EAST COAST OF GREENLAND--DANISH EXPEDITIONS
The discovery of the east coast of Greenland by the Danes should take
an important place in the history of Arctic enterprise. Their objects
were most praiseworthy, the work was done with thoroughness, dangers
and difficulties were faced with dauntless courage, and the history was
told with ability, and above all with modesty. Finally success crowned
their efforts. There is a dramatic unity in the whole story which is
fascinating.
We have seen that some pioneer work had been done by Scoresby,
Clavering, and Koldewey on part of this coast, and the Danish Captain
Graah had made an important voyage in 1828–30. Otherwise the whole of
the eastern coast, from Cape Farewell to 82° 30′ N. where the northern
coast begins, remained to be discovered and explored. The Danes
undertook this great work with splendid resolution and zeal, and went
steadily on until it was completed[171].
The great work was commenced in 1879 with the despatch of the schooner
_Ingulf_ of the Royal Danish Navy, with Commander Mourier and Lieut.
Wandel on board, to make a careful examination of the edge of the
ice on the east Greenland coast from latitudes 65° to 69°. After
this preliminary expedition another was despatched in 1883 under
Lieut. Gustav Holm, with Lieut. Garde as second, both of the Royal
Danish Navy, who were to follow in the track of their distinguished
predecessor, Captain Graah, and penetrate beyond the furthest point
reached by him. The expedition left Copenhagen on the 3rd May 1883,
and arrived on the 18th July at Nanortalik, where head-quarters were
to be established, a short distance west of Cape Farewell. Lieut.
Holm arranged to use the Eskimo _umiaks_ or women’s boats, which are
made of a light wooden frame with seal-skin covering, flat-bottomed,
easy to haul up on the ice, to carry, or to repair, and at the same
time capable of taking a fairly good load. While the huts for winter
quarters were being constructed at Nanortalik, Lieut. Holm was forming
a large depôt, exploring the most southern fjords, and establishing
pleasant relations with the east coast natives. He returned on the 16th
of September, and found the winter quarters ready.
The main expedition, consisting of four _umiaks_ with five women
rowers, and seven kayaks, started from Nanortalik on the 5th May
1884; but found progress very slow through the ice, and there was
much detention. On the 27th June a gale of wind scattered the floes
near the shore and some progress was made. Towards the end of July it
was arranged that Garde, with a young scientific student named Peter
Eberlin, should return to Nanortalik, making collections by the way,
while Holm, with Hans Knudsen (another scientific assistant) and the
very intelligent interpreter Johan Petersen, pushed onwards to the
north with two _umiaks_, six Eskimo men and two women, and a year’s
provisions.
The furthest point attained by Captain Graah--the Dannebrog Islands
in 65° 18′ N.--was reached on the 25th August, the entrance to the
Sermilik Fjord was next passed, and Tasuisarsik reached in 65° 37′ N.,
where Holm determined to pass the winter.
This proved to be an important base whence the explorers could examine
the intricate fjords and islands of a district known to the natives
by the name of Angmagsalik, and all the winter they had constant
communication with a hitherto unknown tribe of Eskimo. Lieut. Holm
explored the chief part of the great Sermilik Fjord, and during the
winter, with the aid of the interpreter Petersen, he was able to
study the traditions and folk-lore of the natives and to make a large
and important ethnographic collection. He also investigated the ice
movements, and came to the conclusion that Angmagsalik was the most
accessible position along the east Greenland coast. The reason for this
appears to be that the numerous islands, obstructing and dividing the
current, cause it to increase its force, so that here the ice floes
are dispersed in July and August. Lieut. Holm began his return journey
in July, was met by Lieut. Garde, who had made many excursions up the
numerous fjords, and finally arrived at Copenhagen on October 3rd, 1885.
The most important result of Holm’s admirable exploring work was the
discovery of the district of Angmagsalik, whence there could be annual
communication with Denmark. Baron Nordenskiöld, in the _Sofia_, had
penetrated the ice belt in 1883, and landed on September 4th in 65° 36′
N., remaining until the next day, thus confirming the conclusions of
Lieut. Holm. In 1894 Holm, who had now attained the rank of Captain,
had the great satisfaction of selecting a site, and founding the
settlement of Angmagsalik in 65° 30′ N. It is situated on the slope
of a hill, on the east side of a large island in the Tasuisarsik
Fjord. The first colonial manager was Captain Holm’s old comrade Johan
Petersen, who has conducted the combined civilising and commercial
undertaking with eminent ability for twenty years, in co-operation with
two missionaries. The natives have concentrated their stations round
the Danish settlement and have received help during periods of want and
hunger. Nearly the whole East Greenland population, numbering 550, have
now been baptized, and the people have adapted themselves to the use of
the articles the Danish store contains. South of Angmagsalik the whole
of this coast is depopulated, the last Eskimo in the extreme south
having moved in 1900 to the west coast.
The botanist H. C. Kruuse, with his wife, wintered at Angmagsalik
in 1901–2, and has since published an exhaustive work on the flora
of East Greenland[172]: and Hr W. Thalbitzer, also with his wife,
passed the winter of 1905–6 at the same settlement, devoting himself
to ethnological and linguistic researches and the study of Eskimo
folk-lore[173]. In co-operation with Hr Thuren, he has also given an
account of the melodies of the Eskimos of the east coast.
[Illustration: East Coast of Greenland]
The next important work was the discovery of the coast between Holm’s
furthest and the part surveyed by Scoresby. In 1891 the _Hecla_, a
sealing vessel of Tronsberg, was hired, and an expedition commanded by
Lieut. C. Ryder of the Royal Danish Navy left Copenhagen on the 7th
June. Two months later she steamed into Scoresby Sound and anchored
about a hundred miles beyond the entrance; whence several excursions
were made in boats. Ryder wintered in Scoresby Sound, and the whole of
that complicated system of long branching fjords was discovered and
explored. In the next season all progress southward near the coast
was stopped by masses of floe ice along the shore. Ryder was obliged
to work his way out to sea and, after touching at the point where
Nordenskiöld had landed, he returned to Denmark, the portion of coast
south of Scoresby Sound alone remaining to be discovered. Excellent
scientific work was done by his expedition.
The next Danish work of exploration, by which at length the discovery
of East Greenland from Cape Farewell to Cape Bismarck was completed,
is known as the Carlsbergfondet Expedition[174]. It was commanded by
Lieut. G. Amdrup of the Royal Danish Navy. On a previous occasion, in
1884, Amdrup had reached Angmagsalik, where he wintered and did some
good exploring work to the north in the following spring, examining
the great Ikersuak glacier. On the 19th July, 1885, having mapped
a considerable length of coast-line, and made large geological and
ethnological collections, he had reached Agga Island in 67° 32′, so
that it would be between this point and Scoresby Sound that he had to
extend his survey.
Lieut. Amdrup, in addition to the advantages of experience, had a very
talented and efficient staff. Hartz, who had been botanist with Ryder,
was to take command when Amdrup was away on the boat voyage. The rest
of the scientific staff consisted of Kruuse, another botanist, with
Deichmann and Jensen as zoologists, Lieut. Koch of the Danish Army as
surveyor and draughtsman, and Otto Nordenskiöld, nephew of the great
Arctic explorer, as geologist. The instructions for the expedition were
signed by Admiral Wandel and Captain Holm.
On the 14th June, 1900, the _Antarctic_ sailed from Copenhagen with
Amdrup and his scientific staff[175]. Amdrup was to complete the survey
from Scoresby Sound to Angmagsalik in a boat, while Hartz continued the
researches connected with the region round Scoresby Sound. On arriving
off Cape Dalton in 69° 25′ N., Lieut. Amdrup left the ship, and set out
on his boat voyage on July 21st accompanied by young Mikkelsen and two
seamen. The voyage occupied 44 days, and on September 2nd Angmagsalik
was reached. Meanwhile Hartz, in the ship, explored the coast from Cape
Dalton to Scoresby Sound, thence proceeding to Angmagsalik to pick
up Amdrup and his party. Large and valuable collections were made,
excellent series of observations were taken, and the work was brought
to a most successful conclusion. The Amdrup expedition marks a period
in Arctic history. It completed the discovery and mapping of the whole
of the east coast of Greenland from Cape Farewell to Cape Bismarck.
A far more dangerous and difficult enterprise now faced the gallant
Danish explorers, namely the discovery of the unknown region from Cape
Bismarck to the furthest north, a distance, of 400 miles[176].
The American explorer Peary, using Eskimos and their dogs, had been
working to reach the north coast of Greenland from 1898 to 1902. His
first winter was at Cape Dobbin on the west coast of Ellesmere Island,
another was passed at Etah, whence, starting on the 4th March, 1900,
he made his way to the _Discovery’s_ winter quarters in Lady Franklin
Bay. Setting out from that position on April 15th, he travelled along
the north coast of Greenland, passing the discoveries of Beaumont and
Lockwood. From Lockwood Island in 83° 34′ N., which he reached on
May 8th, he went onwards to a latitude of 83° 39′ N., which appears
to be the most northern point of Greenland. On the 19th he passed a
promontory which he named Cape Bridgman, and his furthest point was
called Cape Clarence Wycloff in Lat. 82° 57′ 7″ N. and Long. 23° 9′
W., where a cairn was built. He had his man Henson and an Eskimo with
him, and a team of dogs. During the last two days he was enveloped
in a dense fog. He began his return on May 22nd and reached the
_Discovery’s_ winter quarters on June 10th. The cairn in 82° 57′ N.
would, therefore, be the point the Danes would have to reach in order
to complete the discovery of the east coast.
The great work was undertaken by a young Dane named Mylius Erichsen,
who was born at Viborg in Jutland in 1872. He had visited the Danish
settlements on the west coast of Greenland, had crossed Melville Bay,
and wintered at Cape York; and he was now filled with the patriotic
desire to place the crown on the edifice of Danish discovery. The task
had become a sacred one for him, and with such an impulse he thought
the goal must be reached if human power could attain it.
The Duc d’Orléans had shown how far north a ship might go, and the
advice of experienced Arctic explorers was that Erichsen should
winter on board ship, in a position to the north of Cape Bismarck,
if possible. The necessary funds were raised, with help from the
Government and the Carlsberg Fund, and a Norwegian sealer of 450 tons
was bought and named the _Danmark_. She was built at Peterhead in 1885,
was well fortified against the ice, and had been fitted with a screw
propeller in 1892. A spacious laboratory was built before the main
hatchway; and besides four others, she took two motor boats. Most of
the sledges, which were fitted with odometers, were made on board from
Eskimo models, and 100 dogs were brought from West Greenland. A motor
carriage was also taken.
Erichsen was chief of the expedition, and Lieut. Trolle of the Royal
Danish Navy second in command and captain of the ship. The cartographer
was Lieut. Höeg Hagen of the Danish Army, and Lieut. Johan Peter
Koch of the General Staff of the Danish Army, who had done excellent
surveying and cartographic work in the Amdrup expedition as well as in
Iceland, and who had experience as a seaman, having qualified as master
of small ships, was the surveyor. The geologist was Jarner, Johansen
marine zoologist, Lindhard surgeon, Lundager botanist, Manniche
ornithologist, Wegener meteorologist and physicist. The first mate was
Lieut. Bistrup of the Royal Danish Navy, the second and third mates
Christian and Gustav Trostrup, two artists Bertelsen and Frus went as
engineers, and such was the enthusiasm felt for the expedition that two
university students, Freuchen[177] aged 20 and Hagerup a Norwegian,
volunteered as stokers, as well as Knudsen who was carpenter of the
ship. An ice pilot, Karl Ring, a steward, and four seamen completed
the complement. In addition there were the three Eskimo dog drivers
Brönlund (who had been a curate at Jacobhavn), Tobias Gabrielsen, and
Olsen from Ritenbenk--27 all told.
The expedition, which was known as the Danmark Expedition, left
Copenhagen on the 24th June, 1906, and after a long struggle with
the ice the _Danmark_ was off Koldewey Island on the 13th August.
Proceeding northwards a large depôt was landed at Cape Marie Valdemar.
Winter quarters were established near Cape Bismarck in Lat. 76° 46′ N.,
Long. 18° 37′ W., in a sheltered bay which was named Danmark Havn. The
explorers were thus on the very threshold of an undiscovered region.
During the following two years constant journeys were made for various
scientific purposes, for laying out depôts, surveying, collecting
specimens, etc. The neighbourhood of Cape Bismarck was thus most
thoroughly explored and surveyed.
Meanwhile there were diligent preparations during the winter for the
great northern journeys. There were two extended sledge parties and two
depôt sledge parties, each with a team of 8 or 9 dogs and a load of 810
lb. This was to give two months’ provisions for men, and one for dogs.
The first sledge had Erichsen, Hagen, and the dog driver Brönlund;
the second, Koch, the artist Bertelsen, and the dog driver Tobias
Gabrielsen. The auxiliary sledges were under Wegener and Trostrup. The
departure took place on the 28th March, Trostrup going back on the 22nd
April and Wegener on the 26th. The explorers adopted an excellent plan
of placing strips of walrus hide on the runners of the sledges with the
hair outwards. Water was then poured along the hide, which becoming
ice, was held in place by the hair. This was found to be an immense
help to the dogs in dragging.
Erichsen and Koch went on in company until the 1st May, when they
separated. Koch was to go north to Peary’s furthest, and Erichsen to
explore the channel, which Peary stated to exist, separating Greenland
from the so-called Peary Land. The travelling had been bad, with many
snow-covered fissures dangerous for the dogs, and lines of heavy
pressed-up ice. A depôt sufficient to bring both sledges back safely
had been left in what was called Lambert Land, from that name occurring
on some old Dutch charts in 78° N. The land projected much further
east than was shown on the map, which increased the distance by 180
miles[178].
When Erichsen and Koch parted they each had 15 days’ provisions for
men, the same for dogs and 25 of petroleum for fuel. Koch’s way was
difficult, over hummocks and soft snow very ill suited for dogs. Land
was not in sight. A course was shaped for the land, and it was reached
on the 7th May, six musk oxen being obtained on the same day. On the
12th Peary’s cairn was found in 82° 57′ N., and the discovery of the
east coast of Greenland was completed. Koch continued to advance as
far as Cape Bridgman, which was reached on May 21st. He was much
hindered by dense fogs, but was able to carry out the exploration of
Hyde Fjord. On the 21st, in spite of strict economy, the fuel ran out,
but the supply left at the depôt was afterwards found. Both Koch and
his companion, the artist Bertelsen, suffered seriously from living on
musk ox meat. On the 27th of May they quite unexpectedly met Erichsen
and Hagen. Erichsen’s party had shot 21 musk oxen, which had caused
a good deal of delay. They had explored Danmark’s Fjord, and Hagen
had made excellent sketches of this inlet. The inland ice was bounded
by cliffs of great height, and apparently inaccessible. On the 28th
Erichsen drove west into what was called Independence Sound, while
Koch began the return journey, seeing that the depôts were in order
for Erichsen as he passed them. On June 23rd Koch’s party reached the
ship after an absence of 88 days, the distance covered being 1200 miles
measured by odometer. This approaches the achievements of M’Clintock
and Mecham, but with the difference that while the English did all the
work themselves, the Danes had the work done for them by dogs and dog
drivers. Tobias, the Eskimo, however, had made the finest dog-sledge
journey on record.
But tragedy was at hand; Erichsen, Hagen, and Brönlund did not return.
Relief expeditions were sent out in the autumn but found no signs of
them. The second winter passed in sorrow and anxiety: it was felt that
they must have perished.
Several sledge journeys were undertaken during the winter to lay out
depôts, and also with geographical and other scientific objects.
The most important, consisting of four men, Bertelsen (in command),
Wegener, Weinschank, and Lindhard, was conducted in the good old
British way by men dragging their own sledge. They started on the 1st
March with a load of 180 lb. per man. On the 9th they commenced the
ascent of the inland ice, which they found rough, with a surface like
that of an undulating sea. On the 13th they determined to take the tent
and sledge no further, and Wegener and Weinschank went on to the great
“nunatak” or snow-free land seen in the distance. They found that the
inland ice ended in a vertical wall 90 feet high, but they succeeded
in finding a place to descend, and thus landed on this extensive
“nunatak,” an important discovery. It received the name of “Dronning
Luisa Land.” The distance across the inland ice to the “nunatak” was
24 miles. The party returned on the 3rd of April with collections of
plants, rocks, and fossils.
The expedition in search of their lost leader and his comrades started
March 10th. It consisted of Captain Koch and Tobias, each with a
sledge and team of ten dogs, and on March 19th they reached the depôt
on Lambert Land with great difficulty owing to fog, a head wind, and
drifting snow. They found the snow-covered entrance to a small cave,
and when some snow had been removed they could distinguish the outlines
of a human being in a reindeer coat. It was Brönlund. At his feet was a
bottle with his diary, and the chart sketches drawn by Hagen. The diary
was in Eskimo and a single page was written in Danish. It announced
that the two others perished in November in Seventy-nine Fjord after
an attempt to return by the inland ice. “I arrived here,” it ran, “by
waning moon, and can go no further owing to frost-bites on feet and
the darkness. Hagen died on the 15th of November, and Mylius about ten
(two?) days later.” Koch returned to the ship on March 26th.
Brönlund’s diary was translated by Dr Christian Rasmussen, lecturer
in Greenlandic at Copenhagen, and, with the two records found by
Mikkelsen, the story of the fatal but fruitful journey of the heroic
Danes can be pretty clearly made out. They had been misled by Peary’s
erroneous map. On parting with Koch they drove away to the land in
about 82° N. and first discovered a long fjord turning S.W. for nearly
150 miles which they named Danmark Fjord. They then entered another
narrow fjord of about the same length running west and ending near the
position where Peary placed his “Navy Cliff[179].” As there was no
Independence Bay, Erichsen called this fjord “Independence Sound.” He
discovered that it ended, and that the channel across Greenland was
imaginary. The Danish explorers arrived at the head of this fjord on
June 8th and remained there, mapping and exploring, for several days.
Two branch fjords were discovered, one to the south named after Hagen,
and one to the north after Brönlund.
In the Arctic regions the summer has not the extreme cold of the
Antarctic summer, but it brings greater suffering to the explorer.
Water forms on the floes, often more than knee deep, open water
suddenly appears cutting off communications, and long delays are caused
before young ice will bear. To these obstacles the gallant Danish
explorers were exposed, though they were fortunately able to obtain a
certain amount of game. The summer was the cause of their destruction.
It was passed near the entrance of Danmark Fjord from June to August.
The snow was soft and deep, and water-making, and at last there was
no ice across the fjord. They had to travel over the hills to reach
a fresh hunting ground at Sjellands Sletten. Here musk oxen, hares,
brent geese, and ptarmigan were obtained. But the dogs were failing,
and much reduced in number. Foot-gear was wearing out, and Hagen,
with Brönlund’s help, tried to make boots out of the leather bag for
the sextant. Fuel was all used, but there was some driftwood, and one
of the sledges was broken up. At length, in October, the ice bore,
and the return journey was commenced along the coast to Lambert Land
depôt. But their troubles continued. They were stopped by open water
at Antarctic Bay, and had no alternative but to take to the inland
ice. Nearly exhausted, with few dogs left, it took them four days
to drag the sledge up to the ice cap. They continued to work their
way south, dying men, but unconquered and resolute to the last. They
were not perishing from want of food, but from frost-bites, illness,
misery, and exhaustion. They descended into Seventy-nine Fjord on their
way to the Lambert Land depôt, and then the end came. It had been a
terrible journey. Hagen died on the 15th of November, Erichsen two days
afterwards. Taking his diary and Hagen’s maps and drawings, Brönlund
staggered on to the depôt, where as we have seen, his body was found
by Koch. The bodies of the two noble explorers rest in the midst of
their vast discoveries.
Erichsen had organised and conducted the expedition with great energy
and quite exceptional ability. His last great journey was splendid in
its conception, in its scientific results, and in its heroic end. He
was an ideal leader and beloved by his companions. Hagen, too, was no
less a loss to science, an observer of the first rank and a dauntless
enthusiast.
Lieut. Trolle succeeded to the command of the expedition. The energy
and unceasing activity of its members was marvellous, and a mere list
even of the various expeditions would need more space than can be given
here. One of the most important, led by the geologist Jarner, was the
complete survey and exploration of Clavering’s Ardencaple Inlet, which
was examined and mapped up to the two upper branches during 42 days in
the spring, large collections of plants and fossils being made, and men
and dogs returning in excellent condition.
For the extent of discoveries made, and for the continuous activity
of all its members during two winters and three working seasons the
Danmark Expedition has few equals. Its members did much scientific
work, and did it thoroughly, bringing home valuable observations and
large collections. The winter quarters were left on July 21st, and the
ship finally arrived at Copenhagen on the 23rd August, 1908.