Greenland Entries: 10/18/1922 - 10/21/1922
10/18/1922 - Wednesday: It's been 2 months now. I still can't believe that the expedition would run off and leave us stranded like this! We have plenty of provisions (indeed enough for several months!), but without communications, I don't see much hope for rescue.
… - Good Fortune! While I was reading through some of the tomes that Karnes left behind, the villagers heard a commotion past the cliff at the seashore! Laticia and I went running with them to have a look. Down on the thin strip of rock that passes for a beach here, we saw a group of people. They were firing their guns into the ocean at, well I dare not say what I believe them to be. It reminds me of times in my youth, when I was introduced to ancient tomes of which I cannot speak. Regardless of what I thought I saw, the group, along with the Inuit villagers, drove off whatever it was.
I quickly ran back to camp to get a rope to help the group traverse the cliff. They had, I learned later, crashed their airplane into the sea moments before the 'attack'. We lowered the rope down to them, and they began to climb up the cliff. Apparently, one of them had been injured, though I'm not sure exactly how, so they had to make a pallet out of some of the wreckage of the airplane with which to haul him up the face.
There where 11 of them in the group. Marc D'Arnot, a Frenchman. An Englishman named Frederick. An American woman named Alys Sanders, who appears totally out of place here in Greenland. Another American named Shultz who, if my ears are correct, goes by the name of Pee Wee. He's a bit odd in the fact that he carries around an American baseball bat everywhere he goes. William McDugan from Canada. Doctor Jack Williams from America, who I believe is the most civilized of the group aside from Ms. Sanders. Johan Van Gilst, a Dutch merchant captain. Daniel Bernard, an Austrailian pilot. Lars Grogmore, a German who speaks almost no English at all. Rounding out their group, unbelievably, is an Irishman named Fergus McDougal. I think that he's a terrorist, but I'm not really sure. He is extremely crude, as most of his kinsman are. I haven't been able to tactfully determine what they are doing here in Greenland, but for now it's enough to have civilized company again!
Once all of them scaled the cliff face, the wounded one, Frederick I believe, was taken off to the village 'witch doctor'. Apparently Dr. Williams had attempted to ease his wounds, but due to the extreme cold after swimming to shore, his hands were too cold, and he did more damage than good. Once we hauled up their luggage that they had managed to save, I took them back to the cabin and we made the aforementioned introductions. They seem to be a friendly, albeit a little bit guarded group. D'Arnot the Frenchman offered me a shotgun after I had related the story of my expedition fellows.
10-19-1922 - Thursday: Today has started off fairly typical. The villagers went off on their daily seal hunting. As an offer of hospitality, they offered to take any with them who felt so inclined. The Irishman and German accepted, although I fear that it could turn out bad. They took with them enough home brewed beer (apparently that's what Lars does for a living. How he ended up with this group I haven't figured out yet.) to give a polar bear a good drunk.
After conversation with D'Arnot, I learn that he is a historian. I show him the meager library that we had brought with us, and he is immediately lost in research. Talking with the group later on, we all decide that the best rout out of this God forsaken place is to head West, across the continent and civilization. Barring the sudden appearance of a boat or airplane (at least one not at the sea floor) we all agree. With the help of Benny, the guide of our former expedition, we convince the villagers to help us with sleds and dogs, as well as a few guides. This will make the trip across the frozen land much easier. We briefly discussed the option of going along the coastline. There are villages along the way if we were to do that, but it is a much more treacherous path. In addition to that, the group made several unspoken references to their 'enemy's in the ocean.' I don't completely understand what they're talking about, but I do have my fears. My thoughts go back to the day that I saw them firing into the water, and half remembered passages from books that my brother had shared with me in our early 20's.
… - McDougal and Lars returned about an hour before sunset. They were both in the sleds along with the dead seals. Apparently, they had gotten drunk, which is no surprise when an Irishman and a German are involved, and slipped into the frozen sea. It's only too bad that they managed to recover McDougal.
10/20/1922 - Friday: Today went much as yesterday did. McDougal and Grogmore went out with the villagers again. He actually managed to bag a seal today, although it was with the help of the villagers. The pair believe that they are in good with the locals now, but from what I can discern from Benny and my limited knowledge of the Inuit language, they are the butt of most jokes. That's only fitting I guess.
10/21/1922 - Saturday: Preparations began in Ernst for tomorrow's impending departure. I can hardly contain the excitement! After more than two months without so much as a decent bath, I'm finally going to go home! I realize that the journey will not be an easy one, but I'm ready to face that. We packed all of the sleds today with the canned provisions that were left behind from my expedition. It should be more than enough for us to last a month, although the journey shouldn't take half that.
Frederick came out of the Shaman's tent this afternoon. Although he's not completely healed, he is looking much better that the day that we hauled him up the cliff face.
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