THE WHITE WOLF. 
Written and Illustrated with Photographs by JoHANNES MADSEN, of Copenhagen. 
HEN, between 1891 and 1892, the ‘Hekla” expedition, under the command of 
Captain C. Ryder, was lying in winter quarters on the shores of Greenland, 
there were plenty of reindeer and not a few musk-ox to be seen, but no signs at all 
of the Polar Wolf. But when the Swedish Professor, A. G. Nathorst, in 1899, was 
in search of the unfortunate Mr. Andree in Greenland, he came across many tracks of 
white wolves, and was able to bring back one which he bought from the captain 
of a whaling ship. The year after, the writer of these lines had a welcome opportunity 
of visiting Greenland, and during his expedition had the same experience as Professor 
Nathorst. 
Everywhere on shore (between 70° and 75° N. lat.) we found tracks of the white 
wolf, but never did we catch a glimpse of reindeer. One day we saw very plainly a 
pair of white wolves on the snow, but owing to the sea running very high it was 
quite out of the question to get a boat launched. During my trips on shore I was 
able to take several photographs from life of the musk-ox,* but none of the polar wolf, 
though, while following the tracks of the former, we sometimes observed those of the 
latter in the rear. 
In the same year another expedition (a Swedish one, under Mr. G. Kolthoff) 
brought home two pelts of white wolves from Hast Greenland. 
Two years after my trip to Greenland I visited Captain Otto Sverdrup, commander 
and leader of the renowned “Fram” expedition, to whom I am indebted for being 
enabled to make a very pleasant acquaintance with the two white wolves caught by 
him in Hllesmereland. 
It is rather interesting to observe 
how the polar wolves, during the 
last eight to ten years, must have 
wandered from the north down to 
the east coast of Greenland. All 
the observations made by Nathorst, 
Kolthoff, and our Danish Antarctic 
expedition result in the following 
facts, viz.: there have been found 
plenty of tracks of polar wolves from 
the north to Scoresby Sound, the 
wolves very likely wandering about 
both singly and in pairs; the rein- 
deer, which in the year 1891 Ryder 
found in large flocks in Greenland, 
have completely disappeared. 
The following facts relating to 
the subject, for which I am indebted 
to the kindness of Captain Otto 
Sverdrup, with leave to use them, 
will be found to be of interest. 1 
ADAM AND EVE. need hardly observe that Captain 
* An article on this animal will be published in a future number of Anrman Lire, and also one, by the same 
author, on ‘The Scandinavian Hlk.”—Ep, 
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