6 REPORT 1869. 



Unartuvarsok is now the only inhabited place on the Mhole of the "Waigat 

 side of Disco Island, and the sole inducement to visit it lay in the expecta- 

 tion that Ave should be able to find a native who knew the localities of Uja- 

 rasuksumitok and Kudlisct. In this we were not disappointed; the native 

 catechist (teacher) oifered to act as guide, and moreover invited us to pass 

 the night in his house. AYo did so, and found the atmosphere most filthy. 



Early on the following morning we again started, passing at a short 

 distance from the settlement some remarkable peaks that stood in advance 

 of the great basaltic clifts which arc the chief features of Disco Island. 

 These cliffs are everywhere crowned by glaciers, which occasionally, but 

 rarely on the Waigat side of the island, pour over and advance towards 

 the shore. Near the settlement of Unartuvarsok there are two or three 

 points, at least, at which this glacier-plateau could be reached without much 

 difiiculty *. 



Coal-seams are exposed at a number of points both along the Waigat and 

 on the coast between Flakkerhuk and Godhavn. Dr. Eink mentions f five 

 places at which it is found along those shores ; there are at least three others, 

 - — one spoken of by Giesecke ; another near to Issungoak IS'ess, from which I 

 obtained amber through the natives ; and a third nearer to Godhavn. At 

 the time of our visit fossil wood had been found: — 1st, at Iglutsiak, near 

 Godhavn ; 2nd, at Signifik, between the last-named place and Flakkerhuk ; 

 3rd, at Ujarasusuk (Ujarasuksumitok) ; and 4th, at Kulfelden (Kudliset). 

 Specimens from these places are in the University Museum at Copenhagen, 

 and on my return I obtained, through the courtesy of Professor Johnstrup, 

 duplicate specimens from the first two named. Until the time of our visit 

 leaves had not, however, been found, with the exception of a few specimens 

 by Dr. LyaU. Amber had, however, been found at several places ; and from 

 this fact, and from the statement by Giesecke that he had himself observed 

 impressions of leaves (apparently Anr/elica A)xhan(/elica), there was little 

 doubt but that a more careful search would yield results. It was most im- 

 portant to find the place spoken of by Giesecke as liitenbenk's Kulbrund. 

 There was difficulty in doing so : the natives differed among themselves ; but 

 we now know that this name is applied equally to aU the places along the 

 Waigat coast of Disco from which coal lias been taken for Piitenbenk, At 

 the present time coal for that colony is only taken from one place on Disco, 

 namely, Ujarasuksumitok ; but it has been taken from several others, and 

 hence we were much puzzled to determine the precise point to which Giesecke 

 referred. 



On arrival at Ujarasuksumitok it was found that the coal was exposed in 

 the cliff by the shore, at a height of about fifty feet above the sea. It had 

 been worked a length of fifty feet to a depth of four and a half: one could 

 not say what was the entire depth of the seam, as the lower part was covered 

 up by debris. jUI the natives were put to work, but for some hours we failed 

 to find anything more than wood (up to five inches diameter), charred stems, 



* The coast -line of the ^yaigat strait is laid down very inexactly in existing maps. Tlio 

 chart of Dr. Eink, which is probably the best, makes the Disco coast very nearly a straight 

 line from the promontory called I.ssungoak Ness to the shores opposite to Hare Island. 

 In fact the coast-line from the above-named point to halfway up tlie strait is formed by 

 one great bay tliat includes numerous smaller ones. We coasted these, and remnrked that 

 for a considerable distance from the shore they were extremely shallow. At a distance of 

 a half English mile, or even more, there were places with a depth of only eight or nine 

 feet. The whole of the Waigat, indeed, appeared to be shallow. Small icebergs were 

 aground in numerous places in the very centre of it. 



t Gronland Geographisk og Statistisk beski-evet, vol. i. pp. 172, &c. 



