8 A SUMMER IN GREENLAND 
structure of the hill-tops on the two sides of the 
strait shows that the deep channel of the Vaigat has 
in comparatively recent times been cut through a 
vast plateau; initiated bysome fracturein the earth’s 
crust the channel was deepened and broadened 
by the action of denuding agents. The water is 
sprinkled with icebergs of all shapes and sizes, 
their bright whiteness contrasting with the dark 
blue slopes of the hills beyond which are relieved 
by the shining ice-covered summits and the bands 
of snow on the ledges of the lava and ash. Fogs 
in the Vaigat are fairly common. On one occasion 
looking down from the mountains of the peninsula 
the more distant part of the Vaigat was seen to be 
filled by a slowly advancing flood of white clouds, 
which gradually obliterated the icebergs and the 
bases of the cliffs until eventually the whole of the 
water and the lower ground was submerged and 
the rolling surface of the invading mist was 
illuminated above by a bright blue sky. 
It was a comparatively rare event to see any 
signs of human life as we travelled along the 
Vaigat, but occasionally we met a solitary kayaker 
or an umyak. One evening a sturdy little Eskimo 
returning from hunting, the dead body of a seal 
made fast to the side of the kayak, paddled to our 
motor-boat. The square piece of white cloth at the 
bow of the kayak (Fig. 20) is a device employed 
when hunting to make the seal believe that the 
kayak is a piece of ice: a white cap worn by the 
hunter adds to the deception. We were assured 
that Polar bears when stalking seals sometimes 
