Norwich bulletin., 1913-04-05


 of the journey was attained, that the
 coast had been surveyed and that now
 the entire outline of Greenland was mapped but that Ericksen, Lieut.. mo had perished. Certain of their
 records were recovered by relief
 party made up of other members of the exepdition, but among them were not included the diaries or observation
 books of Ericksen or Hagen.
 It was to recover these missing docu-
 ments that Captain Ejnar Mikkeisen Greenland, the most desolate region Of The Land of Desoiation.
 Captain Mikkelson left Copenhagen
 onJune 20. 1909, on board the Ala hama with six others-Lieutenant
 Laub, Lieutenant Jorgensen, Engineer
 A Aagaard, the mates Olsen and Paul
 sen, and the carpenter, Unger. Of the
 dogs sent to them from Greenland
 23 died and the remainder were sick
 ly. They proceeded to Augmasalik,
 where fresh dogs were obtained. The
 diaster to the dogs had delayed them
 considerably, and there was little
 corner of Greenland at all Aug.25
 they anchored off the southern point
 of Shannon Island. It had been their
 intention to try and reach Danmarks
 Haven, where the Mylius Ericksen ex-
 petition had left some houses and
 quite q store of provisions, but this
 they were unable to do and were com
 pe1Ied 10 winter on shannon 1SlaHo
 By Sept 9 the young ice was thick
 enough to make sledge trip north
 ward to Lambert's Land They reach
 ed Cape Bergendal on Nov Here
 they discovered the body of Brenlund
 buried in the snow. Nothing of i'm"
 portance was found, Captain Holck of the Ericksen expedition continued rorthwards in the hope of finding some traces of the others. but without re- suit Nov 8 they were forced to turn back because of the darkness and lack of provisions.
 It was not until Feb r that they were ready to begin sledging again Lieutenant Jorgensen who was suffer ing from frozen feet, and Ungec. remained on board the Alabama. while the others went northward in two parties. The one consisting of 1ver- sen and Mikkelsen, was to make the whole journey to Danmarks Fjord, while the other. consisting of Lieuten- ant Laub. Olsen and Paulsen, was to accompany them as far a s possible. As they had a total weight of $500 pounds to carry and only twenty dogs, tIey were obliged to make the journey by double stages. and it was March 25 when they reached Dove Bay.
 Discover Ericksen's Records.
 April 10 Iversen and Mikkelsen went on alone, with fuel and provisions for 100 days and fifteen dogs The crev- asses in the ice were very dangerous, the first warning of their presence be- ing when Iversen's sledge fell into one. After a couple of days fright fully heavy work" they reached more level ice on a 4.0O0 foot plateau, but the sledges went through into the cracks more than once. but luckily al ways caught somewhere May 12 they trod solid earth again. after 47 days on the ice. May g they found the first of the cairns built by Mylius Ericksen, which contained message to the effect that they had found game iE plenty on the plains of SjaeIands Slette, and were leaving there with provisions for sixteen days, intending to follow the outer coast, and not, as had previously been supposed, crossing the inland ice to Lambert's Land- They 1 hoped to reach their ships in six 1 weeks. They found nothing more un- til they reached the sit of Ericksen's l summer camp. there they round a re port of the splendid work which these 1 men had done, and learned of their | most interest. however, was the infor- l IT ation that the Peary channel did not l exist. This was an insurmountable | barrier in the plan of making their i down to the Eskimo settlement at l Fort Conger.
 Ate Their Dogs.
 It was now May 2S. As they turned l their faces homewards the snow be- | came soft. and their progress was | r u, June 20. It took them ten days to 1 cover the twenty-five miles down to the 1 southeastern point of Hovgaards Is 1 land where they found another depot | laid down by the DanmarkS expedition. 1 They had been on short rations now for |, three weeks, and although the country looked rich enough they soon found out that they could not reckon on finding the game of which they were so badly in need The provisions amounted to seven pounds of pemmican, the mos delicious dish that man ever tasted" It is our first thought when we wake ir the morning, and it is a solemn mo- ment when the pemmican boils. Spoon- ful by spoonful, the precious stuff is shared out lest one should get a drop more than the other, and even the we'll cooking pot is fairly divided one licking the lid and the other the pot itself, changing about at the next meal" The food simply eked out by a few ptarmigan which the explorers to shoot, and then food had to be made of the dogs, which intheir | utterly worn out condition, had become moree of a hindrance than a help.
 According to Q message from Thostrup | found at Mallemuk Fjaeld. there sshoud | be five eases of provisions on Schnaud- CTS Island On Aug. they left How gaards Island. it took them until the 25th to reach the northern point of Schnauders Island. At Lamberts Land they were obliged to kill their two dogs 1 for food. Dogs flesh, says Captain Mikkelsen, leaves a "slimy feeling in F the mouth It must be boiled a long time to make it eatable. We let it stew for about an hour and quarter 1 we cannot wait any longer. and for the last five minutes we are wakeful enough, digging or poking at the meat with a knife or sail needle to see it 1t is tender I have considerable difficulty in eating it. for my teeth are still loose from the scurvy, and t, my great annoyance, I cannot even pick the bones clean" Fortunately the depot on Schnauders Island was IF good condition. After a twelve Jays wait, due to Iversen's illness and their skins peeling off. the result of eating dogs liver, they moved slowly southward Rations were reduced to- half a pound a day. At Bjorneskaer l hundred miles from Danmarks Hav- en, they were forced to leave every thing behind-tents, sleeping bags and sledge-except the diaries, a few recessaries and the last of the pro visions, three pounds of pemmican Hopes of a quick journey were des- Lroyed by storm. the ice breaking ID before their eyes, and causing -hirty six hours delay. With neith- sr food nor water left they took the chance crossing the fjord in gale ta " C1aa |