Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

KINGIGTORSSUAQ

The short stay in Iceland only served to establish the sites that should primarily be addressed in Greenland to locate runic inscriptions and other relics of the period they were interested in, i.e. early eleventh century since they were deterred from the idea of finding traces of previous periods.

They had to wait several days before they could board an old Danish freighter that would take them to the port of Nuuk located at latitude 64 ° 10 'North. The city of Nuuk is the capital of the vast island which is under the sovereignty of Denmark.

During the next two weeks they traveled through the areas called Vesterbygden and Austerbygden where most of the inscriptions found on the island are. They copied almost all the inscriptions that were later deciphered by Sven during the night under the light of a camp kerosene lantern. They toured all public agencies looking for specific information about the whereabouts of Scandinavian seamen on whom there were records. They also collected testimonies and legends among old sailors gathered in taverns or on board their ships.

At the end of the third week the data gathered were not promising and although Sven Heidenstam tried to keep the spirit high some disillusionment began to invade the group.

To ward off disappointment Lothar went for a walk once again through the port area but this time he went alone.

He walked down the long pier walking along mostly ramshackle and abandoned ships. Passing by a fishing boat he saw an old man sitting on the ship side while unraveling a rope and softly humming. Lothar greeted him with a wave of his hand and was already walking away as he heard with great surprise he was told in German.

“Did you find what you wanted?”

The young man turned and found that it was the old fisherman who had spoken. Lothar had already convinced himself that he could hardly talk to someone for his poor knowledge of the Scandinavian languages, so was glad to have someone to talk to.

“Excuse me, what did you just say?”

The old man repeated the question.

“What are you talking about?” Lothar did not want to disclose his game.

“If you have found the runic inscriptions you are seeking?”

“No, we are not looking for anything in particular.”

“That's not what I´ve heard.”

“And what you have heard?”

The seek-and- hide game lasted a few moments longer until both men gained some confidence. The fisherman was Lithuanian by birth and had worked in Hamburg for several years, hence their good command of German. Some past episode of which he declined to give explanations had thrown him into the sea for a long time until he eventually reached the remote Greenland.

“We've gone through all the sites in Austerbygden and Vesterbygden.” Had to recognize Lothar.

“And have you found what you seek?” Insisted once again the fisherman.

Lothar was forced to deny with a nod.

“Have you searched in Kingigtorssuaq ?”

“What is that?”

“ An island north of this place in the Upernavik Archipelago.”

“Nobody ever mentioned it to us.”

“Well, there is a stone with runic inscriptions in it. Not everyone knows about it. It is said to contain a secret message because no one could translate it so far.”

“ Are you aware of the location of the stone?”

“Approximately.”

“And how can we get to that island.”

“In my boat.”

“ That nutshell can cross the sea?

“It has weathered a thousand storms. Anyway the island is not too far away.”

“How long does the tour take?”

The conversation lasted a good while longer. Lothar asked how much would the sailor charge for the trip and both men agreed to meet the following day in the same place at the same time.

“I must discuss this with my fellow travelers.” Explained the young man.

“Where is that island of demoniac name?” Asked Ferenc Gulyas, showing mistrust in his face.

“Here is it.” Answered Schmitt, who had opened a chart on the table in the room they had rented in a bog near the port.

A brief discussion ensued, in which the Hungarian, who was already internally convinced that the whole expedition was a failure and was the first who had talked about returning to Germany, tried to dissuade the others from wasting time on a risky journey. Heidenstam, not wishing to see his project ruined without making a last effort called for visiting the island, and as he had the final word it was decided to talk to the Lithuanian fisherman.

The following day the five Germans found the old sailor who said his name was Visvaldas, and after a discussion and haggling agreed to sail the next morning at five o'clock. The Lithuanian was to leave them on the island and pick them up two days after in an hour to be agreed upon.

The Kingittorsuaq island is located in the central-western coast of Greenland, in an archipelago called Upernavik on the Greenland coast of the Baffin Bay, the other side belonging to Canada. It is an area of icebergs north of which there is only permafrost. The island is small and uninhabited, and is shaped like a large rock that rises from the sea and reaches in its central part to a significant altitude. In 1824 a rune stone was found at its summit with characters that could not be deciphered, and were therefore attributed mysterious meanings. The stone was found in a group of three cairns (rocks stacked by human hands) that form an equilateral triangle; there is no reliable dating of the runes which are however estimated between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries according to different sources.

Baffin Bay was occupied in the thirteenth century by a people called Thule that dislodged another culture called Dorset by anthropologists. The Thule came from Alaska and traveled throughout northern Canada up to Greenland. In their journey they made contact with the Vikings during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. These people are the genetic basis of what was successively called Eskimo and Inuit.

Painstakingly the explorers climbed the steep slopes of the island to reach the top. There they found the presence of these strange piles of stones but there was no longer any trace of carved rocks. They toured in vain during the whole day the small upper plateau, with an interval for lunch without losing time in setting up a camp. At mid afternoon Schmitt warned.

“A storm is developing at sea and travels quickly in this direction. We must seek shelter because we are in a place very exposed to the winds and lightning.”

Only four of the scouts were together since Lothar had initiated a descent to look at certain areas of the mountain slopes and had not returned even though it had passed a reasonable time. Heidenstam swept through the area looking for the young man in despair because he felt responsible for him. The storm broke on the island and Schmitt and Schneider had to force the Professor to take cover as the winds could effectively roll them down the slopes.

The storm lasted the whole afternoon and evening, and only at the following night the wind died down amid a bitter cold. The four Germans toured the whole area for hours but could find no trace of the missing comrade.

“It's obvious that the wind dragged him downhill and into the sea.” Said somberly Gulyas. “We will never find his body.”

The expedition returned the next day to the mainland in Greenland and ceased its activities in pursuit of first Thule, as the seers of the Third Reich called the mythical birthplace of the Aryan race, unrelated to the homonyms already mentioned ancestors of the Eskimos.