170 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. V., No. 108. 



west reaches the waters of Jones Sound in their 

 northern extensions. 



The importance of the northern work is not 

 confined, as many think, to the mere planting 

 of the American flag a few miles nearer the 

 northern axis of the globe than has floated 

 the standard of an} r other nation. Lockwood's 

 journey has gone very far towards settling the 

 much-vexed geographical question, the config- 

 uration and northern extension of Greenland. 

 The farthest point seen is scarcely three hun- 

 dred miles from the land of Lambert, sighted 

 on the east coast in 1670, and less than four 

 hundred and twenty-five from the most north- 

 ern point of Koldeway and Payer. Of the forty- 

 seven degrees of longitude between Fort Con- 

 ger and Cape Bismarck, but twenty remain 

 unknown. I venture the opinion that future 

 voyages will confirm the indications growing 

 out of our discoveries, that Arthur Land is 

 separated from Grinnell Land by a fiord or 

 channel connecting the western polar ocean 

 with Hayes Sound. I also think that the 

 northern coast-lines of the Parry Archipelago 

 will be found trending gradually in a north- 

 easterly direction, and terminating in Arthur 

 Land. On these points, as well as on the 

 remarkably fertile belt of iceless country found 

 by me in the interior of Grinnell Land, such 

 as Nordenskiold hoped to find in Greenland, 

 I trust soon to dwell at length in a forthcom- 

 ing narrative. 



A. W. Greely, Lieut. U. S. army. 



THE CONFIGURATION OF GRINNELL 

 LAND AND ELLESMERE LAND. 



The discoveries of the Greely expedition on 

 the west shore of Grinnell Land are most valu- 

 able and important, as there was a vast field 

 for conjecture concerning the configuration of 

 the coast-line of this large island. The ex- 

 ploration of the north shore by Lieut. Aldrich 

 of Nares' expedition proved the improbability 

 of any great extension to the west. The dis- 

 covery of the west shore at so short a distance 

 as Lieut. Lock wood found it, was, however, 

 quite unexpected. From the description of 

 Hayes Sound, obtained by Dr. Bessels from 

 the Smith-Sound natives, and from information 

 and drawings I received last summer during 

 my sta} r on Davis Strait from natives who had 

 crossed Lancaster and Jones Sound, and lived 

 on EilesmereLand, it is possible to learn some- 

 thing more about this long and unexplored 

 coast. 



The most exact description I received was 



from an Eskimo woman whom I met at Cape 

 Kater. She was born at Igluling in Fury and 

 Hecla Strait, had lived some time in Repulse 

 Bay, returned to Igluling, and afterwards 

 crossed the land to Admiralty Inlet, which the 

 natives call ' Tudnunirossirn.' There she lived 

 for a number of years ; and about fifteen } r ears 

 ago she started with a party to North Devon, 

 which the Eskimo call ' Tudjan.' There is lit- 

 tle intercourse between Baffin Land and North 

 Devon, Lancaster Sound being seldom covered 

 by a solid ice-floe. The north shore of Baffin 

 Land ( ' Weevang ' of the natives) is generally 

 washed by water during the whole winter. 



Crossing the sound on sledges, these Eskimo 

 passed a very small island, most probably the 

 rock seen by Capt. Adams in 1871, and in two 

 or three days reached the opposite shore. They 

 did not follow the shores of North Devon, but 

 crossed the ice-covered island on sledges. In 

 four days the} r reached the north shore, whence 

 a long and narrow peninsula, Nedlung, stretches 

 to Ellesmere Land (their ' Oomingmam nuna,' 

 i.e. , musk-ox land) . Through the narrow pas- 

 sage dividing Tudjan from Nedlung runs a veiy 

 strong tidal current, which keeps open a water- 

 hole throughout the winter. All around this 

 place the ice wastes quickly in the spring, and 

 forms a large basin of water abounding with 

 seals. Only that part of the peninsula which 

 lies nearest to North Devon is high and steep, 

 and forms a bold face : farther north it is very 

 low. The length of Nedlung may be about 

 forty miles ; its width, three or four miles. 

 West of it there are numerous small islands, 

 called ' Kikkertakdjuin : ' to the east there are 

 no islands. 



Having reached Oomingmam nuna, the Es- 

 kimo fell in with a small tribe residing on this 

 shore. Here they lived for some time, as an 

 abundance of seals was found during the whole 

 year. Farther north-west there is a large fiord, 

 called ' Kangirtuksiak,' off which an island is 

 found, Kikkertakadlinang. The Eskimo did 

 not go to the land on the other side of the 

 fiord, as polar bears are said to be very numer- 

 ous and large there. 



I obtained this information by most careful 

 and minute investigation on every point. I 

 also Jieard some less detailed descriptions of 

 the journey to Oomingmam nuna by natives of 

 Ponds Bay, who had not been there themselves, 

 but had heard about it from their ancestors ; 

 and I may here state that all their traditions 

 and descriptions which I had a chance to verify 

 proved accurate and reliable. 



There can be no doubt about the identity 

 of Tudjan and North Devon, as they say that 



