, 1909-03-03

lIG QeDOI Ldu W nc l1hQ6 fCLJ aL4A"H3 N0o
thus at last they reached a place where the
colst began to bend westward. The second
d, vision went north to Peary Land, while the
first division went west into Peary channel.
They followed the coast of this channel, thus
coming into the big Denmark ford, which
was early 80 miles deep, all the time be-
lieving, as in fact they had reason to believe,
that they were in a channel leading up to
Cape Glacier. At last they discovered their
mistake, and had to go out again. They got
some musk-oxen, but far up in the noun.
tains, from whore it was impossible to trans
port them down to the camp.
The second division was luckier. They
too got musk-oxen, but quite close to the
tents, the mu8k-oxen standing in their
usual battle array with the calves in the mid
die. This lucky incident probably saved the
lives of Kock and his companions, for at
that period their dogs had been quite
worn out with hunger and had hardly been
able to pull the sledges. They passed
Peary's cairn and continued as far rs Cape
Bridgemann, the northermost terminus of
Peary Land. 1881 Q Q N. lat, where they
built q cairn and unfurled the Danish
colours.
On May % they met the first diyi-
sion at Cape Rigsdagen, i'll the mouth
of the Denmark ford. Bat as Mylius
Erickson wanted to continue for q couple
Of days more in order to explore the still
unexplored land to the westward up to
Cape Glacior, they soon parted again, and
Koch with his companions FASTENED to the
ship. On their way home they had several
difficult passages, owing to the large amount
Of open water along the coast. Thus they
had to pass the Malemuk mountain Oh a very
marrow glacier, slanting almost perpoudicu-
lar to the open water. They arrived at the
harbour of the Dunm1oaTt on June oath, the
same day on which the rivers began to run.
Summer had come, and though | began
to feel anxious because Myths Erickson and
his companions had not returned, | could
do nothing to help them. AS is wei known,
travelling during the summer time is quite
out of the question in q country like Green
land. On land the snow has melted away,
in every groove n river is flowing, and at
sea the ice is lying still, though it is broken up
up in cracks and cranuies, SO that progress
by boat or sledge is equally impossible.
However, as soon as the autumn ice began
to form, ThostIup, the second mate, was
sent out with six sledges to rescue Mylius
Erickson and his two companions. The
sIedges broke through the thin ice and mel
and dogs narrowly escaped being drowned.
AT Jokel Bay they had q very difficult pass
ng6 on the inland ice, whore the cracks were
not yet covered with snow. Several of the
dogs fell down to the bottom Of these cracks,
two or three hundred feet deep, where their
drivers tried to shoot them, but did not
always succeed. At last Thostrup reached
the Malemuk mountain, but even this time T
he found open water, and had to return
without having seen anything of the missing
men. We were very sad at the time that
the rescue party had not been able to pene-
trate further, but afterwards we had only
reason to be glad, considering that Mylius
Erickson and his companions had mounted
the inland ice on the very same day when
the rescue sledges had returned, and that
they would thus never have reached him,
but perhaps only have ~pelished themselves
In their vain efforts.
ITO be 00rtjnu6d)