, 1909-03-06

that OF the now ice, which has s'iIi the tenn
p%erature Of the water. Our meteorological,
Mr.. Wegeuer, studied these phenomena with
great skill, and moreover had the magnetic
and electrical observations
In the beginning of November the sun
lett Us for GOO the red colours Of the south
EN- sky grow fainter and fainter, while
from the north darkness spread all along the
Sky. The temperature went down, in Fe-
bruary md March it was as low as $50
Fnhr., bnt in periods it would again rise
TO 80 and even to 80. Mr.. Wegener sent
up his kites and balloons throughout the
whole winter, and the Instruments often
registered n much higher temperature IN
the upper strata of the air.
AS a rule, the weather was calm and clear,
but when the barometer sank, the tempera-
ture rose, and The sky became overcast we
oil sought shelter, for then we knew that
" so m was corning, drifting the snow high
above the masthead, and generally lasting
for two or three days.
We spent two years in Greenland, and in
the two years the weather was quite differ
ent. Clhe winter Of 1906-O7 was cold ana
calm. the winter OF 1907 08 milder and more
windy. The ice in The first winter grew 9
feet thick and broke up very late, in the
second it was only 4 feet thick) In the
mlddjo-of February the sun came back, and
May tld juno were a period of fOg8 and
faipt sea broezes. Otherwise, the wine was
constantly from the northwest, com
ING from the high pressure of air which is
found over the inland ice. The climate was
very healthy, and we had no discusses at all.
The only time our physician, DR.. Lindhard,
was acting in his official capacity was once
when we had been poisoned by II boar's liver.
We found no living Eskimo, but every
NJhnVA oj,,y {hL 1,,.t -, 49, No.
ford we found their tent stones, their meat
caches, and in some places even winter
dwellings. From kayaks and umyaks they
have hunted the same animals which we
found there, and besides whales and rein
deer, which we did not find. Our oshuolo-
Blsf, Ihostrup, made a very interesting col
lection Of their various tools, etc.
Outside the coast the pack ice was moving
southwark with the polar current, and we
have mapped out the border Of this pack-icp,
which showed that the current is every.
where following the limo of the outer isl .uds
and rocks, while in the waters inside this
line pack-ice is rarely found. 1t was rather
an interesting fact that we found great lanes
III the ice from 8O2 to 81 N. lat. At the
MNlemuk mountuin we found open water
every time, in April, June, and November,
the cause of which must, | suppose, be the
current. The waters in The Gjords was mixed
up polar and gulf water, the gulf water pro
badly running in along the supposed Green
land-Spltsborgon ridge and going soutlaard
with the polar current,
had my Instruments on a gledge, aud by
making holes in the ice l was able to carry
on Investigations even in a temperature Of
-20 Fair. In a big fresh water lake l
fonnd salt water, smelling OF sulphide Of
hydrogen, at the bottom. The lake must
formerly have been a ford, but the land has
risen SO that the ford became a lake. The
geological conditions, as well us the fact that
we found the culcase of a big whale mt the
border Of this lake, seem to strengthen this
theory. The tides were not very strong
the ordinary difference between high and
low water was 5 feet.
Before l conclude 1 will just tell you the
sad story of the last voyage Of MyIius Erich
sen, Hagen, and Bronlund. AS mentioned
above, they parted with Koch on May % at
Peory Land. Myths Erickson and his com
pauions continued in a westerly direction,
but got into q new ford. Their return was
thus delayed until the arrival of summer
made it utterly impossible. They made an