Gustav Frederick Holm: Encyclopedia Arctica 15: Biographies

Gustav Frederik Holm (1849-1940), Danish explorer and naval officer, was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on August 6, 1849, and died March 13, 1940. Both his father and grandfather were officers in the Royal Danish Navy, and it seemed a matter of course that Holm should follow in their footsteps. In 1870 he entered the Navy as a sublieutenant, three years later he was appointed lieutenant, in 1885 commander, and in 1899 captain. From 1899 to 1909 he was chief of the Hydrographic Service, and in 1912 was made director of the Royal Pilotage Service, an important and responsible post which he held with great success during World War I and until he finally retired from the service in 1919.

Holm's greatest achievements were, however, his activities as an arctic explorer. In the latter half of the 19th century the idea of a systematic geological and geographical investigation of Greenland came into existence. The main author was J. F. Johnstrup, professor of mineralogy at Copenhagen University, who in 1875 submitted a detailed plan to the government. In 1878 a Commission was appointed for the Direction of Geological and Geographical In– vestigations in Greenland, which existed until, in 1932, it was succeeded by the Commission for the Direction of Scientific Investigations in Greenland.

However, even before the first Commission started its work, the plans had begun to be realized. In 1876 the first of a long series of expeditions was sent to West Greenland under the leadership of K. J. P. K. J. V. Steenstrup. The

[ other members of the expedition were Holm and A. Kornerup; both Kornerup and Steenstrup were geologists, while Holm was in charge of surveying. An area of about 4,000 square kilometers in the Julianheaab District was carefully investigated and a report published (in Danish with a French summary) in Meddelelser om Grønland , Vol. II.

In the summers of 1880 and 1881 Holm again visited the Julianehaab Dis– trict. The first year, together with a geologist (C. Petersen) and a painter (E. Th. Groth), he mapped more than 40 sites containing about 300 ruins of the medieval Eastern Settlement (Eystribygd) of the Norsemen. Among these were the remains of the famous churches of Qaqortoq, Igaliko, and Qagssiarssuk; some of the ruins were excavated and a considerable number of antiquities and plants were collected. The following summer Holm, together with the geologist P. L. P. Sylow, continued the surveying of the regions around Cape Far ^ e ^ well. For the first time Cape Farewell itself was ascended by Europeans, and the expedition finally reached Kangerajuk on the east coast, in lat. 60° 13′ N. Holme also made a series of observations of the ice pack in Davis Strait. On these ex– peditions he wrote accounts of the archaeological investigations ( Beskrivelse af Ruiner i Julianehaab Distrikt ) and the geographical results [: ] ( Geographisk Undersøgelse af Grønlands sydligste Del and Storisens Udbredelse i Davisstraedet i Sommeren 1881 ) which were published in Meddelelser om Grønland, Vol. VI, with French summaries.

During these expeditions Holm had carefully collected all available informa– tion about the east coast, both concerning the natural conditions of the country, the inhabitants, and the traveling possibilities. In the neighborhood of Cape Farewell he had heard sumors of a distant place called Angmagssalik, which was said to be situated farther to the north than the places visited by Graah on his expedition of 1828-31. His knowledge of the east coast, his familiarity with

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the Greenland natives and their traveling technique, as well as his manful and upright character, entitled him as a matter of course to conduct an expedition to these regions. These qualifications were, however, not the only ones he possessed for a task of this kind. Although it had long ago been proved, both theoretically by H. P. von Eggers and practically by Graah, that the Eastern Settlement of the Norsemen was situated on the southernmost part of the west coast, mainly in what is now the Julianehaab District, there were still some who were unwilling to give up the idea that it was to be found on the southern part of the east coast. Holm had, on his previous journeys in the Julianehaab District, acquired an in [: ] intimate knowledge of the Norse remains there, so that he would be able to trace any vestiges of Norse occupation on the east coast. Moreover, he was deeply interested in Eskimo ethnology. Dr. H. Rink, directo of the Royal Greenland Board of Trade and well known as the founder of comparative Eskimo research, was one of the members of the Commission of In– vestigations in Greenland. Holm was highly influenced by Rink's work and always considered him his tutor in ethnology.

Everything taken together Holm was the very man to be in charge of the ex– pedition which was sent out in 1883 for the purpose of exploring the east coast from Cape Farewell and as far north as possible. His second-in-command was Lieutenant V. Garde of the Royal Danish Navy, and the scientific staff consisted of the botanist P. Eberlin and the Norwegian Mineralogist Hans Knutsen. The other members of the expedition he chose from among the native population on the southern west coast and the Danish residents of the same region. The most important, perhaps, were the interpreter, Johan Petersen, and his uncle, the native catechist Johannes Hansen, better known by his native name of Hanseraq ("Little John").

It was Holm's intention, instead of attempting to reach the coast from the sea, to take the same course as Grash and by means of native skin boats (umiaks) to follow the ice-free coastal waters inside the ice pack. It was therefore a great advantage that his crew was, to some extent at least, familiar [: ] with the east coast population, the southernmost families of which sometimes visited the trading posts west of Cape Farewell.

The Danish members of the expedition left Copenhagen in May 1883 and, after a short visit to Godthaab, landed about eight weeks later in Julianehaab, whence they proceeded to the small outpost Nanortalik farther south. Here they met with a trading party of east coast Eskimos, but they started immediately on a pre– liminary [: ] journey to the east coast themselves, where they arrived on the last day of July. During the following days they went as far as the mouth of Dannell Fjord (iluileq), where provisions were cached for the next year's ex– pedition. The rest of August was spent in surveying and other investigations, and in September the expedition returned to Nanortalik where it remained during the winter, occupied by meteorological and magnetical observations and prepara– tions for the great journey which was to take place the following summer.

On May 5th everything was ready. The expedition consisted of 37 persons with four umiaks and accompanying kayaks. They had hardly reached the east coast when they were stopped by the ice pack for more than two weeks, but as soon as a lane opened up they proceeded to the north and soon reached the place where the cache [: ] had been left the preceding year. They also met a number of East Greenland Eskimos with whom they soon got on very good terms. Immediately south of the great Puissortoq Glacier, however, they were again de– layed for seventeen days by the ice. Puissortoq is generally considered one of

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the most dangerous places on this part of the coast, because the pack often makes it necessary to pass close by the front of the glacier. Here half of the crew openly declared their unwillingness to go farther, so Holm was obliged to send them back with one of the umiaks. The three remaining boats finally suc– ceeded in passing the ill-famed place without mishap of any kind and were able to camp a few days afterwards at Tingmiarmiut, nearly halfway between Cape Fare– well and Angmagssalik. [: ]

Here, according to the plan, a division of the expedition took place. Garde and Eberlin were to investigate the southern fjords and then, at the end of the summer, go back to Nanortalik on the west coast and remain there during the winter, whereas Holm, together with Knutsen, Johan Petersen, and a small crew of West Greenlanders would continue their journey to the north with two skin boats and one kayak and, if possible, pass the farthest place of Graah and pro– ceed as far as Angmagssalik. On August 3rd they arrived at Igdluluarssuk at the mouth of Bernstorff Fjord, the most northerly dwelling place of the southern group on the east coast. Even here the Eskimos lived in an entirely aboriginal state; none of them had ever seen a white man before, nor had any of them ever visited the trading posts on the west coast. In spite of ice, contrary winds, snow, and rain, the party made good headway, and three weeks after it had left Bernstorff Fjord the expedition arrived at Dannebrog Island, from where Graah had had to return. Immediately north of the island is the great [: ] Ikerssuaq ice fjord which forms the southern boundary of the Angmagssalik District. This time it proved to be no such obstacle as it was at the time of Graah's visit in 1829, and on the last day of August the expedition reached its long-anticipated goal, Angmagssalik, about 800 kilometers from Cape Farewell.

In this region the general trend of the coast is east-west, and one large and two smaller fjords cut into the land. The change in the direction of the coast causes the ice to spread, providing possibilities for a rich hunt of seals and bears. It is no wonder, therefore, that this district was inhabited by a fairly large population, which now for the first time was visited by white men. Here winter quarters were erected, and during the following nine months the expedition lived there among a group as primitive and untouched by foreign influences as their kinsmen on the west coast had been two centuries previously. Holm was an excellent observer, and during his long stay he wrote a brilliant account of the native life besides making anthropometric observations and procur– ing a large ethnographical collection which now forms the main stock of the East Greenland collections in the Danish National Museum.

In the meantime Garde had explored the coast south of Tingmiarmiut in detail and returned to Nanortalik, where he spent the second winter making meteorological and magnetical observations. In the middle of May 1885, however, he made a fresh start for the east coast. Shortly afterward Holm left Angmagssalik, and on July 16th the two groups met at Sehested Fjord, a little north of Tingmiarmiu . The task of the expedition was now completed, and Holm and Garde returned together to the west coast, where they arrived a month later. One of the most important achievements in the exploration of Greenland had been brought to an end.

The results of the expedition were numerous both from a geographical and an ethnological point of view, not to speak of the negative result that no Norse ruins had been found, thus definitely establishing the position of the Eastern Settlement on the west coast. The reports were published (in Danish with French summaries) in Vol. IX and X of the Meddelelser om Grønland and in Observations internationales polaires , Vol. II. Holm himself, together with Garde, wrote a

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popular account of the journey ( Den danske Konebaads-Expedition til GrønlandsØstkyst , Kjøbenhavn, 1887) as well as an official account and a scientific re– port of the geographical conditions of the coast traversed by the expedition ( Beretning om Konebaads-Expeditionen til Grønlands Østkyst 1883-85 and Om de geografiske Forhold i Dansk Øst-Grønland ); with Johan Petersen he published a coll– ection of myths and legends from Angmagssalik ( Sagn og Fortaellinger fra Angmag– salik ). His most important contribution was, however, the Ethnologisk Skizze af Angmagsalikerne , i.e., "Ethnological Sketch of the Angmagssalik Eskimo." The last two works were later translated into English and published in Meddelelser om Grønland , Vol. XXXIX. The Ethnolgical Sketch gives an accurate and full description of the life and culture of the Angmagssalik natives. At about the same time Franz Boas studied the population of Cumberland Sound, Baffin Island; Holm's and Boas's works are the first modern and fully scientific accounts of any Eskimo group and thus epoch-making in Eskimo research. Holm's painstaking observations and his unfailing honesty make his book one of the classics of ethnology.

The expedition to Angmagssalik was Holm's last scientific journey to Green– land; nevertheless he was once more to inscribe his name in the annals of Greenland. During the expedition he [: ] noticed the danger of a wholesale depopulation of East Greenland. The conditions of life were severe, especially on the southern part of the coast, and the Danish trading posts on the west coast formed an attraction which many of the East Greenlanders had already proved unable to resist. On the other hand, Holm had also observed that as a rule it would be [: ] possible to reach Angmagssalik by ship in the late summer. The Danish govern– ment therefore decided to establish a mission and trading station at Angmags– salik, and the task was entrusted to Holm who thus in 1894 visited the place for

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the second time, while Johan Petersen, the interpreter of the 1883-85 expedition, was appointed manager of the new establishment. There can be no doubt that it was high time, if the population were to be saved. In the period between 1884 and 1894 it had diminished from 413 to 243 persons, either by death or by emigra– tion. It was also evident that the establishment was of vital importance for maintaining Danish sovereignty in East Greenland.

Holm never lost his early love for Greenland. In 1896 he was appointed member of the Commission for the Direction of Geological and Geographical In– vestigations in Greenland, in which capacity, after the death of Rink, he was in charge of archaeological and ethnological interests until he finally retired in 1931. In his later years he was also occupied with studies of geographical history, especially with subjects concerning East Greenland and the Vinland prob– lem. As to the latter, which he discussed in connection with Steensby's theories, he arrived at the conclusion that Leif Eriksson's Vinland is something quite different from the Vinland of Thorfinn Karlsefni and probably situated somewhere in the New England states ("Small Additions to the Vinland Problem," Meddelelser om Grønland , Vol. LIX, 1924). In another paper he idetnfies the so-called Gunnbjörn's Skerries and Cross Islands of the Icelanders with some of the small islands in the Angmagssalik District ("Gunbjørns Skaer og Korsøer," Meddelelser om Grønland , Vol. LVI, [: ] 1918). He also disputes the right of attaching the old Norse name of Svalbard to Spitsbergen, because Svalbard originally seems to have denoted the region of what is now called Scoresby Sound ("De islandske Kursforskrifters Svalbarde," Meddelelser om Grønland , Vol. LIX, 1925).

Holm was in possession of a critical mind, probably an outcome of his pro– nounced sense of righteousness which made him look upon all cheap hypothese with skepticism. But he was also aware of his own limitations. He was an

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extremely modest and unostentatious character who hated all kinds of publicity and never tried to play a part in public life. However, his contributions to geographical and ethnological science were not forgotten. In 1890 he received the Roquette Medal of the Geographical Society in Paris, and 1895 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Danish Geographical Society. In 1923 he was made Honorary Fellow of the Greenland Society of Copenhagen, and when Copenhagen University celebrated its 450th anniversary in 1929, he was created Honorary Doctor of Philosophy.

Kaj Birket-Smith