Page:Proposed Expedition to Explore Ellesmere Land - 1894.djvu/9

10 an unusually rapid rise of the land, for otherwise the bottom of the strait would long ago have been worn down below low-tide level. The chances of finding valuable minerals on those Arctic lands that are not covered by ice are as good as anywhere. From Sherard Osborn's report it would seem that the flora on the south shore of Ellesmere Land is more luxuriant than in most Arctic localities, so that botanical (and no doubt zoological) collections from that shore will be of unusual interest. If, according to Sir George Nares' account (quoted on page 16), the marine fauna and flora immediately north of Ellesmere Land are exceedingly rich, it is fair to expect that in Jones Sound, too, the dredge will bring up an opulent harvest. New whaling grounds may be found, for which the whalers themselves rarely have time to search; and it maybe noted that a whaling ship has been known to return with a cargo worth $400,000. Belcher, Sherard Osborn, and Nares found abundant Eskimo remains of ancient date on and near the shores of Ellesmere Land, and reports coming from two sources would indicate that that land harbors the only Eskimo tribe never yet visited by white men. This, therefore, will be a splendid field for an anthropologist desirous of studying primitive conditions.

In June, 1892, two young Swedish naturalists, Bjorling and Kallstenius, with a crew of three, set out from St. John's on a collecting trip along the west Greenland coast, in a small schooner, the Ripple. The wreck of this vessel and the body of one of the crew were found by Capt. McKay, of the Dundee whaling steamer Aurora, on the Cary Islands, on June 17, 1893. Letters addressed to Prof. Nordenskiold told that the schooner had run aground near the islands in August, 1892, and that the party, having failed to reach Greenland, were preparing, on October 12, to start immediately for Ellesmere Land, with provisions to last till January 1, 1893, hoping to reach the Eskimos at Cape Faraday or Clarence Head. They had two rifles, one shotgun and considerable ammunition. They intended to return to the Cary Islands by July, 1893, to meet any whaler or to push on to the Danish settlements. Capt. McKay at once headed for Ellesmere