84 G. Amdrip. 



vestigated it geologically and geographiially from the 10th to the 17th. 

 On the 18th the return journey was begun and the sledge party arrived 

 at the ship on the 19th. 



The first sledge journey was thus completed and was in every 

 respect satisfactory. Depots had been laid out at Cape Amélie, on 

 Bjorneskærene, Hagens Isl. and Nordre Depot Isl., and the unknown 

 land right up to ca. 78^4° had been partially charted and surveyed. 



But the principal thing was, that the sledge equipment had been 

 tested and experience gained for the coming, important sledge jour- 

 neys. Mylius-Erichsen and all the members were agreed, that the 

 best method of travelling was by means of the Eskimo dog sledges, 

 an experience which .Mylius-Erichsen had gained on his e.xpedition 

 to Cape York and which had been fully confirmed on the sledge jour- 

 ney just ended. And this had by no means been carried out under 

 specially favourable conditions. The sun was up for only a short 

 time in the day and the temperature had often been very low. At 

 the station in Danmarks Havn, for example, the minimum tempera- 

 ture during the period from the 1st to the 19th of October had reached 

 — 22.3° С and the mean for these 19 days of all the daily minima 

 was — 13.5° С The sledging had at times been exceedingly bad, 

 especially in Jøkelbugt, so that good opportunities had been obtained 

 of seeing, how the sledges behaved under different conditions. 



During the sledge journey northwards and after this the work 

 at the station, to bring it into complete order, was being steadily 

 pushed on. On the ice forward on the starboard side a snow house 

 for ice was built and on the port side a snow house for the motor car- 

 riage. A number of snow houses were built for the dogs. The con- 

 struction was the same for all the houses. Snow-blocks of about one 

 foot in diameter were cut from very hard, frozen snow and the walls 

 built up by building the blocks one above the other. The roof was 

 formed of some planks with snow above. It was not until October 

 24th, when the superstructure on the ship was finished, that the station 

 assumed its final appearance. 



After Lindhard and Weinschenck had overhauled and cleaned 

 the motor-carriage, this was again tested. With two men on it over 

 fairly heavy snow the motor overtook Jørgen Bro.\lund's sledge, 

 which with Freuchen and 9 dogs had been given a start of about 

 30 meters. There is thus scarcely any doubt, that on many occasions 

 motor-carriages would be found very useful on arctic expeditions. 



The naturalists were constantly busy, each in his own field, but 

 gradually as the cold increased in intensity and everything became 

 covered with ice and snow^, the out-door work was more and more 

 restricted. But there was also more than enough to do indoors, in 

 Avorking up the material already collected. 



