THE UNFORTUNATE MIRANDA 



make no impression upon it. It was fortunate that the 

 force of the blows had been sustained by this portion of 

 the ship, for had the rocks gored anywhere else the vessel 

 would have gone to the bottom at once. The top of the 

 ballast-tank acted as a false bottom and kept us afloat, 

 but this was thin and coated with rust, liable to burst at 

 any minute if subjected to a rough sea. Hence the captain 

 decided that it would be unsafe to venture forth in the 

 Miranda, and the problem of how we were to get home 

 stared us in the face. 



We were stranded in Greenland with provisions already 

 running low, and the settlement could not afford us any, 

 as it had a bare sufficiency for itself. There was no 

 chance of getting away before the following Spring, unless 

 we could secure a vessel. We learned from the Eskimo 

 that there were two or three American fishing schooners 

 at the fishing banks off Holsteinberg, about a hundred 

 and fifty miles away. This offered a chance of getting 

 back to civilization, and under the command of Dr. Cook 

 a relief party started for Holsteinborg in an open sailboat 

 which Governor Bistrup placed at the disposal of the party. 

 A Dane and five picked Eskimo were taken along to act 

 as pilots and couriers. On the same day two other parties 

 started away from the ship, one to explore the Similik 

 glacier, and one to hunt and fish up the Isortok fiord, and 

 thus to attempt an addition to the slender store of pro- 

 visions. Of the latter party I was a member. We took 

 along with us Clark, one of the waiters, and five Eskimo 

 as guides and to assist in propelling the boats, of which we 

 had two, well loaded with tents, provisions, guns, etc. 



As we were proceeding on our way, we met a large 

 boatful of Eskimo men and women, returning from a fish- 

 ing trip. We stopped and exchanged greetings, also a 

 couple of plugs of tobacco and a mouth organ for some 

 very fine salmon. The Eskimo went on their way re- 

 joicing, sending forth a concourse of sweet sounds from 

 the mouth organ. They probably thought us a very simple 

 sort of folk to part with so rare and wonderful an instru- 

 ment for just a mess of fish. In the evening we reached an 

 island near the mouth of Isortok fiord, and here we pitched 

 our tents to rest and sleep. 



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