Report on the Danmark expedition to tlie nortli-east coast. 139 



June 22nd. After coA'ering ca. 40 kilometers southwards along 

 the coast a halt was made. At 8 p. m. they started again. 



June 23rd. At 2 a. m. the 2nd party reached the ship after 88 

 day's absence. 



The return of the 2nd party concluded one of the finest sledge 

 expeditions ever made by arctic explorers. 



In extent of the journey as well as cartographical results and 

 physical investigations it comes up on a level with the best and 

 greatest sledge journeys yet made on sea-ice in arctic regions 4 



With undaunted courage, hardihood and energy the 2nd party 

 under Koch's guidance had brought the journey to an end. Many 

 dangers had been encountered. It was only with the greatest diffi- 

 culty that they succeeded in getting past the open water near Malle- 

 mukfjæld. What would have become of the 2nd party if they had 

 been forced to wait the summer or return home by way of the inland 

 ice, is difficult to say, but the prospect of getting home alive would 

 have been small, especially as Koch and Bertelsen were not in the 

 best of health at the time. 



This danger was not unknown to the travellers. On the journey 

 north, when they had met with broad openings off Mallemukfjæld 

 in spite of a temperature of — 20° to 30° C. and found numerous 

 traces of Eskimo settlements on Eskimo Naze and frozen-in drift 

 timber at 81°22', it must have been clear to Mylius-Erichsen and 

 his comrades that from Mallemukfjæld and further northwards past 

 the Nordost Runding they would often during the summer be 

 stopped by open water. 



Nevertheless they started northwards with a comparatively 

 small store of provisions and dog food and therewith, so to speak, 

 burnt the bridges behind them. 



The connection between Peary's journey from the west and 

 Koldewey's and Payer's journey from the south had now been 

 established. A splendid cartographic work had been carried out by 

 Koch on the journey, while Bertelsen, the first painter who had 

 been on a sledge expedition of this kind, brought back with him sket- 

 ches from the whole journey even from above 83° N. lat. What 

 Tobias Gabrielsen was to the 2nd party is best seen from Bertel- 

 sen's and Koch's words about him in their official report sent in to 

 the "Danmark Expedition", quoted literally in the following: 



"We find it natural here to call attention to the special import- 

 ance which Tobias has had for the 2nd sledge party. 



It was first and foremost Tobias who procured the game which 

 made it possible to bring this long journey to a happy ending; on his 



' The distance covered was more than 2U0U kilometers. 



