Report on the Danmark expedition to the north-east coast. 23 



object not only of making magnetic observations at high latitudes, 

 but also assuredly of approaching and if possible landing on the east 

 coast of Greenland: in any case an ice pilot accompanied the vessel, 

 by name Defeanc, who had made no less than 7 voyages to Greenland. 



The commander of the expedition was the French Lieutenant de 

 vaisseau Jules de Blosseville. With the naval brig "la Lilloise" 

 he sailed from Dunkirk in the night between the 2nd and 3rd of July 

 and arrived in the Nord Fjord of Iceland already on the 7th. After 

 a short stay here he stood over towards the east coast of Greenland, 

 which he sighted on the 29th; with the aid of a series of bearings he 

 then sketched the coast at a distance of ca. 70 miles between ca. 68 1/2° 

 and 69° N. lat. The ice prevented Blosseville from reaching the 

 coast and on the following day he set his course for Iceland to repair 

 some small damages. Here he ran into Vopna Fjord. On August 5th 

 "la Lilloise" left this fjord and disappeared utterly \vithout a sign, 

 probably crushed by the ice during continued efforts to chart more 

 of the east of Greenland. 



In 1834 ^ Lieutenant de vaisseau Dutaillis with the naval brig 

 "la Bordelaise" and in 1835 ^ and in 1836 ^ Lieutenant de vaisseau 

 Teehouart with the corvette "la Recherche" were sent out to seek 

 information of "la Lilloise". But all search was in vain and none of 

 the expeditions increased our knowledge of the east coast of Greenland. 



This was the case, however, on the 2nd German North Pole 

 Expedition, which under Captain Karl Koldewey of the merchant 

 service was carried out in the years 1869 — 70*. In the previous year, 

 1868, Koldewey had made a sort of reconnoitring voyage in a yacht 

 bought in Tromsø, during which he had only once succeeded in sighting 

 the east coast of Greenland from Cape Broer Ruys to Pendulum Island, 

 at a distance of only 16 miles from the latter island °. 



The 2nd German North Pole Expedition numbered 2 vessels, 

 the steamer Germania, which was commanded by Koldewey, and 

 the schooner Hansa commanded by P. F. A. Hegemann. On June 

 15th the expedition sailed from Bremen; but on July 20th. when the 

 vessels were on the edge of the ice about 74°04' N. lat. and 12°ô2' W. 

 long., they separated in the fog and did not meet again. 



During its attempts to reach Sabine Island, which had been 

 agreed upon as meeting place if the vessels separated, the Hansa was 



1 Annales maritimes et coloniales 1834, Part 2, Vol. II, p. 542. 



^ Annales maritimes et coloniales 183.5, Part 2, Vol. I, pp. 320 and 359. 



' Annales maritimes et coloniales 1836, Part 2, Vol. II, p. 513. 



* Die zweite Deutsche Nordpolarfahrt in den Jahren 1869 und 1870. Leipzig 

 1873. 



■■ К. Koldewey. Die erste Deutsche N'ordpolar-Expedition im Jahre 



1868. Ergänzungsheft No. 28 zu Petermanns Geographischen Mittheilungen. 



Gotha 1871. 



