In 1883 Nordenskiöld again came out to Greenland in the steamer _Sophia_, funds being supplied by Baron Oscar Dickson, that munificent supporter of Arctic research. Nordenskiöld believed that the inland ice was not an unbroken mass, but that there were islands with bare rocks and some vegetation, the abode of reindeer and ptarmigan. He started from the same place as in 1870, with a party of ten, including two Lapps with _ski_. In 18 days they had advanced 73 miles and attained a height of 5000 feet. They were stopped by soft sludgy snow, but Nordenskiöld sent on the Lapps, who returned with a report that they had been 145 miles further, reaching a height of 5800 feet, and that there was nothing but an endless unbroken surface of snow. Yet the sight of two ravens rather confirmed Nordenskiöld in the belief that the expanse of snow was relieved by oases. The great Swedish savant was 31 days on the inland ice. [Illustration: Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld] Meanwhile, Dr Rink, the learned and accomplished Danish Inspector of Greenland, had warmly advocated further research as far back as 1876. The Danish savant Steenstrup observed the rate of movement of glaciers in 1876 and 1877, and in 1878 an expedition was undertaken into the interior by Lieutenant Jensen. This was a very interesting journey and revealed the character of the inland ice in the far south. Jensen entered by the Fredrickshaab _iisblink_, and crossed the expanse of snow as far as the Nasuasak _nunatak_, which was one of the peaks seen by Dalager, 4700 feet above the sea. He had three small one-man sledges with three weeks’ provisions. The ice was very rough and broken, and the men suffered from snow blindness. But the _nunataks_ were reached, and Jensen ascended one of them to a height of 5000 feet, obtaining an extensive view. They are known as the Jensen _nunataks_. The journey on the inland ice occupied 31 days, from July 3rd to August 3rd. The next attempt was made in 1886 by Peary in Disco Bay, in the same place that Whymper had previously selected. Robert Peary was a civil engineer employed in the American naval dockyard service; a very resolute and determined man who had conceived the ambition of taking a share in Arctic discovery. His companion was the Danish lieutenant Maigaard. Their point of entrance was in 69° 30′. They took thirty days’ provisions, which were carried on two sledges, 9 feet long and 13 inches wide, weighing 23 lb. each, their shelter for the night being a tarpaulin between the sledges. They advanced over the inland ice for 24 days, from June 8th to July 2nd, meeting with a “fohn” wind which made the snow soft and sticky, and they were also delayed by snowstorms. In returning, the wind was at their backs, so they rigged up the tarpaulin on some alpenstocks and sailed back at great speed, 22, 27, and even more miles a day. They returned on July 24th.