^ M BOOKS BY WILLIAM HERBERT HOBBS Earthquakes, an Introduction to Seismic Geology — Appleton Characteristics of Existing Glaciers — Macmillan Earth Features and Their Meaning — Macmillan The World War and Its Consequences, with an Introduction by Theodore Roosevelt — Putnam Leonard Wood, Administrator, Soldier and Citizen, with an Introduction by Henry A. Wise Wood — Putnam Earth Evolution and Its Facial Expression — Mac- millan Cruises Along By-Ways of the Pacific — Stratford The Glacial Anticyclones, the Poles of the At- mospheric Circulation — University of Michigan Exploring About the North Pole of the Winds — Putnam EXPLORING ABOUT THE NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS ;*e cs o w o O o 0\ <3 u I -♦-» C o a o o P. .3 C C/3 tr -t ■! " - T- " - n IT It I. Exploring About the North Pole of the Winds hy WILLIAM HERBERT HOBBS Professor of Geology and Director of the Greenland Expeditions of the University of Michigan /IS Decorations by the Author WITH 26 ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS NEW YORK G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS LONDON Cite "^aitiisxhittktt ^rcsa 1930 *M I II II ni ■■II W ■« W ■ MM ■■II II II II— —II iii» WMllii ■ II II n I H ■■ W gn ■!►? EXPLORING ABOUT THE NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS Copyright, 1930 by G. P. Putnam's Sons Published, Winter, 1930 Made in the United States of America CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. — The First Cruise to Greenland on the Morr'issey ...... 3 II, — In Camp on the Maligiakfjord . . 17 III. — The Motor-Canoe Swamped and the Rescue ...... 30 IV. — The Winds From the ''Great Ice" . 39 V. — Exploring the Upper Air ... 48 VI. — The Summer Expedition to the Ice-Cap 60 VII. — The Return on Forced Marches . . 76 VIII. — Again in Camp on the Maligiakfjord . 87 IX. — The Stormy Return Cruise on the Crip- pled Morr'issey ..... 95 X. — The Second Expedition to Greenland on THE Disko . . . . . .108 XI. — Storm-Bound on the Walrus . . .114 XII. — Building the Expedition Base on Mount Evans 128 XIII. — Reconnaissance ..... 146 XIV. — The Second Expedition to the Ice-Cap 154 XV. — On the Ice-Cap and Back to Camp Lloyd 170 3518 7 CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XVI. — Bangsted's Winter Expedition to the Ice-Cap . . . . . .185 XVII. — The Third Greenland Expedition . . 203 XVIII. — The Relief of Carlson at Mount Evans 212 XIX. — Preparing for the Rockford Flyers . 220 XX. — Exploring in the Caribou Country . 237 XXI. — The Search for Hassell and Cramer . 254 XXII. — The Rescue 265 XXIII. — Shipwrecked ...... 283 XXIV. — In Peril of Waters off the Greenland Coast ....... 299 XXV. — Aboard the Tramp-Ship Fulton . . 312 XXVI. — Carlson's Winter Dog-Sled Expedition 328 XXVII. — Our Wireless Station's Activities . . 34-3 XXVIII. — The Closing of the Station . . . 357 Appendix 367 Index 373 VI ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Sending up a Pilot Balloon on the Ice-cap Frontispiece The First Expedition Aboard the Morrissey View Looking Down Upon University Bay The Motor-canoe in which Gould and Belknap so Nearly Lost their Lives Following a Balloon at Camp on the Maligiakfjord Sounding Balloon Work The Trek Across the Tundra Otto Nordenskjold Glacier Tongue Expedition of 1927 on the Walrus Mount Evans Aerological Station . Following a Balloon at Mount Evans Lower Chute of the Kelsey Cataract Upper: Ice-cliff at Edge of Inland-ice. Camp on the Inland-ice A Crevasse on the Inland-ice Upper: The "White Mountains." Lower Party on the Frozen Fjord Lower: A DoGSLED The Airplane Landing Field Near Mount Evans vii 9 23 35 51 57 71 77 115 139 143 149 175 193 199 233 ILLUSTRATIONS Kite Work at Camp Lloyd The Rescued Fliers and their Rescuers After the Shipwreck of the NaJcuak Camp Near Mouth of Sondre Stromfjord Arrival of the Rescue-ship Nipisak Fishing Settlement of Kangamiut The Fulton at the Dock of Ivigtut . The Radio Transmitter at Mount Evans PAGE . 239 . 273 . 289 . 295 . 303 . 309 . 317 . 345 Vlll EXPLORING ABOUT THE NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS >^' V EXPLORING ABOUT THE NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS CHAPTER I THE FIRST CRUISE TO GREENLAND ON THE MORRISSEY HE motor-schooner Morrissey, Captain "Bob" Bartlett, master, on the morning of June 27, 1926, swung at her moorings in the harbor of North Sydney, Nova Scotia. On board were the per- sonnels of two expeditions about to sail for the Arctic and the stores for three expeditions. Every foot of cargo space was taken and the decks were hidden under piles of lumber, nests of dories, gaso- line drums, canoes, etc., all well lashed and made snug for possible nasty weather. 3 NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS The Morrissey is of 83 tons register, 100 feet Tong, and with the lines of a yacht. A report had come to North Sydney that the straits of Belle Isle, which separate Newfoundland from Labrador and through which the Morrissey was to sail, were still crammed solid with field ice pushed in from Davis Strait. However, a favorable southerly wind might clear the straits at any time, and under an overcast sky the anchor was weighed and at eleven o'clock under full sail and with motor run- ning we moved out to sea. The Morrissey had been chartered for the expe- dition of the American Museum of Natural His- tory under command of George Palmer Putnam and was setting out to cruise in Baffin Bay and secure specimens of the larger forms of ocean life for the new Oceanic Hall of the Museum. The other members of this expedition were : Dr. Harry C. Raven of the Zoological Staff of the Museum and second-in-command of the expedition; Daniel W. Streeter of Buffalo, hunter; "Art" Young, champion bowman of the world and famous for his killing with bow and arrow of big game animals in Africa and Alaska; Carl Dunrud, cowboy rop- ing expert who captures big game with the lariat. To prepare the skins Fred Limekiller of the Mu- seum staff was included. Maurice Kellerman, mo- 4 TO GREENLAND ON THE MORRISSEY tion picture expert of the Pathe Corporation, who had already made pictures for other expeditions, was of the party, and Dr. Peter Heinbecker, well- known specialist, had shipped as surgeon and was interested especially in the pathology of the Green- land Eskimos. The engineer of the expedition was Robert E. Peary, Jr., son of the discoverer of the North Pole, with Young and Dunrud as assistants, and Edward Manley was radio operator. Mr. Putnam was taking with him his thirteen- year-old son, David, who had already made a voy- age in the Arcturus with Dr. Beebe and had pub- lished his "David Goes Voyaging." This was the staff of the expedition for which the ship had been chartered and the cruise was to extend throughout the summer and penetrate into Baffin Bay as far as Cape York in 76° N. latitude. For my own expedition of six men I had made a contract with Director Putnam under the terms of which we were to be taken aboard the Morrissey as passengers and were to be set down at the head of the Maligiakfjord, about thirty miles east of Holstensborg in Greenland; except in the event of adverse weather conditions prevailing, when we were to be set down at Holstensborg upon the coast. Our entire party qualified as "able land- lubbers" and were subject to call on deck at any 5 NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS hour of the day or night to make or shorten sail, though we were not required to go aloft. After having deposited us with our stores the Morrissey was to go about its cruising work in Baffin Bay, but return in September so as to bring us back to North Sydney. With a clear view of the hazards of expeditions like ours, Mr. Putnam and I signed jointly a letter in which it was agreed that the Morrissey would be at Hol- stensborg on September 18th and would find us ready to embark unless by radio other plans had in the meantime been arranged. If the ship should give us no information before October 10th, we were to assume that difficulty or disaster had oc- curred. We were to notify the Danish authorities and then shift for ourselves. As events proved the Morrissey suffered shipwreck far to the north, but eventually got off again in a crippled condition, took us on at Holstensborg, and in spite of nasty weather and a full gale got us all safely back to North Sydney. The expedition which I directed was organized as a University of Michigan enterprise and was preliminary in its nature, having for its purpose the discovery of a suitable base at which to establish an aerological station for study of the peculiar glacial anticyclone of Greenland, the northern Pole of 6 TO GREENLAND ON THE MORRISSEY our wind system fixed above the great dome of ice and snow which submerges the greater part of the Greenland continent. We had come prepared to make prehminary studies of the upper atmosphere by means of balloons in addition to the usual mete- orological observations at the ground level. Besides the Director our party of six consisted of: Dr. Larry M. Gould from the geology de- partment of the University of Michigan, second- in-command, geologist and photographer; S. P. Fergusson, from the U. S. Weather Bureau in Washington, aerologist; Dr. J. E. Church, Jr., an alumnus of the University of Michigan but now from the faculty of the University of Ne- vada, meteorologist; Ralph L. Belknap, from the Geology Department of the University, surveyor; and Paul C. Oscanyan, Jr., of New Jersey, radio operator. In addition to the members of both expeditions the Morrissey carried besides the mas- ter. Captain "Bob" Bartlett, his brother "Will," the mate, and a crew of four men besides the cook and steward. We were taking supplies and equipment suf- ficient for the summer only, but it was hoped to test out conditions with a view to more extended studies so soon as a suitable base had been dis- covered. For these studies clear skies were, if not 7 NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS absolutely essential, at least highly desirable, and the Holstensborg district even upon the coast en- joyed the reputation of having a somewhat dryer atmosphere than neighboring sections of the Green- land coast. The distinguished Swedish Polar Ex- plorer, Dr. Otto Nordenskjold, had in 1909 gone into the Holstensborg hinterland between the coast settlements and the margin of the inland-ice, and had reported still dryer conditions of atmosphere as the ice is approached. I believed that this was probably due to the protection afforded by the long arm of ice which at a high level and to the southward pushes outward toward the coast so as to condense the moisture from clouds arriving from the south and southwest. Late on the afternoon of the twenty-ninth, the Morrissey got into the narrowing approaches to the straits of Belle Isle, where to our delight we found that the ice had already, under the influence of the southerly winds, moved out into Davis Strait leaving behind only a few growlers and isolated larger bergs. By midnight we had passed the Belle Isle light and early next morning were going slowly ahead in a thick fog under our engine power. As I emerged on the deck from the after cabin, "Old Tom," who was at the wheel, nodded his head toward the starboard beam 8 TO GREENLAND ON THE MORRISSEY with the remark, "There's a big one, Sir!" Peering through the fog in that quarter I was able faintly to make out a towering mass of ice apparently not a hundred yards off. By mid-forenoon it had become less thick and we were now able to see about us in all directions the pan-ice with scattered fleets of ice- bergs. As many as one hundred bergs could be counted at once. In the evening, an impromptu concert was given in the 'midships cabin by Young playing his "Katydid," a shrunken edition of a violin, Kellerman his violin, Dunrud his banjo, and Streeter the mandolin. On the early morning of July 1st, as we lay in our bunks, the bell rang to stop the engines. This was soon followed by the signal "half-speed ahead," followed by frequently changing orders and some- times by hard bumps from growlers and small ice- floes. We had now entered a field of brash-ice which had blown out from the Labrador coast, and all day long, with sails furled, the ship proceeded at half-speed conned from the crow's nest so as to take advantage of lanes through the ice field. We were soon aware that it had grown much colder, and today for the first time a fire had been lighted in the stove of the after cabin. Toward evening we came out of the ice field into a heavy cross sea stirred up by the northerly gale a few days earlier 11 NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS in connection with the southerly winds which had brought us forward. All hands were piped on deck to hoist sails. With many of the land-lubbers ill in their bunks and with the husky Peary on duty in the engine room, our inexperienced people toiled hard with a "Yo Ho" before we had the heavy mainsail up and were left with badly lamed muscles. We could now understand the difficulties under which Captain Bob had labored when on his recent trip from North Sydney to New York he had in bad weather carried on with a crew of only six men including the cook and steward. All through the night and on Friday, July 2nd, we thrashed about in the heavy swell. There was but little wind and the sails flapped and M^ore the gear more than during a full gale or through months of ordinary sailing. When the mess call sounded there were few who responded or could do justice to the Friday menu of boiled cod in bacon fat. The heavy seas continued throughout Saturday the third of July, though the wind had now shifted to the northeast and the ship was close hauled. After mess we got the Captain "going," yarning of the great events in which he has borne so noble a part: the long association with Peary in his great Arctic explorations, the loss of the Karluk and the long trek which followed along the 12 TO GREENLAND ON THE MORRISSEY Siberian coast to Alaska. His devotion to Ad- miral Peary is fine to see. At midnight all sail was taken in, but before morning with her canvas furled the schooner was rolling so badly that the foresail and jib were again hoisted. I was up early and was standing near the wheel when four pistol shots came up through the skylight. It was Dunrud who was thus intimating to us that this was the "glorious Fourth." The sea had now become like glass, fortunately with no ice, and throughout the day with fair visibility. By dead reckoning Captain Bob gives our latitude as 62° 30'. Bottles contain- ing cards which give the position of the ship and the date are sealed up against the entrance of sea water and are thrown overboard. If later picked up these will give valuable knowledge concerning ocean currents. At dinner we have to do with other bottles — of ginger ale — for Mr. Putnam has wisely taken on board no supplies of spirituous liquors, and so in ginger ale we celebrate our national holi- day. By the fifth we had had no observation of the sun, for there has been much fog though with brief intervals of good visibility. Several times the sun almost emerged from the clouds and the captain has come hurrying down into the cabin 13 NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS for his sextant, only to be disappointed, for no sooner is he back than the sun is again hidden. We badly need an observation of the sun for we are now approaching the Greenland coast with its thousands of rocky islands and half submerged reefs. We note sharp changes of temperature. A thermometer which Fergusson swung on deck gave a reading of 59°F. in the morning and 38°F. in the afternoon. A little after eight in the evening the cry of "Land Ho" came down to the cabin where Fergusson was just finishing a very interest- ing talk on our meteorological instruments. We rushed on deck and saw clearly to starboard the high Greenland coast with one area where tongues of ice could be made out. While we were watching the coast a quite re- markable cloud in nature and form resembling thunder-heads was seen massed along the coast, and this could be explained by cold air riding out over warmer. A little later this developed into a white uniform mass near the surface of the sea beneath a dark nimbus-like curtain. In the night following we had a gale and with sails set made a speed of from eight to ten knots, the shore always in sight about five miles off on the starboard beam. All night the Captain was up studying the mountainous coast; for Greenland is 14 TO GREENLAND ON THE MORRISSEY without beacons, has relatively few soundings away from the fishing banks, and Captain Bob with all his visits to North Greenland had never once made port in this section or even sailed near the coast. After breakfast on the sixth the engines were stopped and still making nine knots under sail, the Captain and I studied keenly the features of the shore, comparing them with our maps. We be- lieved now that we were able to recognize the entrance to the great Sondre Stromf jord. About nine-thirty a sail was made out far ahead and al- most at the same moment with our binoculars we had made out a camp on a low island to starboard. The ship was at once brought into the wind and the motor-boat lowered. Putnam, Peary, Dunrud and Will Bartlett, the mate, got into her. A high sea was running and the motor as usual tempera- mental, so that there was some difficulty at first in getting off. However, Peary soon had the motor under control and the boat started toward the shore. As soon as the Eskimo encampment made out the motor-boat leaving the ship, two men in kayaks put off from the shore. Soon we saw one of them reach the motor-boat and be taken on board while the other returned to the shore. As the Eskimo came over the side Captain Bob pro- nounced the word Holstensborg. The Eskimo 15 NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS promptly pointed approximately in the direction where we had located the settlement. He was given the helm and at once set the course. He seemed to be entirely at home at the wheel and about the mid- dle of the afternoon he brought us through its nar- row entrance into the harbor of Holstensborg, which is hidden from the sea and easily missed. As we were later to learn, the approaches to the harbor are strewn with dangerous reefs, so that a definite narrow course must be followed to insure safety. 16 CHAPTER II IN CAMP ON THE MALIGIAKFJORD I HEN anchor was dropped in the harbor of Holstensborg, Mr. Putnam, Captain Bob, Dr. Raven and myself at once went ashore to meet the local Governor; but unknown to us he had already set out for the ship. On reaching the shore we learned of this and at once returned on board to meet the representative of Danish authority in this outpost of the kingdom. With Governor Bistrup was Helge Bangsted, a well- known Arctic explorer who spoke English and acted as interpreter. Bangsted had been a member of the latest Thule Expedition of Dr. Rasmussen in Arctic America, and he was now returning from an independent expedition which he had just made on the Greenland ice-cap near the 17 NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS latitude of Umanak. Governor Bistrup had been born in Greenland the son of a Danish Gov- ernor, and almost his entire life had been spent in the Greenland coast settlements. Both Gov- ernor Bistrup and Mr. Bangsted were to play important roles in connection with our Greenland Expeditions. No one is allowed to land in Greenland without a special permit from the Danish Government, but our papers were soon found to be in order and the Governor now exerted himself to supply the furs and other articles still necessary to our equipment. We were invited to take coffee at the Governor's residence, which is above the harbor and is entered through an impressive gateway formed from two ribs of a Greenland whale. The men and women of the Governor's household were now invited by Mr. Putnam to be his guests at dinner on the Mor- rissey, where Billy the cook did his best to make a sailor's fare attractive to the guests. Mr. Putnam was anxious to sail for the North with as little delay as possible, and the Governor having sent on board an Eskimo pilot familiar with the navigation of the neighboring fjords, we weighed anchor as soon as dinner was over. Be- cause of the shallow water in the straits at Sarfan- guak, it was necessary to first go down the coast and 18 IN CAMP ON THE MALIGIAKFJORD sail up the Ikertokf jord. As it was light enough for navigation throughout the night, Streeter saw that Billy had coffee kept hot for us throughout. I searched eagerly the shores of the fjord for pos- sible camping sites, but without success. We were later to learn that though the coast land belt is well supplied with water, this is generally found in basins which have no outlets and are widely scattered over the plateau. Streams which enter the fjords are rare indeed. The morning began in a drizzling rain and we soon came opposite a gulls' rookery perched on the almost perpendicular cliff at a bend in the fjord. A rifle shot echoed along the fjord and flushed the gulls by the thousand. At one point Putnam, Streeter and I went ashore to leave a note at an Eskimo fishing camp to announce our arrival to Magister Porsild, Director of the Dan- ish Arctic station at Godhavn, who was known to be cruising somewhere hereabouts in his motor- boat. Near the little Eskimo settlement of Sarfan- guak the Morrissey dropped anchor and we went into the house of the manager, David Olsen, to have coffee and cake. Olsen is one of the most remark- able Eskimo-Danish half-bloods that Greenland has produced. For his services to the State he has 19 NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS been decorated by the King of Denmark. Later we were to have many occasions to thank this efficient manager for valuable help, though we communicated with him by a combination of pan- tomime with the few words which we had acquired of each other's languages. As we set sail from Sarfanguak I scanned with even greater care, but with as little success as be- fore, the shores of the Ikertokfjord for possible camping sites. At last we turned sharply to port to enter the trident-like head of the great fjord, and as we did so our Eskimo-pilot reported that we could go no further in the ship since the water was now rapidly shallowing. Hard by the western shore we drop anchor in seven fathoms, the motor- sailer of the Morrissey is lowered overside, and with Peary as our engineer, Gould, Church, Streeter and I set out to examine the head of the fjord. Before we have advanced a mile there opens out on the east side a deep amphitheater which is recognized as a true glacial cirque that has been in part submerged through sinking of the shore, and here many of the conditions for a suit- able camp site are realized. The depth of water is sufficient for landing, the floor of the amphitheatre is sufficiently flat for tents, and, best of all, a source of fresh water is apparent in a cascade which 20 IN CAMP ON THE MALIGIAKFJORD tumbles over the high rock walls and as a purling brook makes its way out to the shore. For our balloon studies such an amphitheatre is of course ill suited, so we proceed some four miles farther up the fjord to near its head, where the ebb tide and the shallowing water make it necessary to return. We note other camping sites, but I select the one first seen less than a mile from our anchor- age. While we have been away the captain has set the crew to work getting our stuff up on deck with the aid of Belknap and Oscanyan, who have had to do with the storage of our material at New York and at North Sydney. The three dories belonging 21 NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS to the two expeditions have been placed side by side, studding and boards from our lumber supply have been laid across them and secm'ely lashed. As soon as this improvised lighter has been loaded the crew, two Eskimos, and members of both expedi- tions pile on and are towed swiftly to the landing behind the motor-sailer. No sooner are we on shore, however, than we are fiercely attacked by swarms of mosquitoes, and though we have come provided with insect-proof tents, head-nets, gauntlets, and mosquito dope, it is not possible to get out at once these necessities of any Greenland or in fact Arctic adventure. Wherever there have been glaciers basins of water have been left behind for the breeding of mosqui- toes and other insect pests. On this Greenland coast the black fly and the little sand flies called by the Canadian-Indians "no-see-ums", are especially abundant and for a portion of the season all these insect pests are found together. For a second load on the lighter our drums of gasoline weighing nearly a ton are set ashore and with some difficulty are rolled up the bank and left above high water mark. The last load is put on in some haste and it is not possible to make sure that all our supplies have been removed. In ad- dition to the stores of the two expeditions the Mor- 22 B en u o 01 l-l o •»— I bJD 13 0) C o >. PQ > 'S t> a o o bO C o o 0) IN CAMP ON THE MALIGIAKFJORD rissey carried supplies for the Eskimo station of Dr. Rasmussen at North Star Bay. In order to find place for everything the stores of the two ex- peditions could not be kept entirely separate, for economy of storage made size and shape of individ- ual boxes rather than their content the determining factor in their distribution on board. Our sacks of sugar got packed near the gasoline engine and were in part impregnated with so much motor gasoline that even our Eskimo helpers refused to eat it. We made, however, hurried journeys through the ship and could only hope that no very important articles had been left on board. And now the time had arrived to say good-bye to our shipmates of the Putnam expedition and to hope that a kind Fate would bring us all together again in September for the return voyage to Nova Scotia. Our stores have been hastily dumped on shore above the high tide level in a confusion which suggested the salvaged wreckage from a sinking vessel. On this pile of lumber, casks, cases and rolls we perched ourselves and watched the beautiful lines of the Morrissey as her anchor was weighed and she disappeared into the Ikertok- fjord behind the headland. The last forty-eight hours have been hectic ones and without sleep for some of us, but the weather 25 NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS is now good and we do not have to fear the com- ing of night and darkness. As soon as our sleeping tents have been pitched and our bedding placed ready, we start to get out the cooking utensils and prepare supper, for all are very hungry after the arduous work of landing the stores. The boxes containing our kitchen and tableware are nowhere to be found, but it is only after a thorough search that we are compelled to admit that they must have been carried off on the Morrissey. While this is not a misfortune of major proportions it is none the less a very serious handicap. Something we must have to take the place of spoons, and after search along the shore some small mussel shells are found and not without scorched fingers each of us dips his shell into the soup pot (a large jam can) after the manner of primitive peoples. This makeshift for spoons is necessary for the first few meals only, for our expert instrument-maker and handy-man, Fergusson, gets out his drill and pre- pares wooden handles for the mussel shells. As soon as there are empty cans he fashions from the corners of square cans a scoop type of spoon with handles of twisted wire taken from the replacement stores of the radio outfit. From the same wire forks are fashioned, and our sheath knives serve us as table knives. 26 IN CAMP ON THE MALIGIAKFJORD The insect pest is found very trying especially by those who are without experience in the Cana- dian wilderness. Both because he is more easily poisoned by the mosquitoes and because his deft manipulation of instruments does not permit of the regular use of gloves, Fergusson suffers most, and his hands are almost constantly swollen to surprising proportions. We soon find that if we are to eat our meals in comfort, we must protect ourselves by wearing our head-nets throughout. No one of us would think of leaving camp unpro- tected with a head-net. So soon as the camp had been organized and everything made snug for possible nasty weather, Gould and Church on the eighth with some help from Belknap and the Director began the con- struction of our hut in which the instrmiients and more perishable supplies are to be protected. 'No lumber is obtainable in Greenland and the building materials have all been brought with us on the Morrissey. From 2x4 studding a frame eight feet square on the ground and eight feet high on the front sloping down to four at the back was put together. This frame was then boarded in, roofed and in part protected on the sides by malthoid paper. In the meantime several recon- naissance trips have been made by small parties 27 NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS that have gone beyond the head of the Maligiak- fjord to the eastward, and westward across the fjord in the direction of the coast. As soon as time could be found Belknap with the aid of the Direc- tor began to prepare a map of the district as far as the head of the Maligiakfjord. Oscanyan, our radio operator, early set to work to prepare and erect the radio mast of jointed bamboo thirty-five feet in height which we had brought with us. It was at first set up some distance back of the hut but without securing any contact whatever. It was then concluded that the high rock walls of the amphitheatre prevented any rays going out or coming in except at the west where the amphitheatre opens toward the bay, and it was therefore decided to move our radio station to the summit of the headland four hundred feet high and lying southwest of the camp. The heavy Bur- gess B batteries it was necessary to ferry across the bay and pack them up the steep slope to the top. This work fell largely to our strong man, Gould, aided by Belknap and myself, since Oscan- yan was kept busy getting his equipment sorted out and later assembled on the headland. The radio station itself was merely a small tent in which we had both short and long wave receivers that in the new position gave us for the greater part of 28 IN CAMP ON THE MALIGIAKFJORD the time excellent reception from the United States and Europe, as well as occasionally from far more remote countries. Our transmitter was a simple short wave instrument using a 7>^ watt radiotron, with which we expected to maintain contacts with the Morrissey as she cruised about in Baffin Bay. This contact was essential at least during the late season, since we must learn the position of the vessel in time to get down to the coast before her return. 29 CHAPTER III THE MOTOR-CANOE SWAMPED AND THE RESCUE HEN we started out for Green- land we had with us a MuUins 14-foot outboard-special steel boat which has a square stern and was intended for use with a Lockwood L.A. twin 3 horsepower outboard-motor loaned us by the manufacturer. When we came to embark at North Sydney the deck of the Morrissey was al- ready so crowded with freight that no place for the MuUins boat could be found, and to our great regret it had to be left behind. In later expedi- tions when he had one of these boats we learned of their great adaptability for our purposes and it was in this boat that the Rockford flyers were rescued during a very high sea. On board the Morrissey Mr. Putnam had two Newfoundland dories which could be nested together; and so we purchased one of this type to replace the Mul- lins boat. 30 THE MOTOR-CANOE SWAMPED The dory is a very practicable and amazingly sea-worthy boat, but it has a sharp stern and the stern-post slants inward toward the middle of the boat. Furthermore, the freeboard is so high that the screw of our motor would be largely out of the water. It would be difficult to find a type of boat which offered greater difficulties for attach- ment of the outboard motor. But these were very cleverly solved by Gould. The stern of the dory was cut back a distance of about a foot extending downward from the gunwale about ten inches. He then made a new water-tight stern and a deck run- ning out from its base to the rudder-post. On the outer edge of this deck a cleat was erected for the clamp of the motor. The dory thus modified never gave us trouble during the three seasons and was indispensable to us. We had also taken with us two Chestnut canoes made at Fredericton, New Brunswick, one of them the prospector's model and the other with a square stern to be used with outboard-motor. When used with the motor this canoe is of course a high speed boat and even when weighted down in the bow is hardly safe except in quiet waters. The Greenland fjords are very treacherous for boat navigation. Gusty winds sweep down upon them and these have often a limited distribution, 31 NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS so that a boat passes abruptly from quite safe water into very rough seas. Further difficulty arises from the strong "rips" at the turn of the tide. A tide gauge loaned us by the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey was set up for regular meas- urements off our camp on University Bay and the extreme range of water at the spring tides meas- ured as fifteen feet. About the heads of the fjords there are deep deposits of sticky glacial muds which are exposed at low tide over considerable areas, and we were more than once marooned for hours at points distant from our base waiting for the tide to rise sufficiently for us to get off. In order to understand how we were able to save the lives of two of our party in our worst ac- cident of the summer, it will be necessary to refer to our attempt to replace the missing cooking uten- sils and tableware. We had been in camp but a few days when an Eskimo paid us a visit coming from Sarfanguak in his kayak. He spoke no English but it occurred to me to send a message by him to David Olsen, asking him to send us the cooking vessels and table utensils of which we stood in such need. Since Olsen knew no English the letter had to be largely a pictograph. I first drew a small teaspoon and placed beside it the figure six. The Eskimo looking over my shoulder nodded 32 THE MOTOR-CANOE SWAMPED his head to show that he understood. Below it a larger spoon was drawn and the figure six placed beside it. More nodding of the head and now a broad smile. A table knife and a table fork were each in turn drawn and the figure six added. And so on with each dish, fry pan or boiler needed. Just as I was about to fold this document an idea came to me. We had obtained from David Olsen several cans of ptarmigan, the Arctic pheasant quite abun- dant in Greenland, and four of these birds after parboiling had been sealed in each can. On a chance I decided to add as a postscript to my letter a request in English that a number of cans of ptar- migan be sent in to us with the cooking utensils. This seemingly unimportant postscript to my pictograph message played a most important role in connection with the accident ; for Olsen be- ing unable to read this message sent the document by a kayaker down to Governor Bistrup at Hol- stensborg. This trip to Holstensborg involved con- siderable delay. The Governor decided to send the articles requested in a whale-boat rowed by Eskimo women but as usual with one man as cox- swain. When this whale-boat appeared under sail off our base with two kayakers flanking it on either side it was a great surprise to us. When the cargo had been delivered and the crew had curiously in- 33