EXCURSIONS TO SABINE AND CLAVERING ISLANDS, TO EXAMINE
REMAINS OF THE ESQUIMAUX SETTLEMENTS.[87]
Hut-ruins and graves on Sabine Island.--Bone
implements.--Previous condition of these huts and
their inhabitants.--Tent-circles.--Sole traces of
the Expedition of Sabine and Clavering.--Esquimaux
remains on Klein Pendulum.--Ethnology of Shannon.--Boat
journey to Clavering Island.--Clavering’s statement
regarding the Esquimaux.--Hut-ruins and graves by Cape
Mary.--Vegetation.--Misadventure at night.--Further progress
hindered by the ice. Journey to Clavering’s Esquimaux
hamlet.--Luxuriant vegetation.--Examination of deserted
settlements.--Probable fate of the original inhabitants.--Return
to boat, and so to ship.
As everywhere else, so also in the Arctic regions, the question of the
existence of a population, its civilization, manner of life, habits and
customs, must be as full of general interest as it is of the greatest
importance to science. It may, therefore, be believed that we were all
on the look-out for the natives.
Our eyes and thoughts, which had not yet accustomed themselves to a
perfectly uninhabited country, had on our approach to Greenland been
directed to the discovery of some signs of human life--a tent, or any
dark moving spot; but in vain--nothing broke the brown uniformity of
the lifeless landscape before us.
On Captain Koldewey’s return from his first visit on shore, he reported
that there were Esquimaux huts in the neighbourhood, and brought a
bleached, partially moss-grown, human jaw-bone. In the morning, with
the help of Peter Ellinger and Wilhelm Mieders, I explored the remains
of an Esquimaux settlement on the afterwards named “Observatory
Peninsula.”
[Illustration: RUINED ESQUIMAUX HUTS AND TENT-RINGS.]
On the shore facing the south-west we discovered a long row of graves,
heaps of stone so evidently built by the hand of man that they must
at once strike the eye; besides these were the upper parts of four
well-preserved earth-huts belonging to the natives. These were
remarkable, even in the distance, by a small crater edged with a circle
of stones, the walls of which, together with the whole surroundings,
were covered with thick green grass and moss. Upon coming nearer,
square open holes were to be seen half in the earth, built over with
strong stone walls from which a narrow underground passage led into the
open air.
[Illustration: LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF AN ESQUIMAUX HUT.]
The huts seemed to be mostly rectangular, some, however, had the
corners rounded. The size differed: the length was from three to three
yards and a half, the breadth two, and the height about one. The walls
were most artistically raised with middling-sized stones which lay near
at hand, the interstices in which grass and weeds now thrived were
originally filled with moss and turf.
Within the walls were here and there small niches, we also found a
larger one in one of the back corners. Besides which between the stones
were the remains of wooden pegs, which had no doubt served for hanging
up vessels. The floors of the huts seemed composed of earth and stones,
and were partly covered with thick close sward. Ice lay in some places,
and the earth was frozen on the surface.
At the end of the hut facing the sea (south) was a square opening in
the floor, surrounded with stones about a foot and a half in length
and breadth, and from half a yard to three-quarters deep; this was
the beginning of a passage running horizontally nearly parallel with
the front wall of the hut. This passage was therefore below the level
of the floor, and was from three to three yards and a half in length,
opening on to the sloping shore. The walls were built of suitably sized
stones, also the ceiling, in which for better support long bones and
bits of drift-wood were found. The whole of this, too, was covered
with earth and sward. Of a closing door nothing was seen, and of a
roof there was now no trace. Far and near around the huts, without any
particular regularity, were a number of small holes or cavities, of
from a half to a yard in diameter, and not much deeper. They may have
been used for keeping bacon, meat, and so on, for in some were bones
of different animals, and others were covered with heavy stones. In
a wide circle on the green grass lay bleached bones, the remains of
their meals, mostly belonging to seals and walruses, as well as bear,
reindeer, hare, and narwhal.
After securing some relics of this “village” and its huts, we decided
upon digging in the huts themselves. With much trouble we succeeded
in raising the partly frozen layer of earth, and laid bare the real
flooring. This was composed partly of the stony earth and partly of
artistically laid flat stones. A layer of these were found in the back
corners of about half a yard broad, and ere long the conjecture that
this had been their fire-hearth, was confirmed by our finding in one of
the huts a firm mass of carbonized wood, moss, and fat. We discovered
little of any consequence. Isolated pieces of bones, reindeer horns,
and walrus’ teeth we found, full of holes bored close together, as
Scoresby has already described. This arrangement supplies in the
quickest and surest manner the want of a broom, and seemed to have been
cleverly filled in with splinters of flint stone. The holes are the
size of a goose-quill, or perhaps smaller, but those near together are
equal in size. The bottom (if they do not go quite through) is rounded
off, and the sides have grooves running horizontally round them. On
other pieces of bone or wood we observed notches, which were certainly
cut by stone knives. Completed articles of any kind, we found but few:
only such as a harpoon-point and a kind of chisel. We remained in the
dark only as to the kind of roof of these most lamentable of all human
dwellings, and that, from the description of others, we could imagine
to have been a flat covering composed of wood, stones, and earth.
If any one wishes to realize the size of such a hut, let him imagine
ten men sitting on the bare floor and five leaning against each side
wall; thus quite filling the room. Their stretched out feet would
touch each other, and allowing for the present shrinkage of the walls,
the flat roof could have been but little more than from one-half to
three-quarters of a yard above the head; so that on their knees they
might have moved about comfortably, but in an upright position, never.
In this wretched amount of room a whole family, on an average five
or six persons, had to live together for at least seven long winter
months. One must bear in mind their fur clothing, also that this was
their sitting, sleeping, and eating room, their kitchen, larder,
nursery, and so on. It must, moreover, be remembered that there was no
opening in the walls of any kind, and that neither for air or light was
there a window in the roof (which such circumstances might warrant, and
which is the case with some Esquimaux tribes). The only opening leading
to the dwellings from the outer world, is the before-mentioned small
square hole in the floor leading to the narrow underground tunnel.
Through this they went in and out, and through this the air was renewed.
The train-oil lamp for lighting and cooking purposes is the only
compensation for the absence of a stove. And yet one can imagine how
with that and the inhabitants together in this confined space, the
temperature may be kept at a considerable height, if the walls are only
thick and tight, and the wind unable to blow in.
These huts, therefore, do not stand on the earth as is mostly the
case in West Greenland, but are half underground, and with their
grass-covered roofs greatly resemble mole-heaps on a garden-bed.
About thirty paces from the stony, gently sloping shore, looking south,
were ten graves, five of which were in good preservation. They were
from ten to sixteen feet above the level of the sea, and consisted of
a sort of box, constructed of suitable stones mostly above the surface
of the earth. The interior was one yard and a half long and two-thirds
broad, the height of the walls about half a yard. On one of the graves,
which was still undisturbed, the covering was composed of long flat
stones laid across, such as are easily found in the neighbourhood. This
grave we at once examined. The bottom of it, which was nearly upon the
same level as the outer earth, was covered with a quantity of dried
willow leaves, which in the course of years must have been blown in
through the cracks of the walls. The bottom itself consisted of a layer
of earth and sand, on which lay some stones probably fallen from the
roof.
A human skeleton, or, indeed, any other object, we did not at first
see, but soon found the somewhat decayed ends of bones, evidently
human. We now dug carefully in the hard earth, and came upon a number
of bones belonging to a human skeleton. It was, however, quite
impossible, in spite of our care, to get it perfect; and besides
the small bones of the feet and hands, the skull was unfortunately
missing. The position of the bones, particularly those of the limbs,
was strikingly irregular; but from that of the ribs and vertebræ we
could safely conclude that the dead, when first buried, lay either
in a recumbent or an upright posture, with the face to the south,
overlooking the water. If from the first the corpse had not been
disturbed by foxes, &c., I might, from the position of the arm and
leg-bones, have believed that it was placed upright, although this was
not in unison with the lengthened form of the grave.
The bones were, on the whole, in good preservation, and pretty heavy.
Their condition made the absence of the skull more conspicuous, and
gave us reason to suppose that it had either been unearthed by some
animal, or that the English, under Clavering, had taken it with them
forty-six years before. Anything in the shape of weapons, or vessels,
buried with the corpse, we did not find.
Besides these graves, we were also struck the first few days by the
before-mentioned “Tent-rings.” These rough stones are ranged in a
circle of about three yards in diameter, and are more or less firmly
imbedded in the earth’s surface. The circle has an opening facing the
water, and is mostly divided into two parts by a row of stones across.
As regards the meaning of these “Tent-rings,” there can, even with
our superficial knowledge of Esquimaux life, be no doubt. They are
the stones which once fastened down the tent raised on that spot, and
which, on its removal, were left in the same place. The back part must
have been the general sleeping apartment, and that near the entrance
the place for the lamp-stand.
As these tents must to a certain extent agree with those used in West
Greenland, we give the figure and description as found in Egede’s
work:--
“They live the whole of the summer in their summer dwellings, which are
nothing more than tents raised in the following manner:--they set up
some poles, or laths, binding them together at the top and roofing with
a double covering, the interior being hung with seal or reindeer skin,
with the hair inside; the outside, on the contrary, of sealskin from
which the hair has been taken, and then smeared with fat to prevent
the rain or water penetrating. In the inner part of the tent they have
a sleeping frame made of planks, on which they all lie, and on which
they place their lamp for cooking. At the entrance, or door of the
tent, is a curtain made from the intestines of the seal, through which
the daylight comes. Every father of a family has such a tent for his
people.”
[Illustration:
_Page 515._]
The remaining traces of the Esquimaux to be found on the island at the
present day, are the different “Provision-holes,” or “_caches_,”
lying near the shore and high up in the mountains. These are holes of
different sizes roughly built with stones, either on the flat earth
or against a rock or large stone, and now more or less in ruins. For
instance, when the Esquimaux obtain any booty so far from their tents
or huts that they cannot easily bring it home, they cover the remains
with stones, that the foxes may not steal it before they return.
Some isolated pieces of Esquimaux vessels and weapons we eventually
found in different places on the open fields, and added them to the
ethnological collection. But besides the traces of the former native
inhabitants, there were other traces of humanity, which we had eagerly
searched after from the first, though apparently without success in
this deserted land. To us any indication whatever of the visit paid
forty-six years before, by our predecessors of the English Expedition
under Sabine and Clavering, was interesting. The astronomers were
particularly anxious, according to the terms of our Instructions, to
discover the spot on which Sabine erected his Observatory. But in
vain did we search in every likely place. The task was all the more
difficult, as we knew that Sabine had brought a wooden Observatory
out with him; and not until our return, after searching the original
account near the journey, did we find that the building had stood near
the first-described Esquimaux huts.
As regards the Esquimaux traces on Klein Pendulum, directly after
our arrival we discovered three winter huts; they lay close to our
anchorage, on the gently sloping plain from the foot of the Stufenberg
to the shore.
As the astronomers had raised their tents on the land, Dr. Pansch
determined to make an effort to go there, although the inflamed state
of his wounds scarcely allowed of it.
These huts were in much the same condition as those on Sabine Island,
and their whole construction and position were perfectly similar. The
walls only seemed a little higher, and the corners more rounded off.
In two the “tossut” or entrance tunnel was in good preservation. We
also found some tent-rings, but no graves. At Cape Desbrowe, however, a
little farther off, were some from which we took a well-preserved skull.
We found no winter huts on Cape Philip Broke, although this must have
been the only point of the island on which they could have stood. On
the other hand tent-rings and _caches_ were so crowded on the
projecting-land point that we jokingly suggested that the Esquimaux
must have held their chief markets here. The tent-rings did not merely
lie near each other, but in many cases over-lapped one another,
distinctly showing that they must be of different ages; they do not
either necessarily show that one and the same family always returned to
the same spot every year; and from these traces of an ever-changing and
most likely short summer sojourn, it is likewise impossible to attempt
to decide upon the number of the former inhabitants, as some writers
have done. These are, however, excusable mistakes of those who have
either not seen for themselves, or have only cursorily noticed these
things.
[Illustration:
_Page 516._]
It was understood that before leaving Pendulum Island we should seek
out the spot where, forty-seven years before, Clavering met the
natives. For his account of the meeting, I refer the reader to his own
narrative.
The fitting time seemed now to have come, and after several inspections
of the ice from the neighbouring mountains, we found that it was
possible, in the direction of Gael Hamkes Bay, to advance with a boat
to within a short distance of our goal.
[Illustration: PORTIONS OF ESQUIMAUX IMPLEMENTS.]
The large boat was therefore fitted up with provisions for eight days,
and a tent: besides Captain Koldewey and the Doctor, were Lieutenant
Payer, Mr. Tramnitz, Peter Iversen, Theodore Klentzer, and George
Herzberg.
On the 14th of July, at three p.m., we started with fine weather;
but owing to a calm were confined to rowing under the dusky cliffs
of Walrus Island, where the Burgomaster-gull wakes the echoes with
its everlasting scream, and the black guillemot (_Uria grylle_)
pipes gently as it swims; along went the boat, eventually taking a
south-westerly direction towards Flache Bay.
The road was open; only here and there floated large or small
ice-floes. We passed the glaciered snow slopes of Cape Wynn, and by
half-past eight reached the very flat bay about a fathom deep, which
we entered. The bottom was composed of soft mud, produced by the
infalling of a considerable gutter or drain. The water was of elevated
temperature (we found it 39°), whilst without the thermometer had
previously shown only 34°. Besides some solitary burgomaster gulls,
which seemed to have built their nests in the rocks, and a few eider
ducks, we saw a bear in the distance. A calm still reigned, so that it
was ten o’clock before we reached the steep cliffs seen from Sabine
Island; as a little to the north of these lay a small flat promontory
and a good anchorage, we determined to pass the night here, hoping
for a better wind and greater speed the next morning. Vegetation
was vigorous, and that not only in damp places. A few plants of
_Cerastium alpinum_ covered spots of a square-foot in size. Here
we started a hare, but unfortunately could not kill her.
On the 14th we again visited the southern projection of the promontory
where some Esquimaux had lived; but we found nothing but tent-rings,
and the earth was covered with bleaching bones of animals; here we
were struck with the large quantity of marine plants washed up by the
ice and tide, along the bank, or in the hollows; it was mostly the
large-leaved _Laminaria_.
In the meantime a light sou’-wester had got up, and we returned
hurriedly to the boat and rowed along the coast southward. Later on we
thought it advisable to put up our sail, and with the help of the oars
to cross to the other side, where Lieutenant Payer landed, bent on a
geological expedition along the shore.
Ice-blocks were now more numerous, though they did not hinder our
progress. Here we saw a curious sight; a whole flock of eider ducks in
a row upon the water, fishing and cleaning themselves; they were nearly
all drakes, but one or two had brown plumage. Similar flocks of eider
drakes have been often noticed. It is supposed that they take flight
together in a northerly direction, as later in the year they are not
seen.
By noon we reached Cape Borlase Warren in bright sunshine, and our
excursions began. This cape forms a slight ridge, rising by degrees
to the high mountains of the interior; the distant slopes to the
east were sparingly covered with grass, whilst on the southern bank,
between and under the rocks, grew the thickest and most vigorous grass.
Here was now a new real sea-shore plant, the thick-leaved star-wort,
_Helianthus peploides_, reminding us vividly of our German downs.
Like the _Cochlearia_, however, it did not grow exactly on the
shore, but higher up on the bank. Our zoological collection was also
increased by a long-tailed duck (_Harelda glacialis_), shot by Mr.
Tramnitz; there were also numerous relics of the natives, tent-rings,
and some ruined graves. Upon closer inspection we found two more winter
huts and some undisturbed graves; amongst which we for the first time
came upon one divided by a low partition wall into two parts, from both
of which we took the well-preserved skull of a seven-year old child,
and some bones; we also found amongst the rocks the half of a Kajak
oar quite bleached.
About three o’clock we continued our way; Dr. Pansch, Lieutenant Payer,
and P. Ellinger going along the shore, and the rest in the boat to
Gael Hamkes Bay. For the first time the bank showed a fine sandy open
shore, and at the tide mark lay a number of dried marine plants. About
ten or twenty steps from this broad sandy shore, was a beautiful green
band of meadow-land, the _Pedicularis hirsuta_ being particularly
luxuriant.
Marching around several bays, we halted on a point of rock projecting
far into the sea, to wait for the boats. We then steered westwards, the
steep mountains of Clavering Island coming nearer and nearer. Here we
saw a young reindeer peeping from behind a hillock, not far from the
shore.
The number of ice-floes increased considerably, and though not exactly
in our way, we were obliged to go out of our course to avoid them.
Towards the middle of the bay the ice became denser, frequently
assuming fantastical forms.
The further we advanced, the more unlikely it seemed that we could
reach Clavering Island with the boat; but by keeping along the bank
we constantly came upon open channels; and thus about evening time,
reached a low promontory opposite Cape Mary, the most easterly point
of Clavering Island. The straits, to our great joy, were almost free
from ice; as there was a calm, the steep mountains rose from a mirrored
surface, over which occasionally sped a diver or a pair of ducks. It
was the most perfect summer picture of a beautiful northern Fjord seen
for the first time.
We now made straight for Cape Mary, hoping to reach it soon, as the
water was free from ice; but the distance was greater than we supposed,
and we were still far from land, when we were surrounded by numerous
ice-floes, and soon we were in a perfect labyrinth, through which
we laboriously made our way. Somewhat more to the south-west lay a
suitable spot for our encampment; a large green plain, promising both
protection and a supply of fresh water. Indeed, so thick and luxuriant
was the grass, that we conjectured it must formerly have been an
Esquimaux settlement, and we were not wrong.
We landed at eleven p.m. We found some very old winter huts, which must
have been long since forsaken; they were so decayed and overgrown, that
we could scarcely recognize them, only here and there stood a piece
of wall. Thick moss covered the ground and grew in the entrance, the
tender star-wort, long small blossoming saxifrages, and fine-haired
grasses and sedges sprouted in the walls. Finely developed blossoms
of the _Poa_, and other species, were also there, and the
yellow-headed dandelion _(Taraxacum phymatocarpum_, Vahl). Farther
on, where the earth was drier, the cinquefoil flourished in large
bushes, as well as the fresh sprays of the _Oxyria_.
We were also delighted by quite a new plant, the slender rich-leaved
_Epilobium latifolium_ (L.), with large lovely red flowers; also
the yellow-head of the _Arnica alpina_ (Murr.); and in some places
we collected fine samples of the _Sedum rhodiola_; a bell-flower
(_Campanula uniflora_, L.) was unfolding its first dark blue bells;
thus all the elements of a lovely bouquet were present. White was
represented by the _Dryas_, which here, as on Sabine Island, bore but
few blossoms, though much finer ones. Of other plants may also be
mentioned, _Polygonum viviparum_ (L.), _Wahlbergella apetala_ (Fries.),
_Oxyria_, _Taraxacum_, _Potentilla_, and _Saxifraga_. It was now one
o’clock, and we retired to rest. Dr. Pansch and Captain Koldewey made
the boat their couch, but it was an uneasy one; for as the water sank,
it left it leaning on one side on a rock, so that they were rolling
down upon each other; scarcely had they again fallen asleep in this
uncomfortable position, when, with a jerk, the boat fell from the rock,
and the whole concern, men, chests, and boxes lay in the water, from
which we with difficulty rescued them.
The south coast of the island was completely beset with ice, partly
drifting, and partly firm, and seemingly stretching to the southern
shore and Jackson Island. To advance further with the boat was
absolutely impossible, and our hopes of landing at the Esquimaux
village, making a rich ethnological collection, and then exploring the
land to the west were destroyed: and we were at least five German miles
from our destination.
Koldewey then made some astronomical observations, took the necessary
steps for observing the tide, and about half-past ten we continued our
journey; with difficulty we sprang from stone to stone, or sought a
path more inland. The skeleton of a reindeer attracted our attention;
the skull was still fast to the fore parts of the body, while the hind
part lay bleaching at a short distance, and farther on lay the leg
bones still hanging together.
In opposition to this picture of death, our eyes were almost
immediately afterwards cheered by blooming life as we continued our
way at the feet of the steep mountain chain. Growing among the loose
pebbles and in the rocky crevices was the beautiful _Polemonium
humile_ (Willd.). Such blossoming splendour we had not yet seen in
Greenland, and for the moment forgot that we were in the far North; we
had already known the plant in Germaniaberg and Klein Pendulum, but
there it was nothing to this luxuriance! The vigorous pinnate leaves
were more than half a foot long, the blossom the bulk of a good-sized
apple, and on this the flowers were crowded of the clearest and most
lovely blue, and at some considerable distance we could smell the
aromatic perfume of its leaves.
The south-easterly projection of the Cape rose in steep low cliffs
sheer from the water, so that we were forced to climb and go along
the ridge. Here was plentiful vegetation, but nothing new. We also
came upon some tent-rings and some rectangular graves, most carefully
built, which had evidently never been opened; indeed, these traces
of the natives must have been very ancient. We should have liked to
open the graves, and many sitting at home in a warm room may think
it inexcusable that we did not do so; but our head-quarters were our
end and aim, and the sky warned us not to delay our march. It was
possible that we might have both rain and fog, neither of which would
conduce to the success of our enterprise, nor to the march over these
unknown mountains; so we hurried on down the hills to the shore. Here
we had a fine glimpse of the mainland with its blue heights, though
far more imposing were the steep mountains of Jordan Hill Island which
rose before us. A small rocky point projecting into the water was
interesting from the statue-like form which the basalt had assumed. The
inaccessible heads of the most isolated columns offered a favourable
breeding spot for many pairs of gulls; from which we concluded that
the water here must keep longer free from ice.
Near these rocks we again met with the _Helianthus peploides_; it
was in full bloom, and covered a considerable spot with uninterrupted
green. Now and again, for an instant, we could see the high tops
soaring perpendicularly above us through the clouds of fog there, the
whole heavens and the landscape thickly veiled, and at last a fine rain
began to fall. Vegetation gained both in height and extent, and when
the fog rose for a moment we could see all the soft slopes for more
than 300 yards high distinctly green. In plants, besides fine bushes of
bilberry and Andromeda, and the frequently recurring arnica was a new
Composite, the _Erigeron eriocephalus_ (Vahl).
Worth noticing here was the discovery of a piece of whalebone,
and that most of the plants of the common saxifrage (_Saxifraga
oppositifolia_) bore light flesh-coloured blossoms. Several large
and small pieces of drift-wood too were seen.
Thus, amid continued fine rain, we reached the most southerly
promontory; and upon climbing to the heights, we saw a bay cutting
deep into the land, and by the help of glasses could plainly descry in
the midst of a large green plain some dark spots, which were evidently
Clavering’s Esquimaux settlement.
We opened two of the few graves strewn about: they, too, were long and
quadrangular. Here we could distinctly see that the roof-stone, being
too short, had been supported lengthwise and across with pieces of
drift-wood. There was nowhere the slightest trace of either bones or
tools.
We saw a herd of about fifteen stately reindeer grazing at a little
distance from us, but at our approach they drew quietly off to the
mountains.
Except some hares sitting in the distance, and scarcely to be
distinguished from white stones, we saw one solitary ptarmigan in its
summer plumage. We now drew very near to the spot where, forty-seven
years before, a small band of natives led a peaceful and contented life.
Now we had reached the first hut: there was but an empty room, on
the floor of which grew high moss and grass; we hurried on to the
next,--the same sight; a third lay a little on one side; here, too, the
same comfortless picture of desertion.
With our minds somewhat disabused we laid down our baggage, and
examined them more closely. As we had always previously found
them, these huts lay in the neighbourhood of the water. The two
best-preserved were more to the east, and a little farther on were
two more, seemingly older. These all had the same build, the same
position, and the same size, as those on Sabine and Pendulum Island.
There were also some well preserved tent-rings. The round holes
(Provision-magazines), too, were not wanting; what struck us most,
however, was the great number of earth-holes round about the huts: they
seemed to be the last signs of the oldest buildings, “and we could
distinctly trace the different stages of destruction. In some might
still be seen the sharp four-cornered deep hole with the open entrance
tunnel, but the stone walls were quite wanting. From this we concluded
that the Esquimaux, when their huts were dilapidated, or from any other
cause no longer suited them, built fresh ones, using the old stones.
How else could the walls of the old huts have entirely disappeared? To
take these heavy stones from the hard earth was a troublesome task; and
the only object worth their while would be for making graves; but as
there were none about here, they could not enter into the question. The
result of all this in our minds was, that long before Clavering’s visit
only a few huts, perhaps three or four, were inhabited; and that on
this spot, at least, there could be no question of the slow dying-out
of a once numerous population.
[Illustration: RUINED ESQUIMAUX HUTS ON SABINE ISLAND.]
With improvised tools we then set to work on the floors of the two
newest huts which in Clavering’s time were inhabited. We soon found
that the roofs had sunk to the ground. That was shown by a strong lath
hanging slanting from the wall on the inside, so that the earth and the
growing plants we had removed was not really the floor, but had once
formed the roof. We dug deeper in the earth, but found nothing. Here,
too, large bones had been let into the walls, and in a large side-niche
lay the perfect skull of a young narwhal; in the second hut, still less
than this was found. So thinking we had done our duty, and judging by
the height of the water that it must be near midnight, and rain and
fog seeming to increase, we prepared to return. We took the same route
back, only sorry that we had not seen this interesting spot in clearer
weather.
At the large stream we came upon some reindeer, two stately old ones
and one young one. With curious looks they advanced fearlessly to
within ten paces of us. Completely wet through we hurried on, the
strong ebb reminding us of the past night’s adventure in the boat, and
showing us that it was about three o’clock.
Living in this continuous, almost uniform daylight, unfettered by any
regular partition of daily work, simply following up one object, has a
strange effect upon one; something can certainly be accomplished by its
means, but to go on for long in such a life, even if one’s health kept
good, would be impossible.
After breakfast we lay down to rest, but as the rain had left off we
preferred the dry grass to the tent. Upon awaking, we went to inspect
the neighbouring graves. We opened them all, and were rewarded by
finding a number of fine skulls and other bones. Interesting to us was
a small figure carved out of wood lying in a child’s grave. So that
these human figures, found also by Graah, in South-East Greenland, are
not idols, but merely children’s toys.
Thus the great object of this excursion had been accomplished, and we
determined to return. Stiff with cold (it was 29.75° Fahr.) we arrived
on board at half-past seven on the morning of the 18th of July, to the
great astonishment of our pilot, who had not expected us so soon.