220 PETERSEN'S INFORMATION. Chap. XII. 



parties, but unfortunately no one thought of 

 getting them to delineate their local knowledge 

 upon paper. They spoke much of a large 

 island near the west coast called " Umingmak " 

 (musk ox) Island, where there was much open 

 water, abounding with walrus, and where some 

 of their people formerly lived.* 



Esquimaux exist upon the east coast of Green- 

 land as far north as lat. 76° ; how much farther 

 north is not known. They are separated from 

 the South Greenlanders by hundreds of miles of 

 icebound coasts and impassable glaciers. 



Many centuries ago a milder climate may and 

 probably did exist, and a corresponding modi- 

 fication of glacier and a sea less ice-encumbered 

 might have rendered the migration of these 

 poor people from the south to their present iso- 

 lated abodes practicable ; but to ine it appears 

 much more easy to suppose that they migrated 

 eastward from the northern outlet of Smith's 

 Sound. 



21st. — More pleasant weather since my last 

 entry ; and although last night the temperature 

 fell to — 47°, yet it has generally been mild ; 

 once it rose to —14°, but amply made amends by 

 falling to —38° within twelve hours. We have 



* Petersen conversed with two men who had themselves been up 

 to Umingmak Island. 



