 

 meteorological diaries will be kept during the whole of the 

 expedition, and botanical and zoological collections will be 

 made. 



This expedition, as the first Thule Expedition, will through- 

 out be equipped in Eskimo fashion, so that we can live by hunt- 

 ing whilst at the same time we attend to our scientific interests. 



The expense is met by my station Thule, which is controlled 

 by a committee consisting of — 



Ingenior M. lb. Nyeboe, Chairman. 

 Grosserer Chr. Erichsen. 

 Lektor Chr. Rasmussen. 



The scientific work which is being done, and which also in 

 the future will be done, from this station has made it desirable 

 that we should be in more direct communication with scientists, 

 wherefore a scientific committee has been formed, consisting 



of— 



Professor Dr. phil. H. Jungersen. 

 Kaptajn I. P. Koch. 

 Professor O. B. Boggild. 

 Professor H. P. Steensby. 

 Museumsinspektor, Dr. phil. C. H. Ostenfeld. 



Originally I had intended to undertake this expedition with 

 only one companion, the Danish geologist Lauge Koch, M.A. 

 We left Copenhagen on the 1st of April, 1916, and reached 

 Thule by the middle of June, but continual storms and uncom- 

 monly difficult travelling conditions forced us to postpone the 

 journey until the following spring. Meanwhile, in the course 



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