360 Prof. Nordenskiold — Expedition to Greenland. 



ptarmigans, wliicli seemed to indicate that these fowls visit these 

 desert tracts in by no means inconsiderable flocks. Everything else 

 around ns was lifeless. Nevertheless silence by no means reigned 

 here. On bending down the ear to the ice, one could hear on every 

 side a peculiar subterranean hum, proceeding from rivers flowing 

 within the ice ; and occasionally a loud single report like that of a 

 cannon gave notice of the formation of a new glacier cleft. 



After taking the observations, we proceeded over comparatively 

 better ground. Later in the afternoon we saw, at some distance 

 from us, a well-defined pillar of mist, which, when we approached it, 

 appeared to rise from a bottomless abyss, into which a mighty 

 glacier-river fell. The vast roaring water-mass had bored for itself 

 a vertical hole, probably all the way down to the rock, situated 

 certainly more than two thousand feet beneath, ou which the glacier 

 rested. 



The following day (the 23rd) we rested in latitude 68° 22' and 

 76' of arc longitude east frotu the position of our starting-point at 

 Auleitsivik. 



The provisions we had taken with us were, however, now so far 

 exhausted, that we were obliged to think of returning. We de- 

 termined nevertheless first to endeavour to reach an ice-hill visible 

 on the plain to the east, from which we hoped to obtain an extensive 

 view ; and, in order to arrive there as quickly as possible, we left the 

 scanty remains of our provisions and our sleeping sack at the spot 

 where we had passed the night, taking careful notice of the ice-rocks 

 around, and thus proceeded by forced march, without encumbrances. 



The ice-hill was considerably further off than we had supposed. 

 The walk to it was richly rewarded by an uncommonly extensive 

 view, which showed us that the inland ice continued constantly to 

 rise towards the interior, so that the horizon towards the east, north, 

 and south was terminated by an ice-border almost as smooth as that 

 of the ocean. A journey further (even if one were in a condition to 

 employ weeks for the purpose — which want of time and provisions 

 rendered impossible to us) could therefore evidently furnish no other 

 information concerning the nature of the ice than that which we had 

 already obtained ; and even if want of provisions had not obliged us 

 to return, we should hardly have considered it worth while to add a 

 few days' marches to our journey. Our turning-point was situated 

 at a height of 2200 feet above the level of the sea, and about 83' of 

 longitude, or 30 miles west of the extremity of the northern arm of 

 Auleitsivikfjord. 



On departing from the spot where we had left our provisions and 

 sleeping sack, we had, as we supposed, taken careful notice of its 

 situation ; nevertheless we were nearly obliged to abandon our search 

 as vain — an example which shows how extremely difficult it is, 

 without lofty signals, to find objects again on a slightly undulating 

 surface everywhere similar, like that formed by the inland ice. 



When, after anxiously searching in every direction, we at length 

 found our resting-place, we ate our dinner with an excellent appetite, 

 made some further reductions in our load, and then set off with all 



