The Polar Explorer’s Last Hours
Chemical analyzes of a black spot in a diary shed new light on the destiny and tragic death of legendary Inuit polar expedition member Jørgen Brønlund in Northeast Greenland in 1907.
Jørgen Brønlund was one of the participants in the legendary Mylius Erichsen's Denmark Expedition to Greenland 1906-08. In 1907, he died in a small cave of hunger and frostbite, but before that, he made one last note in his diary:
“Perished 79 Fjord after trying to return home over the ice sheet, in November Month I come here in waning moonlight and could not continue from Frost in the Feet and the Dark”.
The Danish expedition had traveled to Northeast Greenland the year before to explore and map the most northerly Greenland and also to determine whether the 50,000 square kilometer Peary Land was a peninsula or an island. If an island, it would accrue to the Americans. If a peninsula, it would be part of Danish territory.
Three participants died
It was after a failed attempt to get into the Independence Fjord that Jørgen Brønlund and two other participants on the expedition's sled team 1 eventually had to give up.
Peninsula in northeast Greenland, named after the American polar explorer R.E. Peary, who believed that the area was an island and thus not part of Denmark. This was disproved by the Denmark Expedition, and Peary Land remained Danish. Peary Land is uninhabited.
A few days before Brønlund died, the two others from sled team 1 died: Expedition commander Mylius Erichsen and Niels Peter Høegh Hagen. Neither their corpses nor diaries have since been found.
Jørgen Brønlund's body and diary were found, and almost ever since, the diary has been kept at the Royal Library in Copenhagen.
The last page of the diary
Now chemists from the University of Southern Denmark have had the opportunity to analyze a very specific part of the diary's last page; more specifically, a black spot below Jørgens Brønlund's last entry and signature.
The analyzes reveal that the spot consists of the following components: burnt rubber, various oils, petroleum and feces.
– This new knowledge gives a unique insight into Brønlund's last hours, says professor of chemistry, Kaare Lund Rasmussen, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy at the University of Southern Denmark.
Meet the researcher
Kaare Lund Rasmussen is a professor of chemistry and a specialist in archaeometry: using scientific methods to analyze cultural heritage objects. He has analyzed the beard of Tycho Brahe, medieval bones, the Dead Sea Scrolls and various sacred relics.
One last attempt to light a fire
– I see for me, how he, weakened and with dirty, shaking hands, fumbled in an attempt to light the burner, but failed, he says.
As a last survivor of sled team 1, Brønlund had reached a depot on Lambert's Land and had at his disposal a LUX petroleum burner, matches and petroleum. But there was no metabolised alcohol to preheat the burner.
– He had to find something else to get the burner going. You can use paper or oiled fabric, but it is difficult. We think he tried with the oils available, because the black spot contains traces of vegetable oil and oils that may come from fish, animals or wax candles, says Kaare Lund Rasmussen.
Found after four months
The spot’s content of burnt rubber probably comes from a gasket in the Lux burner. The gasket may have been burned long before Brønlund's crisis in the cave, but it may also have happened during his last vain attempt to light a fire.
Brønlund's corpse and diary were found four months later, when spring came, by Johan Peter Koch and Tobias Gabrielsen, who had left Danmarkshavn to find the missing members of sled team 1.
The diary was found at Brønlund's feet and was taken back to Denmark and is now kept at the Royal Library in Copenhagen.
Brønlund's Lux burner was found in 1973 by the Danish Defense Sirius Patrol. After the re-burial of Brønlund in 1978, it was donated to the Arctic Institute in Copenhagen.
Topbillede: Brønlund was also a participant of The Danish Litterary Expedition 1902-04 with Bertelsen, Mylius-Erichsen, Rasmussen og Moltke. © Wikipedia.
Jørgen Brønlund (1877-1907)
An Inuit hunters’ son, who became a teacher and later participant in Danish polar expeditions: The 1902-1904 Danish Literary Greenland Expedition and the 1906-08 Danish Expedition to Northeast Greenland.
"Kama ilivyoelezwa katika makala ya mwisho ya jarida la ""The Polar Explorer"" ya mwaka 1907, uchunguzi wa kemikali wa doa nyeusi katika kitabu cha kumbukumbu ulitoa mwangaza mpya juu ya hatima na kifo cha Jørgen Brønlund, mshiriki wa safari ya kihistoria ya Inuit ya kwenda bara la Greenland mwaka 1907."" Jørgen Brøndlund alikuwa mmoja wa washiriki wa Mylius Eriksen's Denmark Expedition to Greenland (1906-1908). "Mwaka 1907 alikufa katika pango dogo la njaa na baridi kali, lakini kabla ya hapo, alifanya maelezo moja ya mwisho katika kitabu chake cha kumbukumbu: ""Niliangamia katika fjord 79 baada ya kujaribu kurudi nyumbani juu ya barafu, mwezi wa Novemba, nilikuja hapa katika mwanga wa mwezi unaopungua na sikuweza kuendelea na Frost katika miguu na giza.""" Wahamiaji hao walienda kaskazini mashariki mwa Greenland mwaka uliopita ili kuchunguza na kuchora ramani ya sehemu ya kaskazini kabisa ya Greenland na pia kuamua kama eneo la kilomita 50,000 za mraba la Peary Land lilikuwa peninsula au kisiwa. Ikiwa ni kisiwa, ingekuwa ni mali ya Wamarekani. Ikiwa ni peninsula, ingekuwa sehemu ya eneo la Denmark. Baada ya jaribio la kushindwa kuingia katika Independence Fjord, Jørgen Brøndlund na washiriki wengine wawili katika timu ya kwanza ya safari ya kuteleza walilazimika kuacha. Peninsula katika kaskazini mashariki mwa Greenland, jina lake baada ya Marekani polar mvumbuzi R.E. Peary, ambaye aliamini kwamba eneo hilo lilikuwa kisiwa na kwa hiyo halikuwa sehemu ya Denmark. Jambo hilo lilipingwa na Kikosi cha Denmark, na Nchi ya Peary ikabaki kuwa ya Denmark. Nchi ya Peary haina watu. Siku chache kabla ya kifo cha Brøndlund, wengine wawili kutoka timu ya sled 1 walikufa: Kamanda wa safari Mylius Erichsen na Niels Peter Høegh Hagen. Tangu wakati huo maiti zao wala maandishi yao ya kila siku hayajapatikana. Mwili wa Jørgen Brønlund na kitabu chake cha kumbukumbu vilipatikana, na tangu wakati huo, kitabu hicho kimehifadhiwa katika Maktaba ya Kifalme huko Copenhagen. Katika kitabu hicho, wanasayansi kutoka Chuo Kikuu cha Denmark Kusini wamechunguza sehemu ya mwisho ya kitabu hicho, sehemu ya chini ya saini ya Jørgens Brøndlund. Uchunguzi unaonyesha kwamba doa hilo lina vipengele vifuatavyo: mpira uliochomwa, mafuta mbalimbali, mafuta ya petroli na matope. "Ujuzi huu mpya hutoa ufahamu wa kipekee juu ya masaa ya mwisho ya Brøndlund, ""anasema profesa wa kemia, Kaare Lund Rasmussen, Idara ya Fizikia, Kemia na Dawa katika Chuo Kikuu cha Kusini mwa Denmark." Kaare Lund Rasmussen ni profesa wa kemia na mtaalamu wa archaeometry: kutumia mbinu za kisayansi kuchambua vitu vya urithi wa kitamaduni. Amechambua ndevu za Tycho Brahe, mifupa ya enzi za kati, Vitabu vya Kukunjwa vya Bahari ya Chumvi na vitu mbalimbali vitakatifu. Jaribio moja la mwisho la kuwasha moto <unk> Naona kwa ajili yangu, jinsi yeye, dhaifu na na uchafu, mikono ya kutetemeka, fumbled katika jaribio la kuwasha burner, lakini alishindwa, anasema. Kama mwokokaji wa mwisho wa timu ya 1 ya sled, Brundlund alikuwa amefika kwenye ghala la Lambert's Land na alikuwa na burner ya petroli ya LUX, mechi na petroli. Lakini hakukuwa na kileo kilichobadilishwa ili kupasha moto. <unk> Alilazimika kupata kitu kingine cha kuamsha moto. Unaweza kutumia karatasi au kitambaa chenye mafuta, lakini ni vigumu. """Tunafikiri alijaribu kutumia mafuta yaliyopatikana, kwa sababu doa jeusi lina alama za mafuta ya mimea na mafuta ambayo yanaweza kutoka kwa samaki, wanyama au mishumaa ya nta,"" anasema Kaare Lund Rasmussen." Ilipatikana baada ya miezi minne maudhui ya doa la mpira uliochomwa pengine hutoka kwenye gasketi katika burner ya Lux. Huenda gesi hiyo ilichomwa muda mrefu kabla ya Brundlund kuanguka katika pango hilo, lakini huenda pia ilichomwa wakati wa jaribio lake la mwisho la kuwasha moto. Mwili wa Brundlund na kitabu chake cha kumbukumbu vilipatikana miezi minne baadaye, wakati majira ya kuchipua yalipofika, na Johan Peter Koch na Tobias Gabrielsen, ambao walikuwa wameondoka Danmarkshavn kutafuta wanachama waliopotea wa timu ya kwanza ya kuteleza. Kitabu hicho kilipatikana kwenye miguu ya Brøndlund na kupelekwa Denmark na sasa kinahifadhiwa katika Maktaba ya Kifalme huko Copenhagen. Brøndlund's Lux burner iligunduliwa mwaka 1973 na Danish Defense Sirius Patrol. Baada ya kuzikwa tena kwa Brøndlund mwaka 1978, ilitolewa kwa Taasisi ya Arctic huko Copenhagen. Brøndlund pia alikuwa mshiriki wa The Danish Literary Expedition 1902-04 pamoja na Bertelsen, Mylius-Erichsen, Rasmussen og Moltke. © Wikipedia. Jørgen Brøndlund (1877-1907) alikuwa mwana wa mwindaji wa Inuit, ambaye baadaye alishiriki katika safari za Denmark za kwenda Greenland, na baadaye katika safari ya Denmark ya kusini-mashariki ya Greenland.