KIELSEN'S JOURNEY IN 1830. 9 



He would fain Lave gone further, but, on taking the state of the 

 party into consideration, he resolved that it would bo prudent to 

 return. Though each had taken two pairs of Eskimo boots with 

 him, they were now nearly barefooted ; and the girl, having lost 

 her tools, was unable to mend the dilapidated footgear. 



The mountains they saw were doubtless those of the east coast. 

 The nearest lay N.E. or e.n.e., and are smaller than those on the 

 west, if this may be decided from the smaller quantity of snow on 

 their summits. Dalager thought that, so far as a journey to the 

 east coast across the inland ice was concerned, there was nothing to 

 preclude its possibility in the nature of the ground. The fields of 

 ice were not so dangerous or so full of chasms, or these so deep as 

 was supposed in his day, and is still generally believed in Greenland. 

 Some are hollowed out like a valley, and others so narrow that they 

 could easily be leaped over with the aid of their guns, or, not being 

 long, can be avoided by a short circuit. On the other hand, he 

 points out that there are difficulties almost insuperable in the way. 

 No one could carry provisions sufficient for such a journey, even if 

 they could supply themselves on the other side for the return 

 journey, and the cold is intensely severe. On the 7th they got back 

 to the fjord where they had left their kajaks. Then crossed next 

 morning, and arrived at their tents before nightfall. 1 



3. Kielsen s Journey in 1830. — 0. B. Kielsen was a whale-fishing 

 assistant at Holstenborg 2 in the Inspectorate of South Greenland, 

 situated at the mouth of a large fjord. On the 1st of March, 1830, 

 Kielsen penetrated in from this fjord with three sledges, and only 

 provided with dogs' food for the first two days, as one is always 

 moderately certain to fall in with reindeer in that section. The 

 3rd of March brought him to the last inhabited Greenland fishing- 

 station at the bottom of the fjord, and from this he ran as straight 

 as he could into the interior over the land. After having passed 

 the night in a cleft in the rocks, he ran the whole of the next day. 

 The land was for the most part rather level and unvaried, and his 

 course lay over small lakes and streams. The ground also became 

 more deeply covered with snow, which made travel more difficult, 

 and led to a corresponding scarcity of reindeer and fuel. The 5th 

 of March was devoted to reindeer-hunting for selves and dogs, and 



1 David Cranz's ' History of Greenland, &c.' (English translation, 1820), vol. i. 

 p. 18; and Hans Egede Saabye's ' Bruchstucke eines Tagebuches, gekaltcn in 

 Gronland in 1770 bis 1778 aus dein DaaaiBchen iibereietzt von G. Fries' (Ham- 

 burg, 1817). 



2 According to Inglofield, in lat. 66° 56' 46" N., long. 53° 42' w. Bondo, how- 

 ever, gives it as 66° 56' n., and 53° 42' w. ; while Ulrich, of the Dani.sli navy, 

 makee it 66< 56' 16" n., 53" 40' 'M" w. 



