GREENLAND BY THE POLAR SEA 



and stick fast. Finally we have to cross several rivers which 

 give us difficulty. 



We decide to climb the mountain due south by south-west 

 of Dragon Point and hunt hares on our way. There are not a 

 few, but they are incredibly shy. We succeed in bagging 

 eight, which we deposit by the foot of the mountain. 



We see a seal on the ice near a whirlpool outside a large 

 river which appears to intersect entirely the land of Dragon 

 Point. The ice where the seal lies is, however, so strongly 

 thawed up because of the fresh water, that it proves impossible 

 for us to approach to within shooting distance. That is the 

 only seal we have seen so far. 



It is slow work to climb the mountain, as our feet are burn- 

 ing with walking on the small sharp stones which torture our 

 foot-soles. Not until five o'clock in the afternoon do we reach 

 the top of a great firn* with deep and fatiguing snow. We are 

 now well over 1,000 kilometres above sea-level. But our efforts 

 are rewarded, for we have a glorious view of Sherard Osborne 

 Fjord, St. George Fjord, and the country in all directions. 

 But our eyes do not appreciate the grand Arctic panorama 

 glistening in fresh light colours from glaciers and firn-covered 

 land ; they search for one thing only : the many tongues of the 

 inland-ice down towards land which shall make it possible for us 

 to ascend and find a way homeward ; and simultaneously we 

 give a loud shout with joy : 



We have found the place ! 



Approximately 40 kilometres into the fjord the inland-ice 

 lets down a white fold across an even gradient of mountains at 

 a distance of 5 or 6 kilometres from the fjord-ice. No crevasses 

 are apparent, and across the peaks behind shines the broad even 

 back of the main glacier. Here the attempt must be made. 



Late in the night of the 19th we return to the tent after an 

 activity of nearly two nights and days. Hendrik and Koch 

 then climb the Dragon Mountain to find an observation 

 station with a view of all the new land. 



* Firn — i.e., covered land. 

 186 



