GREENLAND BY THE POLAR SEA 



THE POINT OF ASCENT ON WARMING LAND 



July 28th.— Although the temperature has been high and 

 the thermometer from midnight to noon has registered be- 

 tween 0° and 2° (Cent.), we have spent a cold night, as all our 

 clothes and skins were wet. 



Never has a night seemed to me so endlessly long ; drizzle 

 alternated with snow, and I lay with the barometer literally in 

 my hand, constantly watching for some little change for the 

 better. But in vain ! At length I had to settle down to the 

 fact that in this life, and not least when travelling, one must 

 take the evil days with the good ; when my restlessness had 

 found an outlet in this way I really did fall asleep. 



In the morning we wake up to a blissful day ; the rain has 

 stopped and the sky is clearing between the heavy storm- 

 clouds. Dragon Mountain and Mount Wyatt shoot out of the 

 fog, standing with their sharp profiles as enormous sentinels by 

 the mouth of the fjord, where nature is now dressed in its 

 winter garb. In the forenoon the sun breaks through with 

 fine calm weather, and we get busy to exploit its delicious 

 warmth by drying all our gear. 



The promises of the day increase as we approach noon, and 

 with the good weather the prospects for the future suddenly 

 alter ; out by the open water of the great river delta seven seals 

 crawl up on the ice, giving rich promises of a good return 

 journey, with meat in the pots every mortal day. A mere 

 couple of them, with all their delicious blubber, would entirely 

 alter the situation. 



We have still left seventeen good dogs, which in a wonder- 

 ful way have gone through and resisted all adversities ; never 

 have the dogs of any expedition been more hardy and enduring 

 than ours. Not even the last month of swimming and wading 

 in the ice-cold water has done them much harm. 



Seal-hunting must be attempted, and Inukitsoq crawls out 

 on the ice. To our great disappointment there is no result. 

 The water on the ice is so deep that the seals hear his splash at 

 200 



