Erichsen was chief of the expedition, and Lieut. Trolle of the Royal Danish Navy second in command and captain of the ship. The cartographer was Lieut. Höeg Hagen of the Danish Army, and Lieut. Johan Peter Koch of the General Staff of the Danish Army, who had done excellent surveying and cartographic work in the Amdrup expedition as well as in Iceland, and who had experience as a seaman, having qualified as master of small ships, was the surveyor. The geologist was Jarner, Johansen marine zoologist, Lindhard surgeon, Lundager botanist, Manniche ornithologist, Wegener meteorologist and physicist. The first mate was Lieut. Bistrup of the Royal Danish Navy, the second and third mates Christian and Gustav Trostrup, two artists Bertelsen and Frus went as engineers, and such was the enthusiasm felt for the expedition that two university students, Freuchen[177] aged 20 and Hagerup a Norwegian, volunteered as stokers, as well as Knudsen who was carpenter of the ship. An ice pilot, Karl Ring, a steward, and four seamen completed the complement. In addition there were the three Eskimo dog drivers Brönlund (who had been a curate at Jacobhavn), Tobias Gabrielsen, and Olsen from Ritenbenk--27 all told. The expedition, which was known as the Danmark Expedition, left Copenhagen on the 24th June, 1906, and after a long struggle with the ice the _Danmark_ was off Koldewey Island on the 13th August. Proceeding northwards a large depôt was landed at Cape Marie Valdemar. Winter quarters were established near Cape Bismarck in Lat. 76° 46′ N., Long. 18° 37′ W., in a sheltered bay which was named Danmark Havn. The explorers were thus on the very threshold of an undiscovered region. During the following two years constant journeys were made for various scientific purposes, for laying out depôts, surveying, collecting specimens, etc. The neighbourhood of Cape Bismarck was thus most thoroughly explored and surveyed. Meanwhile there were diligent preparations during the winter for the great northern journeys. There were two extended sledge parties and two depôt sledge parties, each with a team of 8 or 9 dogs and a load of 810 lb. This was to give two months’ provisions for men, and one for dogs. The first sledge had Erichsen, Hagen, and the dog driver Brönlund; the second, Koch, the artist Bertelsen, and the dog driver Tobias Gabrielsen. The auxiliary sledges were under Wegener and Trostrup. The departure took place on the 28th March, Trostrup going back on the 22nd April and Wegener on the 26th. The explorers adopted an excellent plan of placing strips of walrus hide on the runners of the sledges with the hair outwards. Water was then poured along the hide, which becoming ice, was held in place by the hair. This was found to be an immense help to the dogs in dragging.