Aug. 1857. REINDEEE CROSS THE GLACIER. 37 



parts are of course impassable, but, by following 

 the windings of the smooth surface, I think the 

 interior could be reached. Some attempts to 

 cross the glacier in South Greenland have failed, 

 yet, by studying its character and attending to 

 this remark, I think places might be found 

 where an attempt would succeed. Mr. Petersen 

 tells me that the Esquimaux of Upernivik are 

 unable to account for occasional disappearances 

 and reappearances of immense herds of rein- 

 deer, except by assuming that they migrate at 

 intervals to feeding-grounds beyond the glacier, 

 the surface of which he also says is smooth 

 enough in many places even for dog-sledges to 

 travel upon. As there is much uninhabited, 

 land both to the northward and southward of 

 Upernivik, I do not see the necessity for this 

 supposition. The habits of the Esquimaux 

 confine them almost exclusively to the islands 

 and seacoasts. 



