David goes to Greenland

by David Binney Putnam

During lunch, at two o’clock that afternoon we heard another great yelling from the natives.

“Umiaksoah!” they yelled. That is the word for ship. (I have spelled it the way it sounds to me.)

To our great surprise we saw a battleship coming into the harbor. It proved to be the Islands Falk, meaning the Iceland Falcon, the Danish patrol ship. It had heard by radio of our trouble while it was away down in south Greenland and at once had started north to rescue us. The first report, relayed to them by radio from an American vessel in [[94]]the north, said we had entirely lost the Morrissey and were all on shore. Just why such a report was sent we could not imagine, as of course we had sent out no word of that kind.

Anyway, later on Captain West of the Falcon got another word from the Canadian ship Boethic which was over on the Canadian side. The Boethic had had wireless word with us, and told Captain West the real facts, which were that we were working south to Upernivik to make repairs. So the Falcon came to Upernivik to help us.

I got a small boat and rowed out to the battleship and went aboard. To my great surprise I was greeted by Dr. Knud Rasmussen who had come up on the Falcon from Disko where we had been supposed to meet him. But his ship from Denmark had been very late and he failed to connect with us there. I told him about what had happened to us.

Then Captain West, Commander Riis-Carstensen, Dr. Rasmussen and others went [[95]]up to the Morrissey to offer help. In the end they sent a fine lot of men up there with a diver and boats and everything. The diver worked for about six days, while the Danish officers and sailors lived aboard and camped ashore. It proved that with the diver it was possible to get the leaks just about stopped. But I think that without him we would have had pretty serious trouble. The hard part was to get at the damaged place, which was on the very bottom of the vessel. And at the beaching place where they sent us it turned out there was not enough tide to get the bottom clear out of water.

We certainly were very grateful to the Danish officials for all they did for us. No one could possibly have been nicer or more generous. And I never saw a finer lot of men. It was great fun for me to be with them on the ship and around town. Most of the sixty men aboard were from all over Denmark, fine younger men who were doing their one year [[96]]of compulsory naval service. In Denmark every man has to serve in the army or navy for about a year of training. And I think they all love to get on this Greenland trip, it is so different.

Carl and Art Try Swimming at the Foot of the Glacier.

While they were working on the boat we moved into Upernivik, Doc, Harry and I. Dad took three men up to the glacier, where they got pictures and collected some bird specimens.