198 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE MIRANDA. 



riving at half-past one at Kangarmuit (Old Sukkertoppen), 

 where we were greeted with a most unearthly chorus of howls 

 floating out on the morning air. That night we slept in the 

 attic of the church, and glad we were to do so, for it saved us 

 pitching the tent. The next day, being rainy and "plenty 

 [too much] wind" outside, we spent with Chief Trader 

 Rosin, drinking coffee with him and trading with the natives. 



We started on Sunday morning, with the entire populace 

 at the shore to see us off. A stiff, fair wind favored us, and 

 by eleven o'clock that night we had another forty miles to 

 our credit. About noon of that day we passed "Upper 

 Strun " fiord, the largest in western Greenland. It runs 

 inland over a hundred miles. 



Camp Raven, named from the fact that two ravens croaked 

 over our tent all night, was broken early Monday morning ; 

 but such a wind was blowing that before we had made a mile 

 northing Dr. Cook gave directions to put back to shelter. 

 And high time it was, for as we were pitching the tent the 

 storm broke, and for two days and nights it continued with 

 such fury that it was seldom we ventured out. I never knew 

 what a "blow" was till the wind came down off those moun- 

 tains and tried to carry away our tent. Several times we 

 woke and gripped the canvas, fearing it would be torn from 

 the guys, and several times the sides were strengthened by 

 additional rocks. It was the same storm that doubtless 

 visited the hunting parties at about that time, although from 

 what I learned they did not get as much wind. 



On Thursday morning, soon after midnight, there were 

 signs of clearing, and Dunning, on interviewing Jacob, our 

 one-eyed skipper, finally got him to say he would proceed. 

 We were all anxious to be off ; we knew the people on the 

 steamer were worrying about us, and we were afraid of missing 

 the schooners. 



Itirdlek, a small, poverty-stricken place of perhaps fifty 



