GREENLAND BY THE POLAR SEA 



had only made a distance of 10 kilometres, we were all weary 

 and fagged out. The Eskimos call this state of the ground 

 " putsineq." The weather was uncommonly beautiful ; glori- 

 ous colours, blue and reddish, rested on Nordenskjold Fjord's 

 wonderful landscape. For the first time we looked at this fjord 

 approximately from the point from which Peary previously 

 observed it ; and we realized why it was that, with this view, 

 he assumed it to be the inlet of an enormous channel stretching 

 right to Independence Fjord. From this point one sees only 

 the coast mountains out by the mouth which forms the entrance 

 to the channel. The end of the fjord is not at all visible, as the 

 inland-iee which finishes the fjord merges entirely into the ocean- 

 ice, which thus seems to stretch infinitely inward. Some backs 

 of Nunatak, which from the fjord itself we discern far in on the 

 inland-ice, appear deceptively from this point to be a continua- 

 tion of the coast mountains, and it has thus seemed obvious to 

 connect this with the fjord on the east side. We looked across 

 the beautiful landscape towards Elison Island, which, bathed in 

 sun and with the clear sky above its sharp silhouette, breathed 

 a peace and quietness far removed from the disturbance which, 

 a few hours ago, we made by our progress. The air was then 

 reverberating with incessant and desperate shouts to the dogs, 

 now raging, now coaxing ; whilst the animals gave up entirely 

 and could hardly be forced through the last piece of slush on to 

 the little island where the rest and the well-deserved strong food 

 awaited them. 



We pitched our tent on an insignificant little flat island 

 which we called " Centrum Island," as during the following 

 days it formed the centre for the cartographical station in this 

 fjord-complex. 



July 2nd. — Wulff's party, which had chosen a somewhat 

 different route from Cape Salor, arrived to-day at noon. Un- 

 fortunately they had lost a dog on the way ; it fell down, unable 

 to travel any further. We now had twenty dogs left, and these 

 were sufficient for the homeward journey if only we succeeded 

 in keeping them in good condition by plentiful feeding. 



Ajako and Bosun were for the time being sent to the mouth 

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