12 G. Holm. 



they came over to see us, that is to say, when they could get to 

 us over land. The East-Greenlanders did not venture to go out 

 into the rough surf near the coast; one man who ventured to do 

 so, namely the best hunter in the fjord , capsized in the breakers. 

 Our kaiaker, Samuel, on the other hand was always ready to go 

 out hunting in his kaiak, and pretty often came back with capture, 

 whereas the East-Greenlanders remained at home and hungered. 

 In the course of the winter Samuel took about 40 seals, and the 

 natives frequently came to beg meat from us. 



When our neighbours had been some time without hunting, 

 their winter supplies of provisions gave out, and they began to 

 hunger. They soon began to find their way in the long dark nights 

 to our bread-sacks, which were stowed away under our umiak, 

 and altogether they stole about 50 pounds of bread from us. We 

 could, of course, hardly blame these starving people for taking of 

 what in their eyes must have appeared to be incredible riches, but, 

 as we were obliged nevertheless to put a stop to it, I forbade the 

 natives for a time to come to our house. When the prohibition 

 was removed, those who had been the greatest pilferers no longer 

 ventured to come and see us, naturally because they felt certain 

 that the others, who had undeservedly suffered on their account, 

 must have informed us who the thieves were. 



When the winter hunting on the solid ice began in the month 

 of February, the daily visits of our neighbours gradually fell off, 

 but then the other natives from Sermilik and Sermiligak and the 

 interior of the Angmagsalik fjord came to pay us visits and barter 

 with us. We bought from them especially ethnographical objects, 

 and gave them in exchange iron ware, stuffs, tobacco, beads etc. 

 They were not deterred from visiting us by having to trudge eight 

 or ten hours over high mountains, deep snow and pack-ice in the 

 bays, even in spite of their having fallen through the ice at places 

 where there were currents under the ice at a temperature of from 

 20 to 25 degrees (C) below zero. 



When the Greenlanders came to visit us, we took anthropo- 

 logical measurements, following the directions given by Prof. Virchow 

 in "Anthropologie und prähistorische Forschungen". The people 

 were most willing to allow themselves to be measured without 

 anything on but their drawers (natit). We only succeeded in getting 

 hold of a few skulls, as the natives have a practice of throwing 

 their dead into the sea. 



The natives of Angmagsalik that winter had only very few dogs 

 for driving their sledges, nearly all the dogs having been killed 

 for eating during the recent period of famine. We were therefore 



