IN THE INTERIOR OF GREENLAND 



by an occasional patch of grass and flowers in the more sheltered 

 spots, and by the Arctic forms of animal life which inhabited 

 it. The musk-oxen which had formerly lived in this country 

 had either been exterminated or had moved farther north; 

 but the diminutive, mouse-colored Arctic caribou roamed over 

 the barren mountains in small bands. White Arctic hares were 

 quite plentiful in some spots, and often grew to a weight of 

 eight pounds ; but the only other land mammals were an occa- 

 sional prowling fox or wolf There were no rodents to gnaw 

 the shed antlers of the caribou, with the result that, whitened 

 by the elements, these were scattered over the country in great 

 quantities. The dismal croaking raven acted as scavenger to 

 the country, and the Greenland ptarmigan was preyed upon 

 by the handsome gyrfalcon and the snowy owl. Arctic butter- 

 flies and buntings, and a few other small birds, completed the 

 catalogue of wild life in this region. 



We were forced to use small bowlders for tent-pegs, and 

 cooked our food over an alcohol stove. When we were cold 

 we crawled into our sleeping-bags. The absence of the cheerful, 

 crackling camp-fire of the wooded countries was felt less on 

 account of the fact that we had twenty-four hours of continu- 

 ous daylight. We had brought three Eskimo hunters with us; 

 but these people belong to a race which follow the sea for their 

 game, and were not of much use in climbing over bowlder- 

 strewn slopes after the fleet-footed caribou. 



We had not .been camped long in this spot before other 

 Eskimo hunters, who had learned of our whereabouts from the 

 steamer, arrived and pitched their tupiks beside our tent. 

 They brought their women, children, baggage, dogs, and sledges 

 with them; and had no hesitancy in sharing with us the caribou 

 meat which was almost daily brought into camp from the 

 surrounding country. These friendly and unsophisticated sav- 

 ages believed in sharing everything in common, even with 

 strangers, and vice versa. In this case they were the winners, 



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