300 I*rof. Nordenshidld—^JExjoecUtion to Greenland. 



hearted as the G-reenlander himself. Real service, in the European 

 sense of the word, he will seldom bear long. He is unwilling, for 

 any length of time, to leave his turf-house, his wife, children, and 

 dogs. He avoids every danger to which his fishing does not drive 

 him — nay, not only danger, but what he vainly imagines to be such ; 

 as, for example, a longer sail in a capacious and safe whale -fishing 

 boat. 



A G-reenlander cannot now, at least in winter, dispense with 

 several articles of food imported from Europe, e.g. bread and coffee, 

 but he can never spare sufficient to purchase at once enough even 

 for a week. He is accordingly obliged to reside so near a Danish 

 trading- station (colony or depot) as to be able daily to barter the 

 train and skin of the captured seal for bread, coffee, sugar, etc. The 

 Greenlanders' winter dwellings are, therefore, seldom situated far 

 from the trading-station, but in general crowded together in its 

 immediate neighbourhood. But a Greenlander, who is active and 

 able to hunt, is glad to leave his close hut in the summer, and betake 

 himself, together with the women and children of his household, to 

 a fishing or hunting district, at a distance of several dozen miles, 

 where the family settles in a summer tent made of reindeer hides, 

 to live for a time exclusively on the produce of the land. 



On this account, there is in most of the colonies, during the 

 summer, a dearth of men, and especially of such as are able and 

 willing to undertake a longer journey in a whaling-boat. Imme- 

 diately on our arrival at Godhavn we experienced this, finding it 

 utterly impossible here to get together sufficient crews to man the 

 two whaling-boats indispensably necessary for us. After more than 

 a week's vain parleying, we were, therefore, glad to avail ourselves 

 of the opportunity offered by one of the Trade's vessels of a passage 

 for ourselves and our apparatus (the zoologists' chests, lines, dredges, 

 etc., alone loaded a couple of boats) to Egedesminde, where we were 

 assured we should meet with less difficulty. 



We arrived at Egedesminde, a colony situated on the southern 

 side of Disko Bay, after scarce half a day's voyage, and, thanks to 

 the assistance given us by the hospitable governor of the place, Mr. 

 Bollbroe, we found ourselves, within a few hours after our arrival, in 

 a condition to begin our summer's work in earnest. One whaling- 

 boat was purchased, and another was borrowed of Bollbroe, who 

 also procured the crews necessary for manning the boats. 



Dr. Oberg remained with one boat, in the neighbourhood of 

 Egedesminde, for the purpose of dredging, and other zoological re- 

 searches. Dr. Berggren, Dr. Nordstrom, and I proceeded with the 

 other boat southward, past Manermiut and Kangaitsiak, to the most 

 northerly of the long, narrow, almost river-like fjords, which pene- 

 trate far into the land between Egedesminde and Holsteinsborg. We 

 left Egedesminde on the 12th of July, in the afternoon. 



We took up our night-quarter, the 12th of July, at Manermiut, 

 the 13th at Kangaitsiak, the 14th, 15th, and 16th on islands in 

 Auleitsivik. On the 17th we at length arrived at the nearest object 



