Societfi t %. OF XNQUIRV ON BXXSSIONS AND THE STATE OF RELIGION. Case, Shelf, ^ Kd^ ' ■V-..!J i: Book, LIBRA_RY OP THE Theological Seminary PRINCETON, N. J. i \ ;- # THE HISTORY O F GREENLAND: CONTAIN I N G A DESCRIPTION ^ O F THE COUNTRY, AND ITS INHABITANTS: AND PARTICULARLY, A Relation of the Mission, carried on for above thefe Thirty Years by the Unit as Fratrum, A T NewHerrnhuth and Lichtenkels, in that Country, By DAVID GRANT Z. Tranflated from the H i g h -D u t c h, and illurtrated with Maps and other Copper-plates. I N TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON, Printed for the Bj ethrm's Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel among the Heathen: And fold by J. DoDs ley, in Pall-mall; T. Becket and P. A. DE Hondt; and T. Cab ELL, Succeffur to* A. Millar, in the Strand; W. Sandby, in Fleet- ilreet ; S. BladON, in Pater-noltfr-row j • E. and C. DiLLY, in the Poultry; and at all the Brethren's Chapels. MDCCLX VII. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library http://www.archive.org/details/historyofgree01cran PREFACE. V that they, being made \vifcr by tlie experience of their fathers, may, through their faith, be excited to follow their example with fidelity. This refolution was already taken in the life- time of the late Ordinary of the Unity, and it was thought proper to make the beginning with a hiftory of the Mi/fioi nmotig the Git'e)i!anders^ and to prcmife a delcription of that country and its inhabitants, hi this view it was deemed necelTary, that a brother fliould make a voyage to Davis's Straits ; and whereas fliips go thither and return 4^ but once a year, he was to flay there a twelve- month, and on tlie fpot, from verbal and written relations, to compile a defcription that might b.e depended upon. This commiiTion I was 'charged with, as early as in the fummerof the year 1759; but various occurrences retarded my going about it till the month of March 17 61, when I fet out from Neuwled o\\ the Rhine, on my journey to Greenland. But the pofition of the armies at that junfture having flopped the ordinary courfe of the pofl-coaches in different places, and I being twice attacked on the road by fits of ill- nefs, fo much time was lofl, that, though I. reached Copenhagen before the vefTcl failed, wherein the miflionary Frederic Boehnijh re- turned to Greenland, yet I was too much flraitened for time to provide myfelf with the whole appa- ratus which was requifite for the intention of my voyage. All that I could get together, was : AnderJoiCs Relation of Iceland and Gremland, the late Bijhop Egede's natural Hijhry of Gree?!- land ; a Relation or Journal of his Labour^ and the Continuation of thcfe ReLitio}is^'i>uhY\mcd in , the Danifli language by his t\A0 fons, the Piev. Fiiul Egede, and Captain. -d^Vt^/iJi Egddc. b 3 ' With vi PREFACE. With this fcanty flore I went on board, May the 17th. A minute account of my voyage is foreign to my prefent purpofe, and I fliall there- fore not trouble the reader with it. On Auguft the ift, 1 761, I arrived at New-Herr?ihuth in Greenland. A couple of weeks after, I accom- panied the miiiionary Beck to the fecond fettle- ment of the brethren's milTion at Licbtenfelsy and took a view of the country thereabouts, as well as ofthofe feven defolate places where we lay at night in going and coming, as far as I was able during a fortnight of boifterous, rainy and fnowy weather. From 'New-lierriibuth I went, "as oft as it fuited, to the neighbouring iflands, and in the fummer months on the herring- fiihery, and reconnoitred one branch of BaWs River. For the reft, I fpent my time in collecting the Na- tural H'lflory of the country ; and here the ver- bal account given me by the miflionaries and Da- nifli faftors, together with a few written memo- randums, did me the bed fervice. I had juft iinifhed this work, 2.'=, ■3i\{o xht Hijfory of the Mif- fion, when the veffel failed into the harbour on Auguft the 26th, 1762, in which, after touching at the colony at Zukkertop, diftant 60 leagues from Good-hope, I returned to Copenhagen^ where we arrived Dec. the 2d. After my return to Herrnhuth, I communicated the minutes I had taken down, to fome ingenious and learned men, whofe friendly and ufeful remarks, together with feveral writings that treat of the Northern Countries, the perufal whereof I was kindly favoured v/ith, enabled me to amend, fhorten or enlarge what I had written. Mean while a French and German tranflatiorx ef Bp. Egede^s Defcription of Greenland was pub- liftied P R E F A C E. vii Irflicd at Micluiclmas 17^^. 'this incident made vac almolt rclolve not ro trouble the public with the firfl: part of this my work, and only to refer the reader to tlie faid defcription, which 1 found, though lliort, yet every way faithful. But, at the requcll of many of my friends, I altered my mind; and 1 hope, my labour will not be found fupcrlluous. l''or not only thofc, who read the hiltory of our million, would be at a lofs how to underdand various circumftances in ex- ternals, if they did not find them defcribed here, not having perhaps any other natural hiftory of that country at hand : but it is alfo true, that the late Bp. Egede either omitted many circumftauv ces entirely, or only touched very briefly upon them. Whoever has got his Defcription, may look upon mine as a farther commentary upon it ; for his is the chief bafis of mine, and enlarged out of the continuations publiflied by his two fons; the only reafon I have not quoted his book, is, becaufe I (hould have been obliged to do it too often. The contents of my Defcription of the country will fliew, that I treat of fundry circumftances peculiar to the Northern regions, fuch as partly were hitherto unknown, and partly not fuffi- <:iently explained ; and which ferve withal to give the reader a x;learer infight into the nature of this miflion. In the firil book, concerning the Situation and Nature of the Land, there is to be found a geo- graphical defcription of the Country, the coloniet' and milTion-fettleraents, which, though as yet ■jmperfeft, is however needful ; likewife an ex- •tenfive definition of the nature, diverfity and ori- gin of the driving ice and floating ice-mountains^ as lalfo of the "Juood that is drive h'on JljorCi whereof - b 4 cither y'm PREFACE. either no account at all, or no folid one, has hi- therto been given. What little is mentioned concerning the articles of Jiones and vegetables^ is alio more explicit and compleai, than any be- fore. In the fecond book, cftbe animals, I am fome- what brief in fpeaking of the birds ^Vid Jifies -, and in what I fay of the whales, I have moilly followed Mr. Anderfon. But I am fo much the more full in defcribing xhefeals, which are the proper fupport of the Greenlanders, and the moll profitable commodity of the factors. In the third book, of the GreenlandiJIj Natio7iy I defcribe the means and method of the Green- landers earning their livelihood^ as plainly as pof- lible; I alfo enlarge fomewhat more on their way of lining, manners and cufioms) treat more par- ticularly of their virtues and vices, and endeavour to bring their notions of the human foul and of fpirits, their fuperjtition^ and their fmall knoiv- ledge of natural things, into a more regular pro- fpedl:, than I have met with any where elfe. In the fourth book, of the hijiorical Events of the Country t I have taken all the pains I could, after ray return to Europe, to fearch the accounts 1 found before me to the very fountain-head, and to compare one with the other ; and according to the niofl probable conje£i-ures, to defcribe the fo-called loft Greenia/id, partly from the Groen- L.india antiqua- oi Torfaus, and partly from the ;iarratives given within thefe ten years, by the "(irecnlanders from the Eafifidey to our raiffio^ liarie^ ; as alfo to inveiligate, where the prefent lavage inhabitants of Greenland came from , and how the ancient Isorivegian inhabitants came to ])e fo totally exrh'pated. The hiftory of l\\t firft Colony and Ml/fwn in this country, is amereabifrad of PREFACE. ix of the late Bp. Egede's relation of the Rife and Prcgrefs of the Greenland'ifl? Mijfton^ down to the year 1736. As for the flile, 1 have not fo much fludied ornament as clearnefs. To pleafe fuch of ray readers, as have not profelTedly appHedthemfelves to natural philofophy, I have defcribed what belongs to this fcience, not according to the claf- jQfications and charajQ xxviii CONTENTS, 2, Of the Land-Birds, Northern Partridges and Snipei. Some Singing-Birds. Eagles^ Falcons, Owls and Ravens. A few InfeSls and Vermin 7 5 ^, Of the Multitude and Diverfity of the Sea- Fowl 79 4. Firjl Clafe, of the Duck-Bill Kind. JVild-Geefe and Ducks. Sea-Pheafant, Tornauviarfuk, ^«rf the Eider- Foivl or black- Duck 80 c. Second Clafs, with Jl)ort JVings. The Tuglek, Penguin, Sea-Stork, Loo or Diver, IVillock, Sea- Pigeon, Sea-Parrot, Kallingak, Sea- Sparrow and Sea- Snipe - 82 6. Third Clafs, with long IVings. Several forts of Sea- Mews or Gulls, Boobies, Man-of-JVar- Bird or Dung-Foiul, little Gulls. Sea- Swallows 'J. The Food of the Sea- Fowl, and hoiv they feek it. Their propagation 88 CHAP, II, Of the Fiihes. §. 8 . CONSIDERATION of the Multitude and Variety of the Fijhes, their Food and Nourijhment 90 Q. River-Fijh. Salmon and Salmon-Trout 93' 10. Sea-FiJ}j. Capjlin orfmall Herring, Scolping, Red- ' Fyh, Cat-Fijh, Stone- biter '94 11. Flounders J Halibuts gj 12. Shell- Ftp • C^'^bs, Shrimps, Sea-Urchin and Star- Fijh. Mufcles, Periwinkles, Barnacles 98 . 13. Sea-Infe5is. Sca-Bugg, IVhale-Loufe, Cuttle or Ink-Fiji). TheJVhales-Food,andLoophytes iOO j^. Of the Shark ' " joj CHAP. III. Of other fingular Sea-Animals. . 4. i^. OF the Differ enct of th^fe Creatures from other ^ FiJIi 106 16. Num- CONTENTS. xxhc 1 6. Number and Diverfity of JFhaks. Of the TVhalci that yield Jf^jale-Bcne. The black Greenland- IVhaleond the North-Caper ibid. 17. Of the TFhales with Fins, Tl)e proper Fin- Fifty, Jupiter-JJ^hale, Bunch-PFhak, Kmttcd-lVhale no 18. Of the Horn-Fijhes. The JJnicorny Saw-Fijb^ Bcak-FiJJ) 1 1 1 19. Of the large Fijhes with Teeth. Cajhelot^ Pott-Fijb or Sperma-ceti IVhale 112 20. Of the little Fijhci with Teeth. While-Whale^ Grampus^ Porpoife or Sea-Hog., Delphin^ Sword- Fijhy Ardluit, a kind of Grampus 114 11. Of the Sea-Monjlcrs. Sea^Dragon^ Sea-Serpeaf, Mcr-Man and Ader-Maidy Krake, or Jfland- Fijh ^ 116 22. Defcriptlon of the Dutch Whale- Fijlicry 118 23. The Greenlanders Whale-Fijhery 12 1 C H A P. IV. Of the Quadruped Sea- Animals, or Seals, ^.24. O F the S^/ils or Sea-Calves^ in general lit 25. Five particular Species of Seals 123 26. Of the Sea-Cow 12< 27. Of the Places the Seals frequent ^ and their March- es i and how they are caught by the Mariiurs 28. Seals profitable -y nay^ indifpenfably neceffary to the Greenlanders jso BOOK XXX CONTENTS. BOOK iir. Of the Greenla?2difi Nation. CHAP. I. Of their Perfon, and Way of Living. ■§. I. f^ F the Name^ Stature and Make of the Green- ^^ landers 132 2. Their Temperament and Difpofition of Mind 134 3. The Drefi both of the Men and Womenj and their Ornaments 1 36 4. Their JVinter-houfes, Sleeping-places^ Fire-places, Out-houfes and Tents 139 ^. Their Meat and Drink. The manner of drejfing their Food, and their Meals 1 42 6. Their Tackling or Implements for catching Reindeer, Seals and Fowls 146 7. Of their Boats, particularly the WomerCs-Boat 148 g. Of the Man's-Boat orK2!]3k 150 9. Different JVays of rifing again with the Kajak, af- ter being overfet 1 5 1 JO. Of the Seal-fijhery with the Ha^-poon and Bladder 11. Of the Seal-capture by the Clapper-hunt 155 12. Ditto on the Ice 156 CHAP. II. Of the Conduft of the Gree?ilanders in their do- meflic Affairs. §. 13. O F their Behaviour in their fingle State, and at their Marriages. Polygamy and Divorce 157 14. Of the Birth, Naming and Education of the Chil- dren lb I I 15- ne CONTENTS. xxxi 15. The Occupations of the rifivg Touth 163 16. Their IVork or Labour^ and their Demeanour to- wards their Family. 1 64 1 7 . The hard Cafe of the JVomen, and of the old People 165 18. Their Method of dr effing Leather 166 19. Their foul, and yet orderly Houfe-keeping 168 CHAP. III. Of the Deportment of the Greenlanders in Society. §. 20. THE IRcommon Intercourfe with one another 170 2 1 . Their Vifits, Banquets., Hofpitality andTable-talk 171 22. Their Dealings and Traffic among one another^ and with the Europeans 173 23. Their Sports and Diverfions, the Ball, and Wrejl- ling ^ ^ ^ _ 17s 24. Of their Singing -combats, and Satirical Dance 178 25. They have no Government, but yet accommodate them- f elves to certain Cuffoms 179 CHAP. IV. Of the Moral Charafter of the Greenlanders, ^. 26. O F their Morals in general 182 27. They are Heathens that live according to "Nature, un- re/l rained, and yet are fober and moderate 183 28. Many Vices are unknown to them, at leajl very little pra£lifed 184 29. The Groutid of their refraining from fever al Vices 1 86 20. Their Morals extend no farther than mere Decency^ being de/iitute however of true Virtue 188 31. Of their Vices 1 90 32. Confufton in their Inheritances, and their Cruelty to- wards poor deferted JVidoius and Orphans 1 9 1 33. Of their Revenge and Blood-thirflinefs 193 24. The Greenlanders are not virtuous, yet they have many ^alities preferable to other Nations 194 CHAP. x^l C O N T E N T 1 C H A P. V. Of the Religion, or rather Superflition, of the Greenlanders. ■ §. 3^, THE Tare totally void of any proper Religion^ tut not of all Ideas of a Supreme Being, "The Decla- ration of a Greenlander on this Head 196 36. Their various conceptions of the Soul., and its Immor- tality 199 37. Their conceptions of a Future State 201 38. J Variety of fabulous Traditions^ efpecially concern^ ing the Creation^ the Flood, and the RefurreSllon 203 39. Their Notion of two great Spirit s, a good One and a bad One 205 40. Alfo of feveral inferior good and bad Spirits, like- wife of Apparitions 208 41. Of their Angekoks, or Sorcerers and Soothfayers, and how they learn and praSlife their Myjlery 209 42. Some of their Sorcerers are wife Men, fome Fana- tics, and fome hnpojlors 212 43. Prefcriptions of their Diviners concerning their Diet, and Spells or Charms 215 CHAP. VI. Of the Sciences of the Greenhinders. §. 44. A Brief theoretical Sketch of the Greenland La?i- guage, with a few Tranjlations annexed 2 1 7 45. Their Pitch of Knowledge in HiJIory, Genealogy, Arithmetic, Writing, Chronology, Geography and Ajlronomy 229 46. Of their Difeafes, and their Cures 233 47. Of their Funerals 237 48. Of their mourning for their Dead 238 BOOK CONTENTS. xxxiii BOOK IV. The Annals of the Counlrv ; and an Ac- count of the firlt (or DauiJhJ Miffion, till the Year 1733. CHAP. I. Annals of Old Greenland. §. t. tCELAND difcovcrcd and pofejfed by the Nor^ -* mans or Norwegians 241 i. The Difcovery and Planting of Greenland by the Icelanders 243 3. The Time of thefe Difccverus cannot be precifly de~ ter mined 214 4. Geographical Delineation cf the Country in ancient times ibid. 5. The flate of the Eaji-fide cf the Country in former ogcs 247 6. The Beginning of the ChvijUan Religion in Green- \ land. The firjl Greenland Bifoop and his Succef- fors 249 7. T/;^ Icelanders and Green\2.nders difcover one part ^North- America, and fend Colonies thither 253 g. CofijcSlurcs^ whe7i, and zvhence^ the prefent Savages came to Greenland ? They, and the Efquimaux in Terra Labrador, are probably one People 257 9. The old Norwegians are exterminated in Green- land by the Plague and by the Savages. Ships go ne more thither, and the Land is loji. Yet a fevi Traces remain 263 10. Neiveji Accounts of theprefent State of the Country on the Eaji-fide, and its Inhabitants 266 ! I . Continuation of the Account of the Eofl-fide, from the Mouth of the Grecnlanders 269 12. The Difcovery of the Eaft and Weft-Indies gives Occafton to think again of /of Qreen]3.nd. Martin Forbifher dif covers the Land, and John Davis the Straits which go by his Kunie 272 Vol. I. d 13. The xxxiv CONTENTS. 13. The Danes difcover both the Eafi andlVeJl-fide, but can gain no firin Footing 276 CHAP. II. Hiftorical Relation of Godhadh or Good-hope. %. 14. Mr. Plans Egcde, a Norway Clergyman^ 'makes Propofah of beginning a Colony and Mijfion in Greenland 270 15. Jfter enduring many inward Confli£is^ and mud} outward Oppofitiun on that Account, he vindicates \ himfclf refigns his Benefice., and goes to Bergen 281 16. He addrejjes himfilf to the King., and after tnany Difficulties for?ns a commercial Company ^ and is appointed MiJJionary in Greenland 283 1 7. His dangerous l^oyage to Greenland, Arrival there^ and planting of the Colony Good-hope 28 c 1 8 . The Savages fwioroufy Jlmn the Danes, yet foon har- bour a Confidence towards the?n, and a great regard for the Mijfiionary 286 1 9. The Traffic affords but poor Hopes in the Begimmig ; the^ Colofiijh come into indigent CircumfanccSy and zvdl go back again. But at length they are fup- p or ted from their native Country 288 2C. The Mijfionary lives a while ajnong the Savages^ to learn their Language^ and begins to irjlruSl foiyie of them 289 21. He labours to find a better Place for the Colony^ fearches the Territory of Ball's River, aj^d finds fame P^tdns of the old Norwegians Habitations 291 as. He gets hXhtrt To^ for his Affflant; endeavours to difcover the Eqft-fide, but in vain., finds many Ruins., is tvell received by the Greenlanders, atid very highly ejieeined. 2Q2 S3. He 7T:akfs a perilous yet fruitlfs Voyage to the North for Difcoveries ; a Colony is afterwards fettled there at Nepiiene ; he fearches for Ores., fows Cum J and tries to irnprsve the Commerce 294 •^ 24. They CONTENTS. XXXV 24. Thi) begin in earncjl to injlriiSl the Grcenlanders, and try all Alcans to awaken their Attention^ and bring them into Order. Many pretend to give Aj- fent to the Truths but neither can nor will embrace it. 296 25.1 Two Greenland Boys are fent to Copenhagen, one of ivhom returns ; two other Eoyi are baptized. Some Pieces of the Bible are trarijlated into their Lan- guage^ and a Greenland-Gramtnar is begun 2()g 26. The Colony at NcplknG is forfaken and burnt. The Mijfionary looks out for a better Place ; on which Tour he^ and the Fa£lor alfo, are involved in fame iroublefome ^tarrels ; an Atnbufcade arifes out of it, which is however timely difcovered 30 1 27. By the long Ab fence of the Ships, the Colony comes ifi" to Want, and the Miffionary is neceffitated to c^-ai^ Affiflance from the Dutch Ships; at length theii Dijlrefs is tnitigatcd by tlx Arrival of one of the - Veffels 303 Q&. The Greenland Trade is given up by the Company at Bergen, and carried on by the King. Albert Top returns to Denmark with a Green/and Boy, and Mr. Y.'^cdo: Jludies in vain to find out, himfelf fo77ie Expedient for the Support of himfelf and the Mi f- fim 304 29. There appears fnore JVilUngnefs and Teachablenefs in the Grcenlanders, yet it proceeds in few of them from the bottom of the Heart 305 30. Soldiers, and all Sorts of People are Jhipped over in order to ere£l a Fort and tncre Colonies, but fojne of them grow mutinous, and 7noJi of thefn die 307 3 r . Unfuccefsful EJJ'ays to dif cover the Eajl-ftde. A fc- cond Ercciion of a Colony and Fort at Nepill-ne 308 32. Many Grcenlanders withdraw, out of Fear of tue new Colonifls. Air. Egede refolues in a Confer- ence with his two new Cdlcgues, to baptize the Children of the Heathen 309 33. New Straits thro' JVant of Provifions ; repeated Preparations for cultivating the Land -^ j i d2 34./^// xxxvi CONTENTS, 34. All the CoJonifis are called atv ay ^ except Mr. Egede and hh' Family The Colony r// Nepifene /i burnt down the fecond Time ibid. 25. The baptizing of Children is dropped ; the Green- landers %vill no more let thein be injiruoled, and retreat entirely fro7n the Place 312 36. The Trade improves^ but there come no JJfurances of further Support , The Difcovery of the Eafl-^ fide is again attempted to no Purpoje 314. 37 . ;Alr. Egede is rejoiced with a moji gracious Afj'ur- ' \ ance of the Furtherance of the Colony, Arrival of the three frft Mefjengers to the Heathen froin Herrnhutii ibid. BOOK V. The firft Period of the Miffion of the Bre- thren, viz. from its Beginning in I733> to the firfl: Viiitation in 1740. The firlt Year, 1733. §, I. CTHE fir/I Occafon to the Miffions of the Bre- •^ threji in general^ particularly ^^ St. Thomas's ,2- The Occafon and Beginning of the Mijfion of the frfi three Brtthren,, Matthew Stach, Chriilian David, and Chriliian Stach, to Greenland 320 3 Their /Ibplicaticn at Copenhagen 7neets with D-f- fadiies at firjl,, but afterwards with good Appro- hation and Succefs 323 4.. Their Voyage and Arrival in Greenland. Their F^efle^ions at the firji Sight of the Land and its Inhabitants 326 5 . Their fir/i ere^iiig of a Tent and Divelling- houfe 328 6. Declaration f their Sentiments concerning themfelves and the Heathen ibid. 7 . They prepare themfelves for their Occupations^ endea- vour to hum the Language., and to come into a fruitful CONTENTS. xxxvli fruitful Intercourfc with the Heathen j hut fnd '\ great OhJineh'S to all the fc 331 8. T-he Small-Fox breaks cut among the Greenlanders, and inakes terrible Defolation. The Miffionarics take Charge of the Sick both with refpeSi to Body I and Soul ; yet with f/nall Progrefs 333 g. The Brethren's Difpcfition of Mind at this fevere Trials efpe daily as they werefick themf elves 337 The Second Year, 1734. §. I. THE Brethren make fome vijiting Voyages among the Heathens^ and find them in a wretched State externally and internally 330 2. The Heathens come but fcldom to vifit thcm^ and when they do^ 'tis only for fome indifferent Ends 341 3. Two Helpers art fev.t to the Miffionarics 'i\'2. 4., Their Voyage and Arrival in Greenland 343 5. 1 The Miffionaries animate themfelvcs and their new Helpers to Patience^ Faithfulnefs and Diligence 345 The Third Year, 1735. §. I. THE Miffionaries are diligeJit in learning the Greenland Language^ with good Succefs -^46 2. They make fcveralvifiting Voyages to the Heathen^ and become acquainted with them 34^ 3. The Heathen place fomezuhat more Confidence in thc7n^ and vifit them^ yet mofily from temporal Motives 4. The Brethren appoint probationary Interviews be- tween tbemjelves about certain Points 351 5. ^he Declaration of each about thefe Points ^SS 6. Their Covenant to ?naintain a genuiite and pure Mind and Walk in the Greenland Affair 3 r^. 7. T hey fall into great IVant of the Neceffaries of Life, and at the fame time are fatigued with hard Labour and many Dangers 3 ^^ 8.' Their Difpofition of Mind amid/l Poverty^ Con- \ tempt, external JVeakncfs, and internal Pref- fures 358 The \ stxxviii CONTENTS. The Fourth Year, 1736. §. I. PROOFS of a Divine Providence during their con- tinued Indigence, and the Diminution of their bo- dily Strength ^.^ 1. J kind Of er from Holhnd, to fupport the Mijfton in Temporals ^^j 3. Increafe of their Family with four Perfons 36" 4. Mr, Egede goes back to Denmark. Chriftian Stac^ goes with him on a Vifit to Germany 364 5. The Brethren find fill no Entrance among the Hea- then, hut Derifion and Injuries, nay Danger of their Lives ^55 6. Tkey are revived and encouraged in their Vocation, by Z. thefirfl Infiance of a Heathens defiring to be in- Jiru^ed, and by Comfort out of God's Word ibid. The Fifth Year, 1737. §. 1. THE Want of a Boat, and of the NeceJJhries of Life, creates the Mijfionaries many Troubles 370 2. They are refrejhed in Body and Soul by the Jrrival of Chriftian Stach, and with him get a new Afpftant^ 371 3. No Supplies come from Holland, as was promifed. Many Dangers in the Gveenlztid Waters 273 4. The little Fruit that attended their Jbode here hither- to, fills them with Shanie and Solicitude on Account of what their Friends had done for them 374 5. The lamentable Condition of the Heathen leaves fear ce ^ any Hope of doing good among them 975 6.* 'Illuftration of the above, by an Account of a four Weeks Abode among the Savages V]'^ 7. The State of the Miffion till now, poetically expref- /^ 381 The Sixth Year, 1738. §. I. y/Grcenlander/^^/j w/V/? the Mijfionaries, and is touched in his Heart. This gives them new Hopes 2. Ka- CONTENTS. xxxix 2. Kajarnak, a perfcSfly Jirange and ignorant Qjxzq.\\- lander, is awakened^ and believes^ by hearing the Narrative of the Sufferings of fefus read 385 3. He draws ynore Heathens after him ^ and is not to be I turned afde by any Temptations or Trials 388 4', In infiruSling the Heathen, the Mifftonaries perceive i a powerful JVork of Grace, and they 7tieet with both I Jcy and Sorrow in them 389 ^. As fpiritual and bodily Labour encreafed, they beg , for more Helpers, and a more convenient Dwellings Houfe 39 1 The Seventh Year, 1739. 1 . A Great Famine gives them more Opportunity to de- clare the Gcfpel to the Greenlanders 392 2. A Miffionary goes among the Greenlanders together with the Catcchu7nens, and injlru£ts them 394. 3. More frequent Vifits of the Natives, who now begin to be more defirous of InJlruSiion j yet they arejiill very infenfible and favage 396 4. Joyful Proofs of Grace in the Catechununs, efpeci- ally in Kajarnak 398 5 . Preparation and Baptifm of the four Firjilings of the Greenland Nation 400 6. The Firfiling Samuel Kajarnak is fei zed with Fear forfome Murderers, andfies with his Family to the Souths to the great Grief of the Teachers 40 r •J. But they are re-animated by the Arrival of neiu. •^ Hearers 403 8. The InJiruSlion of thefe new Ones is carried on with Blejjing, tho' with many Viciffttudes 404 The xl CONTENTS. THE SECOND VOLUME. B O O K VI. The fecond Period of the Brethren's Miffion, from the firll: Vifitation in 1740, till they got a Church built in 1747. The Eighth Year, 1740. 5. I . A Senfible Difference between the following and the \ foregoing Tears, in the Method made ufe of and its blejjed EffeSls in the Converfion of the Heathens Page 1 2. The Miffion is brought into better Order by the Vift- tation of an Elder, by the Arrival of a new Affif- tant, and by ahleffedVifit of the eldejl Miffionary to Germany • ^ 3. The Catechumens move away again, yet not without Hope of an abiding ImpreJJioji 4 4. Four joyful Occurrences in believing Greenlanders, particularly the unexpeSied Return of the Firjiling Samuel, and the awakening and Baptifm (j/'Sarah Puilimek 6 c.\ The Example and Teflimony of the FirftlDigs in Fa- \ vour of the Truth, raifes the Attention of the Hea- then far and near 9 , 6.' They are of great Service to their Teachers in tranf- \ lating, and an Edification to the Infidels 10 yi The Word is not deftitute of Fruit among the reft, iho* attended with fuany Variations i 2 The Ninth Year, 1741. §. i.THE Firftling S am uel 's lafl Hours 1 3 2. The happy End of this Believer has a blcffed Influ- ence on fever al Heathens 1 6 \ 3. C/r- ^t O N T E N T S. xii 3. Circioiijiantial Account of a Vifit among the Native^ iS 4. Blejfed Effe£is of this Vifit 21 5. The Arrangeineyit of the Opportunities for Inftruil- ion^ and the Bh-Jfwg perceived from it, efpecially among the Children 2 2 6. The edifying Harmony^ and the hleffed mutual A jfifi- ance, of the D.mifli and German Mijftonaries ibid. The Tenth Year, 1 742. |. I.MATTHEW STACH returns from his Vifit in Germany, rtwc/ Daniel Schneider y^-Zi off thitherward^ but never arrives 24 2. Some Hearers go away^ and others from a Dijiancg co7ne in their room^ ivhofe Attention had been raifcd by the late Samuel 26 3. Sofne Heathens in the Neighbourhood are awakened^ ; and an Angekjk is filcnced 27 4i| The yiew Converts are attentive^ and bear their Tef- \ timony zealoufiy before the Infidels 28 5. Utility of the TeJii?nony of the believing GTten\?inA- ers, and the Caution withal yieceffary lejl itJl)ould hurt themf elves 29 6. A new Increafe of convinced Grcenlandcrs. The Blejfing prevailing in their Meetings and Bandsy efpecially among the Children 3 r 7. The little Flock of the baptized is augmented with five Perfons 32 The Eleventh Year, 1745. §. 1. IT looks as if there would be a general Awaktning in the Dijlria of Ball's-River 34 2. On Occafion of a Burial^ the Gofpel is publijhed to the Heathen. Afirange Drearn of an Angekok 3^ 3. Several of the new-baptized extol fefus before the Heathen^with Bleftng for their own Hearts 38 4. The Difperfion of the Believers among the Heathen, and their Love and exemplary JValky alfo proves of Benefit 40 Vol. I, c c. Some xlii CONTENTS. 5. Some Gieenlanders are poifoned hy a dead Whale which they found. Noah's edifying End 4 1 6. 'The Gofpel is made knoiun to fame Heathens as they pafs by. Matthew, the Firjlling s Son^ comes back from the South 44. 7.; ^melancholy Cafualty makes the Believers take more \ Heed Benefit and Agreeablenefs of the finging. \ Grace prevails in the Meetings, notwithjianding \ the conftious Infitfficiency of the Teachers 45 8. Eleven Perfons are baptized^ and the fir ft Pair mar- ried 47 g. Par ions Dangers and Deliverances. Anew Building is begun 48 The Twelfth Year, 1744. §, i.THE Sound of the Gofpel is fpread abroad hy bap- tized and unbaptized.y nay by the very Savages thernfelves 49 2. A Greenland tuoman is baptized in Kangek, and it proves the Meayis of more Grcenlanders being laid hold of, notiuithjianding the Qppofition of an Ange- kok 50 3. Some adverfe Heathens and Perfecutors are either wot}, or put to Shame 52 4. The Plot of a Band of Murderers is frujlrated by aferious and evangelical Expojiulation 54 5. The Grcenlanders are regulated in a 7nore orderly Manner at their unavoidable Excurfions, and a Teacher is fent with them 56 6. The Arrangcmetit of their IVinter-meetings, and the different EffeSfs it produces among them 58 7. Accounts and Letters from other Places give rife to an epijhlary Correfpondence of the Grcenlanders 59 8. Introdu^ion and Benefit of Choir- mectijigs and Bands. The Aliftonaries are very much encourag- ed by the Dcfiroujnefs and the Bleffing among their Grcenlanders 61 9. An Increafc offtxtecn baptized, the firfl Child of be- lieving Parents being one of the?n. An impartial Report of the State of the baptized. 62 10. A baptized Perfon is excluded, brought to Rights again, and makes a happy Exit. 65. II. The Chrifimas-Joy of //;tt/ to hard Shifts for their Support ^ 309 2. The awakening of the neighbouring Heathen is fubjecl to many Changes -? i o 3. The Firfl-Fruits John, mth his Family, is bap- tised 211 4- The liv CONTENTS. 4» Ihe Brethi'en have Hopes given thejn of a Chapel^ and prefently after receive the painful Nezvs of the Deceafe of the Ordinary of the Brethren 3 1 3 ^. Sudden Increafe of the Inhabitants^ and Addition to their Buildings 314 6. Mixture of melancholy and joyful Occurrences, ef- pecially among the Youth. EffeSis of Grace's Chaf- '< tifement 3 1 ^ ->. 7. Blejftng of the lajl Preparation and Baptifmal ASI of this Tear 316 II. 0/" New-Herrnhuth. §. 8. SMALL Increafe of the Inhabitants, twenty-five of whom however are baptized '? 1 8 - 9. The baptized grow in the Knowledge of their human Corruption, and of the Merits of fefus ibid. 10. Contents of fame Difcourfes of the Greenland Help- ers to the Congregation 3 1 g 11. Short Account of the Lives of fo?ne that are fallen ofleep 323 The Twenty-ninth Year, I7($l. I. Of New-Herrnhuth. |j. I. THE Mijfionary Boehnifli returns from Germa- ny, and the Author comes with him 327 2. The numerous /^//J/j is/" Southlanders excite a Gxe.Qn- land Helper to addrefs them with a divine Power 328 3. Many Heathen take up their Abode in the Ifands, and Part of them come by Degrees to the Congre- gation 330 4. The Heath eti are vifitcd and mightily affe£ied. A Daughter by her Fir77inefs gains her Father 331 (J. : Re?7iarks on ihe Courfe of a Perfon of a lively and I well-inclined Temper, and on the Greenlanders ' edifying Manner of Addrefs 333 ' 6.,' Some Sketches of a Greenland Helper^ s Difcourjts, \ worthy of particular Notice 335 7., Dicourfes of foine other Helpers to their People 336 ' 8. Striil CONTENTS. Iv S. SiriSi Probation of the Cgm/riunlcants, and the Ex- prejjions of a Greenlander on Occafton of the Pe- dilaviutn 338 9. Lovely Traces of a Work of Grace in young and old^ on fever al Occafions 3 40 10. Twenty-five are baptized^ and fixteen depart this Life, among who7n tiuo old JVidows are remark- able 341 1 1 , Hard Labour, and narrow Efcapc out of the Water 343 II. Of Lichtenfels. J 2. THE Seed of the divine Word fprings up here and there in fecrct, but is Jlill choaked in many Hearts ibid. 13. The Greenlanders negleoi no Opportunity of giv- ing a Word of Exhortation to their Country Folks 345 14. The Gofpel is preached to //;^ ■yZ/Sz/ng' Southlanders in Hope 346 I c. Thirty-four Souls are added to the Congregation. Ne- ccjfity of more Affiji ants, and a Meeting- Houfe 347 16. The promifed Houfc IS fent over, andfet up amidjl many Difficulties 348 1 7 . Dedication of the new Church. Memorial of it in a Greenland i(h Hymn 349 18. The Lord and his Spirit avow this Greenland Con- gregation-Settlement in afenfible Manner 3^2 19. The Greenlanders have a firong Appetite for the J Ford of Life, afid prof per thereby in Knowledge and Grace 3^3 20. The Want of Neceffaries in the Beginning, during which the Contentment of the Hungry was admi- rable, is fupplicd by a rich Capture of Seals 356 2 1 . Some Deliverances in Danger, and Occurrences in Nature. 358 The Thirtieth Year, 1762. I. Of Lichtenfels. §. i.THE Vifits to the Heathen proceed with Blf- 2. Many Ivi CONTENTS. 2. Many Heathem touched in their Hearts repair to the Congregation, but Part go back again 360 3. Circum/iantial Narrative of Vijits made by the Southlanders 36 £ 4. Many Southlanders take up .their Abode in thofe Parts, but afford little Hopes of their Converfion .365 5. Grace Jhews itfelf the morejirongly in the Believer Sy both in the public Meetings and Family-Commu' ni cat ions 368 6. Farther Injiances of the powerful Work of Grace, particularly in the Schooling and Catechifation 370 y. In like Manner among the unbaptized, and in fame Defer ters 372 8. Particular Leadings of fome baptized ones 374 9. Manifold external Labour of the Mifftonaries 375 10. Qbfervations on fome that are fallen ajleep. T^ he hap- py End of a ftngle Sijier lately baptized 377 II. Of New-Herrnhuth. §. II. MANY a Soul is won out of the vifting Hta- then 38 1 12. Many conviSfed Heathens go away, and others feek to elude orflifle the Uneafnefs of their Hearts 382 13. Forty Perfons out of the Heathen flay with the Be- lievers, the mojl of whom have been long con- vinced; and forty-four are baptized, in whom Grace Jhews itfelf powerfully 384 14. Short Extracts of the Difcourfes afid Exhortations of the Greenlanders 385 1^. The Greenlanders are much hindered by Sicknefs in providing their Food, but yet art abundantly helped out 387 16. Nineteen Souls depart this Life, CircumJIantial Re- cital of the Life and End of the blejfed Green- land Preacher Daniel 390 BOOK CONTENTS. Iv'A BOOK X. Concerning the External and Internal Con- flitution of the Greenland Congregation, §. i.T H E Deftgn and Nature of this hji Book 397 2. A Defcripti'on of New-Herrnhuth ibid. 3. Ditto of Lichtenfels 399 4. The Number and Ordtr of the Greenland Families in New-Hcrrnhuth 400 5. Their Manner of Life both in their Summer and Winter Habitations 4OI 6. The Advantage and Necejfity of the baptized Green- landers living together in one Place 402 7. The Liberty left them in O economical Affairs, andyet needful InfpeSiion over them 404 8. Concerning the Poor and the Deferted, and how far the Congregation is increafed from that garter 405 9. How the Poor are fujlained in the Greenland Fa- milies, with the afft/Iance of the Mijfionaries 407 10. The Greenland Coiig^-egatitms maintain themfehes, and are alfo ferviceable to the Commerce 408 11. Of the Contributions of the Greenlanders, and their Good Works done in fecret. How far the Mifftonaries can have an Influence on the Green- landers Houjhold Courfe 409 12. The Number of Mifftonaries and their Affijiunts^ and the Trouble and Danger wherewith they pro- cure their Subfi/lence 4 II I3» Their Application and Indujiry in- learning the Greenland Language 412 14. Remarks on the Prefervatlon of their Lives and Healthy owing to divine Providence, In the mldjl of fo many Hardjhlps 413 15. Concerning their Vlftts, and their temporal and fpi^ ritual Refrejhments 414 16. Of their Houfe-keeplng In common, and how this and the other Mifftons are fupported 415 Vol. I. g ij.Tbs X iviii CONTENTS. ly. "The training up and life of the Greenland /f(?^^ry» their Eniployments and the Caution requijite in this Cafe 417 18. General and particular Meetings en Working-Days 418 10. Ditto on Sundays 419 20. On the greater and lejjer Church- FeJlivalSf and Me- morial-Days 420 21 » Of the Stile and Chara6ier of the public Spefiking^ and of reading the holy Scriptures 422 22. Of the Greenlanders JVay of Singing and Church- Mi fc 423 23. The principal SubjeSf-matter and Method of the public Preaching, and the good Effects thereof 424 24. thoughts concerning the Greenlanders' /«fr^<3/} in Knowledge and Experience 426 .25. Of the Baptifm of Children 428 26. Of the Reception and Preparation of the adult Ca- techumens 429 2 7 . Concerning the Baptifm of the Adult, and its abid- IngBlefwo^ _ 43' 28. The Preparation and Confirmation to the holy Cormnu- nion 432 29. The Manner of celebrating the Lard's-Supper ibid. 30. Gvncernlng Agape" s andthe Pcdilaviu7n 434 3;. Of the Enquiry vil'' ar-a r :u .jfing cf what occurs ^■'' -^ "Oi" Greenlanders, and of Churcb-Dif- cipline ibid. 32. Reafons, why the Mifionaries iritroduced the Cij:.ir- Jjixijions in the Greenland Congregation 435 33^ Concerni.g the Cf^oir- Homilies, c?^d Bands 436 34. Of the Education aiid Procefs of thiS Children, and their Schools 437 35- Of the Contracis and Marriages 438 36. ConduH of the Mijfionaries tovjards thofe who had been married in their Heathen State 439 37. Concerning the JVidoivers and IVidoxvs, and how they are cared for 44O 38. The fpirituul and corporal Care cf the Sick, Bene- a^Stioii at D. [arture, and Burials 44 1 39. The ivhole Number of Greenlanders baptized by the Brethren from the Begiwiing, departed or Jim CONTENTS. Vac Jiill Uvingy reckoned according to their different D/- vijions 4^2 40. Short Idea of the internal State ^md Chara£ler of ihe Greenland Congregation 44 » Firfl Appendix. Containing fome Letters of Greenlanders who are Jlill alive 446 Second Appendix. Containing the Life of the late Mifionary Frederic Boehnifh 46$ THE THE HIST O R Y O F GREENLAND. BOOK I. Of the Situation and Nature of the Land^ the Sea^ the Air, the Earthy the Stones, and Vegetables. CHAP. I. Of the Country in general. § I. REENLAND is the remoteft tra^ of land in the north; it lies between Europe and Ame- ^^_^M rica, and is con:imonly ranked by geographers among the northern countries that are flill un- known. It reaches from the fouthermoft point of Cape Farewell, and Statenhook, in the 59th degree, on the right fide north-eaftward, towards Spitzberg, to the 80th degree ; and on the left ^de oppofite to North America, north-weft and north, till about the 78th de- gree. So far the coafls have been difcovered. Whether it is an iOand, or contiguous with fome other land, has not yet been decided, asnofhip has yet pene- trated to the uttermoft end towards the north, on account of the ics.> The conjectiureof its joining on theeaft with Spitzbe;*, Nova-zembla, and Tartary, is pretty well, ^ B if ?. HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. I. if not entirely, confuted by the new difcoveries of the Dutch and RuiTians. It might be fuppofed with more probability, that the north-weft fide borders on Ame- rica; becaufe inthefirft place, Davis's Straits, or rather Baffin's-Bay, grows narrower and narrower towards the 78th deg. north. Secondly, becaufe the coaft, which in other places is very high towards the fea, grows lower and lower northward. Thirdly, The tide, which at Statenhook, nay even as far up as Cockin's Sound, in the 65th deg. rifes 18 feet at the new and full moon, fo decreafes in the north above Difko, that in the 70th deg. it does not rife much above 8 feet, and probably lofes itfelf entirely at laft *. To this may be fubjoined, ^thly, the relation of the Greenlanders (which, howe- ver, cannot be much depended upon), namely, that the Strait contracts itfelf fo narrow at laft, that they can go on the ice fo near to the other fide, as to be able to call over to the inhabitants, and that they can ftrike a fifh from both fides at once ; but that there runs fuch a ftrong current from the north into the Strait, that ■they cannot come to one another. § 2. ThenaWe Greenland was given to the eaft-fide of this Land fcvenil hundred years ago, by the Norway- men and Icelanders, who firft difcovered it ; and the i"eafon of the appellation or epithet Gr^f«-land was, be- caufe it looked greener than Iceland. But this Eaft- fide, vi'hich is commonly called Old or Lojl Greenland, is now almoft totally unknown, becaufe ftiips cannot navigate this coaft, on account of the great quantities of floating ice. Some are of opinion, that that Old Greenland fo pompoufly defcribed by the Iceland authors as adorned with churches and villages, is now loft and not to be tound ; and therefore are curious to know if we cannot gather fome account of it from the Green- * See El.'is's foyage to HiidfoKS-Bay, for the d'lj'covery of the north-wefi f'-JJigi, p. 50 to 54. Tor this realon the Englifh Capt. Baffin, gave up all hopes of finding a padrigo into the South-Sea thro" Da-vis^s-iitra'tts, and confequcntly conrlu Jcdj that Greenland joins with Ar.trlca. landers. Chap. I. Of the Country in general. 3 landers. But the weft-fide may with the Tame propriety as the caft-fide, be called the old loft Greenland (which is now found again, fince fliips have failed thither), for the old Norwegians had houfcs and churches there too, plain traces of which are ftill to be found, and the foil produces, now at Icaft, as much as the eaft-fidc, which was fo famous and is fo much fought for. When failors fpcak of Greenland, they generally mean the Spit/berg Iflands above Lapland, between the 75th and 80th deg. together with the eaft coaft of Greenland lying oppofite thereto; and if they were told of a heathen million in Greenland, they would look upon it as a fiction, becaufe they know that no men live in thofe above-mentioned countries. They call the wcft-fide, which is now inhabited again by Euro- peans from the bid to the 71ft deg. Davis'' s Straits from that great gulf which feparates Greenland from America. Thefe Straits were firft difcovered by an Engliftiman, John Davis, in the year 1585, in his attempt to find a north-weft pafiage ; fince then they have been frequently traverfed for the fake of the whale fifhcry by feveral nations, particularly by the Dutch, who have alfo given us the beft charts thereof. What is properly called Davis's Straits, is only the fpace which reaches between Cape Walfingham on James's ifland in North America, and the South-bay in Greenland, from the 67th to the 71ft deg. above Dilko ifland, and is about 60 leagues broad j for lower fouth there is a wide fea between Greenland and Terra Labrador. But the failors chufe to call the whole compafs of water on the weft fide by this name. The Weft-fide is high, rocky, barren land, which rears its head in moft places, clofe to the fea, in lofty mountains, and inaccefTible cliffs, and meets the ma- riner's eye even 40 leagues at fea. All thefe, except the moft excefTive fteep and flippery rocks, are conftarrtly covered with ice and fnow, which has alfo in length of time filled all the elevated plains, and many vallics, and probably increafes from year to year. Thofe rocks and cliffs that are bare of fnow, look at a diftance of a dark brown, and quite naked ; but near, we fee them interfperfed with many veins of variegated colours B 2 of 4 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.I. of ftone, here and there fpread over with a little earth and turf, and a fcanty portion of grafs and heath ; and in the valleys, where there are many little brooks and ponds, we alfo fee fome fmall fhrubs growing. The coaft is dented with many bays and creeks, that enter far into the land, and it is lined with innumerable great and fmall iflands, and both vifible and funken rocks. Whoever has feen theNorv/ay coaft, can form a pretty good idea of Greenland, only with this difFerence, that here the hills are not enriched with trees, nor the valleys with grafs, and alfo that the mountains do not run up high and pointed only at a diftance from the fea, but clofe by it. However, here and there are long flat moun- tains {Juga mcjitiufu) to he (een, but thefe are clad with perpetual fnow and ice. § 3- . It cannot be expeilcd that any compleat geographical defcription can be given of this favage and thinly-inha- bited land ; for within land there are no inhabitants, and on the coaft but very few : yet I will make a fmall at- tempt tov/ards a geographical delineation, and communi- cate fome things worthy of notice concerning the coaft, chiefly colledted from a factor, employed many years in the country. Moft of the Greenlandcrs live from Statenhook to the 62d degree ; or, as the inhabitants are wont to fay, in the fcuth : but no Europeans live there, and there- fore thefe parts are but little known to us ; however, at the conclufion, I intend to annex from the relation of the Greenlandcrs, fome account of that country, as well as of what is elfe unknown to us northward. We will now fpeak a little of the feveral Colonies fettled here by the Europeans, and begin with the fouthermoft, viz. the colony of Frederic's Haab, or Frederic's Hope, in the 62d deg. lying on a point of firm land, called by the Greenlandcrs /)^;«/k/, or a tail. This was begun in the Year 1742, by Mr. Jacob Se- verin, merchant, who at that time carried on the Green- land trade from Jutland. It is a good haven and place of traffic, a mile and a half from the open fea. In the iflands Ket/tar^^^i Fbl.I . n .4 # Chap. I. Of the Country in general. 5 iflands where the Dutch merchant fhips formerly had a haven, many Greenlandcrs live, being well fituated for catching fifli, fea-calves or feals, and rein-deer. The firll: fadtors here, Gelmeyden, and Lars Dalager, and the hrll Danifh mlffionary Arnold von Weften Sylo, were brought hither from Godhaab. In the beginning things went very unprofpcroufly with this colony. The (hip that brought the firft inhabitants hither from that other colony, was loft in its return to Jutland, with every creature on board. The fecond fhip, which had carried over the buildings for this colony, was obliged to winter in Norway at a great expence. In 1743 the fhip bound hither with provifions foundered at fea, and half of the provifion fent over from Good-hope, toge- ther with 1 men, was loft. In 1744 the fhip ftruck againft a piece of ice, and beat a hole in her by broad day, oftly 16 leagues from the colony, and nothing but the mariners were faved and brought to land, after having toiled two days and two nights at fea. In the following years the fhips have feveral times been pre- vented from running into the harbour on account of the floating ice, and were obliged to unload the provifion at the colony Good-hope, and convey it hither 60 leagues in boats. For fome years paft they have not had fo many difafters from the ice, and fince then the colony hath put on a new face, and now drives a good trade with feals blubber, and the fkins of feals and foxes. The prefent faftor's name is Peterfen, the mifTionary's Mullenfort, and the catechift's Greenbeck. There are fix or eight failors befides, fome of v/hom are married to Greenland women. Four leagues north of the colony is an inlet, in which, befides the angmarfet, or capelins, herrings are alfo taken. Twelve leagues from the colony lies the famous Ice- glance, or fhining ice, in the charts named the Eis-blink, or de witte Blink. It is a great high field of ice, whofe glance in the air may be feen for many leagues at fea, refembling the Aurora Borealis. The mouth of this in- let is blocked up in fuch a manner by many great pieces of ice driven out by the ebb, that it forms a phaenomenon like an arched ice-bridge, ftretch- B 3 ing 6 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.I. ing from land to land, for the fpace of 8 leagues in length and 2 in breadth, over iflands and all. The openings or arches of it are computed to be from 14 to 40 yards high. People might pafs thro' them in boats, if they were not afraid of the fragments of ice that often fall down. The ebb drives thro' them into the fea the pieces of ice that come tumbling ofF the hills. When the Greenlanders intend to go into this harbour, they carry their little canoes over land on their heads, and then they find open water for 20 leagues in length, and about two in breadth. Places are found here where Greenland houfes once ftood, which proves that the mouth of the harbour was once open. The points of land that reach out into the fea on both fules the ice- glance, are fand-banks, and the fand is fo fine and light, that any kind of fi:rong wind raifcs it, darkeiis the air with it like a mift, and carries it fo far that it falls into people's eyes and mouths at twelve leagues diftance. About 32 leagues from the colony, there goes an opening within the land, now covered with ice, which in the maps is called the Bear-found, and the report goes, that there was formerly a paflage thro' to the eafl fide. According to the account the Greenlanders give> there are flili ruins of the old Norway buildings tp be feen there. Not far from thence, within the land, there is a lake of brackifli, or half- fait water, occafioned by the fea- water, which finds its way in thro' tv/o little open- ings with the tide. In the fpring grat numbers of fpotted fcals go into this lake, and are caught vvdth little trouble by the Greenlanders when the tide falls. In the 63d deg. 36 leagues* from Frederic's Hope, there is a narrow bay, 10 leagues long, which the firll mifiionary, Mr. Egede, called Fiichers-fiortef, or Fifher's bay, on account of the multitude of different ibrts of fifib J. At the mouth of this bay there lie two * The degrees and minutes of a place cannot be ftricrly fixed, and the diftance of a place is computed by following the windings between the illands. •^ Ficrte fignifies a bay, biubt^ a creek. X At prefer.t very few iifh are caught there, and fome fpecies are no more to be feen. The Greenlanders fa%, that fome of their people once wantonly cut oft" the backs of the Nefifct, or eat-filh, and threw the reft again into tl^e vafer, and fince then this i'ort of fiih forfook tlicir coaft entirely. large Chap. I. Of THE Country IN CFNERAL. 7 large iflands, nine leagues in compals, bcfides fomc fmaller oni.'s. Secontlly, a couple of leagues from the fea, at the end of the fouth-ifland, lies Fijhers-lodgc, on an agreeable fpot where a good deal of grafs grows. The Greenlanders call this fpot Kikkertarfueitfiak, from the ifland that lies over againft it. When they iail in their boats, thev lieer by the bearing of a certain high hill there, with the tops of fome other hilL-, and thus find the places where the feals frequent. This factory was begun by the afliftant at Good- hope, Andrew Olfen, in the year 1754, by order of the general merchants-company. The name of the pre- fent faftor, or principal alfiftant, is Schade. A lodge or fadlory differs from a colony only in this, that the fadlor is fubordinate to the neareft colony, and has fewer people. The traffic here is but middling, becaufe few Greenlanders live in thefe parts. On the fame ifland, about three Englifti miles from the factory towards the fea, the United Brethren eftablifhed their fecond miflion, in the year 1758. It is called LichtenfcU^ and will be more particularly defcribed in its proper place. In the upper part of the bay there are ruins to be found, and alfo a metal like bell-metal, which is proba- bly relics of the church-bells of the old Norwegians. Four leagues from the fairory is Innukfuk, a dwelling place of the Greenlanders, and fix leagues further is Graeder-bay, where fome Greenlanders alfo live. Two leagues from thence is a large bay, with a flat fandy land, which is called the mufter-place, becaufe 'tis fo large and level, but it is uninhabited. So far reaches the traffic of the fadlory northwards, and this place, and Frederic's Hope, is the mart of one Ihip. §4. After this, four leagues further, follow the Kellingeit iflands, or as the Danes call them, Klingarne, which are included in the trade of the following colony. Here is an excellent and eafy hunt, or iifhery for feals, becaufe the natives can cut off their pafs with great facility, in the narrow waters between the iflands. B 4 Eight 8 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. I. Eight leagues from hence is Merkoitfok, and then Buxe-bay, containing the Dutch haven, where fome- times wandering Greenlanders winter. The ifland Kellingarfoak, four leagues further, was once much inhabited. In Kariak, two leagues further, and near a river on the continent, fome Greenlanders live to this day. Two leagues from hence the great Amar?]ik-bay runs north-eaft into the land, being 20 leagues long, and four broad. In the very beginning of it fouth-eaft is the fmallPriefter-fiorde, fo called becaufe the firll miffionary, Mr. Egede, made fome preparation to fettle the colony there, on account of the great quantity of grafs and bufhes. In the Amaralik-bay is a good filbery for ang- marfet, or capelin, and feals, and a hunting-place for rein-deer. We find here alfo ruins of the buildings of the old Norwegians, likewife a good deal of grafs, imail bufhes, foft ftone, which fome call baftard marble, and veins of red garnet; but there are very few Greenlanders here at prefent. A couple of leagues from hence we fail under the Hioite-tak, or Stag's-horn. This is the higheft moun^ tain in this country, and perhaps in all Greenland. The higheft of its three branches or points may be fecn 40 or 60 leagues off at fea ; and its fteepnefs prevents the ice and fnow lodging any where but in its crevices. This mountain ferves the navigators for a fea-mark, and the Greenlanders for a weather-token ; for when a fform is approaching from the fouth, its fummit is enveloped in a fmall mifty cloud. Under it the Kobe-bay goes 4 leagues up into the land, where there is a falmon elve, or brook, deepening here and there into little ponds, and near it a good place for rein-deer. Then pafling under the A^alina, and Partridge moun- tains for a couple of leagues, you come to the third co- lony Godhaab^ or Good-hope, as we will henceforth call it, lying in the 64th deg. 14 minutes, and 36 leagues from Fifher's-lodge : 'Tjs fituated in Bah-revier, or Ball's river, as that whole Diifricl is called, * on a bay •This place is (aid to have derived its name from a certain mariner, whofe chriluan name was ]3althafar, or as others relate it, his furname Ball. that Chap. I. Of the Country in general. 9 that ftretches north-caft: into the country, 28 leagues from the outni'jft ifland, and in many |>lacc:> four leagues broad. There are fome hundred illands crouded to- gether in the compafs of fix leagues, the outmolt of which are called Koolcoernen or Cock iflands, and by the Greenlanders Kittilcfut. Between thefe and Kan- gelc, towards the north, is the ufual pafl'age called the Nordergat, or the north paH'age. Kangek, called by the Danes alfo Hope-ifland, bccaufe the colony Good- hope firft ftood on it, is cncompafled with many fmaller iflands, and borders on Wefterland, which is fepaiated from the continent by a narrow found. This found is called from the row-filhes, orcat-fifh, the Nepifet- found, and here the Greenlanders have the beft feal-fifhery in the autumn. Towards the fouth the Kookoernen are feparated by a pallage, which is called the South pafTage, from a multitude of large iflands, viz, the Blue, Raven, Partridge, Idol, Wood iflands, &:c. between which there is a pafl'age that is called Hamburgh-found. From the Kookoernen there is a paflage fix leagues north-eaft, up into the country, which terminates in a haven for fhips, formed by a peninfula, where the blubber-houfe ftands. Half a league weflward on the fhore lies the Brethren's Greenlandjcongregation, New-Herrnhuth; and the fame diftance north, theprefent Danifh colony Good- hope. This confifts of the principal building, in v/hich the fadfor, miflionary, and their people live ; the church, which ilands not far off on a brook, the provifion-houfe, fmith's fhop, and brewhoufe. The Greenlanders houfes lie fc.ittered here and there. A couple of leagues further, near Wildman's-nefs, lies the ifland Saalberg, or Saddle-hill, fo called bc- caufe its topmoft peak refembles a faddlc. It may be feen 40 leagues off". Many eider-birds are fhot here every winter evening. Not far from hence lies Bear- ifland, and near that the ifland Aupillartok. Each of thefe iflan^ls are eight or ten leagues Ions;, and very high, and divide the channel into two bays. One of thefe bays runs fouth-eaft towards Piffikfarbik, where there is the beft capelin fifhery ; and out of this bay a Imaller one goes up into the main land, which is called Kook. On the weft fide of the northern bay lies Kannei- fut. 10 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.I. fut, a wide flat country, interfperfed with little rocky hills. There is a good falmon-fifhery here, alfo a lake of frefli water at leaft eight leagues long, but not ftocked with many fifli. Higher up, this northermoft bay fubdivides itfelfinto two arms. Oneof thefe is called Ujarakfoak ; on its (hore there is the fineft foft ftone, or French chalk, and alfo more ruins of the old Norwegian dwellings than any where elfe : the other is overfpread with ice for feveral miles. This arm is feparated from the Piflikfarbik-bay, by a fmall tradl of land, and the Piffikfarbik is divided from the Amaralik-bay by a little rifing ground. Good-hope, the eldcft colony in the country, was founded in the year 1721, at Kangek, by the firlt mif- fionary Mr. Hans Egede, and the merchant Mr. Jen- toft, on the account, and by commiflion of a company in Bergen J but in the year 1728, this colony was re- moved to the main land by governor Paars. Its trade is one of the beft in the country. The prefent factor's name is Lars Dallager, and his afHlfant's Raven ; the mifiionary's name is Gregerfen, and he has two Danifh, and two Greenland catechifts. Formerly thefe parts were inhabited by fome thou- fand Greenlanders, for fcarce any place on the coaft is to be compared with it. But fince a run of the fmall- pox in 1733, they havefo decreafed, that except thofe belonging to the two millions, and fome ftraggling fouthlanders, who are fond of v/intering in Kangek, there are very few other fettled Greenlanders to be met with here. Here I will take occafion to prefent the reader with the neareft computation poflible of the number of the Greenlanders on the weft fide : It was drawn up by a fadlor who lived many years in the country, and who collecfled fuch an account from the Greenlanders of all parts, as may pretty much be depended upon. He found in the compafs oi about 40 leagues, which was the cir- cle of his dealings, the following. In Kellingeit - - > go fouls Kariak - - - 20 Amaralik bay _ - g Kookoernen - - - 10 Kangek Chap. I, Of the Country in general. ii Of the Country in GENERAL Kangek _ _ - Ncw-hcrrnhut (Ann. 1761) Good-hope In the bay of Ball's river InPiffugbik II - 440 200 - 68 - no 957 fouls. Thcfe conftantly lived there. There could be no computation of the roving fouthlandcrs, that are al- ways coming and going. This country is one of the moft populous, except Diflco bay and the fouth ; tor in other parts a perfon may travel fixty miles, and not meet with one foul. Should we now admit that the country is inhabited for the fpace of 400 leagues, and make the calculation of even a 1000 fouls for 40 leagues, in confideration of the fouth and north being more po- pulous, ilill the total amount would be but 10,000; but the above-mentioned fa6lor will allow only 7000, becaufe there are fo manydefcrt places. He indeed aflerts, that the natives of Greenland amounted to 30,000 in the year 1730, and when he made his firft calculation in 1746, there were ftill 20,000; and confequently their number has diminifhed almoft two thirds, or at leaft one-half fince that time. After leaving Kangek, there is no dwelling-place of the Greenlanders till you come ten leagues north to Pif- fugbik, where they live both on the continent and the iflands. Four leagues further is a fifhing bay, where the firft miiEonary alfo made an attempt to fettle, on account of the filhery, and the quantity of grafs. This neck of land is very narrow, and alfo very flat, jncom- parifon of the high land in general. It runs parallel with Ball's river. Thirty leagues from Good-hope, we come to the Napparfok iflands. There and on the main land we meet with good grafs-plots, and dry wood driven in by the fea ; as alfo fifh, birds, and feals. The floating ice that comes round Statenhook, from the eafl: fide, with the courfe of the current, and the fouth wind, goes no further than this place, becaufe the current abates here, and is at an entire ftand further north. In the year J 756 the ice obliged the Good-hope ihip to put in and jftay 12 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. L ftay here, till an eaft and north wind had wafted the ice weftwards from land. Not far ofF is Omenak, a plac? where Greenlanders live. The former inhabitants of this place were ftig- matized with an ill charadler all over. the country, on account of murdering. Then come mountains called alfo by the Dutch Saal, that is Saddle-mountains, together with many great and fmatl iflands, one of which, called by them Kin van Saal, is the land-mark by which the navigators fleer. In thefe parts a good deal of afbeftus, or ftone-flax, chryftal, red dyer's earth, and white marble is found, as alfo the laft ruins of the old Norwegians ; for further north we can get no certain account of any. In the 65 deg. 46 min. 56 leagues from Good- hope, is a bay which the Dutch call Bruyne bay : In this bay on the little ifland Kangak, that is Forehead, the Fourth colony, 'ZukkeTtop^ or Sugar-loaf, was found- ed in the year 1755, by order of the merchants com- pany, by the fadior Andrew Olfen, who is ftill there. The name is derived from three tops of hills t^at look at a diftance like fugar-loaves, and which the feamen fteer by when they enter the harbour. The harbour is one of the beft and fafeft in the country, and lies only half a league from the open fea, between two little iflands ; but the country is very barren and bare, and has no rein-deer. On the other hand, befides the ordinary fifhes, feals, and birds, the fea afFords now and then a whale, which are very feldom ken in the more foutherly parts. The whales come here in January and Febru- ary, but they are feldom taken by the Greenlanders, and never by the Europeans, for want of proper boats and tackle. The fadlor ftruck one once, but not having line enough, he faftened what he had to fome empty cafks, inftead of a bladder, as the Greenlanders do, but the fiih efcaped. There are but few Greenlanders hereabout, yet the trade is pretty good. Hitherto there has been no mif- fionary here, but a catechift, Berthel Larfen, the eldeft on the Danifh miflion, and the greateft proficient in the language. This colony and Good-hope, are frequented by one fhip. Having Chap. I. Of THE Country IN GENERAL. 13 Having pafTed a couple of bays, one of them about 35 leagues long, bordered with much grafs and many bufhes i 20 leagues further we come to a great ifland, (furrounded with many fmall ones,) onwhich we meet with fome deep vales, and level land, and alfo good falmon fifheries. There we alfo find a white clay that fliines like filver, and does not burft in the fire. Among the rocks is one very large one, with a deep fpace or valley in the middle of it, which is overflowed at high water, and in ferene fummcr weather fcores of feals go in with the tide, which, when the water is fallen, are caught and killed by the Greenlanders, like as in a decoy. § 5. In the 67 deg. is the Wyde-bay* before which the ifland Nepifet or Nepifene lies. A factory was efta- blifhed herein the year 1724, for traffic and the whale fifhery; but the next year it was forfaken again, and the houfes burnt by foreign failors. In the year 1729 a fecond attempt was made to fettle a colony, and a caftle or fort was built, but foon after it was again abandoned and demoliflied by the king's orders. Not far from hence, about 4.0 leagues from Zukker- top, is the Amarlok nilet, and in its vicinity fome whales are killed every year by the Greenlanders. In the year 1759 the fifth colony was begun there, and called Hol/Ieinburg, in remembrance of the privy counfellor and prefident of the honourable mifTions college, Count Holftein. The prefent fa<5lor is cap- tain Niels Egcde, a fon of the firft miflionary. The miffionary is Jacob Borch, and his catechift Chriftian W olfe ; who is at the fame time an afliflant to the fac- tory, as the factor is afliftant to the miiTion. This co- lony is one of the moft commodious places both for dw?llino; and trading. * From this place higher up, I could collect no compleat nor certain ac- count, becauft the faftor, who communicated the foregoing to mc, had not navigated nor fcen the land any further. The country northward varies but little from that which I have already defcribed, and I fhould be able to fay riothing new, was I to trace and delineate tiic bays, inlets, iflands, iiflics, and birds thereof. Twelve 14 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. L Twelve leagues further comes 6thly, the well-known South-bay in the 67th deg. 30 min. where the Dutch whale-fifhers had their beft haven, and when the fifhery was ended, this was their place of rendezvous, in order to their return. A colony was eiedled here in 1756, but fince the laft-mentioned colony was fettled and improved, this is occupied only by one man, who col- ledts the blubber from the few neighbouring Green- landers. Sixteen leagues further, in the 68 deg. lies the 7th colony, Egedes Minde, i. e. Egede's memorial. This was erected in 1759, by capt. Egede, who gave it that name in memory of his father. The prefent factor's iiafne is John Peterfen, and he is catechift at the fame time. The v/hale fifhery has been very profperous fome years in the parts about thefe three laft factories, but yet the Greenlanders have moftly quitted thefe parts, tho' the country abounds in fifh and fowl. Befides, the laft place is frozen up all the winter, and is not open till May when the whale-fifhery is over. For this reafon they are confulting about removing this colony further to the Dunk iflands. §6. We come next to RifFkull, and then the north-bay ; after that the fea makes its wzy fouth-eaft into the land, and forms the well-known great Difko bay, where there are a multitude of fmall iflands, the princi- pal of which are the Weft, Whale, Green, Dog, and Dunk iflands. Part of thefe extend themfelves eaft- ward as far as Spiring bay, and part northwards to Difko ifland. This whole bay is about 160 leagues in com- pafs. The land is high, flat above, and clad with ice. Beneath near the fhips road is a flat level country. The Dutch maps intimate, that on a place they call Schans, 8;ood coals have been found, but they were never made ufe of. On this ifland are many rein-deer, which are found on no ifland befides. The water between this and the firm land is called the Waigat, and is fix leagues broad. The fifhery in the bay is thebefl in the whole country ; in the winter when the bay freezes up, the Greenlanders take a multitude of fcals on the ice, and Chap. I. Of the Country in general. 15 and in the fpring they catch fmall whales, and fome- times great ones.. Many Dutch whale-fifhers alfo come here every year. Difko-bay is the moft populous place of any on the coaft, except thofe parts furthcft ibuth, where there are no colonics as yet. Difico is alfo the beft place for trade. Therefore the eighth colony Chrijiians-hope, was cfta- blifhed here in 1734, by order of Mr. Jacob Severin. It was fixed in Vure or Fir-bay, in the 69 dcg. 30 min. or as others reckon, the 68 deg. 34 minutes. The firft milTionary there was Mr. Paul Egede, the eldeft fon of the late fuperintendant Egede, who is at prefent profef- for at Copenhagen, and provoft of the royal Danifli miffion in Greenland. The prefent fa6lor is Suanen- hielm Lilienskiold. But the million was removed eight leagues further north in 175?., by Mr. Block, the mi f- fionary at that time. And there gthlv, the factory Clam-haven was erefted. The name of the fatRior or afliftant there is Hammond, the miflionary Stage, and his catechift Jens Peterfen Moerk. They are now to have a church. Four leagues further north is the Ice-bay, which, according to the report of the Greenlanders, was for- merly an open found, as far as the eaft-iide of the country, but it is now quite ftopped up with ice. Many and the largeft ice-hills are every year driven out of this bay. A great many Greenlanders live here. Therefore the tenth colony, "JacoFs-haven^ was begun here in the year 1741, not far from the bay Mak- lykuyt. It was fo called in remembrance of the di- reftor of trade Mr. Jacob Severin. The name of the chief afliftant now there, is Peter Hind, the miflionary Fabricius, and the catechift Jacob Paulfen. All thefe three places are afligncd to one fhip, which often is loaded with 400 hogfheads of blubber, each containing eighty gallons, and confequently is beft freighted. §7- From Jacob's-haven the coafters fail firft north and then weft, for 24 leagues out of Difko bay. Then between the 69 and 70 deg. they come to the nth colony, Rh- Unbenk, founded in 1755, by the fadorCharles Dalager^ who 16 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. L who is llill there. In this country fine white whet-ftones are found, which are fometimes called oil-ftones. The twelfth and laft colony is Noogfoak^ i. e. the great Nefs, which was erected in 1758, in the 71 deo-. at the end of the Waigat. The fador's name is John Bruun : both thefe colonies are vifited by one fhip j but hitherto they have not produced a great deal, be- caufe 'tis imagined the laft is not fituated in the ri^ht place; for which reafon preparation is making to tranf- plant it fome leagues further into Jacob's-creek, where many Greenlanders live. There is no million at either of them, only a catechift at the firft place, whom the Greenlanders call Jacungoak, i. e. the little Jacob. We have no certain account of the country further north. William Baffin, who, v/ith captain Robert Bylot, attempted to find a pafl'agc thro' Davis's ftraits in 1616, and called the fea from the yzd to the 78th deg. Baffin's bay, fays that he traded with the Greenlanders at Horn- fnund in the 73 deg. but in the 74th deg. he found no natives, but feveral places where tents had been fet up, from whence he concluded, that at certain fcafons in the fummer people refided there. The fea was full of feals and unicorn fifli, and in Thomas Smith's found, in the 78th deg. he found the largeft whales. The Greenlanders in Difko fay, that the country is inhabited for 200 leagues upward, that is, as far as the 78th deg. yet very thinly ; for tho' there is plenty of eider-fowls, white bears, feals, and whales, yet no body liked to live there long, becaufeof the tedious me- lancholy winter nights. ' They had alfo a want of wood and iron, which they procured in barter from the fouth- landcrs for unicorn-horn. The land was nothing but dreary rock and ice, and did not produce fo much grafs as they ufed in their (hoes, therefore they bartered for grafs too. Inftead of making their houfcs with wood- work and turf, they make them with the horn of uni- corn-fifn, clay, and feal-fkins. The land flretches north-weft towards America, and is fenced with many iflands. Here and there, they fay, are ftones ftanding eiccl, with arms extended, like the guidc-pofts in our country. Fear has alfo perfuaded them, that there ilands a great Kablunak, or European, on a certain 4 hill, Chap, ts Of THE Country is general. t; hill, to whom they ofter a piece of whale-bone wh;;n they pals by. The fouth part of the country, as yet uninhabited by Europeans, has howe\'cr been more travcrfed than the north. For in 1723, in autumn, Mr. Egede made a voyage for difcoverics, as far as the 60th deg. which fliall be further (Spoken of in its place; and in the years 1749, and 1752, a fervant of the fa«Slory undertook a voyage to thofe parts for trade, and in his laft cxcurfion he fpent two fummers and a winter in the fouth ; but no- thing was made public. The principal accounts have hitherto been collecSled from the relations of the Green- landers, a number of whom come up every year front the fouth, northward, and then goback again. They reckon five days voyage frem P rederic's-hope to Cape Farewell, which is the uttermoft end of land ; the medium of this five days voyage may be about 100 leagues or upwards along the coaft. They mention by name the following places, where they are ufed to take up their nights lodging, or tarry for a little reft. 1. Sermeliarfok, ;. e. the great ice-bay< Here is a good place for catching feals and fmall herrings. Pro- bably this bay was formerly the Straits of Forbilhcr, which are now quite blockaded with ice. In the maps it is fixed in 61 deg. 20 minutes. 2. Kudnarme, a populous place on high firm land, near many iflands. A little further there goes a long, nar- row, low neck of land out into the fea, which the Green- Jandcrs call Ittiblik. They don't like to coaft round it, bccaufeof the wild fea, but unload their boats, and car- ry them acrofs the land, 3. Kikkertarfoak, i. e. the great ifland. It has a harbour where the Dutch formerly carried on a good trade. In 1742, a Dutch (hip lying at anchor here was crufhed to pieces by the ice, which was driven in by a Itorm from the fouth ; and the crew were obliged to go in their boat to the whale-filbers in South-ba)'-. 4. Ikkerlbak, i. e, the great broad bay or found. A little way from it lies the I^alik creek, ;'. e. the Boiling- place : here many tranfparent angulated itoncs arc V*L. I. ' C found. i8 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B, I. found, which are fo hard that they will cut glafs. Then follows Tunnuliarbik, or the cornered bay, with a good haven ; as alfo Kangek, and Aglutok. Many Green- landers live in this place, and in all likelihood it is the beft, moft fruitful, and agreeable place in all Green- land ; for we not only hear all the Greenlanders extol it, and in that view invite us thither, but a great quan- tity of ruins of old Norwegian dwellings are found there. 5. Onartok, or the warm place, a beautiful verdant ifland, in the mouth of as fruitful an inlet. The ifland derives its name from a warm fountain, which boils up in winter as well as fummer, and is fo hot that a piece of ice thrown into it dilTolves directly. In thefe parts there is a good herring or capelin flfhery, to which the Greenlanders of the eaft-fide come five days voyage. After this follow two populous iflands, Sermefok, /. e. Ice-ifland, having lofty rocks ; and Nennortalik, that is, Bear's-ifland. They both lie about the 59th deg. and form the well-known Cape-farewell : feveral large and little iflands are fprinkled up and down in its neigh- bourhood : between thefe and the main land is a pretty widfe found or ftrait, which a rapid ftream pafles thro'. Thro' this found they fail to the eaft-fide : the Green- landers fay, that on the eaft coaft of thefe iflands, they in fummer no longer behold the rifing fun afcending over the land, but emerging out of the ocean ; whence we conclude that this is the furtheft fouth-eaft point of the land, and confequently Statenhook. CHAP. II. Of the Sea and Ice. §9. E have already mentioned the Straits of Forbifhcr w in §8, and thofe of the Bear- found in §3. Both of thefe are marked in the Dutch maps of Davis's Straits, as palTages to the Eafl:-fide. There is befides the Ice- bay in Dilko, which they report to have been the third paflage Chap. 2. Of the Ska and Ice. 19 pafTage thro'. But as neither Mr. Egede, who ia 1723, attempted to find out the Straits of Forbifhcr ■for a palTage to the eaft-fidc, could difcover the fame, nor the Icelajiders make any mention of it in their de- fcription of Old Greenland ; a doubt has arifcn whether Martin Forbiflier, who was fent hither by Elizabeth, Qiiecn of England, in 1576, ever difcovcred and failed thro' any fuch Strait. 1 will not examine into it ; but at prcfent 'tis imagined that the above-mentioned great ice-bay Sermeliarfok, which lies a day's fail fouth of Frederic's-hope, between the 6ift and 62d deg. is the Straits of Forbiflier, but they cannot now be tra- verfed on account of the ice. A fa£lor that refided ma- ny years in Frcderic's-hope, communicated his thoughts about it to me, which deferve to be recorded, becaufe they convey at the fame time an idea of the romantic form of the upper inland country, and of the ice. Here follows an extrail thereof. " I have had a good opportunity, in my trading voy- *' ages, to examine into thofe countries. In the be- *' ginning I could not conceive how fuch vaft quantities " of ice could drive out to fea, without the leaft di- " minutionof the vifible remainder, from a bay, which, " tho' itwaseverfolong, yetwascloied atoneend. This *' efflux continues from July to November ; and when *' the ftream is ftrong, and the weather calm, the " pieces float out in fuch quantities, that they reach *' 20 or 30 leagues in length into the fea, and five or " fix leagues broad, if a high wind doth not drive " them further out to fea, and difperfe them. When " I enquired of the Greenlanders for the caufe of it, *' the anfwer Igot was : — '' The cavity is great, and " has no end : our anceflors have related that they " could pafs thro' there." — Now feeing no one could *' inform me any further, I ventured in 1747, at a *' place where the (jreenlandersrefort to catch rein-deer, *' to go 14 leagues thro' the ice into the bay, and then " mounted a hill v/ith fome Greenlanders, in order to ** have a profpecSt of the Forbiiher Straits. But I faw ■" little or nothing; for the higheft land, as far as I *' could fee, which might be about 40 leagues, was " nothing but mountains and ice. The place indeed C 2 " where 20 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.I, *' where the fretum fhould be, was perceptibly lower, *' but croudcd with heavy flakes of ice heaped one up- *' on another. But there was much more of the mar- *' vellous to be heard than to be feen ; for there was- ** fuch a frightful rumbling,, and cracking of the ice^ *' as if many cannons had been fired at once, and then *' enfued a violent noife, like the roaring of a cafcade ; ** which all together excited in me the fenfations of ter- ** ror, wonder, and entertainment at the fame time. *' Now tho' I plainly faw the lower ice, and heard the ** water rufhing under it, and could conclude from ** thence that there muft be a ftrong ftream of water *' running there, yet I could not comprehend how this ** fretum could remain obilrudted in fuch a manner ** with ice ; and yet how every year, within the fpace ** of a few days, fuch an immenfe fpread of ice, manv *' leagues long: and broad, could ilTue from it. In the *' year 1751, I got aclearer folution of this ; when, in ** September, I and feme Grecnlanders undertook a *' journey at the Eh-hlink^ or fhining-ice,, fo far into ** the land as any Greenlander, and no European,, ever " was before ; which may be feen in the extract of my *' journal, in the appendix to the Greenland relation*. '** Here I found, that tho' fronting the fea there appears ** nothing but firm land, overfpread with ice, yet *' within the land there may ftill be open water. I ** alfo found how the pieces of ice make their way into " the open fea, under the firm ice, by means of the *' current. When and how the mouth of this bay, " which is called the Ice-glance, was flopped up, is " unknown. It is probable that in the midft of win- *' ter, during a long continuance of calm weather, the " floating ice fi:ag:nated in the mouth, upon which a *' fevere froft and fnow enfued; afterwards, in the * This treatifc was communicated to me in manufcript. Its author is no fliulent, but a man of roailing and fenlV, that has conllantly made his cb- f^rva'ions on the Grecnlanders manner of Jiving. He was delired to wriJs ^11 account of the temperament, morals, culloms and fuperlHtion of the ClrccnlanJcrs. This he did, and fent it in 1752, \\ith a dedication, to a perlon of note. At my return from Greenland, I found thistreatife pub- iillifd under the title in Dani(h : Grocnlandih rciationer^ indtboldcnde Grotn- Jci'ihmes Hi' eg /n-vriel, dcres jkikke 0^ I'ldtiugtn, fomt temptrami-nt eg fuj>erj}i- tiiiui ; liU'i^-c nog!; korti rtjlc.rioncr ever rnijflrnfn, fjmmcr,;kte'vet lid Frkdric'i- tl.iii : Ctlvile i CrtininHd, af iars DaU^ir, Kkoth and entire like other ice, *' but ragged and crufi>ed, and fretted into holes, which ■*' demonftratcs that they have been impelled and rub- ■" bed :a lojig time by the ilream in the pafl'age/' § 10. To give abetter idea of the afpecl of the upper coun- try, 1 will infcrt, by way of extract, the above-men- tioned factor's relatiojiof his tour at the Ice-glance, " Auguft 28, 1751, I f-nt the great boat to fearch ^'" for fire-wood, north of the ice-glance, and I ac- *' companicd itin my hunting-boat. On this occafion, *' I almoft refolved to attempt a journey to the eaft fide, ■" over the great icy plains ; and what induced me to *' it was this : Laft July a Greenlander in hunting, *' came by degrees fo high, that he faid he had I'ecii *' the jnountains of the ancient Kiij!unaks * on the vait * Tlic Grjccnlandcrs callan Euiopean a ATj^/hs.j^S c 3 " ndc, 22 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.I. " fide. This excited a defire in me to fee the country, *' and I entered upon my tour in a bay fouth of the ice- " glance, with this Greenlander and his daughter, and " three young Greenlanders befides. Sept. 2, we bound *' our bag of provifion and lodging furniture together, " and gave it the girl to carry. The reft of us took " each his kaiak (as they call the little fmgle man's " canoe) upon his head, and his gun on his flioulder, " and begun our march with a ftaft' in our hands. The *' firft league, on the bank of an elve or brook, was " level and good. But then we were obliged to climb *' an high, and very uneven rock, where we often " tumbled down with the boat upon our heads. At *' fun-fet we defcended on the other fide, to a large *' bay, as long as a good day's paflage for a kaiak-row- *' er, i. e. 20 leagues long. Formerly the Greenland- *' ers could row into it from the fea ; but in fucceeding ^ *' times, the ice blocked up its mouth from land to land, '* in fome places a league, and in others two leagues in " -breadth. On the 3d, we put our kaiaks in water, *' and rowed a league and half acrofs the bay to the " north-fide : there we laid our boats on land, and co- ** vered them with ftones, and then profccuted our " journey on foot, over a rock, towards the north- " eaft. In the evenino-we came to firm ice. On the *' 4th, in the morning, we entered upon it, to " mount to the top of the mountain that lies in the '* middle of the ice-glance, to which we had a couple *' of leagues to walk : the way to it was as even as the ** ftreets of Copenhagen. An hour after fun-rifing " we came to the top : there we ran the whole day " after rein-deers, and fhot one, the flefh of which " fell to the Greenlanders fhare : for as there was *' was neither fhrubs nor grafs on this plain to make ** fire with, that fomething of it might be boiled for ** me, I was obliged to be fiitisfied with a piece of *' bread and cheefe. On the 5th we travelled further *' over the ice, to reach the highefl rock on the icc- ** glance, to which we had about a couple of leagues. " We fpentfeven hours in this march, becaufe the ice was *' uneven and full of clefts, which obliged us to go round ** about. About eleven o'clock we came to the rock, *' and Chap. 2. Of the Sea and Ice. 23 *' and having refted an hour, vvc began our afcent. To- *' wards four o'clock we advanced to its fummit, with ** much fweat and toil. Here was I truly filled with ** wonder at the extenfive profpedl on all Tides, but *' chieflv at the Ipacious field of ice acrofs the country '' as far as the eail coafl, where the hills were covered *' with fnow, the fame as on this fide. In the begin- " ing it appeared to me as if it could not be above ten ** or twelve leagues to the eaft-coaft : but as I could *' alfo fee the mountains by Good-hope, 48 leagues " diftant from us towards the north, which prcfented " themfelves as big as thofe on the eaft, and when I *' refle Therefore / Chap. 2. Of the Sea and Ice. 35 Therefore one would rather fuppofe, that part of the floating ice comes from the many and great rivers that pour themfelves out of Great Tartary into the fo called Ice-fea; and this is the frefh-water ice, that reais itfelf aloft in the plains of ice : the other, and the greateft part, annually breaks off from the fhorcs of Tartary, Nova Zembla, Spitzberg, and efpecially the eaft fide of Greenland, and is driven together by the wind and the ftrcams that run in different diredlions in thofe waters, till it falls into the regular current on the caft-fide, which conveys it between Iceland and Green- land round Statenhook, and fome of it, perhaps, thro' Forbifher's-ftraits under the ice, and fo into Davis's- ftraits as far up as the 65th deg. where it is carried by a contrary ftream further off from land and away to the American coafts, and fo fouthward till the fun dif- folves it. § IS. The leffer gulphs and bays, which fall in fo far be- hind the fheltering mountains, that the wind and ftream can caufe no great motion of the waters, are every win- ter overfpread with pieces of ice, partly frefli and partly fait. Thefe are broken off by the ftormy winds in fpring, and carried out to fea. The northern arm of Balls-river is covered for many leagues with fuch pieces of ice froze together. I will give a brief defcription of it. I vifited the brethrens miflionary in Piflikfarbik, when he was there with his Greenland congregation at the herring fiftiery. June i. I failed fix leagues fur- ther to the end of the inlet, which was ftill frozen there, and open only towards the land. Then I landed and walked up the valley for a league, to fee fome ruins of the old Norwegians, by the fide of a great lake of frefh-water ; but thefe relics of antiquity were now no- thing but a great fquare heap of ftones, grown over with high grafs. The valley feemed to me to be full two leagues long, and one broad. In the middle flows a little brook, which here and there halts and fports in little ponds. The adjacent hills do not afcend all at once fo haftily as thofe by the fea, arc beautified with a good deal of grafs, mofs and bufhgs, and prcfent a D 2 profpeit 36 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.I. profpedl like Vogelfoerg in Wetteravia. The fun, which was exceffively fcorching between the hills, drove me bad: again foon. A_s my Greenland boatfmen were bufily employed in catching falmon, I went alone up a little hill, from whence I had a view of the nor^- thern-bay full of ice. Curiofity fpurred me on acrofs a marfh half a league broad, covered with a green car- pet of grafs, over which the Greenlanders walk to the bay with their kaiaks upon their heads to kill feals. But as I could not flill fee the ice in its full dimenfions, I v/ent about the fame fpace farther, over an elevated neck of land. There I law with wonder a field of ice about 12 leagues long and one broad *. But, as far as I could fee between the hills v/cft, or toward the fea, I could difcern no open water ; only the water- fog was a token that the bay muft be open there ; it was about fun-fet near lO o'clock. Towards the eaft or the land,, the field of ice confifting of great pieces ftretched itfclf into a plain of about a league long and half fo broad. Then, according to the meafure of my eye, it raift/d ft- felf to the height of a very lofty tower, and presented itfelf, from one hill to the other, in the picture of a long, ftreet of houfes with pointed gable-ends. I ima- gined this to be the end of the bay. For from hence the ice afcended by fteps between the mountains for the fpace of fix leagues, like the cafcades in a ftream rufhing down between hills. A hill crofling the villa, which was low and feemed to have hut little fjiow and ice upon it, terminated this long extent of ice. Yet on each fide, northward, and efpecially fouthward, a pretty broad tracl: of ice fecracd to fpread up into the land, who knows how far. § i6. When a perfon hears only curforily of thefe fright- ful drifts of ice, without attending to the caufe, he thinks the eaft-fide of Greenland is fo bcfet with ice, that the poor inhabitants can find no pafla'ge out, nor the fliips any pafiage in ; and therefore he is afraid^ * N'ot far from i' may be fcpn from a hill an extent of bh'.e ice 20 ■ifagucs long; nnJ brcsi, '. • ■ that Chip. 2. Of the Sea and Ice. 37 that the wcft-fidc will once fhare the fame fate, and al- ready laments the unhappy deitiny of the poor natives. We fhall hear afterwards more about the eaft-fide. On the weft-fide this fitality is not to be dreaded, till univerfal nature alters its courfe. Wc need only re- mark the caufc of the floating ice. It come-j with the current, and is invariably hurried forward by that and the wind. If the wind is wefterly and ftormy withal, it drives with the tide into all the bays. As foon as the wind turns northerly or eaflerly, it expeil^ it with tiic ebb out of the bays ^gain, and then it follows the ftrcam as far, as that takes its courfe north, from whence it makes towards the coafts of America, and at length fo far fouth till the rays of the fun reduce it a- gain to water. Therefore as long as the tide, the cur- rent, the fouth, weft, and eaft wiiids endure in this region, fo long will this coaft be alternately covered with ice, and again delivered from it. It is true when the ice advances to a certain height, and the weft wind blows at the fame time, the Greenlanders cannot go out, nor the fliips come in, and then they are ex- pofcd to manv difficulties, and in danger of their lives. But divine Providence has taken care that this diftrefs fhall not continue long, and it feldom does laft a fort- night, § 17' The Founder of nature hath combined a r^reat benc- nt with thefe very inconveniencies. For as he has de- nied this frigid rocky region the growth of trees, he has bid the ftreams of the ocean to convey to its fhores a great deal of wood, which accordingly comes floating thither, part without ice, but the moft part along with it, and lodges itfeif between the iflands. Were it not for this, we Europeans fnould have no wood to burn there, and the poor Greenlanders (who, it is true, do not ufe wood but train for burning) would however have no wood to roof their houfes, to ere(fl their tents, as alfo to build their boats, and to fhaft their arrows, by which they muft procure their maintenance, clothing, and train for warmth, light and cooking. Among this wood are great trees torn up by the roots, D 3 which ^8 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.I. which by driving up and down for many years, and dafhing and rubbing on the ice, are quite bare of branches and bark, and corroded with great wood- worms. A fmall part of this drift-wood are willows, alder and birch-trees, which come out of the bays in the fouth ; alfo large trunks of afpen-trees, which muft come from a greater diftance ; but the greateft part is pine and fir. We find alfo a good deal of a fort of wood finely veined and with few branches j this I fancy is larch wood, which likes to decorate the fides of lofty ftony mountains. There is alfo a folid reddifh wood, of a more agreeable fragrancy than the common fir, with vifible crofs-veins ; which I take to be the fame fpecies as the beautiful filver-firs, or zirbel, that have the fmell of cedar, and grow on the high Grifon- hills, and the Switzers wainfcot their rooms with them. It is plain this wood comes out of a fruitful, but cold and mountainous country. But it is difficult to decide where this country is. It cannot come out of the neighbouring America, as for inftance, Terra-Labra- dor, becaufe it is generally a companion of the ice, which does not come with a ftream from thence, but drives thither. Should any one fay that it comes from Canada, and drives north-eaft with the current till it falls into the ftream coming from Spitzberg, and from thence drives hither ; in this cafe there muft be fome kinds of that country-wood among it, efpecially oaks ; but none of thefe are ever feen here, except fome fhat- tered fhip-planks. ElUs, who alfo found fome of it between Greenland and Hudfon's-bay, fays, p. 125, 126. that fome people believe Norway to be its nur- fery, but he thinks that the ftrong north-weft winds of thefe regions would obftru6l its voyage hither j the fame as the rapid ftream.s that proceed fouthward out of Davis's-ftraits and Hudfon's-bay, would be in its way from the American coafts. Therefore he proceeds to derive it out of the fouth part of Greenland, and builds his opinion on a mifapprehended account of the reverend Mr. Egede ; who indeed fpeaks of birches and alders, which are as thick as z thigh -y but the drift- wood Chap, 2. Of the Sea and Ice. 39 wood is moftly pines, which never grow here, and are often as big as the mart of a fhip. I will trace this fingular fubjccl: a little further. It is evident that it comes with the ftreani along witkj the ice. This comes from the caft. Where the greateft quantity of that kind of wood which floats, is to be met with growing, from thence it muft come ; and the further it is to be traced, the further off muft its fource be fought. It is found in much greater abundance near Iceland than here. And I fee by an old Dutch fca- chait, there are two wood-bays on the fouth-eaft fide of John May's ifland in the 75th deg. where fo much wood is driven in with the ice that a (hip might be freighted with it. Therefore we muft trace its fource ftill further, either towards the pole or towards the eaft. Now fuppofing there fhould be land under the pole, ftill wood could as little grow there as in Greenland ; therefore it muft come out of Siberia, or Afiatic Tar- tary, where the trees muft be wafhed down the moun- tains by the wild waters that the rains and floods oc- cafion, which carry away whole pieces of land with the large trees on them, and thefe are plunged into the great rivers, and thus carried out to fea. From thence it is driven with the floating ice by the eafterly current towards the pole, and then the northerly current that comes by Spitlberg meets it, and conduits it between Iceland and Greenland to the eaft-fide, round Staten- hook, into D^vis's-ftraits, up to the 65th deg. As the ftream varies there, the wood goes no farther north, and accordingly none is found at Difko nor above it, but the fmall remainder of this wood is driven by a contrary current weftward to America. I have found fomething about this drift-wood here and there in Gmelin's travels through Siberia. The Ruflian veflel that fet out 1735 by the Imperial orders from the river Lena to Kamfhatka, for the difcoverv of a north-e^ft pafiage, met a great quantity of f^ch large floating wood in its wintering haven, and the crew built their houfes of it. In the fecond part, p. 415, the author makes this obfervation concerning^ it. ** On the Ice-fea no woods are to be found vvithiri f* 20p werfts of the fhore, and yet the fhores are co- P ^ vered 40 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. L ^' vered with quantities of wood, which fwims hither •=' from other countries, fo that in many places there ** are vaft heaps of fuch floating wood piled up. It *' confifts of larch and fir-trees." According to the author's account, great heaps of larch, cedar and fir are found on the fea-fhore between the rivers Ob and Jenifei, The frefheft lies clofe to the fhore, and fur- ther on the land lie dry and rotten trunks. No oaks nor beeches indeed grow near the river Tura, that falls into the Ob, nor in moft other places of Siberia, nor yet on the Riphsean mountains that divide Siberia from Ruffia ; but there grow great multitudes of pines, and cfpecially what they call the Siberian cedar, the def- cription of which agrees with the fore-mentioned zirbel, or fragrant fpecies of pine. Nov/ if (according to the fame author) no floating wood is found on the fea- fhore betvyeen the Jenifei and the Lena ; and though great quantities lie on the fhores eaflward of Lena, yet none can come out of the country by means of the rivers, becaufe they are but fmall and fhallow as far as Kolyma ; if this, I fay, be true, then the nurfery of great part of this v/ood muft be traced ftill farther. But this floating wood is alfo found in Kamfhatka, where there are no firs growing, but as the inhabitants report, it is driven thither by an eaflr-wind, and probably from the parts of America which lie oppofite to it *. There- fore fince the motion of the fea, and confequently the mod: and largefl currents "fet from eaft to well:, one might imagine, that, though part of this wood comes out of Siberia through the Ob, yet part may come from the weft parts of America, round Kamfliatka to the Lena, from whence a good deal makes towards the pdle, and fo to Spitzberg and Greenland, § i8. The ftupendous ice-mountains, the no lefs prodi- gious floatin? ice, and the curious circumflance of the drift-wood, being objedls that "may well employ a * Milk/s colleftion of Rufllin Tranfadlions, vol. III. p. 67. Th« natives fi(h up great beams between the illands, and fupport their earthen iioufes with them. thinkinx Ghap. 2. Of the Sea and Ice. 41 thinkina; mind, have betrayed mc into a prolixity, which 1 miift endeavour to compenfate by obferving more brevity on the following fubjeits, which are bet- ter known. The Tide of flood, which gives the ftream its true force, and drives the ice and wood a{hore between the iflands and in the bays, changes here every fix hours with the ebb, as regular as in other places, according to the increafc or decreafe of the moon. The tide flows from fouth to north, and rifes 3 fathom in the fouthj 2 in this latitude, and i at Difko, and then decreafes fo much, that further north it does not rife much a- bove a foot. But at a fpring-tide it rifes here above 3 fathom, that is, at new and full-moon. The wind in- creafes with the flood, provided any wind blows, and 3 days before and after the fpring-tide, efpecially about the equinox, flormy weather is foreboded, but this does not always happen. The variation of the needle of the compafs amounts to about 2 points and a half towards weft. At the upper end of the ftraits in Baf- hn's-bay it is faid to vary 5 points, that is 56 degrees, which is the greateft variation that has been obferved any where. It is remarkable, that the wells or fprings in the land rife and fall in proportion to the wax and wane of the moon and tides. In winter efpecially, when all is covered over with ice and fnow, new, un- known, and brifk fountains of water arife at fpring- tide and difappear again, in places where there is com- monly no water, and which are elevated far above the level of the fea. This land in general is not fo well fupplied with water, as the hilly countries in warmer regions ; and moft of the fprings that prefent us with very clear and wholefom water, have no other fupply than the melted and imbibed fnow- water. Here and there in the vallics are pretty large ponds, which are fed by the ice and fnow diftilling from the mountains. And the falmon elves, or the little ftreams from the hills, are not fo confideraWe as the hill-waters in Switzerland. There cannot w^ell be great rivers in this country. The vallies are not long, for the mountains prefently mount up aloft, and are covered with perpetual ice, which 42 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.I, which melts but littk or not at all, and confequently aifbrds the fprings but a Icanty fupply. Therefore many fprings dry up in fummer, and in winter are ar- refted by the froft in their courfe. Men and beaft^ would then die for thirll, if a wife Providence had not ordered, that in the hardeft winter rain and thaw inter- vene, when the filtrated fnow-water gathers in pools under the ice. CHAP. III. / Of the Air and seasons. § 19. AS this country is covered in mofl places with everlaJling ice and fnow, it is eafy to imagine, that it muft be very cold and raw. In thofe places where the inhabitants enjoy the vifits of the fun, for an hour or two in a day, in winter, the cold is bearable j though even there ftrong liquors will freeze out of the" warm rooms, nay fometimes in them. But where the furi entirely forfakes the horizon, while people are drink- ing tea, the emptied cup, when depofit^d, will freeze to the table. Mr, Paul Egede in his journal of Jan. 7, J 7 38, records the following amazing effects of the cold at Difko : " The ice and hoar-froft reaches thro' *' the chimney to the ftove's mouth, without being " thawed by the fire in the day-time. Over the chim- " ney is an arch of froft with little holes, through " which the fmoke difcharges itfelf. The door and- *' walls are as if they were plaiftered over with froft, *' and, which is fcarce credible, beds are oftei\ froze ^' to the bed-fted. The linen is frozen in the drawers. *' The upper eider-down-bed and the pillows are quite *' ftiff'with froft an inch thick from the breath. The " flefh-barrcls muft be hewn in pieces to get out the " meat ; when it is thawed in fnow-water, and fet " over the fire, the outfide is boiled fufHciently befojc ** the infide can be pierced with d, knife." S l« Chap. 3. Of the Air and Seasons. 43 In Hud.fon's-bay, where Ellis wintered 17,46, in lut. 57, the bay was frozen over on the 8th of October. The ink fro^e by the fire, and the bottled beer, tho* wrapped up in tow, froze in the warm roop. All firong drink's fro^c to ice, and burft the bottl. III. § 4. • : 3. The Chap. I. Of the Sea-Fowl. 8f 3. The fea pheafant, which the Greenlandcrs call agleky is a lefs bird than a duck, grey above and white beneath. 4. Tornauv'tarfuk ; it is very much like the bald- coot, only a broader bill. It is a beautiful black bird, the fize of a little duck; has white fpots upon the body, and red ftreaks upon the head. It is probable it was not known in Norway, becaufe Mr. Egede could give it no name in his Greenland Dictionary. 5. The^/V^r-fowl or black duck, anas p/umismolllj/imif ; It is one of the prettieft and moft profitable birds of the duck-clafs ; its ufefulnefs confifts partly in its flefh, which here moftly fupplies the place of other frelh meat, (yet It is to be obfervcd, that all fea- fowls tafte fifhy, trainy, and unpleafant, though fome more and fome lefs ;) it is very profitable too, on account of its Ikin, of which both the Greenlanders and Europeans make their fineft warmeft under-garments j alfo for the fake of its eggs, which in June and July are gathered in great numbers and eaten. But this fowl is moft ce- lebrated for its valuable eider-down, which is plucked ofF from it in great quantities, after the coarfe feathers are pulled out. Yet this is not worth much, becaufe it is apt to heat by lying, and does not fwell and dif- tend itfelf rightly ; therefore it is called dead-down. The beft is found in their nefts, where the tender mo- ther drops it or plucks it off her own body to provide a foft warm bed for her young brood. But this is mixed with all forts of dirt and dung, from which they cleanfe It on a fort of harp or fieve, making the firings to vi- brate with a ftick, fo that the dirt and what is heavy falls through, and the light down adheres to the ftrings. If their eggs are taken away, as people often do in Iceland, where they take great pains with them, they lay again the fecond and third time, always four eggs, and every time pull off frefh down for the neft. But there are two forts of eider fowls. The Green- landers call the moft common fort mlttek. The hen h^» yellowifh feathers bordered with black, and appears grey at a diftance. The cock is black beneath and white above, has a violet-coloured head and white neck. The other fort they call kingalik, i. e. nafntus. Vol. I. G becaufe 82 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. It. becaufe it has an orange-coloured protuberance like a comb growing between the noftrils upon its bill j but it alfo diftinguifties itfelf from the others by its colour) for the cock is black all but its white wings and fomc white fpots upon its back, and .the hen is browner. They are both larger than a common duckj there are moft of the firft fort. We fee but few of them while they are breeding in fummer, but in winter great flocks of them fly out in the morning from the bays to the ifiands in queft of their food, which is moftly mell-fifh; and in the evening they fly back again to the peaceful harbours for a night's lodging. They never fly over the land, but follow all the meanders of the winding waters. But if a ftrong wind blows, efpecially out of the north, fchey take care to keep under flielter of the land. At fuch times they are fhot from a neck or point of land, and fetched out of the water by the Greenlanders in their kaiaks or little canoes. But thofe that are wound- ed and not killed outright, dive to the bottom, lay hold of the fea-grafs with their beak, and feldom rife any iiior.e *. ; § s. The fecond clafs of fea-fowl with a round pointed bill, and fhorter wings than thofe before-mentioned, affords a greater variety both in fize and ftiape, though irideed as to colour they are almoft all black and white, yet with different mixtures. I will begin with the largeft. I. Tugiek; its colour is like that of aftarc, it is about ^he fize of a turkey, and is a kind of loo. Its feathers are white beneath, and black above fpottcd with white ; Vts neck is green with a white flriped ring, and its bill is ftraight and pointed, four inches long and one inch thick. The length of this fowl from head to 'tail is full two feet, and acrofs the extended wings, it is about five feet. It has very long legs, bending very much backward, goofe's feet, and a very little claw be- hind. It is probable that this is the langivie or Jiorfug- ■ * Very lately was publifiied at Copenhagen Iri %yo. A naturaj bijlory of tbt iititr-fiwi, by Moit Tirane Bndnnkh, in which more is faid of this bifd. ^^- ien Chap. I. Of the Sea-Fowl. 8^ hn of Pontoppidan, of which many pretty things arc obfcrved. 2. T\\ emmer ox pevguin^ called bv the Greenlandcrs efarokitfok (i. e. little wing) and in tlic Orkneys, em- ber-goofe, is not much different from the foregoing, ex- cepting that its wings are fcarcc a fpan long, and plumed with fo few feathers that it cannot fly at all. Its feet ftand fo far behind, and are bent fo far back- ward, that it is hard to conceive how the bird can (land. Therefore the Norwegians think that it is never {qqt\ on fhore only the week before Chriftmas, which for that reafon they call emmer-week, and they alfo ima- gine that the hen does not brood and hatch her two eggs (for fhe is faid never to lay more) on the land, but between her wings and her rump. 3. The Sharf, in Greenlandifh, okeUfok^ that is llt- tle-tongued, becaufe it has fcarce any tongue, and makes no found at all j is fhaped almoft like the pre- ceding, but has a very long bill and legs, and might very well be called the fea-ftork. It is fo voracious, that it will devour an incredible number of fifhes, which it fetches up from a depth of 20 or 30 fathom ; and like the ftork it fwallows them whole, even though they are a foot and half long, nay even flounders that are a foot broad. It never can be fhot but when it is bufy in gorgeing itfelf with thefe morfels. Elfe it is very vigi- lant, and can look well about it with its large promi- nent fiery eyes, which are encompafled with a yellow and red ring. Thefe three forts may moft properly be reckoned to the mergt or cormorant-genus, of which Johnfton counts twelve fpecies in his Hljioria nahiraUs de Av'ibus^ L. IV. Chap. VII. He fays fome of thefe can be tamed, and trained to catch fifh. 4. The lumm^ in Latin colymhus^ in Englifh diver, loo or loon, approaches the neareft to the fea-ftork, but has the longeft wings among all the fhort-winged clafs ; therefore it flies very high, contrary to the man- . ner of the reft. It has a dark-grey head, a light- grey back, and a white belly. The hen lays her eggs ^ear to fome frefh-water pool, and abides fitting in her poft, even when the place is overflowed. This fowl is G 2 here 84 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.It. here called the fummcr-bird, becaufe the natives can- not depend upon a permanent thaw till this harbinger of the fummer makes his appearance. Therefore he muft keep his winter quarters in warmer countries^ like the wild geefe and other fuch fea-fowls, which are fecn here only in rumitiei'. The hoife he makes is like the ducks, from whence it Is probable he got his Green- land name Karfaak. His cry is looked updri as a pre- fage, fometimes of rain and fometimes of fair weathery according as he contrails it fliort, or lengthens it in a chearful tone. 5. The willock, in Latin alca, and In Greenlandifh ahpa *, is as large as a common duck, and has a coal- black back and white belly. They remain in flocks far ofF at fea, and do not approach the land till the moft intenfe cold fets in, and then they enter in fuch vaft numbers, that the waters between the iflands are like as if they were covered with a black cloth ; then the Greenlanders not only kill them with their darts, but drive them in flocks afhore, and catch them with their hands, becaufe they can neither run nor fly much. In February and March the Greenlanders live moftly on thefe birds, at leaft here in the opening of Ball's river, (for thefe fowls do not vifit every where). Their ilefh is the moft nourifhing and tender of all the fea- fowls, and they make molt of their under-garments of their (kins. 6. The fea-pidgeon (in the Greenland language, the bird of the ft ream, becaufe he feeks his food where the ftream is the ftrongeft), is like the willock in almoft every thing, except its being lefs, and having a fine vermilion-coloured bill and feet, which are grey in winter as well as the body. 7. The northern fea-parrot has a beak and claws an inch broad, thin, ornamented with yellow and red ftripes, crooked and fo fharp, that he can mafter his enemy the raven, and draw him down under the water with himfelf. As to the reft it looks like the alk or willock, only it is lefs. £• Vulgarly called a-Kks.'] s. Chap. I. Of the Sea-Fowl. 85 8. There is another fort of fca-parrot, which the Qrceiihinders call kallingak^ it is black all over, and as large as a pidgeon. 9. The akpalUarfuk^ or fca-fparrow, which its beak refemblcs ; in Newfoundland called ice-bird, becaufe it is t^ie harbinger of ice ; is no larger than a fieldfare, but elfe (haped like a willock. 10. The leaft bird is a fca-fnipe, which like the land-fnipe lives on the little white cockles. It might be called an amphibion, for it can (hift for itlelf both by land and water, two of the claws of its feet being joined by a goofe-web, and the third at liberty like a land- bird. §6. Now we come to the third clafs, the birds with long wings and bills. I. The moeve^ in Latin larus^ and in Greenlandifli ravia, our gull or mew. This is the moft known. But this fpecies is again fubdivided into feveral kinds. The Dutch call the firft fort burgomafters, and the other forts fenators, the Norwegians call the firi\i fchwartbak- ker, becaufe their backs are black. It is the fize of a duck. The other forts differ from this partly in the fize, (the fmalleft being no bigger than a pigeon), and partly in the colour, fome being grey, others bluifh, and others almoft entirely white. They have a long fmall bill, rounded in at the tip, with a rifmg almoft: like the barb of a harpoon to ftrengthen and enable them to hold their prey the better. The noftrils, which, are up clofe to the head, are fomewhat long and wide. The wings are very long, with which the bird keeps itfelf hovering in the air, watching for its prey, and as foon as it fpies any thing, it darts down upon it like a hawk. It can alfo dive a little, yet it leldom fettles upon the water, except when it wants to rell itfelf, and can light of no ice nor wood. They mortly hover over the (hallow rocks to catch up the filli that arc walhed upon dry ground by the raging waves. But ^his bird is well known in all maritime countries, and, as far as I can jrecolledl, on the lakes of Switzerlajid. G 3 Johnfton, S6 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. II- Johnfton defcribes eight forts of them, moft of which frequent the rivers. 2. The fifth fort of gulls is called by the Dutch viallemucke ^ i, e. the foolifli fly, becaufe they fall upon a dead whale as eagerly as a fly, and fuffer themfelves to be killed. Indeed all gulls are foolifhly bold, and eafy to be (hot. The Norwegians call this bird havhejl^ fea-horfe *. They feldom approach the land, but fwarm in fo much the greater abundance every day about the fliips even 80 leagues off at fea, to catch up any flefh thrown overboard. If they have eat too much, they throw it up, and eat it again till they are tired. An^ derfon gives an extenfive anatomical defcription of this bird in his account of Greenland, p. 177 — 183. 3. A fixth fort the Norwegians call jo-dieb^ and the Dutch Jhiint-jager f, becaufe he perfecutes the other gulls till (according to the vulgar notion of the failors) they drop their excrements out of fear, which, as they fay, he catches flying, and fo quenches the thirft he has contrafted from eating the fat of the whale. But the truth is, that being himfelf no fwimmer, and only refting on. wood or fea-gr.ifs, he tries to rob the gulls, who are more fkilful fifhers, of their prey, which they are obliged to let fall as foon as they begin to cry out. Therefore he may be juftly called the fea-robber. It often makes di- verfion for the failors in an idle hour. Linnttus defcribes him amply, under the name Labhen^ larus re^^ricihus iri- terjfiedns longijjimis. 4. The tattarct., fo called by the Greenlanders be- caufe their cry has the found of the name. It is our little common gull. It is the mioft beautiful, though the lead of the gulls ; moflly quite white, but on the back fKy-blue. They are birds of pafTage, that fpend the winter in Vv^armer countries, but are fome of our tarlicft vifitants have. They refemble a pigeon the moft, have afhort, crooked, yellow bill, and only three claws on a foot. They follow the courfe that the fmuU herrings fteer, at which time the Greenland boys [* It IS pvobahly what we call boobies.] [+ Probably \vh;it fome of our failors call the vum of war bird, and at NeufoundlanJ the dunj^-fowKj are Chap. I. Of the Sea-Fowls. 87 are very dexterous in catching them with a fnare or hook, with a fifh at the end of it, which is faftened to a faggot of brufli-wood. They make their nefts in flocks together, on the fleepeft precipices of the rocks» and if a perfongoes by underneath, they all take to the wing and make a frightful noife, as if they would, for- footh, terrify him from their borders. 5. The leaft of the clafs of long-winged birds is the Taern, hintndo marina^ in the Greenland tongue /Wr- kotcilak^ i. e. a diver *. It is larger than a fwallow, but its head and long forked tail is very much Jike it. Its colour is whitifli, only it has a black fpot upon the head like a calotte f ; it has an exceffive long fharp bill in proportion to its fize. It is alfo a bird of paflagc. Martens calls it kirmoeve in his defcription of Spitlberg, and has pictured it very prettily, as well as moft of the fea-fowl there. There are fome other forts of birds both in the fouth and north parts of Greenland, that are not feen in this latitude, fo as ours are not feen in fome other parts. Thus further north there is a kind of alks, that are white all over, and much lefs than the black ones. The Greenlanders that live in the extremeft parts of thg north, where there are no European colonies, relate that a fmall bird, which they call akpallit, fhapcd like a pigeon, comes every fummer acrofs the water, pro- bably from America, in fuch numbers that they make the frefli water quite foul. They are fo tame and fa- miliar, that they go into the tents, but the Greenlanders arc afraid to touch them ; becaufe when a bird comes into a tent, they look upon it to be a fign that fome- body will die in that tent. They talk alfo of a fort of penguins in the north, that like quarrelling and biting fo much, that they fall upon the Greenlanders in their Kajaks. [*] Our Newfoundland fallors call it the bojtfwaln's whlftlo, but It, it inoftly called a fca-fwallow. [t] A French word for a black tap, tucb as old men wear under their hats, G4 § 7- 88 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. II. §7. I, myfelf, have feen fuch a multitude and variety of fea fowl, even in this latitude only, that I think it would be one of the moft amufing refearches, hovi', and in u'hat manner they got their food. For my part, I had not fufficient time nor opportunity to learn any thing about it; but I fuppofe the firft clafs, viz. the duck-kind, are not qualified for catching and eating fifh, becaufe of their broad blunt bill ; but the more eafily feed themfelves with fhell-fi{h, fea-grafs, and the little animals fwarming in it. And a perfon brought me a mufcle found undigefted in the crop of an Eider- fowl, that was at leaft as broad again as his beak. Therefore all of the duck- kind, that eat very little or no fmall fifh, and no trainy fat at all, don't tafte fo much of fifh or train as other fea-fowl ; and the Eider- fowl, that feeds moftly on fea-grafs, the leaft of all. The fecond clafs, viz. the Alks, feem to feed moftly on fmall fifh, which they directly bruife with their fharp beak, and then fwallow them whole. Both thefe clafles are furnifhed with fhort wings and tails, that they may be no impediment to them in diving; and fome of them have been obferved to dive more than twenty fathom deep : but thofe of the third clafs, the Sea-mew or Gull-kind, are not equipped for divers, becaufe of their long wings and tails, but fly fo much the better. Thefe probably feed alfo on little fifhes, which they fpy as they fly hovering on the furface of the waters, and efpecially on the fhallow rocks ; and then feize them with their long bill. They keep themfelves up on the water with their wings, that they may be able to dip their head the better; fome indeed dive quite under water for a fhort fpace, and others wrap- ping their wings round their prey, feize it in the water and bear it away. But thefe live moftly on dead whales and feals. Therefore their beak is not only long and fharp, but alfo bent inward, and furnifhed before with a rifing, thatthey may the better cut into the flefh and back off" a piece. Yet I never heard of any among all the Chap. I. Of the Sea Fowl. 89 the multitude of fca-fowl, that followed the occupatioa of birds of prey, in perfecuting and devouring the in- ferior forts of fea- birds. And their element prefervcs thenj pretty fecure from the murderous birds and beafts of the land. Anderfon makes fome pretty obfervations on the manner of their fecuring their eggs and young ones from thofe marauders, (p. 174.) Moft of them lay their eggs on the protuberances or in the clefts of the lieepell rocks, where neither men nor bears nor foxes can reach them; and as they breed in flocks there to- gether, they know how to defend themfelves very valiantly againft the birds of prey, and to condudt their young brood into fafety, fometlmes by creeping into the hollow rock-clefts, and fometimes by carrying them on their backs down to the waters. But were they all fo cautious and wary, the Greenlanders would get no eggs, for they are not fo Ikilful as the Norwe- gians, who let themfelves down the fides of the fleepeft rocks by a rope. Many birds think it fufficient to make their nefts on the fmall iflands and rocks where the foxes cannot come. I^he Eider lays its eggs even on the bare ground, therefore we get the moft of them. In former times the natives could gather a boat full of Eider's eggs in a fhort time, on the iflands of Ball's river; nay they have fcarce known where to fet a foot to avoid treading on them. But it looks as if they were continually diminifliing, and yet there is an aftonifhing number of them ftili. Moft ©f the fea-birds eg-gs are green, yet fome are yellow or grey with black or brown fpots, and all of them are much larger in proportion to the fize of the bird than land-bird's eggs. The fhcll and efpecially the fkin is much tougher, the yolk red- difh, efpecially the gulls quite red ; and the eggs of the laft have a larger white than common, and are bigger than other birds eggs. We may fee a wife providence for the prefcrvation and vaft increafe of fea-fowl in this particular, that the eggs are fecured from the injury of the cold, tho' the bird is frequently off her neft. Moft of them lay but few and fome only two eggs ; yet, ac- cording to the obfervation of the Norwegians, they arc ha,tched in a Ihort time, often in eight days. The redder 90 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IL redder the yolk is, the fatter, but the more difagreeable the eggs taile ; and they will alfo fooner grow rotten, {o that they can feldom be hoarded a montli. CHAP. II. Of the Fishes. § 8. TH E north is the proper rendezvous and refldence of the moft, and moft profitable fiflies. They find fhelter under the ice from the purfuit of thofe forts of whales that live upon them ; becaufe, like a land- animal, the whale cannot go far without drawing frefh breath ; fo that here is their retreat both to breed and^ to fatten. Therefore we find the richeft fifheries and the fatteft fifh in the northern parts, as by Iceland, Lap- land, Norway and the Orkneys, and the further fouth we come the leaner they are. The herring is a fuffi- cient proof of this. But were they to fecret themfelves beneath the ice all the year round, how could they be- come food for the other fhoals of fifties ? and how would they yield the tribute they owe to man, who is appointed to be lord over the fiflies of the fea ? Therefore the wifdora and care of the Creator has fo regulated the go- vernment of the deep, that the lefler fry, efpecially the herrings, which is unqueftionably the moft numerous tribe, are driven forth out of their inacceifible retreat in innumerable flioals like fwarms of bees ; tho' one can- not aflign with certainty the proper caufe of it, whether it be becaufe of their over-grown number which obliges them to tranfplant fome colonies, or that provifions fall fhort, or from an inftin£t to bed their fpawn in warmer climates, or only to feek the food of the feafon. As they advance, they are chafed by the cod, mackerel, and other ravenous fifti ; and all thefe again are fo followed and frighted by the feals and whales, that they are neceflltated to betake themfelves for fafety to the Ihalloweft fand-banks, bays and havens of the coaft, partly to fpawn, and partly to efcape the whale, that I dare '■' % Chap. 2. Of the Fishes. gi dare not venture into fhallow places. But even by this they run into the hands of the inhabitants of the country, vi^ho ufc them for food, and perhaps often for their only- food; and not only fo, but by the fale of them are put in a capacity of procuring for themfelves thofe neceflaries, vv^hich the unfruitfulnefs of their own land denies them, out of other countries where fifli are wanted ; whereby they often enjoy them in greater abundance than the countries they are fetched from. It is amazing to hear of the great fums that the herring-fifhery brings in to fo fmall a fpot as Holland, and the ftock-fifh and other fifheries into Norway, which is otherwife noted for its poverty. But it is ftill more amazing, (tho' it makes the vaft fums more comprehenfible) to read, thac~in Norway, which is not the richeft land either in the ftock-fifh or herring fifhery, there are (hipped off many a year, only from the town of Bergen, fix hundred tun of fait cod and ftock-fifh, befides many fhip loads of cod's rows ; that frequently more than forty quarter cafks of anchovies are drawn in one net and at one draught. The bifhop of Bergen, Pontoppidan, writes fomething more furprizing ftill, (*) and which, as he fays, would not be credited, if the whole city did not atteft it, viz. that in the fpace of a couple of leagues two or three hun- dred fifhing boats croud together, and with one caft will bring in fo many herrings as will fill ten thoufand quarter cafks. In this light our fhort-figh ted minds might be afraid left fome fpecies of fifh, which are caught in fuch aftonifhing quantities ; and are, perhaps, devoured in ftill greater by other fifhes j fhould at laft be quite ex- tirpated : for fome fort of whales fwallow herrings by barrels full. Dr. Niels Horrebow (in the ^^th Chap, of his Natural Hilary of Iceland) fays, that there was found in a whale, that was once ftranded in the purfuit of cod, fix hundred living cods, befides many herrings and fome birds. But even the meafures taken to fup- ply this vaft confumption, difplay the incomprehenfible wifdom and care of God for the prefervation and main- tenance of all, even the meanefl of his creatures j fcu" • See hii Natural Hijlorj, VoU II. Chap, 6, p. 277. tho 92 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IT, the fiflies that are the moft ravenous multiply the leaft, and the innocent creatures that muft ferve for the food of others, increafe more abundantly, according to the degree of their ufefulnefs and confumption. Accord- ingly it is faid that ten thoufand Peafe or femina have been found in the rovir of a fingle herring. I have taken notice of the Greenland capelin, that they dq not lay their fpawn in the fea, but croud over one gnother feveral fathom high upon the rocks, vi^here they can lodge it on the ftones or fea-grafs in fecurity from their enemies. There it adheres faft, till by the moderate warmth of the fun, and the gentle wafhing of the waves the fifh is hatched and bred. By crouding thus into the bays, they come to our doors as it were, and offer themfelves for food to us ; and at fuch times they are fo unconcerned for their fafety, that though you take out many from amongft them, the vacant fpace is filled up again in an inftant. And as the fifhes >y are pretty large and fat j the falmon is more rare, an-l only in fome places, neither is it fo large and fat as in "Norway and other countries. The Greenlanders catch thefe fifti with their hands under the ftones, or they p/>rcc them with a prong. At the feafon wheii the falmtn come 94 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. II, come up out of the fea into the rivers, the Greenlanders build a ftone wear or dam at the mouth of the river ; at length the falmon afcend with the flood, and fwim over it, but if they ftay a little too long the water falls a/id leaves them upon dry ground. The Europeans moftly catch them with nets in the pools, but they muft always have the afliftance of a Greenlander with his kaiak to lift up the net from its entanglement between the ftones. § 10. In the fea there muft needs be a great ftore and variety of fifhes, becaufe a great number is required to maintain the feals and whales ; but even thefe foes of theirs prevent our feeing many or many forts. Some forts are extirpated where many feals frequent, and others ftielter themfelves in the depths of the ocean far from land, out of the reach of the feal, who is obliged often to draw breath. The proper herring, that ferves .for the food of fo many profitable fifhes, does alfo iiot come into this latitude ; and this, as well as the want of ihallow bottom and fand-banks, and perhaps want of feveral fea-plants, may be the reafon that many numerous fpecies of fifh, well known in Noiway, are tjuite unknown here. The Greenlanders have their moft conmon food from their Angmarfet or fmall herring, a k-'nd of Lodden, * called by the Newfoundland men Capelin, near half a foot long. Their back is dark green, and their belly iilver white. Their back is iroad, and on that account furniOied with fubtil cro^-bones ; they have no per- ceivable fcales, and thc^'fore can only be ranked to the clafs of herrings as ^^ as thev refemble them, and like the herrings, fwin^ i^^to the bays in fuch quantities to lodge their fpaw* on the rocks, that the fea looks black, and ruffled or -urled. They make their firft appearance * If it bp '■™c t^3^ ^^^ lodden In Norway have fuch a hateful ftink, that one canno eat even the goats that feed on them, and that they drive all the other fi'^ f'"0'^ them, as Mr. Peter Dafs writes in his Poetical Deftripticn of the^'^'>'^f^ > ^en t^ie Angmarfet cannot be called lodden. It is true they havp" ftrong fmell ,when they are dry, but they don't ftink ; much lefs do th-7 give our mutton » bad talte. They lecm W appreach the neareft to the ArKpiHrfgetit in Chap. 2. Of the Fishes.' 95 in March or April, and the common gull is their be- trayer. They Ipawn in May and June, and this is the Grecnlanders harveft, when they lade out whole boats full in a few hours with a hoop-fieve knit with fmews ; they dry them on the rocks in the open air, and then pack them up in great leathern facks and caft- off clothes, and fo lay them by for winter as their daily bread. Some few of the large fort of herrings are taken in the fouth, which are probably fome wanderers that have ftrayed from the great {hoal that drives out of the Ice-fca by Iceland towards America. Whoever reads the agreeable, and learned, obfervations in Anderfoni Account of Iceland, and in the 77th number of the well- Icnown (German) weekly piece called the Phyfician^ will find how this wond'rous hoft of herrings divides itfelf into two large flioals in the fouthern parts of the north-eaft and weft-fea; the weft divifion fteers its courfe to the right towards America, and the eaft divifion in its feveral branches fills the feveral coafts of Norway, Jutland, Scotland, Ireland, and efpecially Shetland, where they yield the Dutch buffes a rich booty. Next to angmarfet, the Greenlanders eat rtloft of the \J\k.QS^ fcorpius marinus, what we call Toad fifh, or in Newfoundland Scolping ; it lives all the year round in the little and large bays near the land, yet in deep water! It is caught, efpecially in winter, by pdor wo- nien and children with a line of whale-bone or birds feathers thirty or forty fathom long, at the end a blue longifh ftone is fattened to fmk it ; inftead of a bait, they put on the hook a white bone, a glafs bead, ot a bit of red cloth. The fifh is commonly a foot long and full of bones. The fkin is quite fmooth, and Ipotted with yellow, green, red and black fpots like a lizard. It has a very large thick round head, and a wide mouth, and its fins, efpecially on its back, are broad and prickly. Though this iifli hath a very ugly look, yet its flefh, and the foop that is made of it, taftes •extreamly agreeable, and is very wholefom, and thie fick may eat it. There is a pretty great pl'enty and variety of Cod- fifli, but moft of them are fmall and lean. The reader may 96 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IT. fiiay fee in Anderfon*s account of Iceland, p. 8i. how thefe and the Kabbelau, a particular fort of cod, which is caught alfo here, though not in great plenty, are faked and dryed in the air in Iceland and Norway in different ways, (which diftinguifhthem by the names of rock-fifh, hung-fifli, flat-fifh, round-fifli and red fifli) ; thefe are all exported under the common name of Jiock-Jijh. A long thin fifh like a herring is found in the belly of the Kabbelau, which is probably the fame as the fand-herring in Iceland. The Red-fifti derives its name from the red colour of its fcales, and this, and the right falmon are the only fcaly fi{hes known here. In other refpe6ls 'tis like a carp, only its fins are large and prickly. They are fat and fine tafted, but are feldom to be got. There are no mackrel nor horn-fifh feen here. But in April and May the Nepifets or cat-fifh, or red-^ lump, draw near to the land to fpawn ; (called Rogen- kall by the Danes, from their vafl row, they alfo call them Sea-cats) then the Greenlanders take the oppor- tunity to catch them in great quantities with prongs as they do the falmon. There are none to be feen at other times, but they browfe on the fea grafs iii the deep. This fifh is about a foot long, and very broad and thick. It is not clad in a proper fifh fkin, but a thick tough callous rind, befet with fharp knobs. The flefh fhines reddifh through the dark grey hide, and when it is quite fat It has a greenifh cafl. It has five rows of corneous protuberances on its back, its belly and each fide. It has a broad head, and its two great eyes make it look like a cat or an owl. On its breafl jufl under its head, it has a foft flefhy fpot as big as a half- crown, by means of which it can cling fo fafl to a ftone that it is with difficulty it can be difTevered. Its flefh is white, but fo foft and fat, that a perfon is foon fated with it. Yet the flomach will bear it better if it is dryed in the air. The Greenlanders like it very much, as they do all fifh-fat. They eat the row boiled like a millet pulp, and the row is the greatefl part of the fifh. The Stone-biter is an uncommon fifh, almofl tw« feet long. It is called by the Greenlanders Kigutilik, 5 '' '' thap. 2. Of the Fishes. ^7 i. e. dentatus, bccaufc not only his jaws are full of teeth like other fifh, but his whole mouth above and below ; they are fharp bony teeth that are more like thofe of a dog than a fifti, with thefc they mark what they fcize without any reprieve. Horrebow calls it lupus marinus or pike, others the fea-ferpent. It has a round ill-favoured head ; like the eel it runs {lender or fharp behind, and is grey and flippery. It has a fin above and beneath, which reaches almoft the whole length of the body. It lives on mufcles, fea-urchins and fhrimps. Its flefli refembles bacon, but is feldom. eaten by the GreenlanJers, and never frefh, but dried in the wind. There is another kind o^ thefe fifties which they never eat ; it is quite flender like an eel, only it dif- fers from it by a long fin at its tail. II. Thefe feas alfo yield great and little flounders, which' however are feldom caught. But at certain feafons the Greenlanders catch a great many Halibuts (in La- tin hippoglojfus) whereiri they make ufe of a great fifti-hook, faftened to a whale-bone or feal-gut thorig, from one hundred to one hundred and fifty fathom iong. The largeft are a yard and half or two yards long, about half fo broad, and a full fpan thick. They weigh from one to two hundred pound and more. They are faid to be fo large in Norway, that one of them faked, will fill Upwards of a quarter cafic. They tave a fmooth fkin, white beneath and fpotted dafk- brown above. Both their eyes are on the upper fide, larger than an ox's eye, and encircled with a fkin, which' they can Aide Over their eye like an eye-lid ; their mouth is not large, it is planted with a double row both above ahd beneath of (harp teeth bent inward. In the throat there are two uvulce furniflied \\*ith points, and the fame are found in the rrtouth. There is a little 6n clofe to the fifli's head above and tindef, and it is lined with a fin on each fide from head 1:6 tail. They live moftly on crabs, and therefore chiefly refide in th? depth, of the ocean. One would think that this pon- derous fifti muft always grovel at the bottom of the fea. Vol. f, H aiii 98 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. II. and muft be a heavy fwimmer, on account of his broad fiat form, and fcanty fins, as Anderfon obferves in his account of Iceland. But the fifhers aflured me, that as foon as it is pricked with the hook, it fkips up (boner than they can draw up the line, and when it fpies its enemy, it darts afide with fuch velocity that the fri61:ion of the line frets their hands raw. It has coarfe lean flefh, yet it is white and well tafted, and is enriched ivith a good deal of delicate fat, and efpeciqlly under the fins. They cut rqf out of this fat, that is fmoak- dried and well-known in the northern countries ; and they cut the lean into long flips, which are dried in the air and are eat raw, and this they call reh/. The reft is falted and laid by for a winter-difh. But the Green- landers cut it all into fmall flips, and dry it in the fun. It is probable the halibuts are among the rovers who purfue their fuftenance from one place to another. In ibme places there are none at all, as in Fifher's-bay. At Goodhope fome are caught in May, but the moft in July and Auguft, yet never between land, but in the open fea. Further north by Zukkertop they are not caught till Auguft and September. In this laft place there is alfo a fmaller fort of halibuts that are only half as large. § 12. Now we come to the fifties that have no blood. Some of thefe are houfed in fliells either foft or hard, as the crab, the periwinkle, &c. or they are quite foft and flimy, Firft, round pouch-crabs are plenty here (pagurus) they are of the ftiape of fpiders, and have eight long legs and two pincher-claws. Their eyes are like horn, they are fixed, tranfparent, and projecting far beyond the head. Inftead of teeth they have two broad white bones, with which they cut their meat to pieces like a pair of fciftars. They have no tail. Their flefli has fomewhat of a putrid tafte, and it is thought they live moftly on dead feals and fowls. There are no common river craw-fifli nor lobfl:ers in this country. There are plenty of little ftirimps in the fea-grafs, but when they grow big, they retire from the borders of I the Chap. 2. Of the Fishes. 99 the land to the bottom of the fca, and furnifti a repaft for the feal. Here is alfo the fea-urchin, echinus marinus^ defended ■with fharp prickles all over ; alfo the ftar-fifti, fome with five and fome with fix fpikts. Both of them have their mouths under, and the anus above. The flar-fifh is furnifhed beneath with innumerable fuch little horns for feeling as the fiiails have. But the defcription of thcfe two wonderful creatures would be too extcnfive for this place. It may be (ccn in Pontoppidan's Natu- ral H'ljiory of Norway, vol. ii. chap. 7. The places between the rocks, where there is a good deal of the fea-weed, hang full of blue mufcles, that are pretty large and good to eat. They find pearls iu them fomctimes as big as a grain of millet. There are no proper oyfters here, only two fpecies of oyfter-mufcles that are not eatable. One of them has deep furrows length-ways, and is blifteredj the other is fmooth and marbled, yet fo that ftripes may be {^.tn running breadth-ways. Here are alfo fome ftriated fhell-fifh like fcollops or cockles, (pe6lines) whofe flefh is white and pleafant tafted ; here is alfo a long oval mufcle the fize of a duck -egg ; alfo a fort of white fhell- fifh, fhaped like a horfe-bean ; again a fhell-fifh fhaped like a finger, called the folen-fhell (daSlylos) ; alfo lim- pets, (patella) which have but one fine marbled fhell that flicks to the rock. This might be reckoned to the clafs of fnails becaufe of its fenfitive horns. Finally there is a very little fhell-fifh of this clafs no bigger than a coffee-berry, of a blue colour, and flriated or ribbed length-ways and breadth-ways. One finds fome- times on the rocks fmall pieces of a large fhell-fifh, which is like the pearl-fifh, according to the defcrip- tion of the Greenlandcrs j but I never got one of them. Here are multitudes of periwinkles of all colours, but they are very fmall, no bigger than a pea, they cling to the rocks in the fea, and have a cover which they draw clofe when they fall in the water, or when one takes them up. There is fometimes, though feldom, a very fmall long wrinkle feen, called in Latin turboy which ife^^ajpecies of fpiral fhells. But there are the H 2 moft ICO HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. It rnio'ft of the barnacle kind, (balanusmarhius). Wherever thele cement themfelves, they adhere fo faft either to the rock, fea-weed, mufcles, crabbs, or even the whale, that they cannot be feparated without being broke to pieces. This fnail is white, fhinmg and rib- bed, or ftriped length- v/ays. It is commonly the fize of ^ wallnut, and open above ; but it has two moveable covers, through the crevices of which it imbibes the fea-water, which is its fole nourishment. When it lies out of the water in the fun, it puts forth two horns plumed with numberlefs little feathers. They fettle in great numbers on the keel of a fhip j hence fome, that jiever faw them in. their own country, are of opinion, that the wood-worms that eat through the fhip proceed from thefe fhell.. I found on an old blue mufcle, befides the barnacle, a number of fmaller wrinkles of the fame fliape as am- monitte^ theh-fize from amuftard-feed to a lentil j when I examined further with a magnifying glafs, I found that what appeared to man's fhort fight like filthy fcurf disfiguring the mufcle, was innumerable little fnai'ls ; nay they had feated themfelves even on thofe little fnake-ftones or ferpent-fhells. The rife and growth of thefe Ihell-fifh is inconceivable, for they attach themfelves fo firmly to the ftones, efpecially the barnacles, that we may lift a great ftone by them. They fay that in fpring and autumn they fometimes fee a cer- tain matter floating in the water like fand, which at lafl fettles on the rocks, an J they injagine this to be the fpawn of the fhell'-fifh *. § 13- There are befides many forts of lefier infefls of the crab and fhrimp kindy which are like worms or mag- gots. I faw one that was (haped like a caterpiller, and liuck to the rock. It cuts a fine figure with its eight jointed marbled (hrimp-fhells. The jea-hugg hath feven yellow marbled fhells, to each of which a foot is fixed. The tail is compofed of fix lefler fliells and two little claws to hold fait with. * D. Kalm'* Vojagt tt Iftrsb Amsrica, p. in. It Chap. 2. Of the Fishes. loi JjL has a head like a beetle. This little creature, only the length and breadth of the joint of a finger, tortures the fifhes, nay even the whale, to fuch a degree, that they leap above the water as if they were mad. I faw none of the xvbalc-loufc, but it is a triangular infecl, has fix fhells and feet of the form of a fickle, and by thofc, and the four horns branching out from its mouth, it cuts its way into the fkin of the v.'hale, and efpecially under the fins and on its lips, and works out fuch pieces that the fkin looks as if it was pecked by birds. It is probable th^t many other kinds of uncommon infefts may have their abode in the deep, as for inftance^ once fome people drew up one with a fifh-hook like a ringlet of ftraw or a caterpillar when rolled up, with numberlefs feet, and another time one fhaped like an ox's heart. I faw no quite naked, flabby, flimy fea-infedts, only once the fepiay cuttle or ink-fifh ; and that was fuch an ugly creature that I threw it away again directly. It v'as about a fpan long and two fingers thick. Its body looked like an open purfc, v/hich it can, very likely, draw clofe and hide its head in. This fame head is the moft wonderful part of the whole fifh ; for befides the peculiarity of its two great eyes, it has a mouth like the beak of a bird, clofe to which there are eight long crooked horns fixed, the two middlemoft are as long at leaft as a finger, and the others half fo long, and all provided with little teeth or globulets. Thefe horns, as well as the body, are only a vifcid or flimy thing, of an afh grey colour, and half tranfparent. The coal-bhck liquor, like inkj (from which it has its name) fhincs through its belly; this liquor is the means of its efcape when it is purfued by the rapacious fiflies that are pecu- liarly eager after it ; for when it emits this liquid, it difFufes fuch a darknefs through the water, that the perfecutors are confounded, and drop the purfuit. This juice burns like fire on a man's hand, Ic is pro- bable that this fifh can metamorphofe itfclf into fevcral fhapes by virtue of its vifcous nature; and in the fpring I myfelf obferved that a parcel of fuch little creatures, yvhich the retreat of the tide had left upon a muddy H 3 ftr;iii 102 HISTORY CF GREENLAND. B.II. ftrand, and which I took to be the young brood of the cuttle, were fometimes round and fometimes long, and as foon as they came into the water they ftretched out their horns, and I could fee them move their lono; tails very faft, and alfo the fins refembling feet on each fide of their head, which they drew -in again as foon as they came on dry land. We often fee a white flime fwimming on the fea, which is fometimes round, fometimes long, and fome- times of a ferpentine form. This is called the whale's food^ and it is believed that the whale, that is properly called the Greenland whale, lives folely upon this, and fome very fmall worms, that look like flies and fnails, but only they are foft. The tnancete, fea-Iungs, or fea-nettle (fo called becaufe it is venomous and burns like fire) is of the fame kind, only larger, like a fmall plate. But I faw none of it here. Thefe vifcous fub- llances are living creatures too, that imbibe their ali- ment from the fea, and transform themfelves into va- riety of fhapes. One of this kind that I examined more clofely, was in the water the fize of an Englifh {bil- ling, of a white colour and tranfparent. In the hand it liquified like a foft jelly, and there appeared eight bright red rays darting from the centre on every fide ; when it was lifted up, it had the figure of a round hollow cap, whofe odtangular feams were bound with red. They are commonly reckoned among the zoophytes y or bodies intermediate between the animal and vegetable nature, or that groAV like a plant, and alfo imbibe nu- triment like an animal ; only the zoophytes do not fwim, but fix themfelves on a ftone or the fea-weed. I faw an uncommon tender body formed like a myrtle or fir, with many branches interwoven among each other j and I found another among a parcel of barnacles (haped like a pine-apple, as long as my nail, and one growing out of another like Indian figs ; both thefe forts were as white as fnow. They would be taken for a mere plant, if the bowels of an animal did not appear when thCy are ciuflieti. h\ ftormy weather the fea throws out a kind of nell, the bignefs of an apple, adhering to the fea-wced. It ii compuihd i:)fa multitude of light- yellow, half tranf- parent Chap. 2. Of the Fishes. 103 parent infetfls, which look like a firing of pearls wrap- ped together, or like the grains of Indian corn or maize. Thus there is a gradation in all nature's produ<5tions. There are herbs that fcem to have life, as the fenfitive plant, and there are livirig creatures that feem to be as inanimate as the plants, of which the zoophytes are an inftance. The creation advances gradually, one crea- . ture always more perfect than another, till at laft they are not much inferior to man. Profeflor Sulzer, in Berlin, has many curious thoughts on this matter in a piece of his, the title of which I have forgot. This gradation is plainly to be traced among the creatures of the fea, from the zoophytes and mufcles that have no voluntary motion, to fuch as rcfemble in all rcfpccfts a land-beaft more than a fifli. § H- There are two forts of creatures in the fea that arff like fifh internally and externally, but in one thing they have the property of land-animals, viz. they have no row, but bring forth their living young ones. The firft: is the Shark (canis ?narmuSf canis carcha- rlas). This fifh may with propriety be called the Sea-doo; becaufe it is fuch a devourer. There are va- rious forts, as of dogs. Some are only a couple of feet long, others 8 or 10 fathom, and from ten hundred to a tun weight. Some people think that this was the fifh that fvvallowed the prophet 'Jonas^ and his wide throat might render him fitter for it than the whale ; and they report that in theMediterranean-fea a man harnefled was once found in fuch a fifh. But I did not find the Greenland fharks fo wide-mouthed, at leafl not that which I faw them flrike with a harpoon near the fhore at the herring fifhery. This I will de- fcribe. It was between two and three fathom long. It had two fins on the back, and fix under its belly. The tail was forked, and one end of it longer than the other. It was of a grey colour, but appeared as white as filver in the water. The fkin is very rough, as if it was covered with coarfe prickly grains of fand j and it is ufed for H 4 rafping J04 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. II rafping and polifhing wood. On the head, which is two feet long and pointed before, though not very fliarp, the iirft thing one obferves is two great noftrils underneath. Its mouth is a foot broad, it is not fitii- ated in the fnout or trunk befpre, as that of other fifhes is, but a full fpan frpm its extremity underneath ; it reaches acrpfs the head and is a little curved. This hinders or fruftratcs the greedy jaws of this fifli from many a morfel, for while he is turning upon his back, in which pofition he feizes his prey, the fifli gains time to efcape. In the upper jaw there are ranged from four to fix rows of little round fharp teeth, like the teeth of a p;ke, arid in the gums more are found bud- ding. " In the nether jaw are 2 ranks of 52 large fharp teeth bending a little inwards, half towards the left and half towards the right, fo that they are like a double- tooth'd faw ; they may be taken afunder, and the Grecnlanders, formerly, made them ferve inflead of iron faws. The Shark's eye is larger than an ox's, and the ears are behind jt, but have no flaps. 'I'his fifh has not the lead hope j the cjijne and the fkull are no'thmg but a foft griftle, which one may bruife v/ith his hails; jielther has it any joints, but large cavities filled with liquid fat. It has two kinds of flefh, one is of the fifh kindy J)ut fo foft that it may be difTolved by rubbing in the hand like foap, and worked to a froth ; the other is of the beaft-kind, which is red, and runs in fmall fillets along the |ldes. But the bacon (if I may call it {o) under the fkin is very tough ancl a finger thick. In Norway and Iceland the flefh is cut in long flices, and dried in the air and fo eaten. But the Green- landers don't efteem it much, and never eat it till it is withered and half rotten, or as they call it, mikkiak. The Grecnlanders difpatched the diffeQlion of this crea- ture fo haftily, that I could make no right obfervation of any part of the entrails but the liver ; this runs the whole length of the belly, like two long flakes of a fpan-broad, and it js almoft all train oil ; and they fay there is enough to fill two barrels or thereabout, ac- (f:ording to the fize of the fifli. It generally brings forth four voun? at a time. When it is hav/lcd upon the; • • ' deck Chap. 2. Of the Fishes. 105 deck of a fhip, it beats fo violently with its tail, that it is attended with danger, and they difpatch it as fooii as poflible. The pieces that are cut off fhew fomc figns of life for fome hours after, nay if they arc ftrijck or trod upon three days after, one can obferve a motion. The angling-line muft be an iron-chain, or elfe it would bite it through. ' The Green landers ftrike it with a harpoon. It likes to faften on a dead whale and fuck out the fat, at which times the whale-fifhers pierce it through with a crooked knife fafteiied to the end of a pole, and then take out the liver. This fifh is very greedy of human flefh, and follows the (hips in hopes of lighting on a d§ad corpfe. It is ^Jfo faid, that it has frequently fevered ^t a bite, aii arm or leg of a failor that h^s ^een fwimming. There is another fort of fifh that has the fame pro- perty of a beaft, which the Greenlanders call takkalikki" fqk.^ but is caught only in the fouth, and 'tis very likely the well known ray (raia). This fifh i? of the fame fhape as the halibut, a yard and quarter long,' and a yard broad ; but it has alfo a flender tail a yard long, under which it has two fmall fins, and thefe are all the proper fins it has on its whole body. The back is grey, planted with many {harp prjckles, and the belly white and fmooih; The mouth is in the fame pofition as the fhark's, a fpan underneath, running acrofs. The eyes are exaiflly Over the mouth, which it can tura round, and, which is peculiar, can turn them inwards, fo that it then fees through the opening of its mouth all that pafles at the bottom underneath. It hai no bones neither. The vertebres of the back, which are a foot broad, are a cartilage or griftle, and on botli fides of it are cartilaginous fins, a foot and half long, iaftened with many joints, and grown over with flefh. With tiiefe it f)aps up and down in fwimming, like a bird with its wings, The flefh is well tafted- It brings forth living young like the fhark. Befides thefe, there is a fort of fifhes caught in the fouth that are roofed with a thick (hell like the tortoife, and furnifhed with claws and a tail. There is another ' ' kin4 io6 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. II, Icind of fifli that has a large head and eyes like an owl, the Greenlanders call theni ingminnifet^ becaufe they- growl when they dive down. C H A P. III. Of.OT^ER singular SEA-ANIMAJttS. WE now come to thofe creatures in the fea^ which manifeftly diiFer from other fifties, though ra- ther in the internal compofition of their parts, than in the fize and external form ; for the feal is lefs than the ihark, and the whale is fhaped like another fifti ; but they have warm blood, cannot continue long undej wa- ter, becaufe they have lungs and muft draw breath; and they alfo bring forth living young ones, and nou- rifti them as the beafts do. Their^ bones and fins al- fo are not like thofe of other fifties, but their fins arc formed of bones like thofe of beafts, and covered with nerves, fiefti, fat and flcin like theirs. The tail lies not perpendicular like that of other fifties, but hori- zontally on the water. The flefli is red and full of blood, 'tis covered with a layer of fat from a couple of inches to two foot thick, and this again is covered with a tough thick flcin, or a hairy hide. All this con- tributes to facilitate their fwimming, and to maintain the vital warmth which they need fo much in this fri- gid ocean ; for 'tis probable they very feldom ftray from this into other feas, and if they do, 'tis in the purfuit of fifti or in a ftorm. Moft of thefe creatures are ftiap- cd like a fifti, for inftance, all of the whale-genus, great and fmall, but fome, as the feals, are furniftied with feet and hair, and may be reckoned among the amphibious creatures. § 16. The forts or fpecies of Whales are fo many, and zrt fo widely difperfed in the vaft ocean all over the world, that Chap. 3- Op PARTICULAR. Sea-Anima;,s. 107 that as far as I know, they could never be all ranged and defcribed according to their proper claflcs. There are feme that reckon 24 different forts only in the north feas. Their number is fo great there, that, according to the teftimony of Pontoppidan, * the fea on the coa(t of Norway, from Stavanger to Dronthcim, that is 180 leagues, looks like a great city with its chimneys fmoaking, as we may imagine of the fteams, afcend- ing aloft from the noftrils of fo many thoufand whales which hunt the fifties towards the land. Some have their mouths fenced with beards, others with teeth ; fome have fins upon their back, others have none ; fome have their heads armed before with a tufk or horn, and fome have other peculiarities, as a long fnout with noftrils, &c. but thefe laft are rarely feen. I fhall fol- low the curious and attentive Anderfon in my divifion and defcription of them. Among thofe that have a fmooth back and whiflcers about their mouths, nay among all fpecies of whales, the chief is : I. That which is properly called the Greenland Whale, by the Englifh failors the blaci?;- whale, for whofe fake fo many ftiips are fitted out. This I will defcribe from Marten's voyage to Spitftjerg, and 'Zorg- dragers Greenland fijhery. f In our age we find this fifh only from 50 to 80 feet long, though formerly they were above 100 nay 200 feet in length, when they were not caught in fuch multitudes, but had time to grow to the full ; not to mention thofe that Pliny re- ports to have been 960 feet long. The head is a third part of the length of the body ; it has no fins upon the back, and the two only fins it has, which are fituated in the nether part of the head on each fide, are only from 5 to 8 foot long ; yet with thefe it can row along very faft. The tail is 3 or 4 fathom broad, and at both ends it turns upwards with a curve ; it can ftrike fo vi- olently with it, that it dafhes the ftrongeft boat in pie- * Part. II. Chap. 5. p. 226. "f Here I muft obferve, that though I faw many whales in the fea, yet I had no opportunity to ex:iminc near at hand any but that fpecies of whales, called the white-fifli, and theporpus^ and therefore I can only re- late in brlfif what otaerii Lave fcen. ce8. ?o8 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. 11. ces. Yet it never begins an attack, becaufe 'tis timid and flies at the leaft alarm. The fkin is fmooth, com- monly black like velvet above and white beneath, though in fome places, and efpecially on the fins and tail, 'tis marbled v/ith all forts of colours. Upon his head is a bunch, in which are two noftrils or apertures ; through thefe he breaths, and alfo fpouts out the water with a loud noife, and efpecially when he is wounded, fo that it refembles a boifterous wind which can be heard above a league. His eyes are fxtuated between his noftrils and fins, they are not larger than an ox's, and are provided with eyelids. He has no flaps to his ears, but on removing the outermoft fcalp on the head, there appear two little apertures behind the eyes, through which the failors extract a bone that is faid to help man's hearing, and they call it the whale's trum- pet. He has no teeth in his mouth, but inftead of it he has in his upper jaw, which is fix yards long, the barders, blades, or whifkers, as people call them, of which they make the Whale-bone. There are com- monly 350 pieces on each fide, but of thefe 700 only 500 are taken, which have the due meafure. Some £{hes that are full grown are faid to have a thoufand or upwards of great and fmall barders. They hang like the pipes of an organ, the leaft before and behind, and the longeft in the middle ; thefe laft ^re full two fathom long. They fink into the under-jaw, which is a little hollow, like as intoa fheath. They are fhaped like afcythe ; where they are contiguous with the gums they are a foot broad, but run fharper towards the end, and the middle is thinner than the outfide. They are furrounded with long hair like horfe hair, that they may not hurt the tongue, and that the food which the fifn fupg in with a good deal of water, may not wafli out again. The tongue is compofed of nothing but a foft fungous fat like bacon, which will fill from 5 to 7 large barrels. Commonly they bring forth only one young one at a time, yet fometimes two. When they are pnrfued, they wrap them up in their fins clofe to their tody. They have properly two fkins, the inner an inch thick, the outer as thin as parchment. Un- . der Chap. 3. Of particular Sea-AnimaL3. 109 der thefe lies the fat from 6 to 12 inches thick, and about the under-lip 'tis 2 foot thick. They can fill from 100 to 200 barrels with it, fome fay 300, accord- ing to the fize of the fifh. The flcfh is coarfe, and is faid to talte like beef. The Greenlanders like to eat it, efpecially about the tail, which is not fo hard, but is mixed with many fmews, of which they make their thread. Even the Icelanders like to eat it, when it has been foaked in their yjr^, or four whey. Horrebow fays, that 'tis only the flefh of the whales that have teeth, and consequently eat fifh, that is too rank and fifhy to eat. The bones are hard, and on the infide full of holes like a honeycomb, which are filled with train. One would think that this enormous beaft would re- quire a great many large fifhes for his food ; but his fwallow is fcarce four inches broad, and therefore his diet, is the fo called whale's food, which I defcribed before ; the fifh fups it up by a ftrong fu6lion ; a good deal of water flows in with it, but that is feparated by the whifkers, or blown out again at his noftrils. As far as we know, this is all that feeds and fattens him. This whale's-food is found in the greatefl quantity be- tween Spitzberg, Nova Zembla, John May's Ifland, and Greenland, and in thofe places it floats in fuch abundance, that the creeks are crouded with it as ditch- water is with infeds. Therefore this fifh rarely emi- grates far from thefe parts j but here they are in fuch numbers, that there have often been feen 300 or 350 fhips of different nations, each fhip with from 5 to 7 long-boats, in the compafs of two degrees from the 77th to the 79th. Thefe fhips fometimes catch from 1 800 to 2000 fifh in two months time, without reckon- ing the wounded ones that get away. The ifland-whale, as Zorgdrager calls one fort, was very tame in the begin- ning, but I'uch a vafl: number of fhips, which with their boats look like a great fleet, made them at lafl fo Ihy, that they firfl fled from the creeks into the open fea, then took refuge among the floating ice, and when their perfecutors found means to follow them there too, they retired flill further, perhaps nearer the pole, and arc lofl. 2. The 110 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.tl. 2. The north-caper derives his name from the moft northern promontory in Norway, North-cape, where they refort in thegreateft numbers. It is like the pro- per whale in all refpe^ts, only it is not quite fuch a huge creature, has fmaller barders, and leis and worfe blubber, and therefore they don't much mind it. It lives moftly on herrings, which it drives together in a heap with a fweep of its tail, and then gorges them by barrels-full down its monftrous jaws. This fifh, as •well as other monfters of his kind, follows the flioals of lefler fifties that are his prey, but he feldom ventures lower fouth than Iceland, Norway, and Shetland, for fear of being ftranded on the ftiallows ; fome other fpe- cies of whales being lighter, truft themfelves in more fouthern feas. § 17- To the fecond clafs of whales thofe belong that have the whale-bone barders, and xc the fame time a fin up- on their back, which the foregoing have not. Among thefe the chief is : 3. The fin-fifh, whofe diftinguifhing fin Hands quite ereft 3 or 4 foot high upon his back towards his tail. 'Tis round, and longer, but flenderer than the proper whale. 'Tis alfo more agile or nimble, more fierce, and far more dangerous becaufe of the flounce of his tail. Therefore the fifhers don't care to meddle with him, efpecially as his barders are fhort and knot- ty, and his blubber little and bad. Yet the Greenland- ers value him very much for the fake of the vaft quantity of his flefh, which they think taftes very a- ^reeable. 4. The jupiter-tvhale^ which the Spanifh whale-fifli- €rs call more properly gubartas., or gibbar^ from a pro- tuberance, gibberoy which grows towards the tail, be- fides the fin. This fifti is longer and fharper behind and before, than the proper- whale, and its whale-bone- barders and blubber is very bad. It has long rugged wrinkles like furrows under its belly, that are white infide. They fay there ftick great quantities of bar- nacles on this whale. 5. Thei Chap. 3. Of PARTICULAR Sea-AkimaLs. tit 5. The bunch, or humpback-whale, as the New- England fifhers call him, has a protuberance on his back like a deprelTed cone, about as big as one's head, inftead of a fin. This approaches next in good- nefs to the fin-fifh. 6. The knotted-whale has many knots upon his back, inftead of fins. It makes a pretty near advance to the form and fatnefs of the proper whale, only its whale- bone-barders are white and of little value. There are whales caught alfo near the Bermuda iflands in America, which are called cubs by the En- glifti. They have fomething like great boils on their Read. They fay they are longer than the Greenland whale, but not fo thick, and run up narrow towards the tail like the roof of ahoufe. They have but little blubber, and that but indifferent. § 18. To the 3d clafs of whales thofe belong, that have ai horn on their nofe. The moft noted is : 7. The unicorn-fifh, mo7ioceros^ alfo called narhval. This fpecies is commonly 20 feet long, has a fmooth black fkln, fharp head, and little mouth. A round double-twifted horn runs ftraight out from the left fide of the upper lip. It is commonly 10 foot long, as thick as one's arm, hollow infide, and compofed of a white folid fubftance. It is probable that he ufes this horn to get at the fea-grafs, which is his proper food, as alfo to bore a hole in the ice with it when he wants frefh air, and poffibly alfo as a weapon againft his ene- mies. Another little horn a fpan long lies concealed in the flefh on the right fide of his nofe, which probably is referved for a frefti fupply, if fome accident fhould deprive him of the long one j and they fay, that as a fhip was once failing at lea, it felt a violent fhock, as if it had ftruck upon a rock, and afterwards one of thefe broken horns was' found faftened in it. Formerly thefe horns or tufks were looked upon to be the horns of the fabulous Land-unicorn, and therefore they were valued as an ineftimable curiofity, and fold exceflive dear to gentry, 'till the Greenland fifliery was fet on foot, when they found them in the northern part of Davis's ill HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. It. Davis's Straits in greater plenty than any where ; yet for fome time they carried on the cheat. They are . fo common in the north of Greenland, that the natives for v^ant of wood make rafters for their houfes of them ; yet how unknown and valuable they were, even to- wards the clofe of the laft century, may be feen with feveral particular remarks, from La Peyrere Relatian du Greenland^ a Monfieur de la Mothe le Vayer, Chap. I. Some have been caught with two horns of an equal length, but thefe muft be very rare. This fifh has tiO(^o noftrils in the bone, but they run both into one aper- ture in the external flcin. It has good blubber, fwims with great velocity tliough it has but two fmall finsy and can only be ftruck when there is a great number together, and they hinder one another with their horns. The failors look upon this to be the harbinger or fore- runner of the right whale. 8. The faw-fifh, prijiis, at the end of his nofe has a thin flat horn a couple of feet Icfng, and three or four fingers broad, which has ftrong teeth on both fides like thofe bf a comb. It has 2 fins on its back and 4 un- der its belly. It is commonly about 2p foot long. They are the greateft foes of the right whale, and he is excefRvely afraid of them. Several of them join in the attack, fall upon him on all fides, and kill him* They eat nothing of him but his tongue, and leave all the reft for a booty to the fharks and fea-fowl . The bill-fifti might be reckoned to this clafs, if we were but better informed of its quality. They catch them fometimes in Norway, though but feldom. It is eight yards long, and has a long mouth like a goofe's hill. § 19- The 4th clafs of whales are thofc that have teeth, but only in their under jaw. To thefe belong : 9. The cafhelot, catodon, or Pott-filh, the whale from whofe oil the fperma ceti is prepared. But there is more than one fpecies of this ; fome look black, o- thers of a dark green ; fome have flat, others fharp crooked teeth j they are alfo different in magnitude, 2 from Chap. 3. Of particular Sea-Animals. 113 from 50 to TOO foot long. The head is difproportion- ably large, and makes up almofi: half the fifh ; it does not go oiY picked or round before towards the mouth, but is quite flat, and is as thick there as it is in the middle or behind. Its he^d is broad above like the roof of an oven, but beneath it runs narrower to the under-lip, fo that it is fhaped like the ftock of a gun, or like the hinder part of an inverted {hoe-laft. Its noftrils are in the fore-part of the head, whereas other whales have them in the back-part. It has a little pointed tongue, and a lefs mouth than the proper whale, but fuch a monftrous throat, that it could fwal- low an ox ; and once one of thefe creatures, being ftruck, in his anguifh threw up a fliark quite vv'hole and 4 yards long ; at the fame time there was found ip' its llomach, fome jifh-bones a fathom long ; therefore fome have thought that Job's Leviathan and Jonah's whale were of this fort. In its under-jaw it has from 30 to 50 teeth about half a foot long, and as thick as an arm, and there are cavities in the bone of the upper- iaw juft fitted for thofe teeth. However, fome have a few broad grinders in the hinder part of the upper-jaw. It has a bunch upon its back, and a fim behind each eye, near which it may be eafily wounded, tho' its fkin in general is very tough, and not eafily to be pierced. Its fat is above an inch thick, and if the fifh is large, will yield 100 barrels of blubber. The calhelot's huge head is the principal magazine of the undluous, hesMng fperma ceti. It is covered o- ver in fome with a folid bony lid, and in others with a thick tough fkin. This its brain lies in 20 or 30 ca- vities like the clcareft oil, but as foon as it is taken out, it runs like four milk. Its fat indeed, all over its body, is intermixed with fuch little bladders con- taining the fame fort of oil. Nay it circulates not on- ly through the eyes and ears, but through the whole body, by means of an artery as thick as one's leg, Vv'hich is difFufed in numbcrlefs fmallcr ramifications. One may fill 20, others fay 50 barrels with it. Its head or neck is full of finews, wherens ths other whales have moft in their tails. Vol. I. I In 114 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. II. In the year 1723, feventeen of thefe fingular fifhes ■were ftranded near Ritzebuttel in the mouth of the Elb, and feme have been lately ftranded in Holland. A further account of them may be fecn in An- derfon. § 20- The 5th clafs comprehends the fmall whales that have teeth above and below, as : 10. The white-fifli, which derives its name from its colour ; 'tis only two or three fathom long, but in other refpedts pretty much like the true whale, only the head is fharper and the two fide-fins longer in pro- portion. 'Tis true it has but one noftril in the back of its head, but underneath are two oval apertures two or three inches in diameter, which unite in one above. The white wrinkled Ikin is the thicknefs of a finger, the fat is a hand's breadth thick, and it yields only about four barrels of blubber. Its flefh is as red as beef, and tafles almoll like it. Their greateft rendez- vous is at Difko ; however a great many are caught by the Greenlanders at Goodhope. As for the European whale-fifhcrs, they don't regard them. Though I could not take a furvey of one whole, becaufe the Green- landers cut them up before they bring them to land, yet I faw that the nouion of its having no teeth in the upper-jaw is without foundation ; for I counted in each of the under-jaws 6 broad ones, and in one upper-jaw eight, and in the other nine, a little bent inwards and hollowed out, exadlly to fuit thofe beneath. But the three hindermcft in the upper-jaw, that have none to match them in the under, are only fharp pegs. 'Tis alfo without foundation that fome fuppofe this to be the female of the unicorn f\{\\, for they arc very different from each other. 11. The grampus (porciis marinus 7najor) has a flat nofe, is 15 or 20 foot long, black above and white be- neath, and in all other refpccts like the great whale. 'Tis very like this is the creature which the Icelanders call fpi ing-whale from its leaping. 12. Tlie porpoife, (po7-cus ?iiar'mus 7ninor) called the fca-fvvine from its wallowing in the fca, and ha^'ing a nofe Chip. 3. Of particular Sea-Animals. 115 Hole like the fnout of a Twine. It is pretty much like the grampus, only in its hog's nofc, and being but about af.uhom long. Tiic fin upon the back is curved like a halt-moon towards the tail. Its flcfli doer, not on- ly rtlifh well to the Grccnlanders, but to many filhers in Europe ; for the porpoifes aie feen in plenty in all fcuj, cfpccially if a llrong wind rifcs, when they fwim in droves around a fliip, jufl as if they were running ra- ces. It has been obfervcd in general, that the fea-ani- mals not only keep in greater number near the furface of the waters when a llorm is approaching, as if they were afraid of being dafhed upon the fand-banks by the raging billows ; but they alfo demean thcmfelves like timorous anxious creatures, and are in an unufual agi- tation, when there is an eclipfe of the fun or moon. 13. The dclphin, called alfo tumbler, from his leap- ing ajid tumbling, is very little difi'crent from the por- poife, only 'tis not fo large, and has a (harper nofe ; therefore both the Greenlanders and Norwegians call both forts nija. But w^hat is called the Dolphin in the fouthern feas, is quite a difFercnt kind of filh. 14. The fword-fiili, in Grccnlandifh tikcigvlik, gets its name from the fin on its back, which is from 2 to 4 feet long, flcnder and bent inward towards the tail, though it refembles a blunted arrow more than a fvvord. This fifh is 7 fathom long and has veryfliarp teeth. In troops thev aflault the largeft whales, tear out whole pieces of ficfh from their bodies, and don't defilt till they have utterly dcftroyed them. Therefore they are culled whale-killers by the Nevv-Englandcrs. They are fo ftrong, that a fmgle one will hold and draw along a dead whale with its teeth, though feveral boats were towing it a contrary way. In Norway they are called fat-cleavers, but there they are not above a yard and quarter long. 15. T'lic Greeenlandcrs call another kind of fword- fifh, ardliut. Thefe are only five fathom long. Where thefe appear, all the feals difappear, elfe they make a defpcrate {laughter among tb.em, for they have fuch fagacity and fkill in catching them with their mouthy and fins, that they are fometimes feen loaded with five at a time, one in the mouth, a couple under each J 2 fin, ii6 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. 11. fin^ and one under the back-fin. The Greenlanders catch thefe as well as the other whales, and eat their fiefh with pleafure. § 21. To the 6th clafs might be reckoned fome rare and huge Sea-monfters, if there was but any thing, certain, known of them, or we could hear it from credible people who had feen them with their own eyes. Mr. Paul Egede^ indeed, in his continuation of the Green- land relation, p. 6. fays as follows concerning a pro- digy, which might be called a fea-dragon, that he faw and delineated in his fecond voyage to Greenland, 1734, in the latitude of Good-hope, deg. 64. " July 6th a moft hideous fea-monfter was feen, " which reared itfelf fo high above the water, that its *' head over-topp'd our main-fail. It had a long pointed ** nofe, out of which it fpouted like a whale. Inftead *' of fins it had great broad flaps like wings; its body " feemed to be grown over with fhell-work, and its " (kin very rugged and uneven ; it was fhaped like a " ferpent behind, and when it dived into the water "again, it plunged itfelf backwards, and raifed its tail " above the water a whole fhip-length from its body. " Our eye could rate the meafure of its body to be no " lefs than the bulk of our fhip in thicknefs, and in " length 3 or 4 times as long. In the evening wc f met with rough weather, and the following day a " ftorm." This partly agrees with what men (one would think) of credit have related of the great Sea-ferpent that is feen in the Norway feas, though very feldom, and ne- ver but in a perfedl calm, in the months of July and Auguft. Its length is computed at 100 fathom, its thicknefs the compafs of a great wine-vcfTel, and its folds in number from 20 to 100, like great floating cafks. The northern poet, Fcter Dafst compares it to 100 dung-heaps that lie in a row on a field to be ploughed ; alfo with Behemoth and Leviathan, and with the mif- chievous crooked ferpent. Its head is faid to look like 3 horfe's head, its neck is decked with a long v/hite mane hanging down, and its body confifts of a grey llinjy Chap. 3. Of particular Sea-Animals. 117 flimy flcfh. Mr. ILms EgcM., in the 85th page of the Englifli edition ot his delcription of Greenland, quotes out oi'Thonnodor'Tcrfitus'i Hi/ioria Norvegia et Grocnlan- dia^ fomcthing concerning the To called ma -man, which is dtlcribed as having a head inciofcd with a fkin like a monk's hood, and a nofe, mouth and eyes refembling a man's ; there was fuch a one alfd, it is laid, found dead in Norway of late years, three fathom in length. He alfo defer ibcs the yncrmaid as having long black hair, breads, long arms, hands, and fingers webbed like a o;oofe's foot, and as being fliaped all below the middle like a fifli with a tail and fins. They likcwife talk of feveral forts of great and fmall creatures in the ocean near Norway, and in the African and Eaft-India feas, that refemble a man or an ape. But the moft horrible and hideous monfter that the fables of the Norway fifhers have invented is the krakcy fea-horfe or hafgufa, which nobody ever pretends to have feen entire j yet the fifhers give out, that when they find a place which is ufually 80 or 100 fathom deep, to be at certain times only 20 or 30, and fee alfo a multitude of fifties allured to the fpot by a delicious exhalation which this creature emits, they conclude that they are over a krake ; then they make hafte to fe- cure a good draught of fifties, but take care to obferve when the foundings grow fhallower, for then the monfter is rifing. Then they fiy with fpeed, and pre- fently they behold with the greateft: amazement, in the compafs of a mile or two, great ridges like rocks rifing up out of the fea, dented with long lucid fpikes, that thicken as they rife, and at laft refemble a multitude of little mafts. When now the monfter has fatisfied his rapacious jaws (which howeverno-body pretends to have feen) with fifties enough, which had been as it were ftranded or entangled in the fpikes on his body, he dives again with a violent agitation of the waters. No one pretends (as faid before) to have feen this whole fi{h ; but they reprefcnt it as a vaft: Polypus with a multitude of antenna: and tentaaila or fenfitive horns like the ftar-fifh, Jhlla arhorefcens^ caput Mcdufa^ Sea- fun, or Pliny % Ozaria^ which are fuppofcd, by fomc, to be the young of this monfter. I3 We ii8 HISTORY OF GREENL^D. B. II, We enter not into any difcuffion about thefe fea- monfters, which, except that mentioned above by Mr. Egede, have not as yet been ken in the Greenland fea. However, the compiler of thenatural hiftory of Norway, after rejedling the fabulous part, labours to demonftrate the poffibility and real exiftence of fuch creatures, a priori et pojicriori , for which purpofe he fummons many v/itnefles and introduces many uncommon ob- iervations, which are at lead: agreeable enough to read, in the 8th Chap. 2d. Part. § 22. But to return to the proper Whale, I will here fub- join a relation from the mouth of a Miflionary, who in 1745 was obliged to attend the whale-fifhery in Dijko in a Dutch vciTel, of what he remarked and re- inembred of it. The whales in Dijko-hay^xz killed in Aprily and if the fifhers don't take any, or not enough, they follow them to the coafts of America, whither they ilecr their courfe, efpecially to Hudfon's-bay ; and, as Ellis fays p. 349, towards the clofe of the fummer into the South-fea. But at Spitzberg they take them in May and June, and after that they retire further eaftward. When a v/hale is feeu or heard, a long- boat with 6 hands muft make up to it directly, and 5 or 6 futh boats are always in readinefs for it j they take what care they can to come on his fide towards the head. When now the jifh rifes again to drav/ breath and ftays up a while, as his manner is, the boat rows up to his fide, and the harpooncr ftrikes him moftly near the fin ; that inftant the boat hurries off before the fifii feels the thruil and overfets the boat, or dafhes it to pieces with the flouncing of its tail. The harpoon orharping-iron is a triangular barbed iron about a foot long and fallened to a ftem. As foon as the fifh feels the fmart, it darts dov/n in the deep, the harpoon !s in him, and a line being faftened to the harpoon, (which is a fmger thick, made of quite frefh hemp, and 100 fathom long, nine of which lines are laid in every long-boat) this line runs with fuch rapidity after the whale, that if it fhould entangle itfc'f any where, it mufl either fnap like a thread or overfet the loner-boat. Chap. 3- Of p'.TJ.TicuLAR Sea-Animai9. iiq long-boat. ^Therefore a mnn is ftatloncd to give great heed to the line, that it may run ftraight, and without being cntajiglcd, and another to wet the place with water where it runs o\'er board, that it may nnt take fire hv the fri.5tion <'>f the wood. The whale Hies on with the line like an eagle, and the boat hadcns after him as faft as it can. If the flfh is not mortally wounded, he can flounce about in the deep for an hour, and draw a line of a couple of thoufand fathom after him, in which crde the other boats haftcn to their afliflance, and add frefh lines. If he betake hiinlclf to the floating ice, they ftill row after him j but if he retreats under a great ifland of ice, they have no other way but to draw out the harpoon with all their might, but if that can't be done, they muft cut the line in two ; by which they mils a prize worth perhaps 200/. for a middline; iifh is eftimated at that value. If the fifh comes up again alive, they ftrike him with a couple of harpoons more, and then" kill him out-right with their lances. As foon as he is dead he rifes to the furface of the water, and the ballance of his body turns his belly upwards. In the mean time the fliip comes as well as it can to meet the boats, which are towing the fifh along, and at length faften it to the fliip, by cutting two flits in the blubber, through which they draw a rope, and fo lafh it along fide. The firll: work was to go v/ith a boat into its jaws, and to cut out the whale-bone barders very cautioufly from its gums, with a long bend- ing knife, and to draw them up at the capftan. They only take the largeft, which are 500, and they are worth as much as all the blubber of the fifh. Then they cut ofF the blubber from the tongue, and after that proceed to flrip his whole body of its fat, beginning both at the head and tail at once, and ending in the middle. The men that ftand on the fifh, have fharp irons on their fhoes to prevent their flipping. They cut off the fat in long quadrangvilar pieces, and haul it upon deck by a pulley, where othcri cut it into lefs pieces ?ind ftow it for the prcfent in the fteerage or hold till their fifhery is over. The tail and fins are cut off whole, but afterwards divided into little pieces, and rcfervcd I 4 piincipally 120 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. II. principally for boiling glue. The tail confifts of a number of finews. Such a bufy band of 40 or 50 hands, diftributed into fmallei« companies, and mutually aiding each other throughout the whole, muft ftrip a fiih in four hours time if all goes right. As the body of fat diminilhes, progrefHvely from the head and tail towards the mid- dle, fo they keep removing the ropes, until at length the fifh turns round of itfelf. Then finally they ^ cut away the ring of fat that was left to the laft. With the lofs of its fat the fifh lofes its buoyant faculty ; there- fore, when it is turned adrift, down goes the carcafs cr fcrag into the deep, with a genera] and joyful huzza of the whole crew. In a few days it burfts and rifes again, and its vaft ftock of fiefti regales the nfhes, birds and bears with a profufe feftivity. But if the cutting up the whale is obliged to be deferred on account of turbulent weather, or the capture of more fifties, it will fwell v/ith a humming noife, and at length burft with a dreadful clap, and at the fame time will fcatter a vermilion-coloured filthy moifture out of its entrails, which ftinks horribly. Whsn they have enough, they fail away to fome ha- ven, or in ferene weather, grapple on the ice, and un- load the calks to gain more room for cutting it fmaJl, for now they haul up all the blubber out of the hold of the fliip, and take off all the rind, which they caft into the fea, and there the Greenlanders gather it up and eat it. They cut the blubber in little longifli pieces, Jower it down into the hold in leather bags, empty it into tubs, fo fill one vefiel after another with it. While at this work, the train runs about the {hip above the fhoes, this they lade u}» or catch in pails at the water- gutters of the fnip, and fo pour it into the vefTcls with the blubber. That now that leaks, and drops through the cafk, is the fineft and beft, and .is called clear-train^ and the remainder that is boiled out of the blubber is the brotvn train (*). The greaves or ofFal that remain,s * In /Imhr^crS irijcnious notes to his account of Iceland, p. 99, may be fenn fome obfervaticns of the ctj'mology and import of the word tia'in, which is almoft the fame in the Rullinn, Iceland, Norwegian and Gerimii Jjnjuage?, and in the other language? tliat have atiy afnnjty with them, nnyevdn' In Greek, Hebrew 2nd Arabic. Chap. 3. Of particular Sea-Animals. 121 is (o trifling, that lOO barrels of blubber will produce 96 barrels of train. § 23. As to the whale- fifhery of the Grecnlandcrs, it is to be obferved that the proper whale and the unicorn are only caught in the north, but the caflielot or f per ma ceti whale, and the other IciTer forts, are alfo caught in the fouthern parts. But I will only defcribe the me- thod of thofe in the north. They drefs thcmfelves in the bed: manner for it, becaufc according to the por- tentous fayings of their forccrers, if anv one was to wear dirty cloaths, efpecially fuch in which he had touched a dead corpfe, the whale would efcapc, or even if it was already dead, would at leaft fink. I'he women are alfo obliged to be parties in this exploit, and their bufinefs is to row, and to mend the men's fca-jackets, and the boats direilly as foon as they are damaged. They make boldly up to the fifli in their men's and women's boats, and ftrike it with feveral harpoons, to which bladders are hung made of great feal-fkins, feveral of which fo encumber and flop the whale, that it cannot fmk deep. When he is tired out, they difpatch him quite with their little lances. Then the men creep into their fea or fpring-jackets, which are madeof feal-fkin, and anfwer to fhoes, ftockings, gloves, cap and all in one piece, and are fadened tight round the head. In thefe they leap fearlefs upon the nfh, and into the fea, for the air in the jacket prevents their finking, and ena- bles them to ftand ere6l in the water. Then they cut off the blubber, and are alfo pretty dexterous in cutting out the whale-bone barders, confidering the bad knives they have. But the multitude is very diforderly in cutting off the fat. Men, women and children run all promifcuoufly in a heap among one another and over one another, with fliarp and pointed knives ; for every body, if it is only a fpe6tator, may Ihare in dividing the fpoil. It is furprifing how artfully thev guard thcm- felves that no one is badly wounded, though it never ends without flight wounds. They catch the finaller forts of whales in the fame manner as they do feals, or hunt them into the narrow 4 creeks 122 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. H. creeks, where they are ftranded. In the fame manner the Icelanders terrify the whales by a dreadful fhoutins:, dafhing the water, or flouncing things into it, and thus hunt them fo far into an inlet, till they are ftranded ; yet they know how to kill therri with the harpoon. Sometimes they pour blood into the water that he may fly to the landoutof averfion for it, and there be ftranded ; this poffibly gave occafion to the ftory of a tub, with which the whale-fifhers, as alfo with a red cloth, try to entertain the whale till they can pierce him un- obferved. CHAP. IV. Of the quadruped Sea-Animals, or Seal^.. § 24. IT rem.ains to fay fomething of thofe fca-animals that have four feet, and are amphibious, viz. the Seal or Sea-calf, in Latin phoca^ in Greenlandifti p7ia^ and in French loup marin. There are feveral forts of them, but they are all alike in having a firm, tough, hairy fkin like the land-animals, only that the hair is thick, ihort and fmooth, as if it was rubbed over with oil. They have two fnort feet before ftanding downwards for the conveniency of rowing, and behind they have alfo two ftanding outwards for fteering, one on each fide of a fhort tail. With thefe they ftrike the water behind them, and drive themfelves along. They have five foes on their feet, each confifting of four joints, and terminating in a long nail or claw, with which they climb up the ice or the rocks. The hinder feet are palmated, or joined together with a thin fkin like a goofe's foot, fo that in fwimming they are fpread like a fan. The water is their proper element, and any fifh they can get, their food. Yet they often lie on the ice or land, to bafk in the fun-beams or fleep. When they are fleeping, they fnore very loud, and may cafily be furprized in their found fleep. They have a lame gait or walk ; but yet they can pad along i"o faft with their fore-feet, and give fuCh leaps with their hind-feet, that a man Chap. 4. Of the Sf.als. 123 a man can't cafily ovcrt:ikc them. Their head has pretty much the refcmblancc of a dog's head with the cars cropt, though fome are rounder and others fharpcr. Their cry has fomething of a dog, but more of a wild fwinc, and their young ones cry like a cat. Their jaws are planted with fharp teeth, and their lips with ftrong hair like bridles. They have two noftrils in their nofe, and are obliged to come up to the furface of the water every tjiaarter of an hour to take air. They have large fiery eyes with eye-lids and eye-brows ; they have a fmall aperture for the ear, but no flaps. Their body is bulky in the middle, but runs out conical be- fore and behind, that they may make their way through the water fo much the eafier. At the firft glance they look mofl like a mole. Their fat is from a finger to a hand-breadth thick ; their flefli red, tender, juicy and fat, almoft like the flcfh of wild fwine, nor does it tafte fo filthy as the ficfliofmoft fea-birds does. § 25. Some forts of thefe animals, though not all, arc found in all other Teas, and as far as we can form a judgment, there are fome forts the fame as our Greenland feals, both in fhape and colour. A Jutlander afTured me, that he had feen feals in their feas which had a fifh's finny tail inftead of hinder feet. The defcription of feals in" Pontoppldans natural Hijiory coincides v/ith this. An- derfon fays (p. 235.) that there are feals in the frefh water-lake Baikal in Tartary, which lies at leaft 20 degrees diflant from the fea ; it is probable they ftrayed Up the river Jenifei and there propagated, and could at length fubfift without fea-water. The feal that was caught in the Elb by Magdeburg, in the fpring, 1761, is ftill in frefh remembrance. There are five fpecies of them caught here, they are indeed alike in the fiiape of their body, but are different in fize, in hair and in their heads. I muft call them by their Greenland name, becaufe I know no German name for them. I. KnJJigiak is a long feal with a thick head, its colour black fprinkled with white. The Greenlanders in Ball's river catch the moft of this fort, and they catch them all the year round. They (and we too) make 124 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.IT. make vhe bcft cloathing of the fkins of their young ones, and if the back is black and the belly white,^ they look as noble and as rich as velvet. Therefore the skins of the young ones are exported in great number, and worn for waiftcoats. The older the creature is^ the larger are the fpots, fo that fome of them look like ti- gers skins, and are ufed for houfmgs or coverings for horfes. A full-grown feal of this fpecies is about 2 yards long. 2. Attarfoak has a pointed head and big body, and more and better blubber than the former. When 'tis full grown 'tis near 3 yards long, and then 'tis almofl ^all of a white-grey colour, and has a black figure on its back like two half-moons, with their horns in a uniform dire£lion towards one another : but there are others fomewhat blackifh all over. All feals vary an- nually their colour till they are full grown, but no fort fo much as this, and the Greenlanders vary its name according to its age. They call the ft^etus iblau, in this ftate thefe are quite white and woolly, where- as the other forts are fmooth and coloured. In the ift year 'tis called attarak^ and 'tis a cream-colour. In the 2d year atte'itftak, then 'tis grey. In the 3d agkktoky painted. In the 4th thilektok^ fpotted ; and in the 5th y C2.r cntarfoak. Then it wears its half-moon, the fig- nal of maturity. Its pelt is ftifFand ftrong, and there- fore it is made Mi's of to cover trunks with. The Greenlanders curry the hair off in drefiing the pelt, but leave a little fat infide it, that they may drcfs it fo much the thicker ; they cover their boats with them. They ufe the undrelfed ones for tent-skins, and fome- times, though but very rarely, and when they have nothing elfe, for cloaths. This feal yields the moft and bell: blubber, and the train that drops from it is not much thicker, nor worfe, or more rancid than ftale oil of cl'ves. The blubberhath fo little greaves, that they fay chey can draw and refine a couple of quarts ot train more out of a barrel than they put in of blubber, if the cafk does not leak, which may very eafily happen. 3. Ndtfd, is not very' different from the former in fize or colour, only that the hair is a little browner or a pale Chap. 4. Of the Seals. 125 a pale white, nor does it lie fmooth, but rough, brift- ly, and intermixed like pigs hair. If garments are made of this pelt, the rough fide is generally turned inward. 4. Neitferfoaky fignifies in Greenlandifh only fo much as a great neitielc, but there is a great difference between them ; for bcfide that this laft is much larger, it has alfo a Ihort, thick, black wool under its white hair, which gives it a beautiful grey colour. It has likewife a thick folded fkin on its forehead, which it can draw down over its eyes like a cap to defend them againft the ftorms, waves, ftones and fand ; it is for this rcafon called clapmutz. This creature is only caught in the fouthern parts. 5. The utfuk is the largeft fpccies of Seals, up- wards of three yards long. It has black hair, and a thick fkin, out of which the Greenlanders cut the thongs or lines a finger-thick for their feal-fifhery. This fpccies alfo is taken only in the fouth. § 26. The 6th fpccies is the fea-cow, called in German, ivallrofs, in Latin, rofniarus.^ in French, vache 7narine^ and in Greenlandifli aiiak. Their bodies refemble a feal, but their heads are very different ; for the head of this is not long, but ftubbed and broad, and therefore it might be called a fea-lion *, or perhaps elephant, on account of the two long- tulks it has. There are not many of thefe fmgular fea-animals feen here, yet I will defcribe one that I viewed as well as the hurry of the Greenlanders in cutting it up would permit me. It might be fix yards long and near the fame in cir- cumference at the bread. Its hide was no v/herc fmooth, but was much wrinkled all over its body, efpecially about the neck, and had but izv^ hairs growing on it ; 'tis a finger thick, but about the neck twice as thick and bi-awny, therefore the Greenlanders like to eat it rav.'. This creature weighs at leaft 400 pound. Its blubber is white and folid like bacon, and a hand- breadth thick, yet it does not yield lb much nor fo good * 'Tu fo jiamed in Lord Ar.J'en% Voyage, train 126 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IL train by far as the feal's blubber, becaufe of its touo-h greaves. Its legs both behind and before are longer and clumfier than the ical's ; and its toes, fome of whofe joints are a fpan long, have not fuch long and fharp claws. Their head is oval, but the mouth fo fmall that I could not quite put my fift into it. The under- lip terminates in a point in the form of a triangle, and is a little prominent betvi'een the two lon.'-r tuiks. On both its lips, and on each fide of its nofe, is a kind of fungous fkin, a hand's-breath, ftuck with a plantati- on of monftrous briftles, that are a good fpan long, and as thick as a flraw ; they are like a three-flranded cord, pellucid, and give the animal a majeftic, though a grim afpect. The nofe is very little raifed, and the eyes not larger than an ox's, I could perceive no eye- lids, and as I was at firft fearching for the eyes and temples, and could not find them, a Greenland boy prefl'ed the (kin, and out fprung the eyes ; fo I found that I could fqueeze them in and out the depth of a fin- ger } from whence I might conclude that this creature had alfo a Ihelter for its eyes in ftormy weather,'by draw- ing them into a fafe repofitory. The cars are fituated far back in the nape, and their perforations enter the cra- nium quite behind, nor have they any flaps, fothat I could fcarcc find their little apertures. It had no Ihsrp incifores in its mouth, and none at all before, but on- ly four teeth on each fide ; on the right fide of the undcr-jaw three pretty broad concave grinders. There- fore it cannot catch and chew fifli like the fcal, and the two long tusks or horns growing out of its face above the nofe, and bending down over its mouth,, fo as al- moft to barricade it up, feem to be more an impediment than a help to it. The infide of thefe tusks is finer and more compa'il: than ivory, 'tis alfo quite white, on- ly the very heart of it is fomcwhat brownifii. At the root where they enter the fcull, they are a little hollow, ji.ot quite round, and moffly full of notches ; and they fay that they feldom find one with two vrhole found tusks. The right tusk is about an inch longer than the left, and its whole length is 27 inches, 7 of v/hich are graft- ed within the fcull j its ci.rcumicrcncc is 8 inches. They ftand about three inches afunucr in the head, and Chap. 4. Of the Seals* 127 and at their extremities 9 inches apart, and bent a lit- tle downwards. One tusk weighs 4 pound and half, and the whole cranium 24 pound. Such a cranium, toge- ther with other Greenland rarities, has been made a prefent of to the mufcum of the college of the Uniias Fratrurn at Barby. The ufe the fca-cow makes of thefe tusks fecms to be in part to fcrape the mufclcs and fuch kind of fhcll-fifh out of the fand and from the rocks, for thefe aiid fea- grafs feem to be its only food ; and alfo to grapple and get along by, for he fattens them in the ice or rocks, and thus draws up his unwieldy helplefs trunk ; and finally 'tis a weapon of defence both againft the white bear on the land and ice, and the fword-fifh and fuch forts of nimble and fierce enemies in the fea. What induced Martens to conclude that it lives on fea-grafs moftly, was, that its dung looked like horfe- dung. But he alfo fuppofes that it eats flefh, becaufc it fcizes upon the ikin of the whale which is thrown over-board, draws it under water, and then throws it up aloft again. But the Greenlanders have made the fame obfervation with refpecl to the fea-fowls, that he draws them under water with his long tufks in play, and then throws them up in the air, but never eats them. § 27- "We meet with few fea-cows in Davis's-flraits, but the greater is their refort by Spitzberg, Nova-Zembla, and in the Waygat, as far as the river Ob. From thence to Kolyma, and all along the coaft of the Ice- fea arc no traces of them, but then again they are fo much the more numerous in the fea of Kamfhatka, where, according to D. Gmelin's account in his Sibe- rian Journey, Part III. p. 164, they found on the ihore great numbers of flied teeth, that were much laro-er and heavier than the Greenland teeth, and are faid to weigh 10, 20, nay 30 pound each. In former times people killed them in great numbers with harpoons by Spitzberg, moftly on fhore, where they lay in lar^e droves fleeping. They killed them chiefly for the fake of 128 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. II. of their teeth, of which the artificers wrought all forts of beautiful trinkets. But after they came to know that man was their moft dangerous foe, they are faid to have made the capture more difficult and rare to him, byfetting a watch, rendering each other mutual faith- ful aid, and when they were wounded in the water, by endeavouring to overfet the boat, or diving and ftrik- ing a hole in it. But to return again to the Seals, they fay there are but few by Spitzberg, but they make it up on the coaft of Eaft-Greenland. On this occafion Martens makes this obfervation, that where there are many Seals, there are but few Whales, becaufe the feals eat away all from them. And Johnflon in his Hijl. nat. de Pif- cihus^ Art. VI. makes another fingular obfervation con- cerning them, that in warmer climates they rob and ruin the vineyards and orchards contiguous to the fea- fhore. Again, that they can not only be caught alive and tamed, but alfo accuftomed to come out of the fea to land, and to take their food from men j this Charle- voix alfo relates of Canada. Voyage de PAmeriquc^ Let. VIII. In Davis's-Straits the two firft defcribed fpecies of feals are in the greateft plenty, viz. the (^ott&A kaffigi- aty and the black-fided cdtarfoii. The firft fort is to be met with all the year round, though not always in equal numbers. They cannot be caught by fmgle Greenlanders, except they are with young and helplefs, becaufe they are fb watchful ; but they muft be fur- rounded and killed by fevcral together, according to the mode of the clapper-hunt. But the two laft fpecies emigrate twice a year out of thefe parts. Firft they re- tire in July, and return again in September ; this time 'tis thought they go in purfuitof food to other regions, becaufe they don't depart all in a body together, and moreover come back very fat. The 2d time they all fet off in March to caft their young, and in the be- ginning of June back they come, yo'-^'^g ^"^^ '^'> like a great flock of Iheep*. But then they are very lean. * Hoirchoiu remarks of thii fpecies of Seals, that in December they come to the north-fide of Iceland, and in M.^rch they all go aw.iy ajrain. In Oiap. 4. Of the Seals. iia In this laft tour they feem to obfervc a certain fixed time and track, like the birds of paflage, and take a route that is free from ice ; therefore the fliips near Spitfberg can fafcly follow thenii We know they come up out of the fouth firft, then 20 days after they are 80 or 100 leagues further north, and the longer the date, the further they lofe themfelves in the north. We can pretty well afcertain the day at the end of May, when they will be again at Fredcric's-Hope, and in the beginning of June at Good-hope, and fo further north. Then they make their appearance in great droves for many days together ; part of them ftay and part proceed further north. But the place they re* tire to in that laft circuit, cannot be determined with equal certainty. They cannot fubfift at the bottom of the fea, for they muft draw breath. They do not go to America, for their courfe is not ftecred weftward but northward ; nor do the failors ever fee them in the open fea at this feafon. They don't ftay in the north neither to caft their young among the ice, and the uninhabited peaceful rocks ; for we fee them return from the fouth and not from the north. Therefore they muft either find a v/ay through fome narrow paf- fage or found, fuch as it is imagined that channel may be in Diflco-bay, now covered with ice, in the 69th deg. and alfo that in Tho?nas S?nitb''s Sound in 78th deg. or elfe they muft get round Greenland through fome fuppofed open fea further north under the pole, and fo arrive at the eaft-fide, and then round again this fide Iceland by Statenhook. It is certain they do not undertake this voyage as epicures for the fake of good living, for they all come meagre home ; but they go to bring forth their young, and when it is over, they hurry back again fo faft, that they do not take time enough to eat their belly full and to lleep fuffici- ently. It may be they are compelled to fuch a fpeedy flight by the R.ohben-pAaege}\ or (hips that go upon the feal-fifhery in April and May, though they might elfe make a longer ftay for the fake of their tender cubs. Thefe Seal-catchers try to furround them upon the ice, where they lie fleeping in whole herds 3 firft they Vol, I. K frighten 130 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.II. frighten them by fhouting, and when they ftretch out their necks and yell, they give them one defperate blow upon the nofe with a club, by which they are ftunned or Ihipified. But they foon come to themfelves again, (for they are fo hard to be killed, that many a one turns about its head to bite even w-hcn they are flayino- it) therefore the executioners muft hurry round the fecond time to difpatch thofe quite that were felled down. In this manner thofe fhips that catch no whales, mav pro- cure with little trouble a freight of feal's fat that even exceeds whale-blubber. And befides they gain for a booty a good ftock of pelts, which befide their com- mon ufe, may be drcfled like leather. It is reported that the Icelanders alfo catch them in nets from 60 to 200 in a day, but this could not be eftedled yet in Greenland. § 28. There is ho people to whom the feals are fo profitable, nay fo indifpenfably neceifary, as the Grecnlanders, for the fea is their corn-field, and the feal-fifhery their mofl: copious harveft. Seals are more needful to them than flieep are to us, though they furnifh us with food and raiment, or than the cocoa-tree is to the Indians, al- though that prefents them not only with meat to eat and covering for their bodies, but alfo houfes to dwell in and boats to fail in, fo that in cafe of neceffity they could live folely from it. The feals fie fli (together with the rein-deer, which is already grown pretty fcarce) fup- plies the natives with their moft palatable and fubftantial food. Their fat furnifhes them with oil for lamp-light, chamber and kitchen fire ; and whoever fees their ha- bitations, prefently finds, that if they even had a fu- perfluity of wood it would not do, they can ufe nothing but train in them. They alfo mollify their dry food, moflly filli, in the train ; and finally they barter it for all kijids of ncceflaries with the factor. They can few better with fibres of the feals finews, than with thread or filk. Of the (kins of the entrails they make their windows, curtains for their tents, fliirts, and part of the bladders they ufe at their harpoons ; and they make train-bottles of the maw. Formerly for want of iron Chap. 4. Of the Seals. 17i iron, they nir.Jc all manner of inflrumcnts niul working tools of their bones. Neither is the blood waded, but boiled with other ingredients and eaten as foop. Of the iTcin of the feal they (land in the grcatcft need ; for fuppofing the fkins of rein-dccr and birds would furnifli them with competent clothing for their bodies, and co- verings for their beds ; and their flefn, together with iifh, with fufficient food ; and provided they could drefs their meat with wood, and alfo new model their houfe- kcepinsr, fo as to have light and keep thcmfelves v/arni with it too ; yet without the fcal's fkins they would not be in a capacitv of acquiring thcfe fame rein-deer, fowls, fiflies and wood, bccaufe they muit co\cr over with fcal-fkin both their large and imall boats, in which they travel and feck their provifion. They muft: alio cut their thongs or flraps out of them, make the bladders for their harpoons, and cover their tents with them, without which they could not fubfiil in fummcr. Therefore no man can pafs for a right Greenlandcr, who cannot catch feals. This is the ultimate end they afpire at. In all their device and labour from their childhood up. It is the only art (and in truth a difficult and dangerous one it is) to which they are trained from their infancy, by which they maintain themfelves, make thcmfelves agreeable to others, and become beneficial members of the community. But no one can riohtly comprehend their method of proceeding till he has taken a ^■iew of their boats and inllruments, which will bu dcfcribed in the fcquel. K 2 BOOK [ 132 J BOOK III. Of the Greenlandifli Nation. CHAP. L Of the Greenlanders Person, and Way of Living. §1. H. E Greenlanders call themfelves without any- further ceremony Innictt^ i. e. Men, Indigents or Natives. The Icelanders, who many hun- dred years a^o diicovered and poflefTed this country and the neighbouring coafls of America, called them in. fcorn SkralUngSi becaufe they are little of ftature ; few exceeding, the molt not amounting to, five foot high, and having the appearance of imbecillity at the fame time *. Yet they have well-fhaped, proportionable iimbs. Their Face is commonly broad and flat, v/ith high cheek-bones, but round and plump cheeks. Their eyes are little and black, but devoid of fparkling fire. It is true their nofe is not flat, but it is fmall, and pro- je£ls but little. Their mouth is commonly little and ^ It is a common obfervation that men, as well as beafb and the produfls of the ground, grow fmallcr and fmaller towards the pole, though the elk, the white bear, and the rein-dccr arc manifeft exceptions to this rule. Some pecpie attribute their diminitive ftature to the cold pinching air and mifts. Ellli (whohas glv'cn us tht molt ample defcription of the £/^«;,;;.;.vx* in Hudfon's bay, vho agree with our Greenlanders almoft in every thing, and very likely were one people originally) obferves, p. 156, that though there are large tretrs growing at the bottom of Hudfon's Bay, there are no- thing but rtirubs in the 61!!: degree 3 and alfo that the people kept dimi- nishing in ftature the higher they lived, till the 67th degree, where tbcrt are no people at all. roujid^ Chap. I. The Greenlanders Way of Livikg. 133 round, and the under-lip fomewhat thicker than the upper. Their body is dark-grey all over, but the face brown or olive, (and yet in many the red fhines through). This brown colour feems not to be altogether from na- ture, bccaufe their children arc born as white as others, but may proceed in part from their dirtinefs, for they are continually handling greafe or train, fitting in the fmother of their lamps, and fcldom v/afh themfelves. Yet the climate may contribute a good deal to make this colour hereditary and proper to them, after fo many generations, efpecially the fudden alternative of cold and raw air, and burning heat of the fun in fummcr ; and this makes the Europeans that live there fomewhat browner too. But it is probable their perpetual trainy food may contribute the moft to their olive-tinge, for their blood becomes fo denfe, hot and undluous bv it, that their fweat fmells like train, and their hands feel clammy like bacon. But there are fome that have a moderate white fkin, and red cheeks, and more whofe face is not fo very round ; thefe might eafily pafs un- diftinguifhed among the Europeans, efpecially among the inhabitants of fome of the mountains of Switzer- land. I have alfo feen Greenlanders whofe fathers were Europeans, but they were educated according to the Greenland mode. Thefe are not different from the reft in colour, but in certain lineaments of the coun- tenance. Again I have feen the children of another European by a half-Greenland woman, that were as beautiful as any in Europe. They have univerfally coal-black, ftraight, ftrong and long hair on their heads, but they have feldom any beard, becaufe they conftantly root it out. Their hands and feet are little and foft, but their head and the refl of their limbs are large. Thev have high breads and broad ihoulders, efpecially the women, who are obliged to carry great burdens from their younger years. Their whole body is flefliy, and well enriched with fat and with blood ; 'herefore they can endure the cold very well with very thin cloathing and bare heads and necks ; and they commonly fit naked in their houfes, all ex- cept their breeches ; their bodies then emiit fuch a hot fteamj that an European that fifs by cannot endure it. K 3 And 134 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. And v/heii they (the chriftian converts from among this nation) are alVembled even in the winter-time to their divine vvorlhip, they evaporate or rather blow out fuch a calidity, that we are preiently obliged to wipe off the fweat, and can icarce draw our breath for the thick ex- halation. They are very light and nimble of foot, and can ufe their hands too with a good deal of dexterity and fkill. There are but few maimed or infirm people among them, and fewer misihapen births. They do not want for activity and ftrength of body, though they don't know how to fet about any work they are not ufed to ; however in their own bufmefs they excel us. Thus a man that hath eat nothing for three days, at leaft no- thing but fea-grafs, can manage his little Kajak or ca- noe in the moft furious waves j and the women will carry whole a rein-deer the fpace of four leagues, or a piece of timber or ftone, near double the weight of what an European would lift. It is hard to form a true judgment oftheir Tempe- rament, bccaufe their mental qualities are fo blended, that one cannot take a diftindt furvey of them. Yet they fecm to be principally of a fanguine difpofition, intermixed with fomething phlegmatic; I fay princi- pally, for there is a difference among Greenlanders, as as well as among other nations, aiid there are alio cholerick, and melancholy com.plexions. They are not very lively, much lefs jovial and extravagant, yet they arc good-humoured, amicable, fociablc, and uncon- cerned about the future. Confequently thev are not covetous to fcrape a heap of fluff together, but are li- beral in giving. It is true, one cannot perceive any peculiar highfpirit in them, but yet they have,* out of ignorance, a good ihare of what we may call ruftic or peafant's pride, fct themfelves far above the Europc;ins, or Kahluntct as they call them, and make a mock of them among themfelves. Eor though they arc obliged to yield them thepre-eininenceboth in underftanding and manual performances, vet they don't know hov/ to fet any value on tlicfe. \Vhcrcas on the other hand their own Chap. 1. The Grf.eklakders Way OF Living. 135 own illimitable skill in the catching feals, which is their llaff of life, and bcfulcs which nothing is indil- penfably ncccflary with them, affords fufficicnt food for their good conceit of thr'mfelves. And 'tis certain they are not fo fooliih and ftupid as the favages are commonly thought to be, for in their ways and employ;. lenls they arc wife and fharp cnouij;h. Eiit yet they arc not fo ingenious and polifhed neither as many report them to be. Their reflexion or invention difplays itfelf in the employments neccflary to their fubfillancc, and what is not infeparably connected with that, has not athou) of- ten among the Europeans, feMom or never oc- cur among them. Therefore they ufe to fay, when they fee a quiet modeft ftranger : *•• He is al- " moft as well-bred as we ;" or, " He begins to be *' a man, that is, to be a Grcenlander." They are not litigious but patient, and recede when any one en- croaches upon them ; but if they arc pufhed to that de- gree that they can go no further, they become fo defpc- ratc, that they regard Jieither fire nor water. * what Gmil'tn writes of the Tiingufjs, Part II p. 2.16, is vcr\r well adapted 10 the Grccnlanders : " They arc plain and upright," fays he, " yet more bccaufe they have no opportunity to excrcife their underftand- " ing about any other affair but their hunting, than any particular princi- " pie or bent towards fincerity. The common report is, that they are Ihi- " pid, becaufe they may eafily be cheated j but for my part I believe, that " others arc equally as ftupid ; and according to this procedure, we muft " call every man a fool, who has no great acutenefs in thinjjs that he has " had but little opportunity to hear and fee much of. Wc difcover the na- " tural underlianding of moll nations bcft in their common employments " and inftitutions. Therefore it is no wonder that xhc Tungafis have not " cxcrcilcd their underllandings in things that never lay in their way. They " are as iharp-witted in their matter, as the greatcft fliarper, on the other " hand, may perhaps be awkward in hunting." We may lee that the Greenlanders port'efs a competent fharc of undcr- ftandingaad the art of imitation, by this, that the bapti fed Children eafily learn to read, and alfo to write very prettily, and th.« one of our Grccnland- ers is the common gun-ftock maker, and another is the barber for the Eu- rope::ns. K 4 They 136 HISTORY OF GPv-EENLAND. B. III. Tliey are not idle, but always emploj^^ed about fome- thing ; yet they are very variable or fickle, fo that if they begirt a thing, and any unexpecfled difficulty thw^arts them, they throw it by direilly. In the fum-^ mer chey fleep 5 or 6 hours, and in the winter 8. But if they have worked hard, and waked all night, they wiil fleep the whole day. In the morning, when they {land v/iih penfive filence upon fome eminence, and take a, furvey of the ocean and the weather, they are common - ly thoughtful and dejec^ted, becaufe the burdens and the dangers of the day ftand in profpe6l before them. But when no labours demand their application, or they re- turn home from a fuccefsful fifliery, they are chearful and converfable. They are fuch adepts in difguifing or fuppreffing their paffions, that we might take them for Stoics in appearance. They nffeft alfo to be very refigned in calamitous accidents. They are not foon irritated to anoer, or can eafily bridle their animofity ; but in fuch cales they are quite dumb and fuUen, aiid don't forget to reveii'ge themfelves when an opportunity prefents it- felf. But I fnail have a better opportunity to fpeak fur- ther of their morals hereafter. They make their Cloaths of the fkins of reindeer, fcals and birds. Their outer garment is fewed fall on all fides like a waggoner's frock, only not fo long and loofe, fo that thcv firft put in both arms, and draw it over their heads like a fhirt, but there is no open flit , before, 'tis fewed together up to the chin. At the top of it, a Cap or Hood is faftcned, which they can draw ever their heads in cold or wet weather. The Man'a outer coat readies only half down his thigh, nor does it fit tight about him^ yet it admits no cold air to pe- netrate, becaufe 'tis clofe before. They don't few with the gut, but with the finev/s of rein-deer and whale, which they fplit very thin and fmall, and then twift them together double or threefold with their fingers. Formerly they uled the bones of fifhcs, or the very fine bones of birds inilca<3 of needles^ and their knives. were AGreenlaaider m he cern^* ^vm f/ie S£t4 , nni/i. /li^^aui/,' iV/ Aic* /,7/./'./,,v' Chap. I. The Greeklanders Way OF Living. 137 weieof ftone. But now they ufc ftecl needles, (and none but the fined will i'ervethcm) and we cannot fuf- iiciently admire the ncatncfs and ingenuity of their work. The furriers and workers in furr-cloaths confefs that they cannot come up to them in that branch. The fkins cf fowl with the feathers inward, are made up into what may be called their fliirts, the' they make them of reindcer-fkins too. They put anoihcr gar- ment of fkin over this, and fomc of them ufe for that purpofe a fine-haired reindeer pelt ; but thcfe are now grown fo rare, that none but the wealthy dames can cut a figure with them. The feal-pelts are the moft common, and they generally turn the rough fide out- wards, and the borders and feams are ornamented with narrow ftripes of red leather and white dog-fkin. But at prefent moft of the men of fubflance wear their up- per garment of cloth, ftriped linen, or cotton, yet made after the Greenland cut. Their breeches are of feal's-skin, or the thin-haired skins of reindeer, and are very fliort both above and below. Their llockings are m.ade of the skins of young feals found in the dam's body, and their fhoes of fmooth, black, drefTed feal's leather. They are tied on the inftep with a thong drawn through the fole beneath. The foles fland out bending upwards for two inches breadth behind and before, and are folded with a great deal of nicety, but they have no heels. Their boots are madejuft the fame. The Greenlanders that are rich wear now fometimes woollen flockings, breeches and caps. When they travel by fea, they put on as a great-coat over their common garment, a tueljj^, i. e. a black, fmooth feal's hide, that keeps out water ; and perhaps • underneath too a lliirt of the inteftines of fome crea- ture in order to keep in their natural heat and keep off the wet. The Women's cioaths differ from the men's only in a few things. Their jackets have high fhoulders and a higher hood ; they are not cut all round even at the bottom like the men's, but they round off from the thio;h downward and form both behind and before a long- flap, the pointed extremity of which reaches below the knee, 138 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. knee, and is bordered with red cloth. They alfo wear breeches, with {hort drawers under them. They are fond of making their fhoes and boots of white or red leather, and the feam which is before is figured and fewed very neat. The mothers, and children's nurfes or waiters, put on an amaut^ i. e."a garment that is fo ■wide in the back as to hold the child, Vv'hich generally tumbles in it quite naked, and is accommodated with no other fwadling cloths or cradle. To keep the infant from falling through, they bind the garment faft about their waift with a girdle that hath a button or buckle before. Their every day's drefs drips with greafe, and fwarms with lice, which they don't throw awav when they catch them, (at which they are as dexterous as any beggar) but crufli between their teeth. But they keep their new and holiday drefs very neat. The men wear their h^ir fliort, commonly hanging ' down from the crown of their head on every fide, and fquared off at their foreheads. Some cut it off as high as their poll, that their locks may be no impediment to their work. But it would be a reproach to a woman to cut off her hair. They never do it but in cafes of the deepeft mourning, or if they refclve never to marry. They bind their hair in a double ringlet at the top of their head, in fuch manner that a long broad roll or tuft, and another little one over it, decorate the crown c>f the head, which they bind with fome gay bandage, adorned perhaps alfo with glafs-beads. They wear the fame kind of gems in their ears, round their neck and iirms, and round the bcyfders of their clothes and fhoes. 'I'hey alfo begin to alter one thing or another in the mode of their dref^, and the rich ones bind a fine- iiiVuvcd Rrip of linen or filk round their forehead, yet fo that the ringlet of hair, as their molt ftately orna- ment, may not be covered and hid. But if they aim at being very beautiful, they muft have a thread, black- ened with foot, drawn betwixt the skin of their chin, and alfo their cheeks, hands and feet, which leaves fuch a black mark behind when the thread is drawn a- wav, as if they had a beard. The mother perform^ ihis painful opertuionon her. daughter in her childhood, for fear fhc micrht ncvc;- get a luiiband. The Ind'ans 4 • ^ lyc/i/e' c>^\l (T^renla^?tdi^JTicmje fhr tih/ree Fayr?tlliej W. VvlZpj3^ Crn?i/yn^^ft/c^t f?ft^/i€^Same ' 1 i ^ ^: r '^ -f r Soi/e- c^ ^e^rma^n^ Ja^r^ /eacA^j auarterj^n^^^' Chap. I. The Greenlanders Way of Living. 139 in North-America, and fevcral tribes of the Tartars, have the fame cuftom, not only the women but the men alfo, in order rcfpedlivcly to make thcmfelves look beautiful or terrible. Our baptized Grcci\landcrs have reliiiquifhcd this practice long ago, as a fcnfelefs vani- ty that was meant for a temptation to fin. § 4. In Winter thev live in Moufes, and in fummer in tents. The houfcs are two fathom in breadth, and from 4 to 12 fathom iji length, according as more or fewer live in them, and jurt fo high as a perfon can ifand erect in. They are not built under ground, as is commonly thought, but on fome elevated place, and preferably on a fteep rock, becaufe the melted fnow- water may run off the better. They lay great ftones upon one another near a fathom broad, and layers of earth and fods betv/een them. On thcfe walls they reft the beam, the length of the houfe ; if one beam is not long enough, they join two, three, or even four together with leather ftraps and fupport them with ports. They lay rafters acrofs thcfe, and fmall wood again between the rafters. All this thev cover with bill-berry bufhcs, then with turf, and lait of all throw fine earth on the top. As long as it freezes, thefe roofs held pretty well, but when thefumm.er-rains come, they fall moftly in, and both roof and wall muft be repair- ed again the enfuing autumn. They never build far from the water, becaufe they muft live from the fea, and the entrance is towards the fea-fide. Their houfes have neither door nor chimney. The ufe of both is Supplied by a vaulted paftiige made of ftone and earth two or three fathom long, entering through the middle of the houfe. It is fo very low, that 'tisfcarce fuiKci- ent to ftoop, but one muft almoft creep in on hands and feet, efpecially where we firft ftep down into the paflage both from within and without. This long en- try keeps off the wind and cold excellently, and lets out the thick air, for fmoke they have none. The walls are hung infide with old worn tejit and boat- fkins, faftencd with nails made of the ribs of fcals ; this 140 FIISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.III. this is to keep ofF the damps ; the roof is alfo covered with them outfide. From the middle of the houfe to the wall, the whole length of the houfc, there is a raifed floor or broad bench a foot high, made of boards and covered with fkins. This iloor is divided into feveral apartments re- fembling horfes-ftalls, by fkins reaching from the pofts that fupport the roof to the wall. Each family has fuch a feparate ftall, and the number of families occu- pying one fuch houfe are from 3 to 10. On thefe floors they fleep upon pelts ; they alfo fit upon them all the day long, the men foremoft with their legs hang- ing down, and the women commonly crofs-leg'd be- hind them in the Turkifli mode. The v/oman cooks and fews, and the man carves his tackle and tools. On the front-wall of the houfe where the entry is, are fe- veral fquare windows, the fize of two full feet, made of feal's guts and halibut's maws, and fewed fo neat and tight, that the wind and fnow is kept out, and the day -light let in. A bench runs along under the win- dows the whole length of the houfe, ori this the ftran- gers fit and fleep. By every poft is a fire-place. They lay a block of wood upon the ground, and upon that a flat ftone j on the fl:one alow three-leg'd flool, and on that the lamp, hewn out of their French-chalk or foft baftard-marble a foot long, and formed almoft like a half-moon ; it ftands in an oval wooden bowl to receive the train that runs over. In this lamp filled with train of feals, they lay on the right fide fome mofs rubbed fine inftead of cotton, which burns fo bright, that the houfe is not only fufficiently lighted with fo many lamps, but warm- ed too. But the chief article is fl:ill behind, viz., that over this lamp a baftard-marble kettle hangs by four firings fafl:ened to the roof, which kettle is a foot long and half a foot broad, and fhaped like a longifh box. In this they boil all their meat. Still over that they faften a wooden rack, on which they lay their wet cloaths and boots to dry. As there are as many fire-places as families in every houfe, and as there is more than one lamp burning in each of them day and night, their houfes are more equably Chap. t. TheGreenlakders Way OF Living. 141 equably and more durably warmed, and yet not fo ho; as the German ftove-heated rooms. At the fame time there is no fenfible exhalation, much lei's fmoke, nei- ther is there the mod remote danger of fire. But then the ftink of fo many train lamps, the reek of fo much flcfli and fifli often half-rotten, boiling over thefe lamps, and above all of their urine-veflels ftanding in thehoufe with their skins in them for drefling, all this is a difa- grccahle nuifance to an unaccuftomed nofe ; however it is bearable. In other refpefts we are at a lofs which to adipire moil, their excellently contrived houfe-keep- ing, which they have comprized within the fmalleft cir- cle ; their content and fatisfadtion in poverty, in the midit of which they imagine they are richer than we j or finally their apparent order and ftillnefs in fuch a narrow crouded'compafs. On the outfide of the manfion-houfe they have their little flore-houfes, in which they lay up their ftock of flefli, {\{h, train and dried herrings. But all that they catch in winter is preferved under the fnow, and the train it produces is ftored up in large leather pouches of feal-fkin. Clofe by they lay up their boats with their bottom upwards, on fome raifed polls, under which they hang their hunting and fifhing tackle and their fkins. In September they build or repair their houfes, for commonly the rains make the roof fall in before the fummer is over ; this mal'onry falls to the women's (hare, for the men never put their hand to any land- labour except wood-work. After Michaelmas they move in for the winter, and in March, April or May, according as the fnow melts fooner or later, and threatens to run through the roof, they move out again with rejoicing, and fpend the fummer in tents. They lay the foundation of thefe tents v/ith little flat ftones, in form cf an oblong quadrangle; between thefe they faften from 10 to 40 poles, which lean upon a kind of reft or door-frame about man's height, and terminate in a Ipire at top. They cloath thefe ribs with a double covering of feal-fkins, and thole that are rich hang it infide with reindeer fkins, the hair turned inwards. The 142 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. The bottom of the covering that reaches the ground, is ftopped clofe with mofs, and loaded with ftones, that the wind may not over-turn the tent. They hang a curtain before the entrance inftcad of a door, it is made of the tendereft pellucid entrails of the feal, is finely wrought with needle-work, ha-s an edging of blue or red cloth, and ties with white firings. This keeps out the cold air, and yet gives adniifiion to a fufficient glimmer of light. But the fkins hartg above and on both fides a good way further than the door, and form a kind of porch, where they can place their {lores as well as their dirty veffels. They do not in common boil their vi£luals in the tent, but in the open air, for which they then make ufe of a brafs-kettle, and burn wood under it. The miflrefs of the houfe lays up her furniture in a corner of the tent, (for flie lets all her finery be fcen only in fummer) fhe hangs a white leather curtain over it, wrought by the needle with a variety of figures. On this fhc fallens her looking-glafs, pin-cufhion and rib- bons. Every family has a tent of their own, though ibmetimes they take in their relations, or a couple of poor families with them, fo that frequently 20 people live in one tent. Their fleeping place and fire-place is the fame as in the winter-houfcs, only every thing is more cleanly and orderly, and much more tolerable to an European both as to the fmcll aiid the vvarmLh, § 5. The Grecnlanders cannot live by the produce of the Land. We have already Ihewn under the article of Plants and vegetables, the fcanty portion they have of berries, herbs, roots and fca-grafs, which ferve more for a dainty thaii diet. Their moft agreeable food is reindeer flcfli. liut as that is now very fcarce, and even when they get any it is moflly eaten durijig the hunt, fo now their bell meat is the flefh of the crea- tures of the fea, feals, fiflies and fca-fowls ; for they don't much regard partridges and hares. They don't eat raw flefli, as fome think, and m.uch lefs raw fifli. It is true, as foon as they have killed abcaf^ they cat a little bit of the raw flefia or fat, and alfo drink a little \ Chap. I. TheGreenlakders Way OF Living. 14^ little of the warm blood, but perhaps this is more out of fuperftition than hunger ; and when the woman fkiivs the leal, flic give.s each of the female lookers-on (for this would be a fhame for a man) a couple of bits of the fat to eat. *. The head and legs of tlic feals arc preferred in fummcr under the grafs, and in the winter the whole feal is prefcrved under the fnow, and the Grccnlandcrs feail: on fuch half frozen or half rotten ieal's flcfli, called by them mikiak, with the fame ap- petite and gout, as other nations do on venifon, ham or faufii^es. 'Ihe ribs are dried in the air, and laid up in llorc. The other parts of the beafts, and efpecially all their birds and fiflies, are well boiled or llewcd, yet without fait, but with a little fea-water ; though indeed the largcll fiflics, as the halibuts, codd, falmon, ^c. are cut in long flices, wind-dried and fo eaten. The little dried capelins are their daily bread. When they have caught a feal, they ftop up the wound di- rectly, that the blood may be kept in till it can after- wards be rolled up in balls like force-meat to make foop of. The in\\'ards are not thrown away neither. They make windows, tent-curtains, and fliirts of part of the fcal's entrails. 1 hofe of the i'mallcr creatures are eaten, with no other purgation or preparative, bur prefling out their contents between their fingers. Thev iet a great value upon what they find in the maw of a reindeer, and fend fome of it as a prefcnt to their bcil friends, calling it ncriikak^ that is to fay, eatable ; this and what is found in the guts of the partridge, they mix with frcfli train and berries, and make a de- licacy of it, that reliflies as high to them as woodcocks, or ihipcs do to others. Again they take frefh, roitoii and half-hatched eggs, fome crowberrics, and fome angelica, and throw them all into a fcal-fkin fack filled with train, and this they rcfervc for a winter's cordial. * Here I cannot omit what an European aflurcd mc, that when he was out hunting, if he ihot a reindeer, he tolIowcJ the example of the Grccn- landcrs, and often aflu-.igcd his hunger with a piece of the raw flcrti, nor didhe find it fo very h.'.rd of di^'cftion, but it feemed rather to fatiate him !efs than boiled meat. Thcyfav the AisJJlniam alfo eat raw flelli, andean digcft it in their lioi climate. 'The reafon therefore why wc eat our lleih boiled, if, becauf'.- jf u(ic> better, and afford? a better nourifhnicnt. Out 4 t44 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. Out of the fkins of fea-fowl they fuck the fat with their teeth and lips ; and when they come to drefs the feal-fkins, they take a knife and fcrape off the fat, wjiich could not be clean feparated at the flaying, and make a kind of pan-cake of it, which they eat very favourily. They don't drink train as fome have reported, but they ufe it in their lamps, iffc. and what they don't want they barter. Yet they like to eat a bit or two of feal-fat with their dry herrings, as alfo to fry their fifh in it, firft chewing it well in the mouth and then throwing it out into the kettle. Their drink is clear water, which ftands in the houfe in a great copper vef- fel, or in a wooden tub which is very neatly made by them, ornamented with fifb-bone diamonds and rings, and provided with a pewter ladle or dipping difii. They bring in a fupply of frefli water ev6ry day in a pitcher, which is a ieal-fkin fev/ed very tight, that fmells like half- tanned fole-leather ; and that their Water may be cool, they chufe to lay a piece of ice or-a little fnow in it, which they feldom want. They are very dirty in drefling their meat, as well as in every thing elfe. They feldom wafh a kettle ; the dogs often fpare them that trouble, and make their tongue the diflicloth. Yet they like to keep their baftard-mar- ble veffels neat. They lay their boiled meat in wooden difl^es, having firft drunk the foop, or eat it with fpoons made of bone or wood ; but their undrefied meat lies on the bare ground, or on an old fkin not much cleaner. Fifh, they take out of the difh with their hands, pull fowls to pieces with their fingers or their teeth, and flefh-meat they take hold of with their teeth, and bite off the mouthful. When all is over, they make the knife ferve the office of a napkin, for they give their chops a fcrape with it, lick the blade, and lick their fingers, and fo conclude the meal. In like manner when they are covered with fweat, they ftroke that too down into their mouths. And v/hen they vouchfafe to treat an European genteelly, they firft lick the piece of meat he is to eat, clean from the blood and fcum it had contracSled in the kettle, with their tongue j and (hould any'^ne not kindly accept it, 1 he f Chap. I. The Greenlanders Way of Livikg. 145 he would be looked upon as an unmannerly man for defpifing their civility. They eat when they are hungry. But in the evening, when the men bring home the fpoils of the dr.y, they have the principal meal, and are very free in aOcing the other families in the houfe that may perhaps have caught nothing, to be their guefts, or fend them part of it. The men eat firft alone by thcmfelves, but the women don't forget themfelves neither. Nay, as all that the man brings, falls into their hands, they often feaft themfelves and others in the abfence of the men to their detriment. At fuch times their greateft joy is to fee the children fluff their paunches fo full, that they roll about upon the floor, in order to be able to make room for more. They take no thought for the morrow. When they abound, there is no end to their banqueting and glut- tony, and they like to have a dance after it ; being jovial in hopes that the fea will furnifh their board with frefh fupplies every day. But by and by vVhen the fallow time comes, and the feals withdraw from March till May, or if any other calamity, as great frofts and cold, and very bad weather happen, then they muft perhaps ftruggle with hunger for days together ; nay they are often obliged to make a narrow efcape with their lives by eating mufcles, fea-weed, yea old tent- fkins and fhoe-foles, if they are but fo fortunate as to have train enough to boil it, and after all many a one perifhes with hunger. If their fire goes out, they can kindle it aga:in by turning round a flick very quick with a firing through a hole in a piece of wood. 'I'hey love dearly to eat foreign food if they can get it, viz. bread, peafe, oatmeal and ftock-fifh, and many of them are but too fondly accuftomed to it. But they have a great averfionibr fwine's flelh, by feeing how this bcafl devours all forts of garbage. They have formerly abhorred ftrong liquors, and called them mad- zuater. But thofe that have more intercourfe with the Europeans, would gladly drink it if they could but pay for it. They fometimes feign themfelves fick, to get a dram of brandy, and in truth it does fave the life of Vol. I. L many V^ 146 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. many a one when they have over-eat themfelves. Thcfe laft alfo love to fmoke tobacco, but they can't pur- chafe a fuiSciency. However they dry tobacco leaves upon a hot plate, and pound them in a wooden mortar to take as fnufF, and they are fo inured to it now from their childhood, that they cannot leave it off, nor in- deed do they fcarce dare leave it oft', becaufe of their running watry eyes. § 6. The methods and Implements of their procuring their maintenance are fo fimplc, and yet fo well contrived and accommodated to their purpofe, that though we fhould be at a lofs how to ufe them, they can manage better with them than we with our much more expeii- five inflruments. In former times they made ufe of bows for land game ; they were made of foft fir a fathom in length ; and to make it the ftifter* it was bound round with whale-bone or finews. The ftring was of finews and the arrow of wood, pointed before with barbed bone, and winged behind with a couple of ravens feathers. But thefe are no more to be fccn now, fmce they can buy or borrow fowling pieces. The defcription of their bow may be beft feen in Ellis's Narrative of the Efqui- maux. p. 132. For Sea-game they principally ufe five inftruments. I. The Ei'minek or harpoon-dart with a bladder. The (haft is two yards long, and an inch and half round. A piece of bone of a fpan long runs into the fore-part of it, to move in and out; this is armed with the harpoon of bone, which for full half a fpan's length has barbs, and is pointed at the end with an iron fpike an inch broad. At the but-cnd of the fhaft are two flat pieces of whale-bone a fpan-long and two fingers broad, of the fliape of a weaver's fhuttle, an- fwering the end of the feathers on an arrow, to make the caft the more direifl and fure. Betwixt tbcfe is fitted in, the reft or handle wherewith it is flung, two feet long, the breadth of a thumb beneath, and four times as much above, and havin-j: a norch on both fides in order to procure a fali hold for the thumb and 5 furc-fin^ei; TclXpu^ T/ieDa,?'£^ lu^ / /iJyj/d?^. A^ M I 1 1 1 1 M I 1 1 1 1 r 1 1 1 n 1 1 I 1 1 Sai/c ^/j t?rr/mi/il5rd/. a.Ang-ovikak or (^rcari(m€e,/uit toye^Aer. 4. The JdJJte, mttk t/ie^J^oneyotnt i^Jran S/i/'/cr Uojf/rom it. 5.Ka^oUar/Ar liaUZance6.YJ^%y(k9\L, t/tcca^nyJ)ii?'t,e/J^ai/€/ifv. ^'^Vi^il,!keJ)art/brJ^6>nyl . Chap. i.The Greenlanders Way OF Living. 147 fore-finger, (the weight properly lying on the palm of the hand tinned up horizontally.) A firing hangs to the harpoon about 8 fathom long, which is firft clap- ped ti2;ht (yet fo that it can yield) by means of a bone-ring over a peg in the middle of the {haft, then lies in a heap of feveral regular coils on the fore-part of the Kajak or boat, and laftly at the other end is faftened to a bladder, or blown feal-flcin pouch lying behind the Grcenlander in the kajak. This dart de- ferves much notice, but is hard to be defcribed. It mult not be all in one piece, elfe it would be broke to pieces dire<5tly by the feal. Therefore the harpoon muft be made fo as to feparate from theihaft, and that this may the eafier be done of itfelf without breaking, the harpoon-bone muft fly out of the {haft, and the Ihaft ftay behind floating upon the water, when the fmitten feal darts down under water with the harpoon (and bladder too, till as abuoy itrifes again). The handle entering into a flit of the fhaft as before-mentioned, and at the time of the ftroke, giving force to it, re- mains behind in the Greenlander's hand. In fhort, this dart is compofed of a good many pieces, and yet is fo excellently contrived that there is nothing fuper- fluous. 2. The 2d. inftrument is called angovigak, the great Lance. This is near two yards long, it is provided with a moveable bone-joint, and iron- point the fame as the former, only it is not barbed, that it may directly flip again out of the fkin of the feal. 3. The 3d inftrument of death is the kapot^ the little Lance, which has a long fword's point faftened to it. The Greenlanders make ufe of all thefe three darts in the capture of feals with a bladder. For the 2d fort of hunt, viz. the clapper-hunt, they make ufe of, 4. The agligak or mifllle dart, which is a foot and half long; in the fore-part it is furnilhed with a round iron a foot long and a finger thick ; which, inftead of being bearded, is notched in a couple of places ; this alfo feparates from the {haft, but the {haft remains hanging to it by a ftring faftened to the middle of it. A bladder made of the gullet of a feal or ^reat fi{h, is L 2 " faftenei i^B HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IIL faftened behind to the fhaft, to fatigue the feal and pre- vent its being loft. In this Clapper-hunt they give it more than one fuch d'ast in its body. In all thefe blad- ders they ha^e a little bone-pipe with a ftopper in it, that they may blow up the bladders or let them be empty as they pleafe. I fhall defcribe their method of catching the leal, when I come to fpeak of their boats. For bird-catching they ufe : 5. The nugu'it or Fowling-dart,, twa yards long j in the wood part is faftened before, a round blunt irorf a foot long, and barbed only in one place. But as the fowl may evade the caft by cfiving or flight, they faft- en flopingly three o-r four pieces of bone a fpan long irt the middle- of the fhaft, notched Ifke tenters in three or four places, that when the fowl efeapes the point,* one of thefe may run into it. Some ufe a hand-board to throw each of thefe darts with, that they may caft them with the greater force. The method of catching fifli^ and their tackk an^ implements for it, has been already mentioned. § 7. Their Boats are alfo as fimply, yet ingenioufly con- trived, ^nd as conveniently adapted to the procuring ^heir fuftenance. There are two forts, a great and a fmall. The great boat or Women's boat, called in Green - landifh: wniak^ is commonly 6, nay 8 or 9 fathom longy 4 or 5 foot wide, and 3 deep, it runs fharp before and behind, and has a flat bottom. Its conftru6lion is of {lender laths about 3 fingers broad, faftened with whale- bone, and covered over with feals fkins tanned. On each fide of its flat bottom runs a rib parallel with the keel, which meet together in the fharp head and ftern. Upon thefe/three main beams, fome thin crofs-pieces are laid aagri mortifed in. They then fix Ihort pofts in the ribs on either fide, and faifen the gunnel of the boat upon them. Thefe pofts being prefted outwards by the benches for the rowers, (of which there are 10 or 12, and each of them refts on a rib on both fides) that they may not be forced out too far, two upper or gunnel-ribs I'miak, or W^tru^iu Hoot. T'oi X/i\i4^. ^ Chap. I. The Greenlan'ders Way OF Living. 149 gunnel-ribs to the outfide bind them in. Thefe four ribs are fafteucd to the timber fore and aft. The beams, ports and benches arc not faftcncd with iron nails, which might cafily ruft and fret holes in the fkins, but with wooden pins and whale-bone bands. The Grccnlander performs his work with real fkill and beauty. Though he ufcs neither rule nor fquare; yet his eye metes out the due proportion. AH the tools he ufcs for this and all other work, are a little lock- faw, a chifel, (which when faftened on a wooden haft, fervcs him for a hatchet) a little gimlet, and a fharp pointed pocket-knife. When the artift has com- pleatcd the ribs or fkeleton of the boat, the woman covers it with frefh-drefled foft feals leather, and calks the feams with old greafe, fo that thefe boats don't leak fo much as wooden ones by far, becaufe the flitches rather fwell in the water. If they chance to rip a hole upon a fharp flonc, they few a patch upon it dire£tly. But they muft be covered over anew almofl every year. Thefe boats are rowed by the women, whofe number is commonly four, and one fleers it behind with an oar. It would be a fcandal for a man to meddle, ex- cept the greatefl neceflity compels him to lend an hand. The oars are fhort and broad before, pretty much like a fnovel, only longer, and they are confined to their place on the gunnel, with a flrap of feals leather. In the fore-part they erecl a pole for a mafl, and fpread a fail made of gut-fkins fewed together, a fathom high and a fathom and half broad. The rich Green- landers make it of white linen with red flripcs. But they can only fail before the wind, and even then can- not keep pace with an European boat under fail. On the otl^hahd they have this advantage, that when the wind is contrary or calm, they can row much fafler than ours. They coafl along in thefe boats from one place to another, voyages from two to four hundred leagues, towards north and fouth, with their tents, houfe-furniture and v/hole uibffance, and often "to or 20 people bcfides. But. the men row, .negr at hand, in their Kaiaks, with which they fhelter, the bpat from the greatefl waves, and In , cafe of need 'i'ay Hold of the ^niicl with their' hands to -keep it upon'h ballance. ' ' L 3 They 150 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. They generally travel 12 leagues a day in thefe boats. At every night's lodging they unload, pitch their tent, draw their boat afhore, turn it upfide down, and load the beams fore and aft with ftones, that the wind may not blow it away. If at any time the coaft will not permit them to pafs, 6 or 8 of them take the boat upon their heads and convey it over land to a more fa- vourable water. The Europeans have alfo built them- felves fuch boats, and find they are of more fervice in certain feafons and occupations than their heavy wooden long-boats, §8. The little Man's-boat, called in Greenlandifh kalak, is 6 yards in length, {harp at head and ftern, juft like a weaver's fhuttle, fcarce a foot and half broad in the broadeft middle part, and hardly a foot deep. It is built of a keel like a ilender pipe-ftafF, long fide-laths, with crofs hoops not quite round, bound together with whale-bone, and is covered over with fome frefh-drefled feal's leather as the women's boat; only the leather in- clofes it like a bag on all fides, over the top as well as beneath. Both the fharp ends at head and ftern are fortified with an edge of bone, having a knob at top, that they may not receive damage fo foon by rubbing againft the ftones. In the middle of the covering of the Kaiak there is a round hole, with a rim or hoop of wood or bone, the breadth of two fingers. The Cjreenlander flips into this hole with his feet, and fits down on a board covered with a foft fkin ; when he is in, the rim reaches only above his hips. He tucks the under-part of his water-pelt or great-coat fo tight round this rim or hoop of the kajak, that the water can't penetrate any where. The water-coat is at the fame time buttoned clofe about his face and arms with bone- buttons. On the fide of the Kajak, the firft defcribed lance lies ready under fome ftraps faftened acrofs the kajak. Before him lies his line rolled up upon a little round raifed feat made for it ; and behind him is the feal-fkin bladder. His pautik or oar, (which is made of folid red deal, ftrengthened with a thin plate three fingers broad at each end, and with inlaid bone at the fides) Chap. I. Th« Greenl ANDERS Way of Livikg. 155 bly the roafon that they call this hunt or fifiiery kamavoky i. c. the Extiut^ion, viz. of life. For if the line ftiould entangle itfclf, ?is it eafjly may in its fudden and violent motioil, or if it thould catch hold of the kajak, or ihould wind itfelf round the oar, or the hand, or e- ven the neck, as it fometimes does in windy weather, or if the feal Ihould turn fuddenly to the other fide of the boat ; it can't be otherwife than that the kajak. muft be overturned by the ftring, and drawn down un- der water. On fuch. dcfperate occafions the poor Greenlaiidcr ftands in need of all the arts defcribed in the former Section, to difentangle himfelf from the ftring, and to raife himfelf up from under the water fe- vcral times fuccefllvely, for he will continually be over- turning till he has quite difengaged himfelf from the Jine. Nay when he imagines himfelf to be out of all danger, and comes too near the dying feal, it may ftill bite him in the face or hand ; and a female feal that has young, inftead of flying the field, will fometimes fly at the Greenlander in the moft vehement rage, and do him a mifchief, or bite a hole in his kajak that he muft fink. § II. In this way, fingly, they can kill none but the care-* lefs ftupid feal called attar foak. Several in company muft purfue the cautious kajftgiak by the clapper-hunt. In the fame manner they alfo furround and kill the at' taxfoit in great numbers at certain feafons of the year ; for irv autumn they retire into the creeks or inlets in ftormy weather, as in the Nepifet Sound in Ball's river, between the main land and the ifland Kangek, which is full two leagues long.but very narrow. There the Green- landers cut off their retreat, and frighten them under water by ftiouting, clapping and throwing ftones, but as they muft come up again continually to draw breath, then they perfecute them again till they are tired, and at laft are obliged to ftay fo long above water, that they furround them and kill them with the 4th kind of dart defcribed in the 6th Section. During this hunt we have a fine opportunity to fee the agility of the Greenlanders, or, if I may call it Xo, their Huflar-like manoeuvres j-56 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. manoeuvres. When the feal rifes out of the water, they all fly upon it as if they had wings with a defpe- rate noife j the poor creature is forced to dive again direiily, and the moment he does, they difperfe a- gain as fall as they came, and every one gives heed to his poft, to fee where it will ftart up again ; which is an uncertain thing, and is Cortimonly three quarters of a mile from the former fpot. If a feal has a good broad water, 3 or 4 leagues each way, it can keep the fportfmen in play for a couple of hours, before 'tis fo fpent that they can furround and kill it. If the feal in its fright betakes itfelf to the land for a retreat, 'tis wel- comed with flicks and ftones by the women and chil- dren, and prefently pierced by the men in the rear. This is a very lively and a very profitable diverfion for the Greenlanders, for many times one man will have 8 or 1 feals for his fhare. ' ' The 3d method of killing feals upon the ice, is moflly practifed in Di&o, where the bays are frozen over in the winter. There are feveral ways of pro- ceeding. The feals themfelves make fometimes holes in the Ice, where they come and draw breath ; near fuch a hole a Greenlander feats himfelf on a ftool, putting his feet on a lower one to keep them from the coW. Now when the feal comes and puts its nofe to the hole, he pierces it inftantly with his harpoon, then breaks the hole larger, and draws it out and kills it c[uite. Or a Greenlander lays himfelf upon his belly ■on a kind of a fledge ne^r other holes, where the feals come out upon the ice to baflc themfelves m the fun. Near this great hole they make a little one, and ano- ther' Greenlander puts a harpQt)n into it with a very -lohg Jhaft or pole. He that lies upon the ice looks in- •tot^ie great hole, till he fee« a feal coming under the harpoon ; then he gives^ the other the fignal, who runs the feal through with all his might. If the Greenlander fees afeal lying near its hole tip- on the ice, he Aides along upon his belly towards it, wags his head and grunts like a feal, 'a/Id the poor feal u iitio xsm ; ,' . thinking Chap. 2. Of their domestic Conduct. ^ t$^ thinking 'tis one of its innocent companions, lets him come near enough to pierce it with his long dart. When the current wears a gireat hole in the ice in the fpring, the Grcenlanders plant themfelves all round it, 'till the feals come in droves to the brim to fetch breath, and then they kill them with their harpoons. Many alfo are killed on the ice while they lie fleeping and fnoring in the fun. CHAP. II. Of the Conduct of the Greenlanders in do- mestic Life. § 13- NOW it is time to fay fomething of the principles and ufagesof the Greenlanders in the various circum- Itances and occurrences of common life, as far as I, fromi what I have feen myfelf, or have been told by others, or have read in other accounts printed already, have beien able to gather. I will defcribe only fuch original fava- ges, as have little or no intercourfe with Europeans, and have not yet adopted any of their manners. I will begin with the circumftances of their houfe or fa- advances to a great age (and has not a family who keep up her refpe6l) {he muft pafs for a witch, and fometirnes they like to be reputed as fuch, becaufe it is attended with fome profit. But commonly in the end, upon the leaft fufpicion of having bewitched fomebody, fuch a one is ftoned, precipitated into the fea, ftabbed or cut to pieces. Should fhe efcape this fatality, but frill grow a burden to herfelf and others, fhe is buried alive, or mufl plunge herfelf into the ocean; the pretended motive is compaflion, but the true one is covetoufnefs- However, it may be eafily imagined, that this is not the fad cafe of each and all of them. Notwithftanding all their hard labour, fear, trouble and vexation, they commoply arrive to a greater age than the men, who are fo worn out and enfeebled by fpending mofl of their time at fea, in fnow and rain, heat and cold, and In the fevereft winters as well as fummer, by ftrenuous labour, and by alternate hard fare and gluttony, (for they eat nothing commonly all day long, but gormandize fo much the more at night) that they feldom attain the age of fifty. Many alfo lole their lives in the water, fo that there are every where fewer men than women. The women frequently live till they are feventy, and fometlmes eighty and upwards. But then they are generally inftruments of mirchief, who betake themfelvcs to lying, backbiting, inatch-making, witchcraft, and the like, for a liveli- hood ; but above all they make it their bufinefs to amufe the young people by all manner of fuperftitious fooleries, and to divert them from a rational confider- ation of, and conviilion from, the truths of chrifli- anity. §i8. Here I will take occafion briefly to mention the me- thods the Greenlanders make ufe of in preparing their leather for cloaths, fhoes and boots, which is the chief employment of the women. I. For Chap. 2. Of their domestic Conduct. 167 1. For their hapitek or hairy feal-fkin cloaths, they fcrape the fkin thin, lay it twenty-four hours in the iorbik or urine-tub to extradl the fat or oil, and then diftend it for dr}'ing with pegs on a green place. Af- terwards when they work the fkin, it is fprinkled with urine, rubbed with pumice ftonc, and fuppled by rubbing between their hands. 2. The fole-leather is foaked two or three days in an urine-tub, then they pull off the loofened hair with a knife or with their teeth, lay it three days in frefh water, and fo ftretch it for drying. 3. In the fame manner they prepare the erifak lea- ther, that they ufe for the legs of boots, and the over- leather of fhoes, only that it is firft fcraped very thin to make it pliable. Of this leather they alio make the fea-coats, which the men draw over their other cloaths to keep out the wet when they go to fea. It is true it grows as foft and wet as a difhcloth, by the fait-, water and rain, but it keeps off the wet from the under garments, and therefore is made ufe of by the Euro- pean failors to good purpofe. 4. In the fame manner they drefs the ervgak leather, of which they make their fmooth black pelts to wear on fhore; only in working it they rub it between their hands, therefore it is not fo ftiff as the foregoing, but lofes the property of holding out water, and confe- quently is not fit for boots and fea-coats. 5. The boat-fkins are feledled out of the ftouteft feals hides, from which the fat is not quite taken off; they roll them up, and fit on them, or let them lie in the fun covered wi ch grafs feveral weeks, 'till the hair will come off. Then they lay them in falt-water for fome days to foften them again, and fo cover the wo- men's boats and kajaks with them. They draw the borders of the fkins tight with their teeth, and {^^ them together, and fmear the feams and ftitches with old feal-blubbcr inftead of pitch, that the water may not penetrate. But they muft take care not to injure the grain, for if they do, the corroding fea-water will eafily eat through the leather. 6. The remnants of this and the other forts they fhave thin, lay them upon the fnow or hang them in M4 the i68 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. 111. the air to Weach them white ; and if they intend to dye it red, they chew the leather, with fome bark of the roots of pine-trees, which they gather up out of the fea, working it in with their teeth. 7. They loofen the flcin of the fowls about the head, and then draw it off whole over the body. Having fcraped off the fat with a mufcle-{hell, the fkins are tendered to the men, and efpecially to the guefts, as a piece of civility, to chew or gnaw them betwixt meals. This is efteemed a delicacy. Then the fkins are ma- cerated or fteeped in the urine-tub j after that they are dried in the air a little, and finally milled to perfection by their teeth. They make their thin light under- garments of the backs of the fea-fow;llkins, their warm winter-garments of the bellies, and their fine holiday drefs of the necks, and in thefe they commonly turn the feathers outward. § 19- At firft fight their houfe-keeping and manner of living looks more diforderly and dirty than that of a gipfy, or beggar under a hedge. It is enough to turn one's ftomach, to fee their filthy hands and face all befmeared with greafe, their meat dreffed and eaten in fuch a difgufting manner, and their nafty dirty cloaths, and fleeping places all alive with vermin. But yet believe me, when an European is perfecuted by a tempeft, he is glad to creep into their houfes or tents for fhelter ; and if he has nothing of his own to eat, he is glad to fhare commons with them, and gives God thanks for his benefits. And when we come to examine with an attentive eye the management of each family apart, and of feve- ral families crouded together in one little houfe ; we find in fome things a propriety, neatnefs and decency, that the civilized nations would fcarce come up to in their circumftances. Ten families often live together in one houfe, not much larger than ten fathom long, and fcarce two broad ; and yet we always find their little limited apartments and their furniture in good order, and as for their hunting and fiihing implements, the Chap. 2. Of their domestic Conduct. 169 the man is continually cleaning and improving them. They lay by their cloaths that they don't wear every day, carefully folded up in a leather-fack like a port- manteau, finely figured with the needle. Their water- refervoirs are made part of wood, prettily inlaid with bone, and part of copper, and they keep them fo clean, that we fhould not be averfe to drink out of them, if they did not fetch their water to them in ill-fmclling leather buckets. One fcldom fees them when they have occafion to go backwards : they look for fome lonely place, and take a handfull of mofs. They are fo delicate in this refpeiSl, that they refufe eating gar- den-herbs and the valuable fcurvy-grafs, if it grows in the vicinity of fuch places. But it muft be confefled that this neatnefs, which prevails but in the feweft parts of their houfwifery, cannot be fet as a counter- balance to their dirtinefs in general. On the other hand, their amicable and pacific cohabitation together, is a thing to be admired. Several different families, with their children of divers ages, live in one houfe fo ftill, circumfpedl and peaceful, that lefs difturbance is perceived, than in many a manfion where only two fa- milies dwell, that are perhaps alfo near relations. And fhould one of them imagine himfelf injured by the others, he only removes to another houfe without fay- ing a murmuring word. They are glad to be affiftant to each other, and live in fome refpe6ls in common, yet without one's relying upon another's labours, and growing negligent and idle himfelf. If a man returns home with provifion in the evening, efpecially with a feal in winter, which are then fcarce, and hard to be caught, he gives a portion to all in the houfe, even the poor widows, and invites fome neighbours befides to partake of his good cheer. But no one afks for any thing to eat, let him be as poor and hungry as he will ; nor is it neceflary, becaufe hofpitality is pradtifed all o- ver the country, both towards their acquaintance and llrangers. This cuftom is the more requifite and lau- dablcj becaufe the diflferent feafons and occupations often call J70 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. Ill," call them many leagues from home, and they cannot find every where time and opportunity to catch what is neceflary for their fubfiftence. CHAP. III. Of the Deportment of the Greenlanders in Society, or their civil Character. § 20. THERE is opportunity likewife of knowing their carriage in common life, and in fociety. In this refpeft they are difcreet, cautious, friendly, mannerly and modeft ; but they know nothing of a falfe Ihame, a jealous referve, or a laboured affedlation ; only they have the art of concealing their wifties and inclinations. They are not fo folicitous to diftinguifh themfelves, and to ftiine in the circle, as to avoid ren- dering themfelves ridiculous, and tarnifhing their good name. If true complaifance can fubfift without arti- ficial and often diflembling words and compliments, and without ftrange and often ridiculous flourifhes, pof- tures and grimaces, then give me leave to call the Greenlanders a complaifant people. They know no- thing of falutations and tokens of refpeft and reverence, but laugh at the European compliments, and at a man's ilanding uncovered before his fuperior, and wonder to fee a mailer flrike or maletreat his fervant. Yet not- withltanding this, the young people and domeftics maintain a due refpccl and reverence for the aged, and all the reft one for the other. In company they are fo- ciable, and even a little jocular. They deal much in irony, and if a perfon converfes in this manner with them, he can oftentimes effectuate more than by ratio- nal difcourfes and remonftrances fharpened with feve- rity ; for if they arc too much expofed and put to fhame, they are as ftiff-necked as a refty, head-ftrong horfe. They areafliduous to pleafe, or rather are cautious of difpleafmg each other, and do not love to excite the leaft Chap. 3- Of their social Deportment. 171 leaft thought or fcnfation that may gi\e uneafinefs. This fcems to be the fource of the greated part of their aftions, and therefore they expe£t to b- treated by o- thers according to the fame rule. A:id fhould one of them offend another, the aggrieved p:;rty does not ex- poftulate, and returns no bad words. Therefore they cannot eafily fall into quarrels and contentions,! nor have they a fmgle word in their language by which to utter abufe or curfmg. | In converfation, one finiflics his fpeech before another begins. They do not like to contradict, much lefs to interrupt one another in dif- courfc, or to out-bawl one another. They laugh when any thing founds comical, and efpecially when they a- nimadvert on the Europeans ; but 'tis no indelicate boifterous laugh. They are not afhamed of what is not unnatural, or hateful in itfelf, and don't like to be taunted with it. They have fo little notion of any in- decency in breaking wind, or catching a loufe and cracking it between their teeth in reputable company, that they will not bear any rebuke about it. But yet they are fo complaifant, that they avoid it in the pre- fence of the Europeans, as foon as they hear from o- thers, that they thereby render their company difagree- able or intolerable. §21. When they row fomewhere on a vifit, they carry fome trifle of eatables or pelts for aprefent. If they are cre- ditable, agreeable guefts, they are welcomed with fmging; all hands are employed in drawing the boats afhore and unloading them. Every one will needs have the guefts at his houfe. Mean while the vifitors are filent, wait a little, and let them repeat their invitations. As foon as they are entered, they kindly compel them to takeoff their upper garment, and lay it on the rack over the lamp to dry. They alfo compliment them with dry clothes and a foft pelt to fit upon. The moft honourable feat is the bench, which the Europeans chufe to decline. The men fit among the men, and the women by thofe of their fex. The men talk very gravely and confiderately of the weather, and of hunt- ing and fifliingi the women firft mutually bewail their 2 deceafed 172 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. deceafed relations with an harmonious howl, and then divert themfelves with all manner of little ftories. All the while the horn with fnufFgoes conftantly round, out of which they draw the fnufF up with the nofe. 'Tis made of flags-horn, and often ornamentally in- laid with tin and copper. Mean while the repaft is rea- dy, and the whole houfe and perhaps fome neighbours partake of the good cheer. The guefts let the holt prefs them often, and feign themfelves very indifferent about it, that they may not be looked upon as poor, or half-ftarved. They have commonly three or four difli- es, but if they intend it for a feafl, they have more. A Faftor being invited to a great entertainment with feveral topping Greenlanders, counted the following difhes : i. Dried herrings. 2. Dried Seal-fiefh. 3. Boiled ditto. 4. half raw and rotten ditto, called Mi- kiak. 5. Boiled Willocks. 6. A piece of a half-rot- ten Whale's-Tail ; this was the dainty difh or haunch of venifon to which the guefts were properly invited. 7. Dried falmon. 8. Dried rein-deer Venifon. 9. A de- fert of Crow-berries mixed v/ith the chyle out of the maw of a rein-deer. 10. The fame, enriched with train-oil. They can prolong their Table-Talk for feveral hours, and yet have no other fubjedl: to difplay their e- loquence upon, but the grand affair of feal-catching. Their tales or defcriptions are indeed prolix, but they are fo lively withal that the auditory feldom tires and yawns. If, for inftance, they relate how they van- quished a feal, they defcribe the very inflant of time, and the very fpot, and then a.£t over every motion offen- sive and defenfive that they and their antagonift the leal have made : the left-hand perfonates the feal, and reprefents the various leaps the animal gave this way or that : the right difplays all the motions and evolutions of their kajak and their arm ; how they feized the har- poon ; how they extended their up-lifted arm ; how llcadily they aimed, and how forcibly they impelled the fatal dart. This fcene they exhibit with fuch a well- tempered commixture of art and nature, that 'tis a pleafure to hear and look on. The boys hearken with eager attention, and profit moft by the tale : They fay nothing Chap. 3. Of their social Deportment. 173 nothing till they are afkcd, and then anfvvcr with bre- vity and difcretion. If Europeans are prcfent, they like to hear them re- late fomething of their country. But they could form no conception of fuch novelties, if they were not explained to them by fimilitudes ; for in- ftance, *' fuch a city has fo many inhabitants, that *' fuch or fuch a number of whales would be required *' to feed them for one day. But they however cat no ** whales, they cat bread that grows like grafs out of " the ground, and the flefh of divers creatures, fome " of which have horns. They are alfo carried from " place to place either on the backs of very ftrong *' beafts, or in a vehicle drawn by them." Then they think they know it all, and accordingly, bread they call grafs, oxen reindeer, and horfes great huge dogs, they admire all, and exprefs a defire of living in fuch a fine and fertile land ; but alas their inclination fails again the inftant they hear, that it fometimes thunders, and that there are no feals there to be caught. They hear with pleafure of God and divine things, if you only avoid making an application to themfelves, and allow the validity of their fuperftitious fables and cuf- toms too. The ftrangers are afligned a fleeping place apart, and favoured with newfkins for bedding; but complaifance keeps them up till the mafter of the family lies down. § 22. Their Traffic is very fimple and concife. They bar- ter one with another for what they want. And as they are as variable, and as eager for new things as the chil- dren, there is no end to the chopping and changing that fome of them carry on, often to the great detri- ment of their family-affairs. They are capable of giv- ing away the moft ufeful article for an unprofitable trifle that pleafes their fancy ; and on the other hand, if you offer them ever fo ufeful an "utenfil for fome worthlefs thing that they are pleafed with, they will re- jedl your bargain ; in fhort, they v/ill have juft the thin^ that pleafes them. They very rarely cheat or take 174 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.IIL take the advantage of one another, much lefs fteal, T^hich is very infamous among them. But they glory in over-reaching or robbing an European, becaufethey think 'tis a proof of their fupefior wit and inge- nuity. Their traffic is carried on in part among themfelves, and the reft with the factors and feamen. They keep a kind of annual fair among one another. Wherever there is a great aftembly or rendezvous of Greenland- crs, as at a dancing match, or the Sun-feaft in winter, (of which we fhall treat anon) there they do as the Roman-Catholics do at a great pilgrimage of fuch-like folemnity, viz. there are always fome that expofe their wares to view, and mention publicly what goods they want in exchange. If this fuits anyone, he brings the demanded truck, and the bargain is corripleat. They moftly deal about veflels of foft baftard-marble, which are not every where to be had. And as thofe in the fouth have ho whales, and thofe in the north no wood, many boats of the Greenlanders coaft every fummer out of the fouth, hay frotn the eaft-fide of the land, and proceed from two to four hundred leagues as far as Difko, with new kajaks and women's boats, and the tackle and implements belonging thereto, and barter wood for the horns of the unicorn-fifh, teeth, bones, whale-bone and whale's fmews, and part of this they truck again on their way back. They take their whole family and ftibftance with them on fuch voyages, and their mutability and curio- fity is fo predominant, and they have fo habituated themfelves to this roving life, that if even commerce did not prompt them, they would not ftay in one place. Some years elapfe before they return, for wherever the winter overtakes them, there they tarry, build themfelves a houfe, and regulate themfelves for pro- viding food, and for their winter oeconomy. But they like beft to winter in the neighbourhood of a colony. The land and fea is every where their own, and as al- ways fome of thefe wandering families ftay and fettle entirely here or there, fothey have every where friends and acquaintance to aflift them. The Chap. 3. Of their social Deportment. 175 The Greenianders vend their Fox and Seal flcins, but moft of all their blubber to the Agents, and thefe are the articles for which properly the Factories are fupported. The natives receive no money in return, for money is of no value to them, and 'tis all one whether a gold ducat or a brafs counter hangs about their neck, or whether they are decorated with a glafs-bead or a fparkling diamond. They regard thefe valuables of Europe only becaufe they glitter ; and 'tis not the firft time that they have given a guinea or a Sp.mifli dollar which they had cafually ftolen from fome foreign failor, for a couple of charges of gun-powder or a roll of to- bacco. Iron is valued much more than gold, becaufe they can ufe it. The merchandize they receive from the factors at a fettled price, is Iron-points to their darts, Knives, Lock-faws, Gimblets, Chiflels, and fewing Needles ; in the next place, ftriped linen and cotton, kerfeys, woollen ftockings and caps, handker- chiefs, chefts or boxes, wooden diflicsj pewter platesj copper kettles, looking-glafles, combs, ribbons ancf all forts of toys for children. They are fondeft of buying fnuff, alfo guns, powder and fhot, from whence they gain but little profit, and upon the whole fuftain great detriment in their domeftic affairs. Tobacco, which they ufe only as fnufF, ferves inftead of fmall- inoney with them. They expert a little tobacco for every piece of fervice they do ; this is alfo the pay for their flioemakers and tailors work ; for a little tobac- to they bring you a couple of handfuls of uncleanfed eider-down, a parcel of eggs, birds, a difh of fifh and fuch things ; and many a wretched fpendthrift will ra- ther fell the cloaths ofF his back, and bring penury up- on himfelf and his children, than deny the cravings of his nofe. This foolifh thing brings many a family in- to as great indigence as ftrong liquors do in other countries J which laft is of too high a price for the Greenianders purchafe, to their great good for- tune. § 23- I mentioned above, an aflembly for dancing and the Sun-feafl. Thefe are not religious a£ts or ceremonies, as 176 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. as they poiTibly may be among other Heathen nations, but they are mere fports or divertifements. The Green- landers keep the Sun-feaft at the hyemal or winter folftice about December 22d, to rejoice at the return of the fun, and the renewal of good hunting and fifliing weather. They affemble together all over the country in large parties, and treat one another with the very beft they have. When they have eat fo much that they are ready to burft, they rife up to play and to dance. They cannot intoxicate themfelves, becaufe they have nothing but water to drink. Their only mufical inftrument is the drum, which is made of a wooden or whale-bone hoop two fingers broad, drawn over only on one fide with a thin vellum or the Jkin of a whale's tongue ; it is a little oval, a foot and half broad, and furnifhed with a fhaft for a handle. The Greenlander takes hold of it with his left-hand, and ftrikes with a drum-ftick upon the under rand; at every ftroke he gives a little jump, continuing always upon one fpot, and making all manner of antick motions with his head and whole body. All this he does to common mufical time, fo that two ftrokes fall in every crotchet. He accompanies the mufic and the dance with a fong in honour of feal-catching, and fuch kind of exploits ; he extols the noble deeds of his an- ceftors, and exprefles his joy at the return of the fun in the hemifphere. Neither are the auditory mute and motionlefs, but accompany every ftanza of his ode, with an oft repeated chorus of Amna Ajah, Ajah-ah-ah ! fo that the firft bar falls a fourth, and the next begins a note higher and is fung through, and fo on. The linger fings four cantos in every adt ; the two firft commonly confift of the Amna aj ah conftantly repeated, and the others of a recitative, in which he fings a Ihort fentence without any rhyme, and the chorus in- termix Amna ajah., and afterwards he fings another fen- tence, and the chorus again joins. Taken together, it is a compleat Cantata, e. g. The welcome fun returns again, Amna ajah, ajahy ah-hu ! And brings us weather fine and fair, Amna ajahy ajah, ah-hu ! The Cliap. 3. Ol THEIR SOCIAL DEPORTMENT. 177 The finger knows how to exprefs the paflions with peculiar loft or animated turns of the drum and mo- tions of his body, which one cannot but admire. An acl laftj a full quarter of an hour. When one is tired, and bathed in fwcat, from the conftant fpringing and agitation of his body, another ftcps forth upon the llagc. Thus they continue the whole night through ; next day they flccp their fill, in the evening ftuflf their bellies again, antl then dance all night ; and this round they run for fevcral days and nights, till they have nothing more to cat, or till they are fo fatigued and fpent tiiat they can no more fpcak. Whoever can ni'ikc the moft droll motions of his body, bears the Ijejl as a mafter-mufician cr finger. They alfo play at ball. When the moon fliincs, they divide themfelves in two parties, one of them throws a ball to another of his fide, and thofe of the other fide try to get the ball among them. Another way is, to kick the ball to a certain boundary, and try thus who is nimblcfl. They have alfo ways of trying one another's ftrength or hardinefs ; for inftance, two competitors ftrike ojie another fuccelTively with their fifl on the bare back, and he that holds it out longcft is the conqueror, and as fuch he ftruts about and challenges another, till he has his budget fi\.]l too. Again they fit down, link legs and arms together, and try which can out-pull the other, and he that does, is mailer. They alfo try their flrength by hooking their fingers together, and fo drawing. T'.ey fometimes faften a rope to a beam in the houfe, hang on it by their foot or arm, and exercife all forts of artfull poftures like a rope- dancer. The young folks turn round a board upon an axle, with a finger-piece upon it like a onc-and- thirty board, and whomfoever the finger points to when it ftands ftill, wins the depofited prize. The children, efpecially the girls, join hands, form a circle and dance and hop about, fmging among themfelves to the ir^otion. Vol. I. N § 24. 178 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. flL § 24. Such dancing meetings are alfo appointed at other fcalons of the year, when they abound with ftores, and there is not much to be done at fea, and fome take this opportunity to traffic. But there is one thing which is the moft fingular of all, that they even decide their quarrels by fmging and dancing, and call this a fmging- comb at. If one Greenlander imagines himfelf injured by another, he betrays not the leaft trace of vexation or wrath, much lets revenge, but he compofes a fatyrical poem ; this he repeats fo often with fmging and dancing in the prefence of his domeftics, and efpeeially the women, till they have all got it in their memory. Then he publifhes a challenge every where, that he will fight a duel with his antagonift, not with a fword but a fong. The rcfpondent betakes himfelf to the appointed place, and prefents himfelf in the encircled theatre. Then the accufer begins to fmg his fatyre to the beat of the drum, and his party in the auditory, back every line with the repeated Amna aiah^ and alfo fmg every fen- tence with him ; and all this while he drfcharges fo many taunting truths at his adverfary, that the audi- ence have their fill of laughing. When he has fung too o out all his gall, the defendant fteps forth, anfwers the accufation againft him, and ridicules his antagonift in the fame manner, all which is corroborated with the united chorus of his party, and fo the laugh changes fides. The plaintiff renews the affault, and tries to baffie him a fecond time ; in fhort he that maintains the laft word wins the procefs, and acquires a name. At fuch opportunities they can tell one another the truth very roundly and cuttingly, only there muft be no mixture of rudenefs or paflion. The whole body of beholders conftitute the jury, and bcflow the laurel, and afterwards the two parties are the beft friends. It is feldom any thing unbecoming occurs at any of their fports ; (except perhaps that a man, who has good fcconds, carries off a woman by violence, whom he has a mind to many:) but as for this fport, it is moi« than a mere divcrfion, they take this opportunity to Chap. 3. Of their social Deportment. 179 to excite one another to better morals by cxpofiiig the fhaine of the contrary ; to admonilh debtors to pay what they owe; to difcountenance lying and dctradlion ; and to execute revenge oncvery fort of fraud or injuftice in their dealings, and alfo on adultery ; for there is no- thino- that keeps a Greenlander in good order fo much as dread of publiclc defamation. Nay this merry re- venge keeps back many a one from wreaking his malice in making rcprifals, or even committing murder. Yet after all it is difcernible, that the chief ingredient in the whole affair is a voluble tongue ; therefore it is common among the Greenlanders, that the moft ce- lebrated fatyrifts, and moral philofophers, behave the worft. § 25. Thus the Drum-dancings are their Olympic games, their Areopagus^ their rojirum, their theatre, their com- mercial fair, and laftly xht'w forum or court of juftice, before which they cite each other to adjuft their vari- ances, without depriving the antagoniit of his life by a poniard dipt in blood, or of his honour by a pen dipt in poifon. And no one can blame this mirthful me- thod of putting malevolence to the blufh, of punlfliing offenders, and procuring themfelves juftice, as long as they are favage, without religion, and without the leaft fhadow of a political confUtution. Thev live as we may imagine our anccftors lived immediately after the Flood, before they learned to envy the property of another, or to rob their fellow-mortals of their honour, their fubftance, their liberty and their life. A father governs his ovv'n family as well as he can, but has no one to command out of that circle, nei- ther v/ill he take the commands of another. Nay when feveral families dwell in one houfe together, one has no authority to diclate to the other ; only they muft repair the houfe in fellowfliip, and remove in and out at the fame time, becaufe many lamps are required to heat the houfe. Yet the men love to accommodate themfelves to fome Sire of the houfe that cuts the moft figure among them, is moft weather-wife, and has attained the greateft flcill in the art of feal-catching ; N 2 his i8o HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. his habitation is afligned him in the north-end of the houfe, and he is to infped: its order and cleannefs. But if any one refufes to follow him, he will not command him, much lefs punifh him ; but they all agree not to live with fuch people the next winter, and alfo to tell the chief of fuch a diforderly part of the houfe the truth upon fome occafton in a fatyrical fong, if they count him worth the trouble. The Children ftay with their parents, and follow them as long as they live, even after they are married. Relations like to keep together, to be a mutual afliftance to each other in time of need. When a large fleet of kajaks go together, they follow the wifeft man and the beft pilot as their admiral, but may feparate from him when they pleafe. In ihort, no one defires to ufurp the leaft authority over another, to prefcribe to him in the kaft, to call him to account for his a(9;ions, or to demand any rates or taxes for the public want or weal. For they have no overplus nor riches ; they have a natural antipathy againft all compulfion, and the whole country ftands open to each of them. However, they have fome good cuftoms derived from their anceftors, which they regulate themfelves by in- ftead of laws j but alas the practice is often very de- fe61:ive, for the execution has no fupport, and the tranf- greflbr no punifhment, except the fatyrical dance. I will now conclude this chapter by inferting the following cuftoms, out of Mr. Dalagers relation of tht ways and ufages of the Greenlanders. Every man may go and live where he will, but if he finds inhabitants already fettled on the intended fpot, he will not land till an intimation is given that he is welcome there. Hunting and fifhing, which is all the land affords, has no game-a6l to reftrain it, but is every where free to all, nor does any one think of a profecution if a per- fect ftranger comes to reap in the harveft that God hath given at a good fiftiery, nay even at a falmon-wear which others ere6fed with great trouble ; only they muft do no harm, nor frighten the creatures away. Should the ftrangers afl againft this order, the inhabitants will rather go away and put up with the lofs, than quarrel with 'them. Whoever finds Drift-wood, or the fpoils of Ghap. 3. Of their social Deportmekt. 181 of a fliip-wreck on the ftranJ, enjoys it as his own, though he docs not live there. But he muft hawl it afhore and lay. a ftone upon it, as a tolvcn that fome one has taken pofleflion of it, and this ftcir: is tneir deed of fecuriCy, for no other Greenlander will ofFer to meddle with it afterwards. If a feal efcapcs from a man with his javelin in it, and another man afterwards kills it, it belongs to the hrll man that llruck it. But if the creature is rtruck with the harpoon and bladder, and the ftring breaks, he that threw firfl, lofes his right. If two ftrike a feal at the fame time, they divide it be- tween them. The fowling rules are the fame. If any- one finds a dead feal v/ith the harpoon in it, he keeps the feal, but reflorcs the harpoon to him that loft it. If they catch a fea-cow, or any other fuch great ani- mal of the ocean, he that caft the weapon claims the head and tail for his own, but of the carcafs every man may cut ofF as much as he can. All, even bare beholders, have as much right to a whale as the har- pooners. At fuch times there is great diforder among them, for fe\'eral hundred people fall at once upon the animal with {harp knives, and cut and flice with a wild greedinefs, fo that they cut one another often by acci- dent in the hurry ; yet they bear no animofity againft each other for it. If feveral fhoot their arrows into a reindeer at once, it belongs to the dextrous hand whofe arrow refted neareft the heart, however the others have a portion of the venifon given them. But if one wounds it before another, he bears away the prey, though another killed it afterwards. But fince they have had guns, and no one can know his bullet, many a difpute commences which is hard to be decided. If a man makes a fox-trap, and neglects fetting it for a time, another may fet it at length, and claim the cap- tive animal. If a man lends his boat or tool, and it receives fome accidental damage, the owner muft de- mand no reparation, except it was ufed without his knowledge. Therefore they do not like to lend. If a man buys a thing in barter, and afterwards it does not fuit him, he may return it again, and receive his equivalent. A chapman that cannot directly pay, may have a thing upon credit. If he dies before the debt is N 3 difcharged. i82 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. Ill, difcharged, the creditor muft not renew the grief of the difconfolate relations by mentioning the deceafed : however after fome time he may apply for his own, if it is not loft in the fcramble that commonly goes forward in the houfc of the dead. Nay if a perfon in the interim lofes or breaks a thing that he hath taken up upon credit, they will not infift upon his paying for it. Such cuftoms, that gradually aflume the fanftion of laws among the Greenlanders, appear a little ftrange to fuch ?-s have other laws and ufages, and bring fome, and efpecially the fa6lors into many a perplexity. The Greenlanders themfelves fee the infufficiency and in- juftice of feveral of their cuftoms, and yet have no mind to alter them for fear of ill-report, and their final reafon is : " The cuftom is now fo." CHAP. IV. Of the moral Character and Conduct of THE Greenlanders. § 26. IT is now Incumbent upon me to fay fomething of the Virtues and Vices of this nation, fo far as we may attribute virtues to people that live without Chrift, that is, without God in the world, and that have neither religion nor government, and confequently are ftrangers both to divine and human laws. But I know not whe- ther I fhall be fo fortunate as to fucceed in delineating the rnpral and mental qualities of this Nation in the general ; for every nation, nay every individual per- for,, has a good fide and a bad, and according to the difrerent fides that different people fcan, their defcrip- tions of them diametrically differ, laudatur ab hisy cul~ patur ab i/iis. So it is in this cafe; at the iirft , view of this untaught people, wedifccrnfo manv lovely | and laudable qualities, as may in truth put our Chriften- \ doni ?o the bliiih, in iti prclcnt ftate of excellent knovy- ^1 i kd-e, ' Claap. 4. Of their moral Character. 183 / kdge, but of pradice generally contradictory both to the light of Nature and Revelation. This is the fide ^1 the Gret'yUimd nation prefcnts to every one, that has not ' ftifRcient time or opportunity to explore fundamentally all the latent fprij)gs and meanders of their inclinations a/id actions. 'I'his hath given ground to the good de- fcriptions of the Greenlanders that have been ex- hibited. On the other fide, we find in thefe people nothing that, in the proper fenfe, could be denominated good and virtuous in the eyes of men, much lefs in the eyes of God ; but on the contrary, if all is not fo, yet at leaft there is fo much wickednefs and vice, that fome who know the Greenlanders better than they do other na- tions, will allow of nothing good in them, and reckon j them among the moft favage, abominable and vicioufly- ' difpofed nations. For my part, I have obfcrved more " agreeable than difagreeable things in thefe favagcs, be- caufe I have feen them moftly on the good, and fel- dom on the bad fide ; but yet truth obliges me to infert their hiemiflies alfo, as they have been reported to me, that I may paint their true pidure as near as poiTible. § 27. The Greenlanders are calkd wild or favage; and people are wont to form fuch an odd conception of favag£s, as if their nature and manner of living mull needs be not only immoral, but brutal and cruel. This word fhares the fame fate as the word bcrhGrus^ which was the appellation the Greeks and Romans gave to all foreigners, who had often better, onlv not their manners and cuftoms. Navigators Ihled thofe people favages, (fyhatici) that did not dwell in cities and villages, but difperfed here and there in the forcfls like the wild beafts. Thus the Heathens got the name qfPaganiy when they were no longer permitted to carry on their idolatry in the cities, but only in the country. /The Greenlanders are not properly an untra'c. w? muft trace their fecming virtuous deportment to ibm

tender by nature. , .-.-,•; ..• *^ On the other hand there are traces of a ftronger love between Parents and Children, and of the many pafli- ons rifmg from it, than there are in otlier nations; A mother cannot fuffer her child to be out of her fight, and many a mother has drowned herfslf be'caufe her child hath been drowned. Butjuft fc it is with the ir- rational creatures, they are infenfible to the pleafure ox pain of other animals, but their love and concern for their own young is fo much the ftronger. This would almolt lead one to think, that the Greenlanders act more from the inftindt and movements which the irratio- nal animals have in common v/ith mankind, than from {.human reafon. And their predominant turn is a cer- fvtain inconfidcration. Even in mere temporal things they live at random, devoid of care for the future. When they iee a thing,, they like it^ though theydQn't know 190 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.llL know what ufe to make of it. And if their defire fix- es upon any thing, they will barter whatever is moft necefTary to them for it, and afterwards fufFer want. If they receive a favour, or afliftance in their greateft need, efpecially from an European, they think of no acknov/ledgement or gratitude farther than, kiijonak, " I *' give you many thanks!'* and if their t)enefa£tor fiiould want their fervice again, he would feldom find it. When they are drefled in their Greenland finery, they ftrut like a peacock, and treat all beneath them with contempt, and efpecially if they are endow'ed with fome extraordinary dexterity, and are fortunate In feal-catching. If their paffions, which they know how to curb, or at leaft conceal for a long time, fhould once break out, they rage with the more mad and bru- tal fury. What they have a mind to do, muft be done, and what they do not like, no arguments can perfuade them to. This ohftinacy, accompanied with a fly craftinefs, is moftly found in the old people ; 'tis owing in part to their inadvertency, and in part to the total ne^ledl of educatins; them,, and breakincr their will in their childhood. This caufes the Miffionaries their ffreateft trouble, if thev are not able to contrive fo, as to prevent beforehand their fixing their will, or wifely turn it afide. § 31- It is eafy to imagine that the Greenlanders arc not all exactly alike, and confequently what I have hither- to faid, both of their agreeable and difagreeable fide, is not univerfally applicable without exception. Some of them are confiderate, judicious, beneficent people ; but fuch are very rare. On the other hand, thofe are not rare that lead aconfefledly culpable, nay a vicious and unnatural life, when they have once conquered modefty and fhame, and have no retaliation to fear. Lying and flander are common among the women. The poor and the lazy are fometimes upon the watch for ftealing, efpecially from unknown travellers, if it can but be done fecretly ; but if they can rob a foreign- er, let it be by craft or force, it is a feather in tiieir cap. Chap. 4- Of Turin moral Character. igr cap. Therefore the Europeans place no great confif- dcnce in them, becaufc they have been cheated by them many times, nay have been decoyed afhore, and then bafely murdered and robbed of their goods. But they dare not pradlifc fuch fraud and villany on the Euro- peans that conftantly live among them, bccaufe they can purfue the perpetrators all over the country, and bring them to punifliment. Neither does their plaufible outfide modefty ^ far. I will not be particular about their young fmgle people, becaufe among them there are the fewelt open breach- es of chaftity, though they are as filthy in fccret as o- ther nations ; but as to the grown-up, it is certain their polygamy does not always fpring from a concern for population, but moftly from lufl. Moreover there arefome women that are whores by profeflion, though a fmgle woman feldom proftitutes herfelf to this fcan- dalous trade. But as for the married people, they are fo fhamelefs that, if they can, they break the ma- trimonial obligation on both fides without a blufli. But fmce the underftanding of thefe people is fo little po- lifhed, fmce there is fo much of the beaft in their acti- ons, as has been hinted before ; it would fcarcely be imagined that they have much refinement in thcir-brutal pleafures. Yet 1 have been aflured of the contrary, and that they can read the language of the ogling eye, unattended with the leaft concomitant mien or motioa, better than the adepts in Turkey. § 32- How felf-interefted and unjuft, nay how barbarous their treatment is of poor widows and orphans that arc deftitute of a prote6lor, we may judge by their ftrangc and confufed regulation in the affair of inheritances. When a man die:^, his eldeft fon inherits his tent and his women's-boat, that is, the paternal eilate, but then he muft maintain his mother and the reft of the chil- dren, who divide the houfe-furniture and cloaths a- mong them. If there is no fon grown-up, then the neareft relation enjoys the inheritance, and maintains and educates the widow and childi'en. But if he is al- ready furnilhed with a tent and a womcn's-boat, he transfers 192 PIISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. Ill/ transfers the hereditament and its incumbencies to fome ftranger ; for no one can uphold and take care of two tents and boats. Afterwards when the fons grow up, they cannot reclaim the tent and boat, but he that has it, keeps it ; unlefs the fofter-father hath no children or only young ones, for then the adopted fon takes pof- feflion of the patrimony, and fupports the family when fatherlefs. So far it proceeds in good order. But here arifes a^aw : Since as foon as the fons are grown up and commenced feal -catchers, the widow may do what ihe will with what they earn ; and fnould fhe defert her old benefac1:or and his now helplcfs children, there is no juftice of the peace to apply to for redrefs: there- fore we may well think, that the caring for widows and .orphans is often much neglected, becaufeof the uncer- tain expectation of any advantage from it, efpecially if they have nothing to bring with them at prefent. Therefore many boys are neglected in their youth, be- caufe the equipping them with akajak and its appurte- nances is expenfive ; but ftill more poor pbjefts of, the female fex periih with nakednefs and hunger. But the moft hard-hearted fcene of all is this : When a poor deftitute widow, that has no near relations, lies with her children on the ground, bewailing the lofs of her hufband almoft to diftraftion, all the chattels of her hufband are in the mean while clandeftinelv pur- loined by the guefls, who at the fame time bear the compliments of condolence on their tongue. The defpoiled widow has no court of judicature to lodge her complaint in or fue to for a recovery, butmufl en- deavour to ingratiate herfelf with him who has been her greateft plunderer. He will keep her a while, and when he is tired of her, ihe muu try to infinuate her- felf into the favour of another. But at laft fhe and her children are left to their hard tate, A little longer perhaps they protract life, by eating fifhcs, mufcles and fea-grafs, but iijially they muft Itarve and freeze to death, having no cloathing nor lamp-oil. This pro- bably is the principal reafon why the Greenland nation diniiniihcs from year to year, efpecially where ihuy have Chap. 4. Of their moral Character. 193 have enlarged their wants by newcultoms beyond their income. § 33- In criminal cafes the proceis is ftill more diforderly and favage. No tranrgrefibrs arc punilhcd with death but murderers, and ("uch witches as are reported to have bev/itched others to death. But in thei'c cafes they proceed with fuch temerity and revenge, that at lalt no one's lite is fafe. 'Tis true the Greenlanders have iK)t naturally a murderous, difpofition ; but as they are employed from their youth in butchering fcals and other creatures, and have as it were an hereditary inclination to it, fo foine of them, by daily cuilom, at laft give room to the unnatural thirft for murdering of men without any rcafon. However, iiich fiends that mur- der out of micre blood-thirftinefs, or to make them.- felves famous or formidable, are but few. There are more that do it out of envy at another's fuperior dex- terity or v/eakhier ftock, tliough they fteal none of it. But the moft murder out of revenge. Such an aflafiin perpetrates the deed at fea in a treacherous manner, by overfettingthe Greenlander in his kajak and drowning him, or by throwing an har- poon into his back behind, and fo leaving his body in the fea. If the friends of the murdered man difcover the murderer, they ftifle their anger, nay they do not fo much as let a word about it tranfpire, for fear the ruiEan or his fpies and accomplices might d:f- patch them too to fecure himl'^lf- Yet depend upon it, they will not forget to avenge * the reeking blood, when they meet the murderer alone, even though thirty years fhould elapfe before they can efFecl it. They generally attack him aftiore, declare the reafon in a few words, then ftone him or run him through, and caft his body into the fea ; or if they are very much provoked, they hew him to pieces and fwallow a bit of his • This fplrit of revenge, without uttering the lead intimation of it t*!l the proper time, is conveyed dov.-n to their children and grandchildren. But when they become true Chriftian;, this fin and excels (.■ ales too along with the rert, fo that they ihinl; no more of old injuries, but love one another Very heartily. Vol, I. O heart 194 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. HI. heart or liver, becaufe they think his relations will by that means lofe their courage to fall upon them. If the punifhed offender is very notorious, and much hated for the murder he committed, and if he has no relations, then it goes no further. But commonly this infiicSted punifhment of death is again revenged with death, either on the executioner himfelf or his children, coufms or other relations; and if they cannot come at thefe, upon fome acquaintance that live in the fame neighbourhood. And thus bldod may continue to be heaped upon blood, till fometimes it befalls quite in- nocent people. Their procedure with witches is alfo \'ery fhort. If a rumour prevails that a certain old woman is a witch (or a man a wizard) which the poor old creature may thank herfelf for, becaufe fhe made pretences to charms and quackery; when, I fay, her name is up, a man need but have his wife or child die, or his ar- rows mifs their mark, or his gun mifs fire, the a7ige- kok or conjurer lays all the blame upon fuch a poor wretch, and if fhe has no alliance with fome man of arms, all the country will join to ftone her, or fhe will be thrown into the fea, or hewn to pieces, ac- cording as their rage dictates to them. Nay there have been inftances that a man has ftabbed his own mother or filler in the prefence of a houfc-full of peo- ple, and no one hath upbraided him for it. However, if the executed perfon hath any near relatiorv>, they endeavour to avenge her death, and thus the tragedy ifl'ues in a prolonged feries of murders. Sometiir^es when fuch poor wretches find there is no poffible efcape, they plunge themfelves into the more friendly bofom of the ocean, to elude the blood-thirfty weapons that would hew them in pieces, and would leave their dif- membered carcafs a prey to the ravens. § 34- Thus i have thought it rcquifite to draw the good and bad fide of the charaftcr of the Greenlanders, (who are perhaps the moft fimplc and Icaft corrupted of all the Heathen Nations) and to trace as much as pofTible the g!0und .ind motive of their acHojis j becaufe the ?. accounts Chap; 4. Of their moral Character. 195 accoui^.ts of this Nation hitherto publiflicd, as well as the fplendid defcriptions of almoft all heathen nations in ancient or later ages, might almoft induce us td think that there were virtuous heathens, who excelled the Chrirtians in many rcfpctSts, and that they were only reduced to the pradice of vice by the hp.d example and temptations of the Chriftians, and by the new and unknown allurements they broup;ht them. From thefe premifes they deduce this conclufion, that mCn may lead a virtuous life from the mere light of Nature and Reafon, and do not fo exprcfsly need the light of the Gofpel in order to be pleafmg to God and valuable to their fellow creatures. Every one knows,- that this is the corner-ftone of Deifm. We alfo know that many a Teacher delights to alledge, without fefle£^ing on the confequences, the examples of the virtuous Hea- thens, as a reproach of excitement to his auditory j which either hath no ejfle<5l at all,- or elfe this bad one^f toftrengthen that Pelagianifm which every man inherits by birth, and that Self-working, which produces no- thing but plaufible, painted virtues ; befides that it putSj as obferved already^ the moft eftedual weapon into the hands of Atheifts and Deifts, to difpute the neceflity of the Atonement, and of the doctrines of the gofpel. Thefe miftaken notions alfo make people think that the converfion of the heathen is an eafy thing, and that the main difl&culty is how to inftil into therit a proper and convidlive conception of the divine truths ; for as , to good behaviour^ that will be eafy enough.,' becaufe they have been aecuftomed to a virtuous walk and demeanour, a priori. It is true, one may allow thefe heathen in feveral re- fpefts, a preference before corrupt Chriftians, becaufe rhcy really .efcheW many vices, not barely through the abfence of bad examples, means and opportunities, or from a blameable fclf-praife and felf-intercfl:, but alfo from a principle of ihame; which fhcws that they have a notion, though it be but an obfcure ohe^ that this and the other thing is wrong or fmful, although their /native torpidity and difmclination to thought and re- fic<5fion,| prevents their tracing fufHciently thofe dictates of the law of nature and of Confciencc, which lie O 1. \ri 196 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IIL in them, and confequently their adling from principles and prefcripts. And undoubtedly it is no fmall plea in their favour, that being enveloped in utter ig- norance of Revelation, they are more obedient to the little light of their underftanding, than moft mcrn are to the knowledge they have from the clear light of the gofpei, and to the frequent calls and tenders of di- vine grace in their hearts. This vi^ill at leaft fpare the Greenlanders many ftri pes, which others earn for them - felves by their licentioufnefs, and their contempt or neglect of oflFered Grace. • But yet on the other hand, we cannot perceive either in the Greenlanders, or in any other heathen nations we have had a clofer acquaintance with, that they fhun by Nature the greateji vlces^ and praftife certain "y/'r- tties^ which deferve to be praifed and rewarded before the judgment-feat of man, if not before the divine tribunal. And indeed, from whence fhould they de- rive the inftrudtions, the pattern, and the ability requifite for it, as long as they know nothing of the facred Gofpei, and are ftill under the dominion of the god bf this world, who delights to carry on his work in thofe that believe not ? CHAP. V. Of the Religion, or rather Superstition of THE Greenlanders. § 35- HIS brings me to confider the Religion, or more _^ properly, the Superftition ofthis nation. But it^ very hard to fay any thing about it, becaufe they are extremely ignorant, unthinking and credulous, and yet are very various in their opinions, forafmuch as every one hath liberty to believe any thing or nothing. Before Miffionaries came into the country, the Greenlanders were reported to be fuch grofs Idolateis as to worfhip the fun, and facrifice to the devil, that he Chap. 5. Of their Superstition. 197 he might forward, or at lead not hinder their hunting and fi(hing. This the Teamen did not learn from any difcourfe of the Greenhmders, for they undorftood no- thing of what they faid ; but they drew the conclufion from certain circumftances. They faw, that as foon as the Greenlanders arofc in the morning, they went otit and flood with their faces towards the rifing of the Sun, in deep meditation, in order to difcover by the look of the hemifpherc, or by the motion of the clouds, whether they had good or bad weather to expcdl, or even a ftorm the following day. They do fo ftill every morning. The failors, not knowing the true reafon, believed they worfhiped the fun. Again, others law on fome forfaken places many quadrangular fpots laid over with llone, and upon one elevated Hone found fome cinders, and near it a heap of bare bones. The conclufion was dire6lly made, that the Greenlanders mufl: have fa.- crificed here ; and to whom fhould they have facriuced but to the devil ? But the feamen had never feen thefum- mer-habitations of the Greenlanders, which are tents pitched in fuch quadrangular places, where they drefs their meat with wood. Thus may people err in their con- clufions concerning the conftitution and religion of others, if they have only feen fome circumftances without un- derftanding them. The Greenlanders have neither a religion nor idolatrous worfhip, nor fo much as any ceremonies to be perceived tending towards it. Hence the flrft Miffionaries entertained a fuppofition, that there was not the leaft trace to be found among them of any conception of a Divine Being, efpecially as they had no word to exprefs him by. When they were aiked, who made the heaven and earth and all vifible things ? their anfwer was : /A^ know not ; or, we do not knoiu him ; or, it muji have been fome mighty perfon ; or, things have ahvciys been as they are.^ and luill ahvays remain fo. But when they came to underftand their language bet- ter, they found quite the reverfe to be true, honi the notions they had, though very vague and various, concerning the foul and concerning fpirits ; and alfo from their anxious folicitude about the ftate after death. And not only fo, but they could plainly ga- ther from a free dialogue they had with fome perfedly O 3 wild ^9S HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.IIL jvild Greenlanders, (at that time avoiding any diredl ;ipplicatiorf to their hearts, or demanding of them the practice of duties for which they had no inclination) that their anceftorsmufthave believed a Suprepie Being, 3nd did render him fome fcrvice, v/hich their pofterity negledted by little and little, the further they were re- moved from more w^ife and civilized nations, till at Jaft vhcy loft every juft conception of the Deity. Yet after all it is manifeft, that a faint idea of a divine Pcing lies concealed in the minds even of this people, becaufe they direcSlly afTent v^^ithout any objeftion to the Dodtrine of a God and his Attributes, except they are afrajd of the confequjences of this truth, and fo will not believe it. Only they fuffer their natural flug- giflinefs, ftupidity and inattention to hin4cr them from attaining juft and confifteat principles, by a due refletftion on the works of creation and qn their own ti- morous forebodings concerning futurity. But ftill further, fome of them, though pe'rhaps not all, muft have had fome meditations and enquiries in their piind concerning this matter before they faw any Mif- iionary ; at Icaft in their younger years, before family cares were accumulated upon them. This is plain frprn the following anecdpte. A miflionary being once jn com.pany of fome baptized Grecnlanders, exprcil'ed hi^ yvqnder, how they could formerly lead fuch a fenfelefs jife void of al! reflection. Upon this, one of them anfwefed as follows: *' It is f true we were ignorant heathens, j^nd knevvr nothing " of a Qod or a Saviour ; and indeed who fhould telj " us of him till you came ? But thou muft not ima- f gine, that no Greenlander thinks about thefe things. *' r myfelf have often thought : A Kajak with all its *' tackle and implements does not grow into exiftence *' of itfelf, but m.uft be made by the labour and inge- f ' nuity of man ; apd one that does not underftand it, *' would direclly fpoil it. ' Now the meaneft bird has f far more fkill difplayed in its ftru more or fewer attendant circumftances. As for in- ftance, they fuperadded : " A man is made quite dif- *' ferent from the beafts. The brutes have no undcr- *' ftanding, but they ferve for food to each other, and *' all for the ufe of man. But man has an intellilnnua or pro- prietor, whom they call Innerterrirfok, i. e. one that forbids ; becaufe he bids the Angekoks tc t-ell the peo- ple what they rauft forbear if they would be fuccefsful. Their Erloerfortok alfo inhabits the air^. and lies in wait for the fouls as they afcchd upwards, to take out their bowels, and devour them. I'hey paint him full as meager, dark, fullen, and favage as Saturn. The Ko77geuj'ctokit Tixt nereids, or fpirits of the ocean, that feize and devour the foxes when they come to catch flfh on the ftrand. The higmrfoit are igjiipotent • or falamandrine fpirits, that inhabit the clefts of the rocks by the fea-fide, and are often feen like the ignis fatuus. They fay, they were the inhabitants of the earth before the deluge ; and when the globe turned up- fide down into the waters, they were metamorphofed into flames, and fheltercd themfelves in the cliffs. They charge them with ftealing men frequently off the ftrand to get comrades, but they are however very kind to them. The Tunnerfolt and Innuarolit are fpirits of the mountains ; the firft are giants four yards high, and the laft pygmies but a foot tall, but very expert however. Thefe pygmies are the mailers forfooth that have taught us Europeans our arts. On the other hand t\iG. ErkigUt have a face like a dog's head : They are martial fpirits, and inhuman foes to mankind ; hov/ever they only inhabit the caft-fide of the land. Perhaps the rife of this was fome badge of ignominy patched upon the remnant of the Norwegians. Silla- gikfartok is a mighty ^Eolus that prefides on fields of ice, and fends good weather. Frefli water has alfo its proper ^<'«/7. Therefore when the Greenlanders come to an unknown fountain, an angekok or the cldeft man muft 4 Chap. §. Of their SuperstitioS'. 20^ muft drink firft, to deliver it from any evil fpirit. If people, efpecially women that have fmall children, or are mourners, grow ficlc after eating certain food, then the nerrim-innutt^ i. e. thofe that harbour in eatables, muft: bear the blame, bccaufe they entice them to cat contrarv to the rules of abftincnce. The fun and the moon have alfo their tutelary refidents, who were once men. Nay the \ery air is a vital elTence, that may be kindled to anger by untoward a(3:ions, but yet is kind enough to admit petitioners to afk its counfel. It is to be hoped thofe gentry at leaft will not wonder at this, who follow the religion of the wifeChinefe, or the pre- fent new European dialc6f, to call upon the heavens to be their witnefs or to blefs them. And would a clever genius take the trouble to improve it, perhaps the Greenland fuperilition might gain the preference of the Greek and Latin mythology ; at leaft I am certain it would not turn out fo obfcene. The Greenlanders have alfo enough to tell us about fpe^ftres, and they think that all monftrous births are afterwards metamorphofed to fuch fcare-crows, that frighten away the fcals and the fovvls. None but the Angekoks can fee fuch an apparition or Angiak^ and catch it in the air. But they muft go upon this hunt with their eyes blinded, and when they have fejzed it, they tear it to pieces, or even eat it up. They alfo belieVe apparitions of the ghofts of the de-\ parted ; this is evident from a little ftory in Capt. Ege- ' de'sCcntitiuation^ p. 74. That a boy who was plavingwith other boys on the plains in broad day, was taken hold of by his mother, who had been buried in that place, and addreffed with the followinp: words amono- others : *' Do not be frighted, I am thy mother, and love thee. " Thou wilt live with ftrange people, who will in- *' ftru, and many Ger- mans their ihun^ though it properly fignifics getting or poflefling : And then this infinitive exprefTes what is de- noted by the conjunctive in other languaL!;cs. Much reflexion and long pra6lice is requifite to un- ravel and arrange all thcfe things. And the paradigms of the conjugations are not eafy to be retained in the memory, though they are regular. For in the firft place you muft conjugate through all moods and ten- fes with the adjundlion of the active pronoun, as well in verbs affirmative as negative, with fo many variations as may prevent all ambiguity, as : ermikpok^ he wafhes himfelf. ^tit, thou wafheft thyfelf. pongz, I wafli myfelf. puty they wafh themfelves. puk, they two wafh themfelves, pok, ye wafh yourfelves. ^otik, ye two wafh yourfelves. pogut, we wafh ourfelves. pogak, we two wafh ourfelves. Then every mood and tenfe muft be inflecfted with the fuffixes of the perfons atSlive and paflive, as : ermikpTiy he wafhes him. ^et, thou waflieft him. pzrZy I wafh him. p2ex, they wafh him. ^aek, they two wafh him. parfe, ye wafh him. ^artiJc, ye two wafh him. ^arput. 224 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. Ill, /)arput, we wafli him. /)arpuk, we two wafh him* And thus it goes not only through all the fix perfons of fingular and plural, as " he waflies thee, &c. he wafhes them, &c." but the dual muft alfo be conjugated thro' all the perfons, as, " he wafhes thofe two, you two, us two ;" and bcfides, if we reckon all the variations in all the moods, (fome moods, parti- cularly the conjunctive, being inflected twelve diffe- rent ways) and in all the tenfes, we fliall find every Verb, both affirmative and negative, to contain i8o different inflexions, all which muft be kept in the memory. The participle, which fupplies the place of an adjec- tive, in the prefent and preterit, is the fame as the pre- terit, as ennikfok^ one who wafhes, or wafhed. In the future they fay ennijjirfok., he v.-ho will wafh. The Greenlanders have no verbs deponent nor pafTive, but the latter are formed from the adtive by fome ad- junction. On the other hand, they have a multitude of verbs compounded, fome with certain particles, which feparatcly have no meaning ; others with auxilia- ry verbs, efpecially/)v5;{-; and fome again with other verbs. The inquifitive have already difcovered above a hun- dred ways wherein they compound two, three, nay five or fix words, fo as to pafs for one. There the firft words are curtailed either at their beginning or end, and the laft only is conjugated with the fuffixes of the perfons. For inftance, aglekpok^ he writes. Agleg-lartor-f'ck^ he goes away to write. Agleg'iartor-ajuar-pok^ he goes away haftily to write. Aglek-kig-iartor—afuar-pok, he goes afrefli away haftily to write. Aglek-kig-iartor-afuar-vlar-poh, he goes afrcfh away haf- tily and exerts himfelf to write. Such complicated verbs are inflected through all the multiplicity of the variations, and they are very much in ufc with the Greenlanders, for it enables them to fpeak witil elegance and brevity at once. A Grecnlander that is maftcr of his language, can exprcfs, with one tenfold- Chap. 6. Of their Sciences. 225 tenfold-compounded word, the following whole fen* tcnce: '' He fays, that thou alfo wilt go away quickly ♦' in like manner and buy a pretty knife ;" Knife pretty buy go away Sauig - - ik - - - fuii - - - - ariartok — haften wilt in like manner thou alfo he fays* iij'uar - omar -y------- otit - tog - og. Yet I imagine this fentencc may be rather a fpecimen of their art of combination, than that the Grcenlandcrs can often carry it quite fo fr.r. They have fcvcral ciaffes of adverbs, like other na- tions. But their numerals fall very ftiort, fo that they verify the German proverb, that they can fcarce count five J however they can make a fhift with difficulty to mount as high as twenty, by counting the fingers of both hands and the toes of both feet. But their pro- per numeration-table is five, attaufek one, arlcek two, pingajuak three, ftfflwiot four, tellhnat five. If they muft go further, they begin with the other hand, counting upon their fingers ; the 6th they call arlennek^ but the reft till ten have no other name but again two, three, four, five j they call eleven arkanget^ and fixteen arbarfanget^ and thefe teens they count ac- cording to their toes. Thus they mufter up twenty. Sometimes they fay, inftead of it, a man, that is, as many fingers and toes as a man has ; and then count as many fingers more, as are above the number j confe- quently inftead of 100, they fay five men. But the generality are not fuch learned arithmeticians, and therefore when the number is above twenty, they fay, " it is innumerable." But when they adjoin the thing itfelf to the number, they exprefs many numbers other- wife, as innuit pingafut^ three men. They tack their conjun6lions to the word behind, as the Latins do their que. They have no want of thefe, nor of interjc£lions. Their fyntax is fimple and natural ; the capital word ftands In the front, and the reft follow in rank according to their importance. Their conjunctives and infini- tives create the greateft difficulty, becaufe they deviate vaftly in their fignification from other languages^ They Vol. I; Q. alfo 226 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. BJIL alfo vary from us in negative quefiions and anfwers, e. g, pioviangllatit F Wilt thou not have this ? If you will have it, then you muft take care to fay nagga, no. But if you will not have it, you mull: fay ; Jp^ fiomangilangn, yes, I will not have it. Their ftile and way of fpeaking is not at all hyperbo- lical, pompous or bombaft, like the oriental wav, which may alfo be perceived in the North-American Indians i but the Greenlanders are fimple and natural in their ftyle. Yet they are fond of ftmilitudes, efpe- cially after they are becon:ie Chriftians, ^nd this is the moft fuccefsful method af inftiiling truth into them, or of their inftrudiing one another. They do not make Tong periphrafes or circumlocutions in their difcourfes, though they often repeat a thing for fake of greater clearnefs j nay they frequently fpeak fo laconic, that, though they readily underftand one another, a foreigner fcarce apprehends them after manv years exercife. They have alfo divers figurative fayings and proverbs, and the angekoks make ufe of exprefllons not only metaphorical, but fometimes to be taken in a fenfe quite contrary to the vulgar acceptation, that they may appear to talk learnedly, and may be well paid for un- riddling the oracle. Thus a ftone is the great du- rity or hardnefs ; water, the foftnefs j and the womb a bag. Their poefy has neither rhyme nor meafure. They make but fhort periods ; however, they are fung to a certain time and cadence, and between the fentences the chorus ftrikes in with amnah ajah :j|.- bey ! repeated jeveral times. Tranflating; out of this lan";u^2:e would be liable to the fame inconveniences, as tranflations are in other lan- guages. The Greenlanders can cxprefs th-emfelves fo concife and neat, that their meaning requires many words to explain it, and after all ^tis done perhaps im- perfe6lly. But there muft be ftill more circumlocution in tranflating into their tongue, efpecially in matters that are quite unknown to them, la Anderfons appen- dix to his account, he has given a fhort dictionary, fome phrafes, a rule for conjugation, and feveral pieces translated j allj done as well as the labour of the firft 5- y'^^r* CKap. 6. Of their Sciences. 227 years of the miffion could attain to, tho' there are alfo many errors of the pea or of the prefs. To gratify thofe readers that are lovers of languages, I will com- municate, as a fpeclmen of a trandation perfeg^, yd, ii. p. 43. &c. habitations, Chap. r. Ann'als of old Greenland. 263 habitations, firft^ on the weft-fidc, and then by degrees round to the cafl, § 9- * But here it might be queried, how Hiould thefc daf- tardly Skr;ellings, that every wIktc fly before the feebleft foe, that rather i'culk into the inclement and barren regions of the north, than- come to blows with the other Indians, who are as badly armed as thcmfclves, and finally that are timid to this day, and ftrangers to all methods of defence ; how, I fay, ihould they be capable of overmatching the valiant Norwegians, thofc fons of conquerors, in their well-peopled colonies, and barricaded by craggy rocks ; and of extirpating them fo totally, that we have not hitherto been able to trace any footfteps of them ? Nor do I affirm this, but re- gard it as a groundlefs notion. The ancients record no other circumftances of war, but- the flaughter of eighteen Norwegians on the weft-fide. The plague, with other fatalities combined with it, feems to have been the principal depopulator of thefe numerous co- lonies ; and the favages afterward could more eafily make an utter end of them. This peftllence, whicii was called the black or fable deaths raged about the year 1350, and fpread itfelf over all Europe with fuch fury, that not only moft of the people and the very cat- tle died away, but even the roots of the trees, the plants and herbage felt its ravage, and inoftly withereti away ; fo that whole territories lay wafte and void. This contagion prevailed moll in the northern diftricls. It may well be fuppofed, that Greenland too muft have been infected, through its frequent commercial inter- courfe with Norway. By and by mariners fail, and Greenland no more affords its wonted ftores for them to fetch away, becaufe the cattle alfo feel the mortal ftroke. Thus its former brifl: navigation diminifhes ; the favagres in the mean while widen their borders, and the few enfeebled Norwegians are driven by fear from the weft to the eaft-fide ; and the more they decreafe, the nearer they draw together. This made Ivar Beer clofe his relation of Greenland with thefe words: S 4. ^' AU 264. HISTORY OF GREENLA^TD.B. IV. " All the weft-fide is now occupied by the Skrael- " lings." After the plague, fome merchants fent their veflels again to Greenland. But queen Margaret begun a law- fuit v/ith them in 1 389, for trading thither without her grant, becaui'e thefe countries and Iceland, Fseroe and Finmark, belonged to the royal domains *. Neither fhe herfelf nor her fucceffors refided any more in Nor- way, and they had fo much work and difturbance on account of the union of the three northern kingdoms at Calmar, that they had no time to think of the for- faken Greenlanders. At the fame time many veffels v/ere caft away by ftorms, and that difcouraged the merchants more ftill, fo that in fhort the navigation thither was entirely negle6led f . Thus the deferted Norwegians might be eafily hemmed in, famillied and killed by the favages %, or be compelled to the dif- agreeable alternative of cafting themfelves into their arms, incorporating with them., and conforming to their manner of life. At laft the regency thought of them again, and fent them bifliop Andrew in the year 1406. But our age can procure no certain intelligence either of his arrival, or of the Norwegians fince that time, and their final fate; whether they all died of the peftilence, or were murdered by the favage Skra;l- linfrs, or whether fome of them are ftill exifting:, v/ho have receded back into the inlets between the moun- tains ; which laft is the opinion of many. It is certain fome traces of them were perceived long after this. About the year 1530 bi(hop Amund of Skalholt in Iceland is faid to have been driven by a ftorm, in his return from Norway, fo near the coaft of Greenland by Hcrjolfs Nefs, that he could fee the people driving in their cattle. But he did not land, * Pontanus ap. Torfaeiimj p. 24. ■f- Lyfcander ap. Torfaeum, p. 25. ■J There is a diftrift in Ball's river called PilTikfnrbik, i. r. a pl.'.ce where people flioot arrows, or a field of battle. It is believed that the Skraeilings had an encounter there with the Norwegians. On the other fide the water, which can be ferried over in half an hour, there are ftill feme ruins, and the Greenlanders fay, that the place derives its nanne from people's having fliot one at another with airows from the oppofite lides. becaufe Chap. I. Annals of old Greenland. 265 becaule juft then a good wind arofe, which carried the Ihip the fame night to Icehmd. The Icelander Bioern von Skardfa, who relates this, alio fays further, that a Hamburgh mariner, Jon Groenlander by name, was driven three times on the Greenland iflands, where he favv fiich fifher's hutts for drying fifli as they have in Iceland, but faw no men ; further, that pieces of fhattered boats, nay in the year 1625 an entire boat faftened together with finews and wooden pegs, and pitched with feal's blubber, have been driven afhore at Iceland from time to time ; and fince then they found once an oar with a fentence written in Runic letters ; Oft var ek dafa^ dur ek dro thik j that is, *' Oft was " I tired, when I drew thee." A German Author, Dithmar Bleficen, tells us, that in the year 1546, being in Iceland, he fpoke with a Dominican monk, who came but the year before from St. Thomas's cloyfter in Greenland ; he went in company with his bifliop from Greenland to Norway and afterwards fet- tled in Iceland ; and this monk gave him a defcription of St. Thomas's cloyfter. It is confeffed, that the l^ory is told a little incoherently, and its truth is much doubted ; but yet I find a fort of voucher for it in Cafar Longinus^s Extract of aliyournies and Voyages *. There it is faid, that an tnglifh failor, Jacob (or James) Hall, in the fervice of Denmark, made feve- ral voyages to Iceland and Greenland, and wrote a defcription of the wild Greenlanders the moft parti- cular, ample and conformable to truth, of all that had Written; this man affirms that he alfo had fpoken with the aforefaid monk in Iceland in the prefence of the governor, and had enquired of him about the flate of Greenland. He told him likewife feveral things about St. Thomas's cloyfter, particularly " that *' there was a fountain of hot water conveyed by pipes " into all their apartments, fo that not only their *' fitting-rooms, but alfo their fleeping-chambers were *' v/armed by it, and that in this fame water meat might *' be boiled as foon as in a pot over the fire. The " walls of the cloyfter were all made of pumice-ftone, • Part II. p. 147. 4. " and 266 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IV. " and if they poured this hot water upon the ftones, *' they would become clammy and vifcid, and fo they *' ufed them inftead of lime." The Danifh Chronicle of Greenland alfo make? mention of this cloyfter, and fpeaks befides of a gar- den, through which a rivulet of this hot fountain flowed, and made the foil fo fruitful, that it produced the moR: beautiful flowers and fruits. But the moft ancient Iceland accounts mention not one word of this cloyfter, nor of the city Albe in Greenland. The monk told Jacob Hall a good deal about the favages, whom he called pygmies ; but thefe relations jieither harmonize with the prefent afpeft of things, nor with Jacob Hall's own account of Greenland *. For my part, I prefent you with what people have faid of the taft-flde of Greenland fo as I have it, but can affirm nothing. As to what has been done from time to time fur the frelh difcovery of this place, I fhall come to it prefcntly. § 10. In the mean time I will relate fomething of its pre- fent fiate, fo far as we could learn from fome Green- landers that came to vifit fome of their relations in Ncwherrnhuth in the fummer, 1752. The journal contains the following account. " One of thefe ftrangers, called Kojake, who, after *' he comes to Onartok: or the warm fountain, hath *' five days journey further to his own home, and con- *' fequently lives 60 leagues up the eaft-fide; this man " gave us the following relation, that he lodged two " men laft winter, who faid, that they and a third *' had made a three years excurfion on the eaft-fidc *' in their womens-boats. He could not tell us the *' native place nor habitation of thefe ftrangers, only *' that it was very far diftant from him north eaft- *' ward. According to their account, they tarried the *'. firft winter by the way, the fecond year they pro- *< ceeded fo far as the ice v/ould permit them, and *' the third tl^tcy came back again, They had bccu * Lojiginus, /. c, p. J 37. 5 fo Chap. I. Annals of old Greenland. 267 *' fo high on the eaft-fide, that the fun did not quite ** fet in fummer, but illuminated the mountains with *' its rays even at midnight, which agrees with the *' 66th deg. By the way they were obliged at times ** to lay their tent and boat upon a fledge, and draw ** it acrofs the ice by dogs. They always kept under ** the land, and never put oft' far to fca, becaufc a ** great deal of ice lies there, though there was ice *' enough alfo under the land, but it is fooner diflblvcd ** by the fun them. Mean while Mr. Egede kept a conference with his two new colleagues, in which he laid before them a written propofal, that as he faw, for want of proper regulations, nothing was to be effeiTted among the adult Greenlanders, but to gain their cold aflent to the word, without any reflefbion on their mifery or any defire after grace ; and yet he did not like to fpend his time without fruit, and could much ]efs bear to fee the poor innocent children die away without baptifmj thirtfoie he had come to a conclufion in the preicnce X 3 of 310 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IV. pf God, to make fuch children partakers of holy bap-< tifm, whofe parents gave their aflent to the true religion, in hopes that the parents would ftay in the neighbour- hood, and let their children be taught hereafter the knowledge and fear of God by capable inftrucSors. Both his collegues acquiefced in his fcheme, and Mr. Olaus Lange corroborated it by many arguments in a written Thefts. The next year they received the approbation of the mifilons-college herein, though on the follov/ing conditions, i. If the parents are not enticed to it by blandifhrnents, much lefs compelled by force, but give their voluntary confent. 2- If they do not defire it out of fuperftition, imagining that baptifm may contribute to the bodily health and ftrength of the children, like as they in paft years defired the miifionary to breath on their Tick. 3. If they obligated themfelves to let their baptized children be inftru6led in due time. On this account they charged the miffi- pnaries to keep an exaft regifter, that they might always know what children they had baptize^, and v/hat was become of them, and that they might not difpenfe bap- tifm twice by miftake. But they were ordered not to baptize adults till they had been inftrutv/ithfta!idi«g aJl obftrucnncn>, ftarted many difficulties, both wheji alone with them, and in the prefcncc of other minifters, and at laft font them away to lomc divines to becxamii^cd. Itmuft certainly have appeared vaftly; odd to this gentleman, who well knew how little the/ learned, indefatigable, fiuthful and honell Egede had, effected among the infidels, that young illiterate per-' fons fliould expect any fuccefs, efpccially as the modern world had not yet feen any inllancesof lay-miflionaries. But notwithll:anding, when he was once convinced of the good foundation of their faith, and the uprightnefs of their intentions, he got an uncommon love and confidence towards them, prefcnted their written pe- tition with pleafure to the king, and fcconded it to the utmoit of his power. He is iaid to have allcdgcd this motive among others, that God has in all ages made ufe of the meaneft, moil improbable, nay defpi-i cable inftruments in the eye of the world, for accom- plifhino; the errand defio-ns of his kingdom, tofhewthat -Too O O ' the honour appertains folely to hiui, and to inure mankind not to rely on their own penetration or power, but on his benedi^tive hand. His majcfty was pleafed to acquiefce in the reprcfentation of this mi- nifter, accepted the voluntary overture of the brethren with the moft gracious expreflions, and after the dif- ficulties had been once mtjre weighed and removed, he came to a refolution to promote anew the cultivation of Greenland and the converfion of the heathen. He not only permitted thefe three brethren to go thither as miflionaries, but alfo defired that more might foon follow them ; and was gracious enough to write with his own hand to Mr. Egede, that he fliould receive the brethren in a kind and friendly manner, ai;d take care that they v/ere forwarded in their intention, and no-ways hindered in their labour among the heathen. This miniftcr of Hate made them knoy/n to fevera! pious perfons of quality, who converlcd with them to mutual edificatiun, and made them a prefent towards the cxpcnce of their voyage and fettlement in Green- land, without their folicitation. Among other things, Y 3 luri 326 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. lord Plefs aflied them, how they propofed to find them- fclves food in Greenland? They anfv/ered ; By the labour of their hands and God's blefnng ; that they v/ould build them a houfe and cultivate the land, that they might not be burdenfome to any (for they did not know then, that the land confifted almoft of nothing but bare rocks). He obje61:ed, that there was no wood there to build with. The brethren replied, that they would then dig into the earth, and lodge there. *' No, fays he, you fliall not be driven to that '* fhift, take wood with you and build a houfe ; ac- *^ cept of thefe 50 dollars for that purpofe." Both he and fevcral other great perfonages, v/ho were well- wifiiers, added to their ftock, with which they bought fome building-materials and other neceilary things, as 46 poles, 10. dozen of planks, laths ; fome imple- ments for hufbandry, for digging of ftones, mafonrv and carpenters vvork; feveral forts of feeds and roots; nets, fowling-pieces, flax for fpinning ; houfhold goods, as iron Iloves, windows, tin and copper vef- ielsy beds, clothing, books, paper and vi»5luals. §4- At laft, on the loth of April, they went on board the king's fhip Caritas, captain Hildebrand commander, accompanied v/ith many fmcere wiilies of blefTing from the court and all benevolent minds. The congrega- tion at Herrnhuth had a cuflom fince the year 1729, before the commencement of a year, to compile a little annual book containing a text of holy Scripture for • every day iji the fame, and each illuilrated or applied by a verfe out of the hymn-book. This text was called the word of the day ; it was meditated upon in fecret by every one, and fpoken upcn by the teacher in the publick meeting. Many a time it has been after- wards found, that the word of a day in which a pe- culiar event has occurred, has had a remarkable coin- cidence with it. Thus the word on that icili of April, when our brethren fet fail on a million, which often fcemed to baffle all hope, was Heb. xi. i. Faith is the fuhftance of iinngs hoped for, the evidence of things not Jccv. '' Vv"e view him, v/hom no eye can fee, — with faith'3 perfpecti\e Relation of New-Herrnhuth, >733- 3^7 perrpc(5ilvc ftedfaftly." In this confidence they fet fail, nor did they futFcr themfelvcs to be confounded by nny of the imfpcakablc difficulties of the folKiwing years, till they and wcat lall beheld with bur eyes the comple- tion of what they hoped for in faith. They had a fpeedy, and, excepting; fome ftorms, a commodious voyage ; they failed by Shetland, April 22d, pafling thereout of the north into the well-fea, or long- reach, and entered Davis's ftraits the beginning of May. May 6th they fell among fome floating ice, in a thick fog, and the next day were aflaultedby a terrible ftorm, but this very ftorm drove the ice fo far afundcr, that it alfo diflipated their fears. The 13th they fpied land, but the very fame day, after a total eclipfe of the fun, there arofe a violent tempeft that lafted four days and nights, and drove them above 60 leagues back. May 2Cth they entered Ball's-river, after a voyage of fix weeks. The word of the day was : The peace of God, which pajfcth all imdcrjl endings Jhall keep your hearts and minds through Chri/} Jefus. Phil. iv. 7. " Let all our ** fcnfcs be compofed and quiet." By this they were frequently encouraged to a peaceful and believing per- feverance in patience during the flrft enfuing years, amidft all the oppofitions they met with, and the poor profpecb of the converfion of the heathen. Wretched as the country looked in comparifon with Europe (for they found fcarce any thing but bare rocks, and fteep cliffs covered with ice and fnow), yet thev rejoiced that they were arrived to the ftation they had fo long wifhed for. The fight of the firft Green- landers gave them joy, though they could not fpeak a word with themj their pitiable condition pierced their heart, and they prayed the Lord, who is the light to lighten the gentiles, that he would grant them grace, wifdom and power, foon to bring fome, if not all, out of darknefs into his marvellous light. They were ■much invigorated in this mind, by paHages which em- phatically occurred to them in their daily reading of the Bible; as for inftance, Rom.xv. 7.1. " To whom *' he was not ipoken of, they fhall fee ; and they that " have not heard, fhall underftaud.'' Heb. xi. 27. Y 4 - By 328 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.V. *' By faith he forfook Egypt j for he endured, as feeing ••' him who is invifibje," §5- As foon as thev landed, they repaired dire(5lly to Mr. Egede, and delivered the letters .of recommendation they had received from fome members of the college of miflions. He v/elcomed them very cordially, con- gratulated them to their undertaking, and promifed them his beft afliftance in Icarninor the laneuao-e. Then they immediately fearched the neareft habitable fea-coafts for a place to build en, and having fixed on the fpot, they kneeled down and confederated it with prayer. They fell to work direilly, to run up a Greenland houfc with ftone, and turf laid between, in which they could fhelter themfelves and their things from the fnow and rain, till they had ere6led their wooden houfe. They bought an old boat of the captain, that they might go after their fuftenance. It was a forward feafon, and the fnow was melted as much as it ufed to be in June ; and yet it was fo cold, that the turf often froze in their hands. On the 6th of June they had finifiied their Greenland hut fo far, that they could enter it with thankfgiving and praife 5 and then they pulled down the tent of boards, in which they had been obliged to creep and fhelter themfelves in the interim. They fpent the re/l of the time till the departure of the fliip, in writing letters. Dirc6^1y after the fhip was failed, June 15th, they Jaid the foundation of their proper dvvclling-houfc, for which they had brought wood from Copenhagen, and in five weeks they advanced fo far as to have one room fft to hz inhabited. They aifo began to build a Green- land-houfe for fuch heathens as might peradventure drop m for inftruvStion ; but alas ! no one had any in- clination for it this year, nor in fome year; next fol- lowing. §6. Now I {hill infert fo much out of their letters, as is lufficicnt t ) exhibit their own heart's fituation, and their Relation of Nenv-Herrnhuth, 1733. 329 their upright mInJ and ardour for the convcrfiou of the licathcn. In a letter to the wliole congrcgaiion, having firlt given a brief defcription of the country and its inhabi- tants, they fay: *' You may now very well addrefs '* that faying to us, Should a man even lofe his road, *' Let hi?n ne'er lofe his faith in God. Yes, here in " truth the way is barred up. We retain that for our " daily Icflon : Let all our fcnfes be compofed and *' quiet. As to our own perfons, we are very happy, *' butour defire is to win fouls, and we cannot gratify *' it yet. Yet by God's grace wc will not dcl'pond, *' but keep the Lord's watch. When he puts himfelf *' in motion, we will move on with him, and will not " fwerve from his prefence. Let but the time for " the heathen come, and the darknefs in Greenland " muft give way to the light, the frigid zone itfelf *^ muft kindle into a flame, and the ice-cold hearts of *' the people muft burn and melt. Becaufe we knovtr *' our way is upright before the Lord, therefore our " hearts are not deje£led, but we live in chearfulnefs *' and joy. We are open and manifeft before the " eyes of the Lord. 'Tis true, all men count us fools, " efpecially thofe who have been long in this coun- " try, and know this people : but ftill we rejoice, and " think, where the Breaker is come up before us, there *' muft be room to tread and follow, though the ?.p- *' pearance may be ever fo adverfe. We hope to re- *' main always in this mind: And c\en if wc fnould *' effecl nothing in Greenland, we will render him the *' honour due unto his name, though it fhould be for " nothing elfe but that we are humbled ■M-\d made low in *' our own eyes. But Jefus, vvhofe heart is replete '* with faithful love towards us and the poor heathen, " knows all our ways, and knew thtui before we were " born. Can any honour redound fro:n us to him ? " Our fubftance, life and blood are at his fervice. " Through his death he has reftorcd life to us, has " abfolved us from our fins, reconciled us with himfelf, '^ and has gathered a people that is his property, to " fhew forth his praifes. O that the death of our Lord *' Jeiua 330 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. *' Jefus might bring all men to life, and that all *' might follow this faithful fhepherd !" Matthew Stach alfo wrote the following animating epiftle to his former companions in the houfe where he had lived. " I call upon you my brethren, from a land *' where the name of Jefus is not yet known, and *' where the fun of righteoufnefs is not yet arifen. You " live in the bright noon-day, the fun is rifen upon *' you. Has he now warmed your hearts ? Or are *' ibme of you ftill frozen? The light is fprung up " around you all ; but he that is not yet arifen to walk *' in the light, better were it for him if he lived in *' Greenland, and had never heard of Jefus. For to " know what is good, and not adl accordingly, is a " reproach to the truth. The heart of Jefus burns for " love after the falvation of men ; and can he let a " foul that is heartily concerned to enjoy him, go up ** and down for four, five or fix years, and not reveal " himfelf to it? I cannot believe it, for I have experi- *' enced the contrary. When I fought him with all '* my power, and when my power was infufficient and " could exert itfelf no longer, then my eyes ftill fwam *' in tears, and my heart palpitated with defire. And " when even the fountains of my eyes afforded no more " tears, and mv heart had no more ftrength to beat, " in this helplefs mifery the friend of fmners came, *' kififed me in fpirit, and healed the wounds in my " confcience. Nor is fuch a tranfaclion a mere ima- *' gination of the mind, but it is a divine power that " fills the v/hole heart. " But ye, that have known the Lord Jefus, and '° have been wafhed in his blood, let grace replenifh " you fully ; and as you have tafted that the Lord *' is gracious, go in the ftrength of that meat, and " conquer in the name of the Lord. My heart is ••' linked and lifted with yours under the crofs's ban- *' ncrof the faithful Saviour. To him will I live, to *' him will 1 die; for nothing can give me joy any " more but the name of my Saviour, who has refcued *' my foul from death. Now, my brethren, grow " on and flourifh in the bleflcd congregation of the ** Lord, Relation of New-Herrnhuth, 1733. 331 *' Lord, which he hath planted for himfclf, and hath fct *' up as align amoiiij^ the nations, as a candle on a ** candleftick, manifelt before the eyes of the whole " world in thefe laft days. The falvation is great, and ** the harveft will be glorious, when we have fowcd " much feed, and watered it with many tears. O " may one fpur on the other to follow the bleeding ** loving Lamb without the camp. Spend not your *' joy on having trampled the old ferpent beneath your " feet, but rejoice that you are hid in the rock-clefts *' of everlafting love. Be vigilant, like the lion, that *•* cried out: IJiandupon the watch. Let your loins be *' always girded about, and your lamps burning, and *' keep the charge of the Lord, which we will alfo do *' in Greenland ; for which reafon we have called our " place New-Herrnhuth *. Remember your meaneft '* brother always in yoilr prayers." §7- After they had completed their dwelling-houfe, they began to fet about thofe forts of labour which were neceffary for their bodily maintenance, and alfo to learn the language, in order to a fruitful intercourfe with the heathens. In the beginning, all thefe things v/ere at- tended with great difficulties. They got little or no- thing by fifhing and hunting j for they had not been trained up to thefe occupations ; neither could they follov/ the method of the Greenlanders herein, becaufe they could not manage akajak. When they went out the firft time to fearch for wood driven among the iflands, they were foon overtaken by a ftorm, and though they reached home with much difficulty, yet in the night the wind carried oft' their boat with wood and all ; how- ever the Greenlanders brought it again fome days after, though much damaged. They believed, that there was a hand of God in it, and that he would teach them, by all forts of adverfities, not to enter too far into tem- poral cares; therefore they came to a rcfolution to fol- low the example of the Silefians and Lufatians, from . • Herrn-hutb fignifit5, the Lord's watch, whence 332 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. whence they came, and when other v/ork failed, to earn fome neccfl'aries by fplnning. Mr. Egede was kind enough to offer them his help, as much as pofliblc, in learning the Greenland lan- guage ; he gave them his written remarks to copy, and ordered his children to explainit. But let any one only imagine, what incredible difficulties muft befet thefe unlearned men ; firft, they had to learn the Da- nifh language, before they could underftand their in- ilruclors ; next, thefe, who had never feen a Gram- mar, muft form a clear idea of the meaning of the grammatical terms of art, as nouns, cafes, verbs, indi- cative or conjunftive mood, perfons, ^c. Then they had to attain a clear comprehenfion of fuch a variety of declenfio^s and conjugations in the uncouth Greenland fpeech, diverfified into quite unufual moods, and flili more entangled with fuffixes of pronouns active and paffive, and to charge their memory with thefe, as well as with a large vocabulary of words, the Greenlanders having often ten different v/ords for one thing. There- fore it was very natural for them to be often tired at firft with this fcholarihip; efpecially as the Green- laiiders would not then enter into theleaft converfation with them, yea even aggravated their hard cafe by fteajing away the books they had wrote with fo much pains ; fo that it was juft as if they had been made yfe of by the wicked one, to deprive the brethren of the moft neceffary means they could hereafter employ to induce the fouls to defert his vaffalage. But their love to thefe poor people, and their invariable dcfire to fee their fouls rcfcued, always animated them anew to Ihew due faithfulnefs in this tafk alfo. At the fame time they wifely rcfolved, not to fpeak with the favages about Spiritual things in the beginning, or merely for the fake of exercifing themfelve» in the language, that they might not imbibe erroneous conceptions of theChriftiaa religion by the ignorant or equivocal exprcffions of the brethren ; for it might ehe have occafioncd a ftrange medley of ideas. But in the beginning they had indeed very little op- portunity of ccavcrfu^g with the Greenlanders, or ef- fciitina' Relation of New-Herrnhuth, 1733. 333 feclins; any thinj: among them. It is true, there were at that time at Ball's-river about 200 families, which might couilft of near 2000 fouls : But thev were dif- perfed among the iflands and the hills to fifli, catch teals, and hunt deer ; and towards winter they were iifed to go fome 60, nay fomc 200 leagues north or fouth, to their acquaintance. Therefore the brethren foon faw, there would be fcarce .my coming at them in this continual wandering way, and even if fonie wholc- (bme reflection ihould be railed in them by an acciden- tal difcourfe, it would foon be dilfipated again out ot their regardlefs volatile minds. Neither could they hitherto be perfuaded or tempted by any advantages to il.iy at the colony, or at lealt not long ; for of thofe who had been baptized, only two bo) s and two girls could be kept there. Some indeed calkd upon the brettiren as they pafled by fometimes, but only out of curiofity, to fee tiieir buildings, or to beg nails, fifli- hooks, knives and fuch things from them, if not to fteal. If the brethren went to them on the iflands, they feldom found any one who would entertain them, even if they offered to pay them for it ; and inftead of entering into difcourfe with them, they were continu- ally aflcing, whether they would not foon go away a- gainf §8. Yet all thefe were comparatively but fmall abftaclcs, which exercifed their courage, but could not deprefs it. But foon after, in the firft year, fuch a heavy trial be- fel them as they could not have borne up againft, if there had not been given them from above a ftedfaftncfs in hope, where there was nothing more to hope for. This was, a terrible mortality that threatened the de- ftrudtion of the whole nation like a plague. It hap- pened thus ; Two of the fix Grcenlanders that had been taken to Denmark two years before, were ftill alive, a boy and a girl, and as they alfowere unhealthy, they were fent back to their native country by this year's veffel. The girl died at fca, the boy came, in all appearance, well home ; but foon after , a fick- nefs 334 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.V. nefs broke out on him, which was looked upon to be only an eruption, but after going up and down among his country-folks and infedling them, he died of it in September. The next that followed him, was the Greenland boy Frederic Qliriftian, a particular favour- ite of Mr. Egfede, whom, after nine years inftru6lion, he had brought fo far as to be able to ufe him as cate- chift among the children. He could alio fpeak Danifh, and had learnt to read, and was of great fervice to him in compofing his Greenland grammar, and tran- flating the Sunday-leffons out of the gofpels. In the beginning, no body knew what diforder it was, nor any remedy for it, till it was evident in a boy at the colo- ny, whom they could duly attend, that it was the imall-pox. Mr. Egede difpatched an exprefs every where round the country, to warn the Greenlanders and defu'e them to ftay in their own places, as they that were already infedlcd could not efcape ; he alio advifed thofe in uninfe6led places not to let any fugi- tives come upon their land, left they might be infect- ed too. But alas, all his admonitions were in vain. Thofe who had caught the diftemper, but did not yet lie down, fled, and the country was every where open before them, the Greenlanders not being ufed to refufe ftrange guefts. Confequently the diftemper fpread more and more. It was a lamentable circumftance to thefe poor peo- ple, that were not ufed to this difeafc. As the fmall- pox would not rife, they endured excruciating pain, heat and thirft ; for the Greenlanders conftitutions are naturally very hot ; they would allay this heat with large draughts of ice-water, though they were warned againft it ; by this they were difpatched fo haftily that few out-lived the third day. Some ftabbed themfelvcs, or plunged into the fea, to put a fpeedy end to their torm£nt. One man, whofe fon had died, ftabbed his wife's fifter, in the mad prefumption that file had be- witched him to death. Nay the Europeans had reafon to fear an aflault (efpecially as a fliallop gone abroad to trade ftayed out beyond the time), becaufe the Green- landers accufed them as the caufe of this peftj and they 3 Relation of New-Herrnhuth, 1733. 335 they were confirmed in it by the dream of an old woman, that the Grccnlandcr Charles, who came back from Copenhagen, would murder all his country-peo- ple. Here I muft not pafs over a particular effedt of imagination : A Greenlander came from a quite heal- thy place to vifit his fifter at the colony : Before he fet his foot on fhore, he thought he faw her apparition^ which fo frighted him that he rowed back, fell fick di- rectly, and infetiled the people where he dwelt. Yet though they were involved in fo much mifery,» and though death ftared them in the face, thefe poor peo- ple continued in their ufual way of inattention and ob- duracy. No refle(5tion and no caution was to be thought of, much lefs any concern about the prcfent or future condition of their fouls. Nay, the living did not bewail, as otherwife ufual, the death of their near- eft relations. The old people indeed, cried to God in their diftrefs as well as they knew how ; but when notwithftanding it grew worfe, they uttered impatient, defponding, nay blafphemous fpeeches, would hear of no patience nor refignation to the will of God, por accept of any admonition to commit their fouls to the faithful Shepherd, but died away in their un- belief. One may eafily imagine how Mr. Egcde felt in this woeful cafe. He did not fit ftill, but went continually about every where, fometimes alone and fometimes in the company of our brethren, or fent his fon to inftrudt and comfort the poor peoj-!", and to prepare, them for death. They found in moft places nothing but empty depopulated houfes, and imburied corpfes, fome with- in, and fome without the houfes lying in the fnow, which they covered with ftone;. In one ifland they found only one girl with the fmall-pox upon her, and her three little brothers. The father, having firft bu- ried all the people in that place, laid himfelf and his fmalleft fick child in a grave raifed with ftone, .uid or- dered the girl to cover him with fklns and ftones, that he might not be devoured by the foxes and ravens; then fhe and the reft of the children were to live on a couple ot" feals and fome dried herrings that were left, till they could get to the Europeans. Accordingly Mr. Egede fent 3^6 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. fent for them to the colony. He lodged all the fick that fled to him, and our brethren followed his exam- ple. They laid as many in their own rooms and fleep- ing-chambers as they would contain, and attended and nurfed them as well as they could ; although the infuf- ferable ftench of the fick and dying afFeiled their own health very much. Many a one was touched with a grateful impreflion by fuch evident proofs of love, which were more than they ever expected even from their own country-people ; and one man, who had always derided them in his healthy days, faid to the minifter before his end : *' Thou haft done for us " what our own people would not do ; for thou haft *' fed us when we had nothing to eat, thou haft bu- " ried our dead, who would elfe have been confumed *' by the dogs, foxes and ravens ; thou haft alfo in- *' ftru£l:ed us in the knowledge of God, and haft told " us of a better life." It muft alfo have been a joy to him to perceive in fome children, whom he had baptized, a refigned expe6lation of death, and a com- fortable hope of a refurrection to that better life. Our brethren made ufe of this opportunity to fpeak to the hearts of fuch poor creatures as fled to them, or whom they brought from the iflands, as well as fuch novices in the tongue could make them underftand by words and ligns. They perfuaded one boy to ftay conftantly with them, that he might be of fervice to them in learning the language ; but as foon as he was out of danger, there was no keeping him. In this manner did this virulent contagion rage from September 1733 to June 1734, and perhaps longer ftill. It fpread, as far as they could learn, 40 leagues north, and almoft as far fouth. When the Agents went after- wards to trade, they found all the dwelling houfes empty for 30 leagues North. In the diftridl for 8 leagues round the colony, the number of the dead a- mounted in January 1734 to 500, though many Green- landers took flight in the very beginning : from hence we may forni fome judgment of the numbers that were carried oft' in all other places till June ; Mr. Egede Computed them at two or three thoufand. In the drftritfi ©f BalTi-rivcr, only eight recovered from the difeafe. Relation of Nevv-Hf.rrnhutm, 1733. 337 difeafc, and one boy who had a hole in his fide, through which the deadly matter found vent, efcaped free from it. §9- As the nation now feemeJ to be entirely extirpated, the country about Ncw-Herrnhuth forfalcen, and de- famed at a dirtance as a place of peftilcnce ; the poor brethren might well be damped in their courage. But yet they did not ftray from their point, becaufe they had often before now beheld and adored the wondrous ways of God, and had learnt experience and firmnefs by many tribulations and adverfities. They came from a place, where they had feen with their own eyes the accomplifliment of that text : " He calleth thofe things *' which be not, as though they were *." And as their impulfe to go among the heathen was not the production of yeftcrday, nor the premature growth of feed fown upon a rock, fo it could not foon wither away. They were firmly refolved to wait many years, if it was only for the fake of one foul. Therefore, when fome people advifed them to go back, becaufe, as the land was depopulated, they would wafte their time in vain ; they could anfwer them with franknefs and courage : " God's ways are not man's ways ; he ** that called us hither, can ftill accomplilh his aim " by us." Their reafon would not allow them to think that this contagion was a fortuitous event, becaufe no fpar- row falls on the ground without God's will. Neither was it clear to them, that God had chaftifed this poor nation fo feverely for their infidelity, becaufe his long-« fuffering and mercy difplayed itfelf in luch an unde- niable manner towards them themfelves, and all Chrif- tendom, who lived under the beft inftrutlion and knowledge. " The matter is a myftery to us, (they ** write) we know not what is beft to pray to the Lord *' for, whether that he fliould let them live or die. It *' may be that God would prcferve a holy feed in fome * Samebody got thefe woris engraved ov«r a coppQr-plate of HeiTQf huth. Vol. I. Z « eight; 338 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. *' eight, as he did at the deluge. May the Lori *' teach us only to believCj and to venerate his fecrct " ways." But to proceed, they all three fell fick themfelves loo, one after the other. As fooa as they had put their habitation in order, they wc^e infelted with an eruption, vvhich fo cncreafed in the winter, that they could fcarcc move their limbs, and often wcie obliged to keep their bed. Very probably it was the fciirvy, fo common in the northern countries, which might the fooncr condenfe and corrupt their blood, as a fedcntary life fuddenly followed very hard labour ; for they were obliged to go out of their common road, and fit writing continually in a damp cold houfe ; cr poffibly they might have been afte6ted by the ijitolera- blc fmell of the dying Greenlanders, which in all like- lihood haftened the death of Mr. Egede's wife. How- ever, one of them could always be up to nurfe the reft, and to go with the colony's boat to vifit the Tick favages. Mr. Egede behaved towards them like a true friejid, and his wife never omitted fending them fomc refrefh- raent or cordial when fhe herfelf had any ; fo that they were often fcrupulous of accepting the many kindneifes with which they were loaded. Thus, in the beginning of their miflion, they had ve- ry great ftraits to pafs through. They wrote as fol- lows concerning it : *' We are at prefent in a fchool *' of faith, and fee not the leaft profpect before " us. We can perceive no trace of any thins; good '* among the heathens, no not fo much as a figh, and *' the poor creatures find death where they fhould *' have found life. As for us, let us look where we " will, we fee nothing in ourfelvcs hut mere poverty " and mifery without and within. Without, we find " not the bodily ftrength and ability requifite to Hand " it out in this land; this is a gift to be yet beftow- *' ed upon us from the hand of God. At prefent we ** are feverely handled by fickncfs, though we believe '* that our conftitutions will only be purged and ** feafoned by it, that we may be able to endure the ** more in the fervice of the Lord. Wc acknowledge ** it alfo as a peculiar kind Providence, that our fick- ncfs Relation of New-Herrmiuth, 1733. 339 *' nefs was to wait till wc had removed into our houl'c. *' Within, every thing that could Ipring from human *' good-will, even our alacrity to learn the language, *' is fallen away ; nothing, but what grace has ** wrou2;ht, abides by us. Our Lord bed knows why *' he (Rationed upon this poft the moit feeble and in- '* experienced, and fome of us fuch, as had but juftbc- *' 2;un to profper among you. However, we will re- *' main in this fchool, where we muft contend who "^ Can believe beft, even in the profpedl of nothing but *' human impoflibilities ; yes, here we will ftay till Jc- *' fus helps us as helplefs ones, neither will we be '* concerned for any thing but to pleafe him. What *' gives us hope is, that God fufrers his children to '* pafs through ftraits to the mark in view ; and our *' joy is, the remembring and being remembred by *' the many children of God in Europe." The Second Year 1734. §1. IN fuch troublous circumftances was the firft year pafTed over, and the fecond begun. With re- fpedl to the ficknefs of the brethren, when fpring came and they could get their excellent fcurvy^grafs, they recovered pretty well. But the mortality conti- nued among the Cjreenlanders till after Midfummer; therefore feldom any were to be feen. Yet the bre- thren never intermitted vifiting as much as poflible the few ftill left in thefe parts, not only when they went a fifhing, hunting or gathering wood, but alfo on fome voyages purely for that purpole. I find eight fuch tak- en notice of in this year, partly undertaken alone, and partly in concert with their neighbours. They were obliged to perform mod of their voyages in winter, of- ten in the extrcmeft cold, becaufe the Greenlanders are feldom met with at home in fummcr. Chriftian David undertook the furthefl: voyage fouth- ward thisyear, from the nth to the 31ft of March, in company of the traders ; he would alfo have gone north afterwards, but could not. His aim on this voyape Z 2 was 1 340 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. was to enquire into the circumftances of the country, to fee if the contagion ftill prevailed, and where moft of the Greenlanders refided both winter and fummer ; to declare to them, as much as polTiWe, the joyful mef- fagc concerning Jelus, and to invite them to vifit us. For many leagues at firfi: they found no people, but fallen houfes, and many unburicd bodies, v/ith new cloaths and tools lying by them. The fecond day a lii^h wind broufjht them into ?reat danger of their lives among ice and rocks, but after much labour and dif- ficulty they got to land through the ice. After fpcnd- ing three days and three nights in the open air and fharp cold, and waiting in vain for a better wind, they thought to go back to an ifland ijihahitcd by Grccn- landers, but the ice forbad their approach to land ; therefore they were obliged to forfake their boat, and to walk full two leagues over the ice to another ifiand, where they found five inhabited Greenland houfes, and there Chriftian David and the boatmen were forced to ftay ten days. The Greenlanders behaved friendly to him, defired to learn his name and its fignification, looked at his book (the Bible), wondered how he could underftand God's will by that, and would be glad to know fomething about it. But he could be of little fervice to them, for want of knowing their language. They ran about after him every where like children, and were very forry at parting with him. His defcription and judgment of them is to the following purport : " According to outward appear- *' ance, the life they lead is angelic, in comparifon of *' our European Chriftians. And yet it may be faid of *' them, that they live without God in the world, and " what they have hitherto heard of God, is like a chip *' to them. It is all one to them, whether one fpeaks *' of him or lets it alone, or whether we fing a hymn " or they a fong. I could not perceive the leaft ftir- *' ring in them. Their intelledual faculties are fo ** weak and dull, and fo indifpofed to reflection, that "^■C.jhey cannot form the leaft idea of a Divine Being, ** and confequently have no religion. Senfitive as " they are, yet they fcem to be almofl: deftitute of *' paflions, Rei.atiov of Neu'-Herrnhuth, 1734. 341 '* palTions, and their nature is not cafily cnflamcd or *' ilirrcd up. 7'hcy know of nothing but Greenland *' finery and good eating, and as they know no other *' fubjCkSt of difcourfc but the beads they ufc for food, " (o they are as brutal and ftupid as the beafts them- " fclves. They alTociatc with their like, love their " young like the beafts, and know of no other fort of " culture to be fpent on them. They look upon us " as another race, not belonging to their fpecies. Nov/ " whether thefc j^eople can be rendered capable of faith, ** God only knows." The brethren faw very few Greenlandcrs thi^ year, exceptj when they went abroad a vifiting, becaufe the dread of an epidemical malady ftill continued ; and if one or another came cafually to them, it was only from fome external motive, to barter or beg fome- thing, if not even to defire fervices that the brethren could not render them. For inftance, a young man demanded their afTiftance to recover by force of arms his wife who had been feduced away. The affair was thus : A father had given his daughter to a Green- lander to wife, but as he himfelf a little afterwards mar- ried a widow who had a fon, he took his daughter away from him and gave her to his ftep-fon. Half a year after, the firft hufband recoverd his ftolen wife by art and force, and now the llep-fon would have the Europeans help to take away the woman from her firft hufband. Towards the end of the year, fomc in the neighbour- hood fhewed their faces again ; they put on a very friendly countenance and were full of flattering fpeech- es, by which they endeavour to footh the Europeans to liberality, becaufe 'tis a fhame to them to beg any thing. As long as you taljc with them about feal-catch- ing, or fatisfy their eaiquiries about the ftate of other countries, they will hear you with pleafurc. But when the brethren began about convcrfion, they grew drow- fy, or fet up a Ihout ;.nd ran away. If the brethren went in company with the minifter, they could indeed perceive more rclpcck towards his perfon, and they frc- Z 3 qucntly 342 HISTORY OF GREENLAND B. V. quently faid to the truths he propounded ; *' O yes, we " believe it all ;" nay they defired more vifiting and inftru£ling. But one could difcern from many circum- itances, that it was, if not difHmulation, hov/ever, no more than a perfonal veneration for him ; the follow- ing plainly Ihews it. When one of the other Danifh Miflionaries (for Mr. Egcde got three helpers this year) told them the hiftory of the creation, &c. till the days of Abraham, and they had given their wonted af- fent, ** We believe it perfe[orth, both of them in company of the traders, to whom their afliftance was not un- welcome in their difficult and dangerous pailages, at- tended with cold, rain, fnow and contrary winds. For feveral leagues they found nothing but decayed houfes, whofe inhabitants were dead, and fome dogs who had kept themfelvcs alive for thefe two years in the great cold by eating the old tent-fkins and fbell-fifli. At hrft the Greenlanders looked upon the brethreji to be the faftor's fervants, becaufe they faw that they readily laid their hand to every fort of work, and on that account they flighted them *. But when they u^iderftood that * The Greenlandtr; make no diftinftlon of perfons among themfelves, except calling the hither of the family Nalegak, /. e, malter, and thofc that are hived by him for their maintenance Kivgak, ?. c. fenants, though they do not treat the latter with any contempt; but they are quite different in their notion of ftrangcrs. They dirc6lly enquire who is the mailer; and then converfe preferably with him, reckon the reft as his fervants, and look fcornfully upon them. Our brethren were fent to carry the Gofpel to them. Had the Greenlanders looked upon them as the fervants of others. th "^f Rf.latton of Nr.w-HERRNHUTH, 173$. 349 that they did not come hither to tr^dc with them, but to make them acquainted with their Creator, and at the fame time obfcrved that they diftinguiflied tliemfelves from the other Europeans by their ftill, meek, modcft behaviour, they were more attentive to their words and actions. Their amicable free deportment towards them, untainted with jefHng or licentioufnefs, and at other times their wary and I'erious carriage, yet unfoured with feverity, begat I'o much eftcem and confidence, that they by choice fought their converfation, conftrained them to come into their houfes, beg- ged frequent vifits, and promifed to vifit them again. This animated the brethren to apply with the utmoft afliduitv to the language. They alfo began to hold di- alogues with the natives about objedls relative to the fenfes ; but were very cautious in talking about fpiri- tual things, that they might not give thofe undifcerning itupid creatures any occafion to laugh at their improper expreflions, and at the fame time to imbibe a contempt for divine truths. Therefore, for the prefent, they were obliged to let the Greenlanders draw a conclufion more /rem their behaviour and walk, than from their words, • with what principles and views their mind wasaftuated towards them. Nor was this quite without effect. In the mean time they read fome of A-Ir. Egede's tranilated pieces, as, the ten commandments, the Creed, and the Lord's prayer ; put them in mind of what he had read to them in former years concerning the Creation and Redemption, refrefhed their memory in what they had according to cuftom forgot, redlified what they had mifapprehended, and told them, as well as they could exprefs themfelves, that they muft not only underfland and avow the Chriftian doctrine, but experience it in their hearts. According to their own afTertions, they were not wanting in afTent and belief, but when the experience of the heart was demanded, they knew not what the brethren meant. Therefore once when they would have heard their words with difdain. But if afked about them- felves, who was the mafler among them ? they would anfwer : None of us is matter or fer^ant, we are all brethren. This had that effcft, that no one engrofll-d a preferable regard, but everyone's word had an equal en- trance among them. Matthew 350 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. Matthew Stach read a fhort prayer to them^ and afked them if it was good Greenlandifh ? they anfwered, yes ! but added, that the words, "Jr/us Chriji^ the being redeemed by the Jhedding of his bloody and the knowings lovingy and receiving him^ were things they did not un- derftand ; that it was a ftrange and too fublime language, which their ears were not qualified to admit and re- tain. Befides the exprefs vifiting-voyages, the brethren made feveral little trips to the Greenlanders in the neighbourhood for fupplies for their table : And they alfo vifited the brethren more than they had in times paft, and by degrees got fuch a confidence towards them, that if night overtook them^ or they wanted fhelter from bad weather, they would fpend a night or two with the brethren. It is true, the felfifli view of their vifits was obvious; fometimcs they wanted har- bour and victuals, at other times only to have a couple of needles and fuch trifles given them j nay they bluntly declared, that if the brethren would give them no more ftock-fifh, they would hear no more what they had to fay, for they imagined they did them the greateft fa- vour, which the brethren were in duty bound to pay them for, if they only came and vouch fafed to hear and believe. And the brethren indeed could not in confcience fend them away without giving them to eat, efpecially in the beginning of the year, becaufe then they could not procure fufficient maintenance on account of the cold (which was fo intenfe, that the inic froze in the warm room), and many aGreenlander had not a morfel to eat for three or four days together. Af- terward in fummer, when they had taken plenty of game, and had danced themfelves tired all the night at a revel, they ftill came now and then on a vifit; but then they were fo fleepy, that there was no keeping up any difcourfe with them, or they were only curious to hear fome news, to fee whatever was flrange to them, or even to have what they liked given them, and if the brethren refufed, they were obliged to watch narrowly their light fingers. This often made the vifits of thefe folks Relation of New-Herrnhvth, 1735. 351 folks viiftly troublcfome to the brethren, as much as they deiired them. But yet they could not put them ofF, left they (hould frighten them away ; therefore they were obliged to be fatislied for the prcfent, with their confidence and willingnefs to come (let the mo- tive be as indiftcrent as it would), and to draw from it courage and hope of better times, which now and then they had a little glimpfe of, when they obferved that fomc of the natives fliewed an inclination to their evening- meeting for prayer, and were fcrious at it, though it was kept in German, nay fometimes enquired of their own accord after the ground and aim of it. Once In fuch a meeting the brethren gave one of them a Bible into his hand, which he opening, it proved to be at that text, Ezck. xxxvi. 36. *' Then the heathen that *' are left round about you, fliall know that I the *' Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that " was defolate : I the Lord have fpoken it, and I will *' do it." This glorious promife, efpecially after the defohttion by the fmall-pox, was an uncommon fup- port to the brethren's faith of feeing the falvation of God among the heathen that remained. §4. To the invigorating and confirming their faith in their call, their hcia- of examination, as they then called it, adminiftered in a peculiar manner ; therefore I can- not pafs it over in filence. At that time (they them- felves write) as they were deflitute of more agreeable accounts to fend concerning the heathen, on whom they could as yet labour but little, they found it need- ful to tranfmit to the elders of the congregation an up- right account of their own internal circumftances, that fo the congregation might know what they had to fupplicate of the Lord for them. They fay further, that tho' it was certain they had enjoyed many a blefling in their meetings hitherto for edification and prayer, and had gained an infight into many truths before unknown to them, and had formed ufeful conclufions concerning them ; yet, as they had not hitherto flood in the clofelt fellowfhip with each other, nor been quite yoked to- gether, but every one had endeavoured to bear his own uncom- 352 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. uncommunicated burden, therefore they could not al- ways attain to the right execution of their good inten- tions, yea at times the enemy had gained his point of fifting them. Hence alfo, for foine time, they had not been able to approach to the Lord's table, efpecially as they difcovered, at confidering i Cor. i. that they had not yet buried all that was their own in the death of Chrilh For thefe reafons they refolvcd to keep, every evening- after the fmging-hour between feven and eight o'clock, an hour of examination, when each of them fhould, according as he fhould be inclined and without con- ftraint, yet uprightly as before the eyes of God, and according to the beft of his knowledge, declare what had pafled in his foul throughout the day, what had come into his mind to a{k in prayer for himfelf, for his brethren, for all the children of God in Chriftendom, and for thefe heathens, and finally what hindrances or offences had occurred to him in himfelf or from others. They would at the fame time remind, and, if neceflary, admonifh and reprove one another; would take this from each other in love, and amend, and then would commit their wants to the Lord in fellowfhip, and thus help to bear one another's burdens. They came to this conclufion the loth of October, laft year, and diredlly began their daily communica- tion, at which they always fpoke alfo particularly, if any thing in the daily reading out of the Bible had made an impreiHon upon them with regard to their per- fonal circumftances. When now all hindrances were removed out of the way, they prepared for a clofer union j but firft allotted fome weeks for confideration, to try themfelves privately concerning the following points, and then to talk them over in fellowftiip. 1. Whether they were convinced, that their call was from God ? 2. Whether they were determined not to fuffer them- felves to be obftru<3:ed in their call, even if it fhould happen that they received nothing from Europe for their fupport ? 3. Whether they could offer themfelves up entirely to the fervice of the heathen, and would never aban- don Relation of New-Herrnhuth, 1735. 353 don it till they were fully convinced in their confci- cncc, that they had done all in their power as faithful fervants, or till God difcharged them from their call ? 4. Whether they were agreed in the means for at- taining their chief end among the heathen, for in- ftancc, the learning of the language with prayer and faith, i^c. § 5. After fome time, they opened their mind as follows: Chriftian David faid : He had received no other call to Greenland, but to accompany the brethren thither, and when he faw them fettled, to return again, w^hich call home he had now received, and would a£l in purfuance to it by the firft opportunity. Yet he looked upon himfelf as engaged to have at heart the miflion in Greenland, and to fupport it, where-ever he was, not only with his prayers, but with counfel and dged. Chriftian Stach never looked upon his call from the beginning, as if he was to devote his whole life to the fervice of the heathen, even though he fhould fee no fruit arifing in ten years ; he rather undertook this voyage upon trial, where, if nothing is to be done, one returns again ; yet he would remain in his prefent call till God took him out of it, or till the brethren called him away. The other three, Matthew Stach, Frederic Boeh- nilh and John Beck would bind themfelves in the ftri<5t- eft manner to this work, come life, come death ; to believe where there was nothing to be feen, and to hope ■where there feemed nothing that could be expeded ; nor would they in any wife be induced to defert it, till they could appeal to God with the teftimony of their confciencc, that they had done all that man could do and venture in concurreince with God's help. Upon further confideration, they found themfelves bound, not to leave the country without a Divine conviction, even though they Ihould be defired to do it, but ta give up their lives to the heathen. They would noC prcvioufly hear, fee or know, how and in what man- ner God would glorify himfelf in this v/ork, neither Vol. I. A a would 354 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. would they look at the inability of their bodily or men- tal faculties, but, in the ftrength of the Lord, perfevere in the prayer of faith and fidelity, even though they Ihould fee no fruit come out of it in many years. Ac- cording to 2 Cor. xi. they would by God's grace not let any man ftop them of this boafling, to be chargeable to no one who did not count it a real pleafure to lend his {hare of afliftancc, though abfent, to the falvation of the infidels ; much lefs would they accept of benefits that might oblige them to any thing more than love. They would make it their cordial concern anew, to embrace all means conducive to winning the heathen, and would efpecially employ two hours every day in acquiring the language, ^c. The feveral tokens each of thcfe had to avouch their call divine, they aifo mentioned, and particularly added this, that in profecuting their voyage they had encountered more difficulties than they had before expected, and that, though God had helped them hi- ther, yet they had never wanted for prejfures-, mockery anil fcorn, as is ufual in the icingdom of the crofs. §6. -Accordingly tbefe three brethren bound themfelves on the 1 6th of March to the following points: 1. We will never forget, that in a confidence refting upon God our Saviour, in whom all the nations of the earth fhall be blelTed, we came hither, not on the prin- ciple of feeing, but believing. 2. The kriOvvledge of Chrift, how he effected on the crofs the purification of cur fins through his blood, and is the c:iufe and fource of eternal falvation to all them that believc\ fhall be the principal do6lrine among us, which we will confirm by our word and walk, according to the ability God fhall be pleafed to give us, and by this we will endeavour to bring the heathen to the obedience of faith. 3. Wo will diligently endeavour to learn the lan- guage in love, patience and hope. 4. We will own and value the grace of each other, in honour prefer one ano'^her, and be fubjeil to each other in the fear of the Lord. 5. We Relation of New-Herrnhuth, 1735. 355 5. We will flcdfiUUy maintain brotherly dilcipline, admonition and corre>R:ion, according to the rule of Chrilt, and will withdraw from any one who doth not walk according to the parity ot the Gufpcrl, and will cxcliule him lb long from the kifs of love and peace (which we do now introduce as a token of our true fellowfhip) till he humbleis himfelf before God and the brethren. 6. We will do our outward labour in the name of the Lord, and if any one is negligent therein, we will adinonifh him. 7. Yet we will not be anxious and fay : *' What *' fhall we eat, and what fhall we drink, and where- *' withal fliall we be clothed ?" but cafi: our care upon him, who feeds the fparrows, and clothes the flowers of the field. Neverthelcfs we will at the fame time take notice of the word of the Lord -, " In the fweat of thy *' face fhalt thou eat bread ;" and that of the apoftle, Acls ' XX. 34. " You yourfelves know that thcfe hands have " miniftered unto my neceflltics, and to them that ** were with me." And again: " I have fhewed you *' all things, how that fo labouring ye ought to fupport *' the weak." Upon this they received the holy facra- ment, by which their hearts were ftrengthened in a particular manner in faith and love, and bound toge- ther in their common call. §7- Now as it feemed that they would not always, at leaftnot this year, be fupplied with the neceflaries of life from Europe, they fuperadded fomc obligatory points befides, in order to prevent any felicitous cares about their fubfiftence, any fretfulnefs in cafe of want, and hard labour, or any difunlon in fixing on the means requiiite to provide a livelihood ; and efpecially to pre- vent any one, out of a good defign to ferve the reft, particularly by a forced acceptance of favours, from fellins: himfelf and his brethren to the controul of others, and fo tying their hands in the labour among the heathen. Neither were they fpared this hard trial, which alfo lailed longer than any of the former difficulties. The A a 2 foregoing J56 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. foregoing year they were provided with the means of life by an eminent benefactor at court, but this time they were quite forgot ; nay fome things that the bre- thren who came laft could not take with them for want of room, were this time not fo much as brought along. They had not applied to the congregation in Herrnhuth for aififtance, nor did the brethren know how or in what they could ferve them. They alfodid not fo much as re- ceive any letters from the congregation or any other friends, except a couple of encouraging ones from Pro- feflbr Steenbuch a member of the Miffions-couege, and from the king's cup-bearer Mr. Martens. This cir- cumflance occafioned them various heavy furmifes. We may well imagine, fuch a fituation involved them in the deepefl: diftrefs. Their total amount of provifi- ons for the whole year confined only of a barrel and half of oatmeal, moil of which they bartered at the colony for malt, half a barrel of peafe, and a fmall quantity of fhip-bifcuits. And out of this pittance they were to fit out Chriftian David for his voyage to Co- penhagen, becaufe the captain faid he could not boar'd him, though afterwards he meffed with the failors. The three mifHonaries at Good-hope compaffionated indeed their cafe, and alTifted them with their counfel and good deeds to the bed of their knowledge and power. But becaufe the Miflionary Bing and his family were re- moved to Good-hope from Chriftians-hope on ac- count of the fcarcity of provifions, they were no more in a capacity to help them as they would have done. And, as if all things confpired to exercife them, it happened, that though they had been hither- to pretty fucccfsful in hunting and fifiiing, yet now they could get little or nothing ; for juft this year there was a great fcarcenefs both of beafts, fifhes and birds. Therefore there was no other way for them, but to buy feals of the Greenlanders, as they them- felves could not catch them. But as thefe barbarians foon got to know that they were in want, they rated their wares fo much the dearer; and not only fo, but m,oft of them, and cfpecially thofe with whom they Were bed acquainted, and to whom they had fhewa Hiuch kind nefs before, woukUell them nothing at all. 5 Oftentimes, Relation of NEW-H£2:aN;?uTH, 1735- 357 Oftentimes, wlicn they had been rowing round among them two or three days, their utmoft entreaties could procure no more than half a Teal or \e(s ; and when that was confumcd, they were obliged to pacify their hunger with fliell-fifn and raw fea-wced, for that could not be eaten boiled. At length God, who ordered a raven to feed Elijah, difpofed a ftrange Greenlandcr, called Ippegau, to come 40 leagues out of the fouth to them, and that man was impelled in his mind to offer to fell them all that he could fpare from time to time. Once in fummer, when they had loft their way among the iflands, they had happened accidentally to come to this Greenlandcr. He received them with much kind- ncfs, took notice of their words and ways, and en- tered into a fcrious difcourfe with them. They thought no more of him in their diftrefs, and would hardly have found him out again if they had fought for him. But he came of his own accord towards the end of the year, pitied their fad condition, and invited them to another vifit. This heathen was the inflrument God was pleafed principally to employ to preferve the bre- thren's lives for fome time. Thus they inured them- felves to eat feal's flefh, anddifhed up the little oatmeal they had left, or that they earned from time ta time at the colony, with the train the feal afforded. Thofe that know what the train of feals is, will be able to form fome idea of what the brethren went through. Yet this was a delicacy for tafte and digefti- on, in comf)arifon to the old tallow candles they were obliged to ufe when they had no train. This penury alfo augmented very much their toils and perils, for now they could not always wait for fettled weather to embark on the ocean j but the cravings r)f hunger conftrained them to throw themfelves on the mercy of l; raging billows in uncertain weather, in an old decayed hulk of a boat, and that for the fpacr of 6 leagues or upwards. Once when they were got almoft to land, they were hurried two leagues back, by a fudden fquall, and wetted through and through by the breakers, and in thefe wet clothes they were oblig- ed to f^ay in the cold upon an ifland fill the fourth day. Another time in November, having quite tir^d A a. 3 theni'* 358 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.V. themfelves at their oars, they ftayed all the night at an uninhabited place, and fatisfied themfelves with a lit-* tie feals-flefh, which they had procured from a Green-r lander at a feaft, though indeed they could eat but little for cold and fatigue. For want of a tent, they laid them down in a hole in the fnow j and when that was flop- ped up by more driven fnovy, they were obliged to rife find warm themfelves by running. §8. Before the departure of the fhip, they were urged an4 prefled by every body to go by all means to Europe, and come again the next year, becaufe they could not fee any way how they could fubfift. V/hen they anfwered ; *' The Lord our God can prcferve us, apd if he is not '^ pleafed to do it, we ihall falj into his hands ;" this was taken for fclf-will and temerity, nay as tempting of God. The Greenlanders alfo, v/ho are fo little ufed to rcfleftion, pondered very much upon this cir- cumftance, and could not comprehend what induce- ment the brethren could have to tarry here in the w^ant of all necefTaries, nay in anxiety, diftrefs and con- tempt ; although the proper aim of their being here, had been often explained to them, This ftedfaft per- feyerance might have excited efleem in other people, but it produced difdain in the Grechlanders, who know no other cflimate of a perfon's worth, but his Jiaving much and his being able to give much. " Your " countrymen (faid they) are good-for-nothing peo- " pie, becaufe they have fent you nothing ; and you *' will not acl wifely if you do not go back again." Above all, the brethren were fofnetimcs feized with an uncommon gloomy apprehenfion when they were among the infidels, and felt, befides the feeming impoiTibility of reaching their hearts, a great power of darknefs. Therefore it would have been no wonder if they had been fired out, nor could any one have much blam- ed them if they had deferted their poft. But they ad- hered to the word of promife, and believed that their Heavenly Father would not fuffcr his fcrvants to pcrifh for hunger. At that time tliey wrote as follows : " We *' commit our ways to the Lord. We know not what *' he intends to do with uSj and as little do vvc undcr- fland Relation of New-Herrn'huth, 1735. 359 ** (land \vh:it his fccrct hand has been doing among th " " heathen. So much we obferve, that more trials ** await us ; yet we believe that the iil'uc will be truly ** glorious, and when he has exerciled us enough, and " found us faithful to him and the call he has - 4 " caufe Feiation of New-HerrnhutHj 1739. 397 caufc the brethren could utter thcmfelvcs more intelli- gibly in their language, and did not merely read things to them, and expect them to retain them all in their memory, but entered into familiar converfations con- cerning the do(5trines propounded. The truth alfo found entrance into feme of them, and its teHimony was often attended with a powerful emotion among the hearers. But as long as they were ftrangers to the true life that proceedeth from God, their underftand- ing was ftill very much beclouded. They were ad- vanced fo far, as to be taught by vifible things to own an invifible Creator, to fear him, and to call upon him for health, food and raiment. But if any one would lead their views to the corruption of the foul, and to the neceflity of a change there, or would recommend the believing in Jcfus, they neither could nor would underftand any thing about it, and were either fur- feited of hearino; it, or elfe they afiented to it with their ufual compliment; " We believe it all ;" which, the brethren had now learnt to underftand, was as much as to fay, that they fhould be fatisfied and let them alone. If one here and there was ftimulated to further refledlion, it did not always produce a whole- fome felf-knowledge and fervent longing after a Crea- tor and Redeemer, but oblique bye-queftions, whi9h were hard to anfwer to thofe ignorant people, and af- ter all, would be of no fervice to them. Thus one of them, who had drank in a good deal of knowledge, and yet remained far from the kingdom of God, afked. If God had not heard, when the ferpent was fpeaking to Ev£ ? and if he had. Why he did not give ,her warning, and prevent the fall ? But the generality did not beftow even fo much thought upon the matter. They heard and wondered ; but as foon as an oppor- tunity prefented itfelf to gratify their vain defires, away they ran, and let the little that had affected their minds be choaked again. Befides this, the brethren were obliged to be fpec- tators of many favage aj tbct 1 the Lord do farSnfy Ijrael, ivhen my JanFtuaiy Jhr.ll be in the mldji of ihcm for enjervtire. Experience jhcws,tKaf this promifc has bocn gloripufiy fulfi)le(liii the four firftlings ; and he whe is the trua ;>nd fa'.thfiil Witr.Lls will alfo riC!;ompli!7i the reft of it. ' Vol. I. D d' fidloa' 402 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. fidious manner ; he pulled it out again and fled to landi but there they caught him, ftabbed him in thirteen places, and threv/ him down over the rocks, where, af- ter great fearch, he was found in a pit, and buried. Now as the murderers had threatened to kill Samuel and his fecond brothe}--in-law alfo, and faid, that they were afraid neither of the Europeans nor the Southlanders j our people were excefiively frightened and all thought of taking flight. We comforted them out of the word of God. The gentlemen of the colony alfo interefted themfelves in the affair, and took what meafures they could to bring the mur- derers to condign punifhment ; and they were fo for- tunate as to take tl^e ringleader and feveral of the gang pri Toners in the prefence of more than loo Green- land men. At his examination he confefl~ed, that he himfelf had committed three murders befides this, and had been acceflTory to three others. Bijt as he was fubjeft to no human judicature, and was ignorant of the divine laws, therefore they only read the ten com- mandments to him, and threatened him feverely, and then let him go. But two of his comrades that had aided him, becaufe they had once been inftrufted in the word of God, were punifhed with whipping. But this did not difpel Samuel's fears, but rather doubled them, and therefore after going up and down in dif- cuietude and iniecurity a while, atlaft he faid, that he thoup-ht himfelf obliged to condu(5l Okkomiak, the brother of the dcceafed, whofe life the ruflSans chiefly confpired againil, to a place of fafety in the South. Kc himfelf, would take up his refidence with his elder brother there, and endeavour to bring him hither once v/ith him. The brethren made all poflible re- monftrances againft it, and cxprelTed their fears, that fuch a new beginner, and efpecially his two children, would foon grow wild again. They put him in mind of what he had promifed at his baptifm. They promifed to maintain him and his, that they might have no occafion to go abroad, as long as the mur- derers were in thofe parts. Thefe reprefentations :j!nd arguments v/cnt to his heart, he wept with them ■: at Relation of New-Herrnhuth, 1739. 403 at their grief, but yet could not refolve to ftay. Therefore they were obliged to let him go, though ♦vith a heavy heart ; but firft, they once more exhoi ted him to faithfulnefs and a good condudl among the hea- then, and recommended him to the prefervation of the faithful Shepherd in a prayer upon their knees, "which was bedewed with many tears. Thus, in a couple 6f weeks, the brethren fa w the country ftripped again 6f all the Greenlanders except two tents, and were forced to bear that additional reproach, that they could indeed baptize heathens, but could not make them true Chriftians, wean them from their fbving life, nor keep them together. All hopes of getting their firftlings again, feemed to be vanifhed ; and little did they think what aburidant blefling this flight a;rid imaginary lofs would ere long produce. §7- It was not a great while before they were a little comforted under their forrow. It is true, Samuel did not come again this year ; but 21 boats of Southlanders pafled this way, among whom were fome of Simek's friends, who had fled away with Samuel. They brought word, that they had fpoke with the refugees on the way, who told them many wonderful things ^b'out God, which they would fain be better informed of. Thev alfo thanked the brethren for the kindnefs they had (hewed to their country-folks, efpecially that they had reftorcd Simek's wife to life, who was given up for ^ad in child-bearing. The brethren had only reco- vered her out of a ftrong fit with a few drops of balfam, which thefe fimple people made fo rnuch of. The brethren therefore had a little fpecimen or profpedt of the blefling Samuel's flight with his family misip.t be of, and could pleafe themfelves Vv-ith the pcflibility that he would fpread the found of the Gofpel at 100 leagues diftance in the fouth j wiiich alfo came to pafs. After fome time Simek came again with his family, and towards winter moft of the Greenlanders that had lieen faved from famine in the beginning oi^ the year, Dd 2 returned 404 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V returned again to their old quarters, fo that this year liine families wintered with the brethren*. §8. Thus there was no want of hearers once more, with whom they fo regulated their daily meetings for edifi- cation and infiruflion, that befides the Sunday's preaching, they fung a hymn with them every evening, and then catechifed them upon a text of Scripture, or^ upon a fhort article of the Gofpel-fyftem, which they had tranflated in conjunction v.'ith the Danifli Miffi- onaries. ' Moreover they now and then read a fummary relation of the divine oeconomies arid proceedings from the creation to the afcenfion of Chrift : This gave them an opportunity to explain and inculcate ma- ny ufcful improving truths in free converfation, andt6 cxpofe old falfe fuperftitious notions and ufages of the the favages. And their words found entrance, fo that iiioft of them were eafily perfuaded to caft away their amulets and idolatrous charms appendant about then!, which were to fhield them from the attacks of difeafes, and from death's untimely dart ; and they refolved to obferve no more a fuperftitious abftinence from certain kinds of food and labour in cafes of ficknefs and death, but to place their fole confidence in God. Yet many a one had a h^rd coMi61: with himfelf before he could refolve to do it, and fome of them would rather g^ * A grent numbtr>of Southlandeis returning from the North, alfo called upon tho' brethieh in their way. Among thele there was one man, who thouglit no Greenland woman good enough to be his wife, bccaufe he ima- gined himil-lf to be another Nimrod. This mighty hunter, attended with a numircns trnin, cr.me once to the habitation of the brethren, when they were out and had been all abfcnt for feveral days., and would take away the young womm Anna Stach by violence forlooth to be his \vife. But as fhc by this time iindcrAood their langu.igc and what they faid, rtie fprang into the houfe .ind bolted the door. They tried to break it open, btitcoulJ not ; thtn they attempted to cut the glafs-windows with their knives, thinking they were made of feals-entrails like theirs. But their knives *"ftV(f>ing. n'othing, and providentially not having a thought that the windows foiild'he d.ilhed to pieces, they went away threatening to come again una- wares. Accordingly they came again the 3d day in greater numbers, but ciir Grccnlandirs ran and brought fome boatmen from the colony to their a^iilbn'.-c, by nhom they were h»ppily drivQn cffUic prcmifcs. their '•^.j* -Z'^.^vy^^-' '