8o 



NATURE 



[Nov. 22, I J 



kitsok. Only a little distance out to sea they found 

 a warm current— rising to 6° C— coming from the 

 south. The drift-ice was what Arctic skippers call 

 " knatteris," i.e. little bit5, viz. remains of large floes 

 after the influence of the summer heat and the Gulf 

 Stream. Very few icebergs v/ere seen, and they appear 

 to be far more numerous on the west coast. As it was 

 now late in the season, and the coals were nearly done, 

 Nordenskjold had reluctantly to renounce the plan of 

 reaching the fjords where the greatest ruins are said to 

 exist, and, instead, attemptto reach the south shore by Cape 

 Dan, a promontory which, if the Einafjord was situated 

 at Umanak or Ekaleumiut, should be the Herjolf s Naze 

 of the Sagas. " On the 4th, when off the Cape, we met 

 the ice twenty miles from the coast, which was, however, 

 passable, as it consisted mostly of large, loose floes only 

 a few feet above water, while nearer the shore it again 

 became heavier. Beyond this we saw an ice-free channel 

 three to four miles wide. The sea was as smooth as a 

 pond, and a boat could easily reach the shore. The 

 mountains ran mostly into the sea with almost perpen- 

 dicular declivities, without any grass-covered underland. 

 Opposite us we saw a small bay, into which I steamed, 

 in order to take the sun ; but finding both the depth and 

 the bottom unsuitable for anchoring, we only landed for 

 a few hours, while some of the crew went on the hills 

 above to look for a better harbour. The staff returned 

 on board with a rich harvest from the steep slopes, the 

 flora of which was copious beyond expectation. The 

 sailors reporting a harbour near, I steamed thereto and 

 cast anchor. It was a beautiful fjord, with several arms, 

 which was only connected with the sea through a small 

 opening, and was well sheltered. It was the first harbour 

 on the east coast south of the Polar circle, in which a 

 vessel had anchored for several centuries.' It was named 

 'King Oscar's Harbour.' If Cape Dan is the old Her- 

 jolf's Naze, this harbour is the "Sand" described by 

 Ivar Baardsen, 'much frequented by the Norwegians 

 and traders.' That the Norwegians had once been here 

 was demonstrated by walls of loose stones erected on the 

 mountains above the harbour, which had, no doubt, 

 served as landmarks for finding the almost hidden open- 

 ing of the fjord. We found, besides, some stone ruins 

 of a smaller house, identical with those found on the 

 west coast. These ruins are, of course, not extensive 

 enough to demonstrate that here was situated one of the 

 ' Bygder ' (parishes) of Greenland, but they may cer- 

 tainly serve as sign posts for future explorers of the east 

 coast. As soon as at anchor we went on shore, and 

 spread in all directions in order to examine the neigh- 

 bourhood. King rjscar's Harbour is surrounded by 

 soft, close, grass slopes and flourishing shrubs. The 

 fauna appeared to me more copious and the grass 

 less mixed with moss than on the west coast in 

 the same latitude. In one of the valleys a river 

 flowed, the shores of which consisted of loose sand with- 

 out any covering of grass. Here were found traces of 

 the Esquimaux. Some of the footprints were days old, 

 but others were so fresh that the moist sand had rot had 

 time to dry. Most probably they had taken flight 

 on seeing the steamer forcing the barrier which had 

 hitherto formed their shelter. We found plenty of 

 remains of them in the shape of huts, graves, fox- 

 pits, &c. The naturalists gathered here a quantity of 

 fresh materials of the fauna and flora of East Greenland, 

 among which I may specially mention the well-known 

 Potentilla aiiserina, which is found so often near the 

 Norse ruins in West Greenland, and w^hich may, for that 

 reason, be a sign of the Norse colonisation of East Green- 

 land. We found traces of reindeer, but none of the 

 musk-ox ; neither did we see any bears or walruses, and 

 only a few seals. Our whole bag was two ptarmigans. 



» North of the Polar circle the east^coast of ^Greenland is in many places 

 easily accessible. 



That the Esquimaux had decamped was very annoying, 

 as they could no doubt have given some valuable infor- 

 mation relating to this part of Greenland and the tribes 

 which inhabit it." 



After reconnoitring the coast still further, Baron Nor- 

 denskjold decided that his best course was to return at 

 once to Reikjavik. Before doing so, however, some hours 

 were spent in dredging and in hydrographical research, 

 as well as in photographing some of the coast scenery. 



" Having thus given an account of the work of my ex- 

 pedition, 1 have to point out that we have been the first 

 to penetrate into the heart of Greenland, and that our 

 journey has resulted in learning something about this 

 continent, the natural conditions of which may probably 

 give us a clue to the true condition of Scandinavia during 

 the Glacial period, the study of which is therefore of such 

 great importance to the geology of North Europe. Be- 

 sides this, valuable scientific data have been collected 

 during my voyage along the east coast of the composition 

 of the ice-belt which bars the way from the east to the 

 southern part of Greenland, while many errors as to the 

 state of the east coast of Greenland have been corrected. 

 In addition to these objects one more has been attained, 

 viz. the anchoring of a vessel by the shore of East 

 Greenland, an achievement attempted in vain for cen- 

 turies. If thus the work of the numerous expeditions 

 despatched since the sixteenth century by sea to the part 

 of Greenland lying opposite or south of Iceland to the 

 part where the Norse Osterbygd was or was not situated, it 

 will be found that not one of them succeeded in reaching 

 the coast. 



" A few words more in conclusion as to the purely scien- 

 tific results of the expedition. During the voyage of the 

 Sophia along the coast of Greenland from Cape Dan past 

 Cape Farewell to Cape York, and further from Cape 

 York around Cape Farewell to Ingolf's Mountain, 

 hydrographical researches and dredgings were effected 

 whenever time and weather would permit. These labours 

 were conducted by Herr Hamberg and Dr. Forsstrand. 

 In addition, Herr Hamljerg effected a number of analyses 

 of sea water, and the gases contained therein, from various 

 depths, while he brings home a series of the most carefully 

 effected measurements of the temperature of the sea, 

 which demonstrate that the cold current running along 

 the east coast is, both in width and depth, very insignifi- 

 cant, and rests eveti near the shore upon one of warm 

 water produced by the Gulf Stream. Davis Sound and 

 Baffin's Bay, on the other hand, are filled with cold or 

 very slightly warmed water to the bottom. Contrary, 

 therefore, to the general belief, the "west coast of Greenland 

 is washed by cold water, while a greatly heated current 

 coming from the south runs along the east coast a distaiiLC 

 of 40' to 50' only from the shore. This current must 

 exercise a great influence on the climate of the east coast, 

 which may be more moist, but, I believe, not colder than 

 that of the west coast. 



" The dredgings have yielded Dr. Forsstrand a fine 

 harvest of marine animals, &c., cf which I may mention 

 gigantic sponges from great depths in Denmark Sound 

 (between Iceland and Greenland). The dredgings on 

 the east coast were, however, greatly impeded through 

 causes detailed above, and by the circumstance that the 

 bottom consists mainly of huge boulders, which tore the 

 net. Of the animal species existing on land or in fresh 

 water, Herr Kolthoff has collected rich fresh materials of 

 the Greenland fauna. Especially will the variety of 

 insects collected be of great instructive value to science. 

 On account of the limited accommodation on board, and 

 from the circumstance that the flora of Greenland is well 

 known through Danish and Swedish specialists, I took no 

 botanist with me. But even in this field new materials 

 have been gathered through the zeal given to such re- 

 searches by Dr. Nathorst and Dr. Berlin whenever time 

 permitted. The collections of microscopical plaiits 



