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Les diagrammed suivants illustrent la mithode. ly errata Bd to nt ne pel u re, ipon d 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 -«•• "V- -i'**. M. •J I u AT I H A-H V. I 'i^ 'I <. •" T rft:.jl.»di.; 1»-' ff i, .^ i- •-/ ■' • ,.*• -•^T '<-»*• ■ ■.••^•^»**r<" \ 'f » J ■•I - ^ x . - > 1 "J ( ' ," ' ' ' • • * " » ^ ■ . ■ • _ M • THE HISTORY O F GREENLAND: CONTAINING A DESCRIPTION ;...-..-.-. OF THE COUNTRY,' * •• A ir D *• ITS INHABITANTS: * AND PARTICULARLY, A Relation of the Mission, carried on for above thefe Thirty Years by the Unitas Fratrum, AT NewHerrshuth and Lichtenkels, in that Country. By DAVID GRANT Z. Tranflated from the High-Dutch, and illuftrated with Maps and other Copper-plates. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON, Printed for the Brethren's Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel among the Heathen : And fold byj. DoDSLEY, in Pall-mall; T. Becket and P. A. DE HoNDTj and T. C a n £ L L, Succeflor to A. Millar, in the Strand; W. Sandby, in Fleet-ftrcet; S. Bladon, in Pater-noJter-row j E. and C. Dill Y, in the Ptvuliry} anJ at , all the Brethren's Chapel 9. • » . • . ' MDCCLX VII. ir -fr »' A' ■TA *Tn. 3 xl v \ A- •r' I.- f-i 3 ct fc,-* > Z d IX r ^ :il£ X 1 ' '\< ■••0- ;;< u o 3 3 ti T in-: klM ■y*f (Si a'i^ ^liPticA', - V.'. • n c^i^^^.^i}^^me%iim^j^ m-w I '^ r T :!lfiiV:'.' it V* I w ^;fv,>vvi>» .^^- '4^ '■I' ^•0"■».■: r->i «<^t^>- > ^ ; ».*■». , ".-». i,-, %7i 1: ty •.M ; >■ - i,' '" ; »■- .1 <' '1^; *'-n ■■"/«. - !-' . *♦.' .»-i ADVERTISEMENT. THIS Work having been fo well received abroad, that it is tranflating into more than one Language j and there having been a public Call for it in this Country likewife; :h^ Soci- ety among the Brethren, for the Furtherance of of the Gofpei among the Heathen, thought it incumbent upon them to procure a Tranilation of it into EngUJhy and hope that the Header will meet with Entertainment and Satisfa^on in the Perufal of it. For the reft, they refer to the Author's Preface. . - 'i\i,, 1 1 » ~ » -T rr lA a a 1 1 >i ^ 4 ^ i.\ I '■tjt.-jji ;/ ui ne»,^.i ^u:/lJ .':oW PUI'^n rij^jj ,>;';;aoiiif iiaiifillD/m ;i 31 jsth J :.u:,ci. !'.*, l^'v '/t'wfyA'ii y:ii! fu-'J ) <5*t.3 n ji ij .} ILJ rj.i i uilt vci ."^^-^.ihytif J; :oa; VJ a 1 ■ . »l ; .Ij ,[ijtIjj;;H :>:{; -'luniji }'; foi ' vi: i:) 'i X Ut J fin- r r * '*•»* .< v*\ • -'.l i iV nu^ v;:Ifcfi-K<^ iJ^Ii; iiS.'.!hU:jyi:>iU.X t\;,if X-'JuI u. -». 'Ji oil I , .1 .'': ;■ J PREFACE. H IT is row upwards of thirty years, fince the Lord afforded to the renewed church of the Unitas fratrwn the firfl opportunity of being iubferfient to the converfion of the blind Hea- then in various parts of the world. He hath been with them herein, and given his benedi<5lioa to the word of their teftimony, their prayers, tears, fweat and toil, have not been without blef- ^?,',i4 ■ ; "».To avoid this evil, they chofe rather to be fi- * lent, to adore the hand of the Lord in ftilinefs, '^ and only to give notice of their labour to fuch / perfons, as had a right to demand it. And the ^Xr^:^x:*» ^ confcQuencc P 11 E F A C E, Iti troin and the lence cftnfcqucncc was, that n...ny a one riippofed, and endeavoured to perfuadc the puhlic, that there was no truth in all that Irad been laid of the bre- thren's labour among the heathen, or that it was now all at an end; and that whatever lllll occafionally occurred in printed relations, was either fiftirious, or greatly magnified beyond what it might in reality be. This opinion did proba- bly gain more ground by the ilile of fome re- ports from America, whcrv'in the brethren indeed were mentioned, not mucli to their advantage, but their labour among the heathen w;is carefully pafled over in filence. They had folid reafons for leaving the injurious ufage they met with in thofe reports, un-noted till now. They waited for more peaceable times, when they could lay open fome account, containing a true hiflory of the brethren's labour, before fober and fmcere minds, who are not fo narrow-fpirircd as to de- fpife and rejeft every thing that is not done within their own pale. L.\^'. -: This defircable Halcyon feems to hare drawn nearer, even during the general troubles of the late war; for in that otherwife calamitous period, many thoufand people of all nations and perfua- fions, and efpccially the chief commanders of alraoft all the armies, had an oppornuiity, by clofe convcrfation as eyc-wItncfTes, and by fre- quent and flrift enquiries, to get an idea of the brethren's congregations, which proved quite the reverfe of what they had conceived from the numberlefs writings of their p.dverfaries, and from the pifturc drawn of them • in notorious li- bels. The patience, wherewith the brethren had borne all luch ill ufage in filence, . caufed furprizc and refpc(fl, from whence arofe ap ho- neft defire to be made better acquainted with the ;^j.] b 2 do(rtrIn« if PRE V A C E. iW^rinc nriil couilitmion of the brethren: and the indu))ii.ible information whkh they thus oi)taincd, lias evidently been well bellowed. And cfpecially, the lalxjur of the brethren among the licarhcn made many a one very attentive, and left an abiding imprcfiion, which was produflive of farther meditations on the divine power of the CJofpel. But it fecmcd, after all, fo much the more unacconntable» that the brethren made nothing at all public of this work of God. Ma- ny and various arguments were ufed to induce ilvem to it ; yea feveral difmtcrefled divines hnd^ modern hilioriiiQs have uttered a wlih to iUq fame purpoie. ' '• It was therefore believed, that a circiimllan- tial account of the beginning and progrefs of the brethren's labour among the heathen, might at prefent not be unwelcome to many, if not to mod of thofe, who hitherto thought the courfe of the brethren's congregations worthy of their attention; or might at Icaft be rccid with faiisfaftion and edification by fuch minds, as are inclined to ex- amine and value what is good, wherever they meet with it. To anfwer their expeftation, as ^vell as for the fake of our own people, and par- ticularly of our pofterity, we holdourfelves bound, to leave behind us an authentic, compendious and yet full account of a work of God, the rife and true connexion whereof would othcrwife remain unknown, except to a very few pcrfons. There- by our defcendants may learn, on what principles their predeceflbrs afted j what difficulties tocy had to encounter, before their labour ripeped to that harveft, into whjch they now are come;; what methods they purfued ; and no lefs, what faults they committed, and how tlie flime were redrelTed through the grace of Godj in ihort, thai 4 4 PRE F A C E. /f>J! that ihcy, being made wlfcr by the experience of their fathers, may, through their f;iith, be excited to follow their example with fidelity, "i''- This refolution was already taken in the life- time of the late Ordinary of the Unity, and it was thought proper to make the bcginninj; with a hillory of the Mifflon among the Gnenlandersy and to premife a delcription of that country and its inhabitants. In this view it was deemed neceflTary, that a brother fhould make a voyage 'o Davis*s Stcaits ; and whereas (hips go thither and retura but once a year, he was to flay there a twelve- month, and on the fpot, from verbal and written relations, to compile a dcfcription that might be depended upon. This commiflion I was charged with, as early as in the fummerof the year 1759; but various occurrences retarded my gciing about it till the month of March 1761, when I fet out from Newwi eel on the Rhine, on my journey to Greenland. But the pofition of the armies at thi^t junfture having flopped the ordinary courfe of the pofl-coaches in difFcrent places, and I being twice attacked on the road by fits of ill- pefs, fo much time was loft, that, though I reached Copenhagen before the veflel failed, wherein the miluonary Frederic l^oehitijh re- turned to Greenhnd, yet I was too much ftraitened for time to provide myfelf with the whole appa- ratus which was requifite for the intention of iny voyage. All that I could get together, was : ^'Anderjbn''i Relation of Iceland and GrtLnland; ^xi\c \'uc jBiJ^Joj> Kgedis natural Hilhry of Gnet}" ""'ia^nd ; ^ Ixelafion or Jourrial of his La hour ^ and \ die Coritinuation of theji Relations, publ idled iu ' ihe> Danilh language by his tuo fons, the llev. '^f!aul EgedCj and Captain Nicolas Egcde. '^ b i With VI PREFACE". M I i' Wi th ' tills Team y (lore I went onboard, May the 17 th. 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 I ft, I7(jI, I arrived at New-Herrn/mth \A Greenland. A couple of weeks after, I accom^ panied the mifTionary Bec^ to the fccond fettle- ment of ' the brethren's milTion at Lichtenfeht and took a view of the coutitry thereabouts, as well as of thofe feven defolate places where we !.ly at night in going and coming, as far as I was able during a fortnight of boillerous, rainy and fnowy weather. From Neiv-Herrnhnth I went, as oft as it fuited, to the neighbouring iflands, and in the fummer months on the hcrring-fiihery, and reconnoitred one branch of Ball's River, For the reft, I fpent my time in collefting the Na- tural Hi/lory of the country ; and here the ver- bal account given me by the miftionaries and Da- nifti faftors, together with a few written memo- randums, did me the beft fervice. I had juft iiniftied this work, as alfo the Hiftory of the Mi/- Jton, when the vefTel failed into the harbour on Aigml the 2dth, 1762, in Nrhich, after touching at the colony at Zukkertop^ diftant 60 leagues from Good-hope^ I, returned to Copenhagen^ where we arrived l^tz. the 2d. .^-:.,. ■• y^^i—' After my return to Herrnhuth, I communrcated the minutes I had taken down, to fome ingenious and learri 'd men, whofe friendly and ufeful remarks, together with feveral writings that treat of the iTcrthern Countries^ the perufal whereof I was kindly favoured with, enabled me to amend, fliorten or enlarge what I had written. "^ Mean while a French and German tranflation of Bp. E^^edis Defcription of Greenland was pub- PRE F AC E.- ••• r VII lithcd at Michaeliias 1763. This incident made me almoft refolve not to trouble the public with the firft part of this my work, and only to refer the reader to the faid defcription, which I found, though fliort, yet every way faithful. But, at the requefl of many of my friends, I altered my mind; and I hope, my labour will not be found fuperfluous. For not only thofe, who read the hiitory of our million, would be at a lofs how to underftand various circumftances in ex- ternals, if they did not find them defcribed here, not having perhaps aiiy other natural hillory of that country at hand: but it is alfoirue, that the late Bp. Egede either omitted many clrcumftan- tes 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 fonsj the only reafon I have not quoted his book, is, becaufe I fliould 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 fuili- ciently explained ; and which ferve withal to give the reader a clearer iufight into the nature of this miflion. ' •.., ,. ^.? • TT • In the firft: bodi, concerning the Situation and Nature of the LancU there is to be found a geo- 'graphical defcription of the Country, the colonies and miilion-fettleraenis, which, though as yet imperfedt, is however needful ; likewife an ex* tenfive definition of the nature, diverfity and ori- gin of the driving ice and floating ice-mountains ^ as jalfo of the wood that is driven on JJ^orCy whcreorr b 4 eiihei: \Ui P H E F A C E, ].! cither na account at all, or no folid one, has hi- , tlierto been given. What little is mentioned ccncerning the articles of /cwfj and vegetables f'n alfu mofc, explicit and coci])ieac, than anj. be- fore. rj-rrV ='*.*••■' '>^' ^'V^'hhl'A'y ^Br ;!?5';'.Cll ■ ' - .17 In the fecond book, of the animals ^ I am forae- what brief in fpeaking of the birds "isA fifies'y and in "what I fay of the whales, I have moIUy followed Mr. Anderfon. But I am fo much the mpre full in defcribing (htfeals^ which, are tlie proper fupport of the Greenlanders, and the mo(l profitable commodity of the faiSlors. In the third book, of the Creenlandijh Natien, i defcribe the means and method of ttie Gceen* landers earairig their livelihood^ as plainly as pof- lible; I alfo enlarge fomewhat more on their way of livings manners and cujloms) 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 know- ledge of natural things, into a more regular pro- fpeft, than I have met with any where elfe. - In the fourth book, of the hijiorical Events of fhe Qountry^ I have taken all the pains I couJd, after my 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 moil pr9babl9 coujeii - ' ' ■• pf PREFACE. Ix of of the late Bp. Egedis relation of the Rife and Progrefs of the Greenlandijb Mijjfmiy down to the year i73<^- ^ ^'>::^ii^\i ^r^-'\ J As for the ftile, I have not fo much flndicd ornament as clearnefs. To pleafe fuch of my reader*, as have not profelTedly applied themfelvcs to natural philofophy, 1 have defcribed what belongs to this fcience, not according to the claf- - iifications and chara^erifticks, whicli arc generally adopted by, and needful for the modern natu- ralifls, but according to a certain affinity or like- nefs, which affords the reader's mind the mofl quick, lively and cafy reprcfentation; and 1 liave taken particular care, neither to alledgc any far- fetched reafons, nor to determine any thing po- ^ fitively among a number of probabilities, except where it was evident of itfelf. , :,, ^ „ .. Now I come to the main fubjcft of my 1)oot, "the Uiflory of the Brethren* s Mijfton in Greenland, The fources, from whence I gathered it, were their diaries, and fome few letters. Thcfe I ftudied attentively, noted down whatever ap* peared remarkable to me, and relate it in the way of yearly reports under certain heads ; as, howthe Goipel was fpread through the teHimony, as well of the Greenlanders themfelves, as of the miffionaries; what was the internal and obX'* ternal courfe of th^ baptized Greenlanders^ how they grew in grace and the knowledge of Chrift, how they were preferved from going aftray or were reclaimedf how they were proteikd and •faved in various forts of dangers j how the cou' -igyegations rncreafed or decreafed; to which I • have added a (liort account of the life and cha- -Tafter of fome departed Greenlanders. "^V But here I hardly knew how to write fo, as to ■i-avoii a certain famencfs in appearance between ic- ■ . - . the |!| :e PREFACE the hiftory of different year:;, though the mat*-' tcrbe indeed different. And on this account, I. confidered more than once, whether I flionld. not mould it into another and much fliorter form. Bet. I was advifed to the contrary ; a?fd obliged' to conform to the tafte of thofc, who, will pro- bably be the majority of my readers. Thefe will chiefly be our own brethren, and their defcen- dants ; and they will want minutely and circum-- ftantially to know, how their bretliren or pre- deccflbrs fared in the work of the Lord: and next to them, our friends, who don't live with us, who were hitherto edjfied by the little they got: to hear of our miffions, but for want of knowing the hiflory from the beginning, could have no connefted idea thereof. And . hen alfo many other, ingenuous minds, who either know nothing at all, or nothing rightly, of the labour of the brethren's congregation, will be glad thereby to be. enabled to trace the brethren's way of thinking and aiding from ftep to ftep, in an im- portant though fmall branch of their labour, and thus to form a conclufion with regard to the reft. And this method of yearly reports will not feem either too "prolix or tedious to the afore- faid three claffes of readers, who will rot be fa- tisfied with perufmg the title-page, and Ihort fummaries of a book, and cannot always give cre- dit to the word of an hiftorian, as he is pleafed to repicfent a thing, but want themfelves to ob- fcrve arid j^dge of the fcene in its daily courfe and various fucceflive changes. V^-^'^*"'^ J^-^'^rr^sf.-rt tThis is alfo the reafon, why I infert verbatim feveral fragments of letters and diaries, and fo often let the miffionaries themfelves fpeak : and I have only taken the liberty, to collc(?l their thoughts of one and the fame affair^ which lay • c?- 4 perhaps PREFACE. xi '5 perliaps fcattercd here and there, together in one proper phice, and, only leaving out what was not material, to render them more compaft and coherent; taking care always, that the thoughts aiid Words be thofe of the miflionaries themfelves, and not mine. Among the Green landers we are not to look* for a numerous and rapid propagation of the Chriftian religion, attended with many furpri- fmg and extraordinary incidents. This nation itfelf is not at all populous : and whoever reads the third book with attention, will find their ftupidity fo great, and their way of living fo favagej: that he will readily own it to be a wonder of God, that, however, fo many are made obedient to the Gofpel, remain faithful, and grow and increafc in the knowledge of Jefus Chrift. Their difcourfeSj their laft hours, yea the very inftances of their deviations and errors, when followed by repentance and amendment, will help to atteft, that they are built up upon the only true foun- dation, and as tender branches engrafted into the true vine, to whom they cleave, and thrive and bear fruit. • JV "ifi. n^ m^v .rtir^itc;'. .m -'*''In writing a hiftory, which is to {hew not fo much the increafe in number, as the inward growth in knowledge and grace, I ought a$ little to pafs by fuch teftimonies, as the letters of the Greenlanders, which they partly write thera- felves, but for the mod part diftate to the pen of one of the miffionaries. And thefe having been the mod entertaining to thoft who have hitherto read the accounts of our Greenland- million ; I truft, they will not be counted fuper- fluous in this hiftory, efpecially as I have in- ferted but a very few out of a great number, and even thofe often much abridgea. The only liberty :\xi. liberty I have taken herein, is, that I have now and then drawn together into one letter, the femarkable exprefBons of one and the fame Greenlandcr, which he made ufe of in different letters to utter his thoughts; yet always fo as to apprize the reader of it by proper marks or breaks : for 1 aimed not at inferting many and Jong letters, but at giving the reader an idea of the way of thinking and flate of heart of out baptized Greenlandcrs. . . ,, ^ I wifhed very often that our miflionarles nad noted down more of the cafuai incidents and changes among their people, but more efpeciaUy of the public difcourfes of the Greenland helpers> and how the baptized ones occafionally exprefs thcmfclves concerning the truths of the Gofpel and their experience thereof. I was but a twelve- month in the country ; yet in that fpace I frer quently, but not till fome time after and cafually, learned feveral ft ri king anecdotes of that kind, whereby I perceived, how genuinely and heart- alFeftingly this and the other Greenlander, of a diffcrvnt age and degree of grace, had uttered his fentiments. And this made me conclude, that but a very fmall portion was preferved in the diaries I found before me. Yea, I met with more than one chafm of feveral days and weeks, where I either found nothing at all recorded, or at leaft not what I fliould have valued moft. Their fi- tuation in externals, is a fufficient excufe for th^s defeat. Our milTionaries in Greenland have their time fo taken- up with hard labour, efpecially when they are alfp obliged to fpend feveral days from home on vifiting the Greenlanders, tl\iit they cannot pofl'ibly write every thing down at the moment ;. and does it noi often happen, that he, who liath the bell experience and Ilicws the moll faithfulnefs III li PREFACE. xui \ faithfulnefs in praaice, has lefs aptnefs for the- ory than others ? Such chufc rather to doy ihua to defcribe their doings. This defect however made it difficult for mc to entertain the reader, agreeably witli a variety of fubje^s. And yet this very defcft convinced me afTuredly of the authenticity of the vouchers, out of which I drew my materials, even though I had not hadothctwifc fo good an opportunity of being fully fatisfied of the fmcerity, fimplicity and ingenuity of the mif- iionaries, by my perfonal converfation with thcra> and as an eye-witnefs of their labour among the Greenlanders. People, who are not accuftomed to take down in writing whatever occurs, and, have befides but little time to fpare, are not at all apt to fet matters off in too fine a drefs. They: take down from time to time, of what happens to them, only fo much as fuffices to put thcmfelvca in mind in future days of the connexion of affairs ; but they leave it entirely to the abfent jvader> what judgment he from thence cau;. and may bo difpofed, to form -^f the whole. Tais is the ad- vantage which JQurruls have with all attentive readers, who will take the trouble and time to trace a fubjeft from flep to flep, and are withal qualified to frame a connert ^ )■; \- iPi , inward :ilv P R E F A C R II inward and outward fituation of the Grcertlartd congregation from year to year ; and I generally leave it to himfelf to judge thereof as he finds grounds and inclination. Thcfe annual reports 1 have divided into five general fe«^ions or periods, diflinguiftied by fomc main incidents. 'i-In iht Jirjfy the labour of the brethren was Very toilfomc, and moftly fruitlefs. But even there one may obferve their faithful and patient perfeverance under number! efs hardiliips, and inward as well as outward trials; and by noticing the deplorable con(^ition of the favages, and the method then made ufe of to gain them, one is better enabled to difcern the fubfequent change and fuccefs of the miilion. In ihtfecond period, after a vifitation of one of the elders, and the firil mifhonary's having paid a vifit in the brethren's congregations in Europe, we cannot but acknowledge and revere the power of God which refts on the firaple preaching of Jefus's meritorious blood- (bedding, to the awakening, converting and gathering together of the otherwife dead, blind and ungovernable heathen. m::^ .i^fs^ji^-uuj^ When they had got a regular place of wor- fliip, and other buildings necefTary to outward good order ; but more particularly when they were fo highly favoured as to be made partici- pants of the higheft good in the holy communi- on ; the third period exhibits to our view a duly regulated Greenland-congregation, which is built up in internals and externals, and proves an ho- nour unto the Lord of the houfe, notw-chftanding all its faults and deficiencies. -^t'i^ 'i-jihd. mom '^ At a fecond vifitation in the fourth period, the Greenland congregation is confirmed in its good »'>.i-. Older, 4 the pod der, P K E F A e ?. ^i ^der, ftill better regulated,, and witljia itfelf edified by the appointing of foma national help- ers, and alfo incrcafcd from without by meaos o( the v.urd and walk of the believers. At this tirie the Lord of the harvell gathered many au |,». ^ -...-* *tvj<^, . . .. In the Jift/j period, the oldefl miflionary is refl-ored to the Grcenlanders; he crefts a new miflion, and foon after is rejoi ed to fee a fecond congregation, every way like to the firft. De- scriptions of the inward fituation of the Green^ landers according to their different degrees, fliort abflradts of the difcourfes of fome of the Green- landilh helpers, and a fketch of the life, cha- racter and letters of fome of the deceafed, do in- deed render tliis and the preceding period fome-: what more extenfve, but at the fame time more ,t Then follows, in the fe?it/j and laft booi, the outiViird and inward Co7iJlitut'ion or Regulation of the Greenland Congregation ^ and the Appendix. contains an abftradit of the refi: of the letters^ to- gether with a Ihort life of the miflionary Boeb^ niflj. While I was employed in preparing this work for publication, a neighbouring clergyman, with whom I converfcd concerning the labour of tlite, brethren among the heathen, told me a good deal of the carnefl defire of many ferious di » iiies and others, to fee fome faithful account of out labour among the heathens; and fliewed me a- inong other things, the late Lutheran Abbot 3tein?,ietzh public Callupon us; which is to be found mthe Spiritual Maaaz^?2e^ Vol. I.. Part iv. ■riiii*.i:i:.,i" .Page H m li I il! IVlTftX FJl^;F A C E.T <( «c 4€ .1 r' .« Pagr^f^h-pHotcdarMngckburg^ 1761. There^ vndor the article of* AecmttHs frqm the Wtft-lndieii S 4. ik firft thii quotation (^); y ^Ht ^n ? p ** As it is wcH kdown tnat the fo called *• Hermhuthcrs have for thefc many years, >^' ••the moft gradoQs permiflion of his Danif ^ )e(hy, had a ftttiemeUt of their own ia tuefe ^ iilandsy and full liberty to labour among and take care of the poor heathen : it is but juft and prudent to provide, that neither they lay any thing m the way oi our miflionarics, ** aor thcfe in theirs, to hinder this falutary " Work, and much more, that neither of them ** caufe any concifion or hurt through partial ** differences or wrangling ; wliich is the rather " to be avoided, as the Herrnhuthers have ac» " quired great advantages, both with regard to " the language, and to the way and manuer of " converfing with the heathen, through their " experience of fo many years." To this, the author of the Spiritual Magazine fubjoins the following remark : " We will only add one thing, vi?. that the ** Herrnhuth people, mentioned here by the " Rev. Mr. Lark^ take great pains to convert the " negroes or black flaves to the Ghriftian reli- " gion, not only in the aforcfaid Danifh iiland^, " but alfo in other parts of America, and, as we " hear, not without fuccefs. — Thefe en* ** deavours of the fo called Herrnhuthers, are " undoubtedly in themfelves praifc-worthy ; but it is only very odd, that they keep thcfe then* undertakings fo fecrct, and let none, but the : • Oat of tW CoU$SanM to tU Chuni-Hi^or'y •fotif ^am \ Timist by tke Rev. Wr. Jofiab Lvfki Gcrmtm prcacHe? fliSt* ^ Savktof^ dlareh io^Copenkagai, Vol. fi. {>• 9Zk -'1 . <* memberi f f' .PR EF A CE. ^l < I *• members of their own communton, kno^ any, •* thing cither of their way of treating the! nc* " groes, or of the good cffcfts that are thereby " wrought among them. If they really think •' this bufinefs to be a work of God, which he " is pleafed to carry on through their fervicc; " then they ought to follow the advice of the ** Angel, Tob. xiK 7. // is good to keep chfe the ** fecret of a k'tng^ hut it is honourable to reveal tho works of God, The praife due to him is other- wife obftrufted, and it is the duty of all believ- ing hearts rather to promote it ; at leaft they expofe themfelves co fufpicion, as if they were afraid of laying their method of afting with the negroes open to others, who might examine it, whether it be regulated according to Divine prefcription or not. The fcruplca of carnal reaibn, which, as far as I know, are the only impediment therein, are inconfiftent with a true reliance on the great and almighty Saviour. Whatever he hath determined to bring about, is not to be rendered ineiFe£hial by any man, nor needeth it to be hid for fear of any fuch confe- ** quence." This wifli of the late Rev. Abbot, for whom the brethren ever had a great veneration, prom- pted me to hailen the publication of this work, though various important reafons, which .don't altogether deferve the appellation of fcruples of carnal reafon, prevailed till then for poflponing it. I muft alio obferve at the fame time, that the brethren never fought to hide their labour among the heathen from their fuperiQrs and others, who were entitled to be informed thereof. They al- ways, as in duty bound, niade their j-eport to the fuprcmc magiitrate, under whjbfe jaiifdi (liferent mi^ons, the firit and lall e&^mhii^ tai^ '■J-'-' .. ■;■ ^ . : ; Ji: r, I r# Perhtpa the Pl^in dielar^titn of tt{i fff^^*) P^Pf^'^'* I Cb¥r(hj co*iarpittjr tUir pdijl av4 future Mo^rwmZ.m Kf^' pes, pvtsa.Jo/Ter heathin, dated July Xdt i ^tnf^74b^^e Budi/jrn-Ollcftions, Hart I, pag. 182.) might alfe^^SWrd :. the (ciider ionie light into the hrcthreii's aSl^ltettti^n* . 4o|trii>^, aa4«iethodof^O|^i|ig^aiafOi)gtl^^ '- ■ l^ppcarca ^,K E F A C E. 2ax tc pag. 91. aa follows, concerning the Gremlandersi " 1 will only obfcrvc in a few words, that the ** Moraviim brcthrf i have gained tU:it lar^c " number* of GrccnhMiders, who ut preien: live with them, as well tbrough their prudent and meek convcrfation, as through their iriendly iu- vitaiion in an evangelical preachin:^ of peace:. I am not inclined to demonilratc or defend the rcclitude of their doftrine and method of teach- ing, for that is fufliciently known already. I wiU only obferve, that when I confider wlut ^* hardihips, diilrefsand contempt they underwent, i* in the firft years of their abode in this country, ^ and how they at prcfent, after the expiration i« . of a few more years, haye erected a fine church «• or mccting-houfe, into which one may fee above •* 300 Greenlandcrs crouding every Sunday, and " may hear them fend up hymns of praife and "^ thanks to God ; then I Hand amazed, for nci- ^* thcr my reafon nor fenfes can account for it ; ^ aiid at lad I am forced to conclude, This is the ** Jin^er of God J* i .^ uiJJiJaiio. ji-u:rit>ii .■ -7 " blood- flicdding of Jefus, and preached by the brethren, gave me the fulleft iraprelSon, dnd certainty qF belief, that the Lord is with *' you. I thought, I faw a little flock of primi- ** tive tibfrftians dwellmg together. i-.i^'u^ L)iu. }'" The oH grey-headed Indians fat irf'the ^'^eetins;, partly on feats, and partly, for wattt *• of room, on the gronnd, full of gravity and "devotion, and heard the difconrfe of brother "P. fo attentively, as if they would "catch the 'f ' words out of his very heart. Jo/m ^ was int«r- **^preter, and performed his part admirably well ; *^ I look upon him to be a man, filled with fpirit *f" and power. — -In Ihort, I coimt my vifeat She' " jtcmdo one of the greateft favours granted me " in all my life-time. That word : Jefus Ch rift ^^ the fame y after day ^ to-day and for every became •f "as it N\'ere qtiite new and lively to my heart, ** wiitn r faw thofe patriarchs of the Americaii " church fitting round, hke fo many living-mo- "' numents of the atoning facrifice of out Lord "jefus Chrifl. Their prayers muft come in re- * membtance above before God, 'aiid^ Heavcil " itfelf muft fight againft their enemies, 6*c.'* ' ''. |"-l'o the aforefaid two eye-witHeffes, I will f^ill add that excellent icfliraony, which the right Reverend Bifliop and Chancellor Fenfcppidan in Copenhagen^ gave of the brethren's labbiir amon^ the Negroes in the Danifh Weft^I^h Jflands, in his preface to Lewis Ferdinand Rwmer^s Ac- count of tJjiCoaft of Guinea^ 1 760^ i- fvi . /j v ' .|** Tor rayprfefent purpofe it (s (hificiestl© faf, ** Ihat thef 'I ■I ■U v^ »•. ,-r. .IT 3 A ^ P R E F A W ;f.r...r, », XXI a « « It « (( u tt tt *f « II V u f it a u ii C( « u f« *^ « « 5^ €omie EQwh nearer to the light of the gofpel, than in their own country. Add to jhis, that the fo called MoraTian brethren (whofe words and undertakings in Europe, I s For among the negrp-flaves, even p{ the mofl wild and barbarous nations, who in their own country feemed to have quite loft all humanhy, one may meet with very many iriflances of a finccre^nd abiding converfiou to Chrift, that is to fay, a converiion unto his mind and the fol- lowing of; ills example; fo that, if the old rule ftill Hands good, ye Jball km^ them (vii. ;pyophets) by their fruit s\ then one mud give c 3 " honour iill 11 ^1 *i ■ji: r.'l Tim . ' ■■• ^'[^.rA/l 1 JL a. ' • . xxH , , P il E F A C E. <'t5' botour to God, and own , the truth, I;h,at in ii:'ff maiiy a Lutheran congregation th^re is Vipry ?ljff often not fuch a number ofbieffed Tru/ts of If* the miniftry to be feen, as among the flav^s in i^i the aforefaid Danilh colonies. One proof of ** this is, that many a planter, who by his own " way of Hving plainly ihews, that he and his ** houfe don't ferve God, and confequently does ** not favour the Herrnhuthers from mouyies of ** piety, yet is greatly taken with them on ano- *.* ther account, namely, forthe fake of his own ceconomical advantage, as Lahanlov* A. Jacobs becaufe he was a profperous and ufeful fervant. One gentleman ftrives with the other to get the brethren to their plantations, becaufe they. ** make their flaves Chriflians. And that this is eire<5ted in truth, appears from thence, that they from that day forward are no more guihy of lying and dealing, nor join in any riot or other mifchiefs, but prove the befl: workers and mod profitable fervants to their mafters. I am glad of this opportunity to give an impar- tial telHmony to what is true; and this I do fo much the more boldly, as I can appeal for the proof hereof to the unanimous affent of many men of integrity who now live here ; and I am ready to tell any one, who flill retains any doubt about it, who they are. To God alone 4l :.^ /be glory.'* ^ • Now unto that God'and the Lamb, that was flain and redeemed us with his blood out of every kindred and tongue, and people and nation, be all honour and glory for this blelTcd work ! What men have contributed thereto by their faithful and patient perfeverance, through the preaching of tlie Gof[jel, and tlirough careful nurfing of fouls, is but a fmall matter. It is the Spirit of / . ^ . . ■ . , the . €1 it €t «( t( €1 *< it it if if it it it it ' PREFACE. xxiii the Lord, that gave power to the word ; called, ^ gathered and enlightened thefe poor heathens .^ by the Gofpel, and hitherto has kept them with Jefus Chrift in the only true faith. May He blefs I and give hisunftion to this fimple account of the congregation out of the heathen in Greenland ; ■' and may he let every reader tafte fomewhat of I that grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift, which the l._ miifiop.aries there perceive in a rich meafure at preaching the Gofpel and adminiftring the holy facraments ; and which has caufed a deep ^" abafement and joyful gratitude in thofe, who \' have hitherto read fuch accounts fmgly, and alfo in me, during my abode of fourteen months on the I {pot, and while I was writing the hiiloryof this ■^ 'million. JtuJ (b ttn^ti t I --*..»J * ^ T 1 y^i-Perrnhuth, On the Memoria!-''^'-*'^^ ^'' t;')fto>; ^' Day of the firll Miflion to the ?>J^H) ny^ii /';ff' ^O -f Heathen, Aug. the 2 1 ft, 1765, ti hnn om-f^ ii> g-rsiit,--^ jrjd ,ui vvtrhf u^d ,^hUl-.h'^ ■'-'ft.' lot Inyqu^m.,} ,u ^x^-.^yi ^y:,^^ ,,;, .(..^^^ ,. .«^.mndr oifv;..,,o t^..ff^",., ^,,,,^^ . ^ Iti W'V Pi . 1 -"■ I I II ■ > a T ?I H T '/[ o :> auT lo t M U J O ^'''"^ ? ^11 «L«i^^i*Uiii*^iiMwi'^Mi*i fcr^i * . '«M.yiuiLnn>«wi I • way .'♦...■-, »i .iSl_'.i;ii .•**., fl*l*:-^ i .^ .-_. . ( * • ■* ^ .^ ^, ^ ., .^■.■Vii^', -.■.:;..^.:,-; -;:--^;-;:; y^l ' ' D' CONTENTS 1 . OF THE FIRST VOLUME. vHi;u^i. .1/ i '1 BOOK J. Of the Situation and Nature of the Land, the Sea, the Air> the Earth> tiie Stones, and Vegetables, f .i%' I'A*, CHAP. I. Of the Country in general. I. f\ F the Situation and Borders of the Country ^ Page f 2. Of the Name, and the Form or AfpeSl of the Land in general 2 3. Geographical Defcription ef the IVeJi-Side. Tbe Colony and MiJ^on at Fredcric*s-Hope, and Fiflicr's- Lodge} alfo the MiJJion at Lichten- fels ^ 4^ ^e Colony and MiJJion at Gopd-Hope, and Zuk- kertop J alfo the MiJJion at New-Herrnhuth. Jfummary Computation of the Inhabitants 7 5. The Colony and MiJJion at Holfl^inburg, South-Bay tfw^ Egede's-Minde 13 6. DiJko-Bay and IJlandy Colony and Mijfton ^ Ice-Glance • * ' 2i 4>j J I. iiature of the Ice, partkularlf of the floating •A^h i-^sV- 4, andNightt. Mj^n^Shirtty Nor- /1 1 ibern-Lights, and othtr Meteors dr Phammena -nr^rr?:** in the Air • ^y '« 23. Obfervations oh the Breather from Ang. iy6i to Aug. 1762. ^o Of the different Kinds of Stone gind Earth. WiJ. '24. O F the Hills in general ^s'>-*'^- ^'^^'f^ ?». -^^ Hi 25. 0/ the various Kinds of Stohey farticularty Saf- iS: ,: tard-Mdrhle^ or FVench^Chalk, /^^ Afbeftus, and • .■>.' ;; ';^«\\ti'iT Greenland Cryjials )and Garnets c^ -vrr;^ '26. Of Coals, Marcafitts, Ores^ and petrified Sub- ^ S Jiances ijg Of 27. Qr the differnt Kinds of Edrfh^ fOrticularly -ai\\a^t'j'i^t'^ri^i^a- CHAP V >^^''^^<5^^^'»i •*'- i^2'll«aof the Land and Sea-Vcgctables: ■rr. ^ ■■■ " -■ §. 48. O jf /*^ Produce lof the land, particukrfy Herbs 60 '^-'^ 49. Cy Grafs, wrdtbe ProduSts of tht,Gmien 64 ' ^ 30. Of Mofs 6 - «*> 31. 0/ Plants and Shrubs grovuing m the deaths, and their Berries 5^ 32, Of the Sea-Vegetables \VTi 67 Lu. •^-ia B O O K II. „««tV\of the Beafts. Birds and Rrhes:' ^ ^-^t ^vM'>svAU\^ iVuWk v.»»:'. ■>* W A p Y -in"! \v> ,0? ^ F Beajis <5^ 5* '• p ^uadritpeds, vra. /ir«,vT, i?^/;f,ri5f.r, ^n^vi .'if r> ^'^''» J^htte-Bcars and Dogs, Foreign liii I iKl ■r T^ "f r*\ '-^ -pi 4. ; ,.^WN-^V ; V i 1 ■ ^M i!:'i ji,,i '^. *7. CONTENTS. Cy fi[>^ Ltmd- Birds, Nortbtrn. Partridges and Snipes. Some Singing' Birds, EagUs, Falcons^ Owls and Ravens, J few InfsSis and Vermin 75 Of thA MuUitudi and Diverpy of the Sea- Fowl 79 Firji Clafsy of the Duck-Bill Kind. tyUd-Geefe 4md Ducks, Sea-Pheafanty Tornauviarfuk, j«^ the Eider- Fowl or black- Duck 80 Second Glafs, with Jhort fFings, The Tuglck, Penguin, Sea-Stork^ Lao or Diver, fVillock, Sea- Pigron, Sea-Parrot f Kallingak, Sea-Sparrow and Sea-Snipe 82 fhird ClafSf with long Wings. Several forts of Sea- Mews or Gulls, Boobies, Man-of-lVar' Bird or Dung-Fowl, little Gulls* Sea-Swallows i\y\ 85 77;* Food of the Sea-Fowl, and how they feek it. Xbeir Propagation, ♦ ,. ..- .- -^ ^ u ^.^8 CHAP. II. iv ^a.,uOf the Fiflies^bbi^l uit tU §. 8. CONSIDERATION of the Multitude and Variety ^.]^\ ■ 9f the Fijhes, their Food and Nourijhment 90 l^i Q. River-Fijh. Salmon and Salmon-Trout 93 \lQ, Sea-Fijh. Capelin or /mall Herning, Scalping, Red- Z i^^y Cat'Fi/h, Stone-Mttr 94 j,,'li. Flounders, Halibuts 97 iv^a. Shell- Fijh, Crabs, Shrimps, Sea-Urchin and Star- w,v'«, Pijb- Mufcles, Periwinkles, Barnacles 98 ^ J 3. Sea- Infers. Sea-Bugg, Whale- Loufe, Cuttle or Ink-Fijh. The Whales-Food, and '/^Qophytes 100 14. Of the Shark 103 CHAP. III. $ Of otber fmguJar Sea- Animals. ■^ O •■. \, \K*OT the Difference of thefe Creatures from vthet:' ^ FiJh 106 .16. Num- 1 4 . C O N T :»•: N T S. Jcxlx 1 6. Number and Diverfity of Pfljales. Of the WhiUi ^vvsx r that yield Hl^aU-Bone. The black Greenland- ,ino\\ IVbakandtheNortb-Caper ibid. 17. Of the PThales with Fim. The proper Fin-Fijh^ , > jMfuter^mfde^ Bunch-IVhale^ Knitted- fVh^le iZ. Of the Horn-Fijhts* The Unicom, Saw-Fijb^ ttH Beak-Fijh. -\\\'t'.^f^i•^ '^^ <':^^--\- -^vhi^x'^^^^ m 19. Of the large Ftjhei with Teeth. Cajhekt^ Pett-Ftjb or ^'^tvmZ'Cttx fVhale 112 . 20. Of the litth Fifties with Teeth. White-WhcU^ -fj:^ Grampus, Porpoife or Sea-Hog, Ddpbin^ Sword- I'h'n nt Fifti, Ardluit, a kind of Grampus S** i. 114 ai. Of the SeO'Monflers, Sea-Dragon, Sea-Serpenl^ .i« Vv,». Mer-Matt and Mer-Maid, Krake, oar Ifland- Fifli 116 11. Defcription of the TiKitcyi jyhale'Fifl}4ry .118 ( 23. The Greenlanders WhaU^FiJbery , lai • •• '■' > -I .V 1. > .vji . ■ V ..^- • <.>»«.* t^ 'i-4<'t ^ 1- .-..-^^ . c H^ p, iv:. ^ : : . Of the Quadruped Sea-Animals, or Seals. f . 24. O F the Seals or Sea-Calves, in general I2t 25. Five particular Species if Seals *^ , 123 . 26. Of the Sea-Cow -^r.-v .>Vn^ j^j 27. Of the Flaces the Seals frequent, and their Meirch- Ik* «i «"- ^flw /A ''I! CONTENTS. ^' ■■ ■•'■ A - ' '':: U. AU.V Oi ^^uv BOOK in. ' ')f'' Of the Greenland Nation, v .Si ; CHAP. I. * 1 F 'I! , .) 'If ll.lii I! I'll m 9Ltl^^*^.?^'^^°^» and Way of Liying. ^ ^j^ 5« I. /^ ^'i^/ Name, Statun and Make of the Green- • r^M ^ landers 132 f , ^ 51. ^hiir Temperament and Difpofttion of Mind 1 34 * 1:^:3* '''^ i5r//f 4i/A c/'M* Men and Women, and their ' xr . Ornaments 136 " ^^^4. Tteir lyinter-houfeSy Sleeping-places, Fire-places, ^ -, f :. Out-houfes and Tents 1 39 ^ I ^5. Ti^^/V ^(?i// 0.v 0^ • */^ 1 1 . Cy th)L Seal*^apture hy the Clapper-hunt V«A i>2» Ditto-m the let , . v., , ., - • ^:, ■ . ■' '■ :-^'^~ ': -' -.-^ ^ their Marriages. Polygamy and Divorce 157 ^^.«I4. Of the Birth t Naming and Education of the Chil- dren 161 "■•f "4 ' i 'a- CONTENTS. TJjg Occupations of the rifmg Youth 163 o.- .1 5^2. 23- ^4- 16. Their if^ork or Labour y und their Demeanour to- wards theiy Fdfnily. 164 1 7. The hard Cafe of the ITmien, and of the old PeopU 1%. Their Method ef drej/iag Lfttheruii H} 166 . i(j. Their foul^ and yet orderly Houfe-keeping |69 ■ CHAP. III. ., Of the Deportment of the Creenhnders in -» ...'^ ,. . 4.*t . Society. m-^v- §. 20. THEIRcommon Inter courfe with ot^e another 170 21. Their Vifits^ Banquets^ HofpitalityandTabU-talk 1 7 1 Their Dealings and Trajfic among Me another, and with the Europeans ',..*" '.'''. 1*]% Their Sports and Diverftons^the'^aUy and Wreji- ling _ 175 Of their Singing-cgmbatSy and Satirical Dance 178 2c. They have no Government^hut yet accommodate th^m- *'''' fives to certain Cufloms ' ' ^^; ■--■**> ^' ■ 17^ o?» ■■-.,'. ■ ^ I* .A r. Ay f ^^^^^ >^i^. ..^ Of the Moral Charai'L>iri.'''j ivlJ 19O : 32. Confufion in their Inheritances^ and their Cruelty to- ' wards poor defertcd IVidows and Orphans 191 Of their Revenge and Bkod^tkirjiinifs '. ^ .I9'3 The Green landers arc >iot virtuous, yet they have ' many ^alities^ preferable to Mher^N^itiom 194. 'a> V, 33 SAT V CHAP. u./' I 'I xxxti CONTENTS. CHAP. V. Of the Religion, or rather Supcrflition, of the Greenlanders, * §, 'i^^,THEY are totally void of any proper ReligioH^ but not of all Ideas of a Supreme Being. The Decla- ration of a Greenlander on this Head 196 . 36. Their various conceptions of the Souly and iti Immor- ^' tality 199 27. Their conceptions of a Future State 20 1 ■f,r 3^' -^ yoriety of fabulous Traditions^ efpecially concern- , p . ing the Creation^ the Floods and the Refurre^ion t , 39» Tr^eir Notion of two great Spirit Sy a good One and , , V a bad One 20 c . 40. Alfi of feveral inferior good and bad Spirits^ like- j,^ wife of Jpparitions 208 *.. 4'» Of ^^'*^ Angelcoks, or Sorcerers and Soothfayersy and how they learn and praSJifc their Myjiery 209 42. Some of their Sorcerers are wtfe Men, fomc Fana- ticsy and fom^ Impo/iors 2 1 2 43. Prefcriptims of their Diviners concerning their Diet, and Spejls v Charms 2 1 c c . CHAP. VI. ?^^* Of the Sciences of the Gr^^/i/tf»^<. " §. 44. A Brief theoretical Sketch of the Greenland Lan- guage , with a few TranJJations annexed 2 1 7 •-X"-^ 45. 7X»^/r P/Vf^ o/" Knowledge in Hijiory^ Genealogy y «<*i- Arithneticy IVritingy Chronology, Geography and Vfl^: Ajironomy . . 229 -,♦» 46. 0/" their Difeafes, and their Cures ,^ 235 -'>^47. Of their Funerals %*■ 237 ^' 48. C^ /^w> mourning for their Dead ' 238 .'~\^ -'■?'■".>* ."• . v- book: ^ -J UJ» O.^"'' ■• .*W > >» CONTENTS. XXXUi •f .f . «* -. »r-<- ' ,J< BOOK The Annals of the Country ; and an Ac- count of the firft (or DaniJIjJ MifTion, till the Year 1733. «,^'^ . ^/ „; C HAP. *•,/-,, l AtUials of Old Greenland, 1. fCMLytND difcovered and pojJt£id by the Nor- ■^ mans or Norwegians 241 2. The Difcovery and Planting of Greenland by the Icelanders 24.3 3. The Time cf thefe Difcoveries cannot be precifcly aV- ter mined 24.4^ 4. Geographical Delincatifn of the Country in ancient times " ■ ' « '■» ibid* ^. Thejiate of the Eaji-Jide of the Country In former ages ^ . . , . ^4-7 6. The Beginning of the Chrijiian Religion in Green- land. Thejirji Greenland Bijhop and his Suaef- ' ' fors :! 249 7. 7^^ Icelanders and Greeuhadern difcover one part (T/'North- America, and fend Colonies thither 253 g. Conje^ureSy when, and whence, the prefent Savages ^ came to Greenland ? TTjey, and the Efquimaux ^. '; in Terra Labrador, are probably one People 257 9. The old Norwegians art exterminated in Green- land by the Plague and by the Savages. Ships go no more thither ^ and thi Land is lojl. Tet a few Traces remain 263 10. Newefi Accounts of the prefent State of the Country on the Eajl'ftde, and its Inhabitants iH;-v at»6 11. Continuation of the Account of tltt Eaji-ftde, from the Mouth of the Greenlanders 2t)o 12. The Difcovery of the Y,-x^ and V.^eft-Indllcs gives Occafion to think again cf/oJlGr(icn]-dnd. Mar'tiii Forbil'her dfcoiiers the Land, and \o\\n Davis the Strai.s which go by hii Name 272 VoL^ I. d J 3. The 3CXX1V CONTENTS. 13. I'be Danes difcomr both the Eajl andJVeft^ftde^ but ^,., .. can gam no firm Footing \..S-\\^-.i 276 CHAP. II. •v; V.u '5.'V<' t* •.'\''.\ M^ r Hiftorical Relation of Godbaab or Good-hope, §i 14. Mr. Hans Egede, tf Norway Clergyman^ makes Propofals of beginning a Colony and MiJJion in .V .•,.. Greenland -•> <^^^^■ :^'m 279 ' 15. After enduring man^' inward CmfliJ^s^ and much ' outward Oppofition o/' that Jccoiinty he vindicates i' Vv.K bimfdf refgnshis Be.-'efice^ and^oei*,to Bergen ^. -> ' 281 ^'- 16. He addreffes himfelf to the King, and after many N. v,'-. i\;"'^j Difficulties forms a commercial Company, and is v..*,-^. »- appointed Miffionary /'« Greenland 283 ' .• 1 7. His dangerous Voyage to Greenland, Arrival there^ ■»..; and planting of the Colony ^ood-ho^e. 285 t/^ 18. The Savages timoroujiy JJjun the Danes, yet foon har- bour a Confidence towards them, and a great regard ^'Jil for the Mifiionary >. v .^- -■:''r-. 286 19. The Traffic affords hut poor Hopes in the Beginning j ;; . the Colonijis come into indigent Circumjlances, and 1 V will go back again. But at length they are fup- portedfrom their native Country 288 2C. The Mijfionary lives a while among the Savages, to \N. -^^ learn their Language, and begins to inJhuSf fome of them 280 21. He labours to find a better Place for the Colony^ fearches the Territory of Ball's River, and finds > fame Ruins of the old Norwegians Habitations ,-j\a>'' -V ui -^f-,- T ■.4t\ >• ^'- ,'■' 'M^-'-i- *'''>v^^'-'5*'''"Vy -' 2QI 22. He gets kVo^rt To]^ for his AfJtJ}ant\ endeavours • , to difcover the Eqjl-fidc, but in vain, finds many Ruins, is well received by the Greenlanders, and ' • - very highly ejhcmed 292 ^^^23. He makes a perilous yet fruitkfs Voyage to the Notth for Difcov cries; a Colony is afterwardsi fettled there at Nepifene ; he fearches for Ores, fows Corn, and tries to ifnprove the Commerce 294 L' 2 ,. 24. They ■' L ^ :- ->; I 1 >■ f ' m \ 1 Ei 1 tde^ but 276 I'hope, r, maket ^ijjion in 279 nd much indicates Bergen 281 er many and is 283 >ai therey 285 foon bar- It regard 286 giming } cesy and are fup- 288 'jages^ to ru6l fome 289 Colony^ 2nd finds ibitations 291 tdeavours ids many ders, and 2^2 ike North hi fettled es, fcws 294 24. They ■4 CON nr : E NT S. xxxv 24. TV;^;? ^i-^-zw /'« tarikeji i4, >Ay\M»^ ^n^At^ t.r.. v/j.;*r/^*lA!!VA. n/r V296 25. Two Greenland Boys are fent to Copenhagen, one of ■ «\;« ^ whom returns i two other Boys. are baptized. Some -it«>\^ Pifces of the Bible are tranflated into their Lan- ■>■ X:' guar'e^ and a Greenland-Grammar is begun 299 ■, ,^. a6. TJje Colony at Nepifene is forfaken and burnt. . The .{Artist- Mijjionary loofts out for a better Place ; en which ,T;!i^'i\ Tour he ^ and the FaSlor alfa^ are involved in fome ■ j^ - . troublcfome ^tarrels \ on Ambufcade arifs out of ,» /"/, which is however timely difcovered 30 1 V "27. By the long Ab fence of the' ^ipiy the Colony comes in* to Wdnty and the Mifftonafyis necejfttatedto craJ ■^ A' X. V- Ajjifiance from the Dutch Ships -y, at length theii :^, • .jDi/irefs is mitigated by the Arrival of one of tlpt :-,,,•; "' tefels .^ ^ .30^3 v.^^^S 28. The Greenland Trade is given up by the C^mpony at ^v- ' Bergen, and carried on by the King. Albert Top mr returns to Denmark with a Greenland Boy^ and .■ : „ ,. . , .iv,;\ ■^''' ^g^^^ fludies in vain to find outy himfelffome \^.vvv. ^^Bxpedient for the Support of himfelf and the Mif- '<''t\ ' " ">« . 304 ^> i^-?!^' ^'^^^''^ appears jnore JFiUingnefs and Teachablencfs in ■ tu vT'.r '^^ Green|ande;s, yetr it^ proceeds iu few of them from the bottom of the Heart- . 'aj > j , [^ 305 Soldiers^ and all Sorts ^f People are Jkipped over in ^ order to ereSf a Fort and tnore Colonies ^ but fome of » them grow mutinous ^ and mofi of them die 307 Unfttccejfsful ElJays to dijcover the Eajl-fide. A fc- cond Eretiion of a Cglony and Fort at Nepifene ,..»«. v^v.- ,:\a?^»'-5r'V:«\wi\.\\>irt ..^'.'^ Wv^aAsV.^X '308 -r-, ^^32*, .'^<^«)' Greenlanders zvithdraw^ out of Fear of tne ,,,^, ^ new Cohuijls. Mr. Kgede refolves in a Confer- • ■.n<.\4.. *A-. V f^^'^^ ^^^^^ ^•'^'^ '^^^ ^^''■^ CaiLgueSy to baptize the vv.\u\ -iS s\,.Mildren of the Heath, n 309 ..;v->>\ ^3' ^^'^ Straits thro' IVant of Provifions-, repuital ."><>. ■ ' * Nv- P''fp^>ailciis for cultivating the Land .y '^^i i v.*Y ,1.2, ' d2 ■ .. ' 34. Ad 30. ti^ •'■\ li-J ■, 31- •■ \;-.v.T waW* <'.t\iVA 1^1.. -I i !■ xxxvi aC iO ,N T E NTS. r/ 34. All the' Cehnijls are tulkdmu^t except Mr. Egedc f<: <^ and his Famify. The Cohtiy at Nepiicne is burnt 'lit' 'down the feeondJlmt^ ibid. ?v35» *^^' baptizing of Children is dropped- 'y tht Grecn- v\i,'$\ i>\ ^ landers wiil no more let them be inJhruSied, and ^; retreat entirely from tht Plate '■• »<'<* '^ •' » 312 C .36. The Trade improvesy but there ccfhl "'»* Ajfurances rt -r^ of further Suppart. The Difeovery of the Eajl- jide is again attempted to no Purpofe 314 37. Mr. E^ede is rejoiced JMlh*^ ^oji gracious Ajffur^ ( > .• ance ^ of the Furtherance of the Colony. Arrival 'i^wtx*' .if^tjt'i^ tifi'te firji Mefi^gerf^o the Heathen from %.\.&t^.y:MBmr^vit\i :-.^^ ;>.... .'...- ibid. i • .^i cS^AdAr BOO K The firfl Period of the Miflion of the Bre- ^ thren, viz. from its Beginning in 17331 q, jto the firft Vifitation in 1740. v ; :.' \ . The firfl Year, 1733. §. 1, CT'H E Jir/l Vccajion to the Mifjions of the Bre- ^Tti -* tbrttt in gei^ralfi particularly /» St. Thomas's ... •••-•' ^ '316 ^ 2- 57; frjl three Bretkf^y ^''^ii^f^>^ Stzch, Chriftian *'^*' David, and Cl^nf^ian Stach, to Greenland 320 3 Their Application at Copenhagen meets with Dif- ficulties at frjty but afterwards with ^ood Appro- bation nt\d Succcfs 323 "* '"' \, Theh" Voyage and Arrival in Greenlanjl. Their R,eflc£iiom at the firji Sight ofjh^Lan.d and its nbabttnnti ■ ^ v 326 '^fh^fjfrjf} ereSt'mg of a Tent and' Dwelling- houfe 328 fcth'Y'atlon if their Sentiments- concerning themf elves and the Hutthen ibid. "' 7. T^^^^repare tlnrnfelves for their Occupations^ endea- ■^«^ '^ibW' i§ learn the LanguugCy and to come into a ^r.^ . ' fruitful ■'.U3 J5c ■ntQ m4? N atrtt^N T ^. xxxvu "A . c o !l)5' Jl . fruitful Intw^Ufi^^^- thiHiatben ; but find ^\ ^ gnat Obfta€le^i9f^^aU^^tfi "Xv>A iv\ t.?^v^ 331 8. The Small' Pox breaks tuf anwig the Grecnlanders, 4iHd makes Urribk Deflation. The Afijftonaries take Charge 9fthe fiick both with refpe£l to Body .s^ andSoul't yet with fmall Prognfi 333 ,. o. The Brethren*! Difpyitim of Mind at thh fever e iV\v\ Trials efpiCtaOy as they weufick themfehes 337 -i%,r^^u- The SedBflii Year;-irg^:\^^ -U ^i ,1., 7'//-£ Brethrm mfike fome viftting Vayages among ,A,4^ the Heathensy and find them in « wrttshed State externally and internally 339 2. 27>^ Heathens eome but feldom to vijitthem, and when they do, 'tis only for fome indifferent Ends 341 3. Two Helpers arefent to the Jldijftonaries 342 4. Their Voyage and Arrival in Greenland 343 5. The MiJJionaries animate themf elves, and their new a} ,' N ■ Helpers to Patience^ Faithfulnefs and Diligence :^ )- ■.;;,.. ' '-, 345 -; The Third Year^ 1735. §. I. THE Mijftojiaries are diligent, in learning^ the Greenland Language, ^ith good^Su(;cefs 346 ufttin^^}a^es\fo' the Heathen, 2. 347 rjcein them. '^r w They make fever al vijii and become acquainted Mtth them 3. The Heathen placefomeivnat pme Confide. and vifit them, yet mmly from temporal Afotives 4< -the Brethren appoint probationary interviews be- tween themfehes about certain Points ^ ^ 3^1 5. The Declaration of each about thcfe Points 353 6. Their Covenant to maintain a genuine and pure Mind and H'ai/i in the Gicev.lund j^ffair r 3^4 7. They fall into great Want of the Nenffaries of Life, and at' thefame'time are fatigued with hard Ldkitr and many Dangers ^ce |8. Their Difpofition of Afind amidfi PoHiiriy, Con- tempt, external Weaknefs, and internal Prcf- fures "■■■■ '^^-'^ • ^ ■ ' • •' * "• 3^8 The V iiij i:*!< CO N TEN T S. ■■V PROOFS of a Divine-Brtrtjidemedurhg their eon- tinued Indigence, and the Diminution of their bo- dily Strength .. ^ ' o >> '. .,sv<* i 25g A kind Offer from Holland^ tvfuppdH the Mijfion in Teffiporals '\ .. > 361 Jncreafe of their Family vnithfour^ P^ifoni 36^ Mr. ligede goes back to Denmark. Chriftian Stach goes withJiifn on a f^ijl^fl^<(3eicmzny 364 e. The Brethren find flill ,10 Entrance among the Hea- Y/: then-i hH* Uei^ifm attd'lfij0iesi nay Danger of «,* '" thein'Livds ,..>>,' ^55 r- 6. They are revived and srtcoutaged in their Vocation^ by \xsi\.A'^iheJit^J^ tnjiance of a Heatkjen'i deftring to be in- I ■ V JiruSied^ttnd by Comfort uttt of God^s PFcrd ibid. 3' 4- T >v The Fifth Year, 1737.'^ §. I. THE tVant of a Booty and of the Necejfaries of Life, creates the Mijifionaries many Troubles 370 / 2. They are refrejhed in Body and Saul by the Arrival of Chriftian Stacb, and with him get a new T^o Supplies come from Holland, as was promifedi Many Dangers in the Greenland ^^/^rj 273 The little Fruit that attended their Abode here hither- to, fills them with Shame and Solicitude on Account , of what their Friends had done for them 374 The lamentable Condition of the Heathen leaves fcarce .!.^'. .. any Hope of doing good among thetn 375 6. lllujiration of the above, by an Account of a four ' IVeeks Abode among the Savages 378 7 . The State of the Mijfion till novo, poetically expref- 3- 4- \ ..,\'sThe Sixth Year, 1738. §. I, AGvtcn\2in^c\'Jlays luith the Miffionaries, and is * > / ' tDuchcd in his Heart. This gives them new Hopes -A i Arrival a netu 'omifedn . 273 hither- Acccunt ■374 fcarce 375 a four 378: expref- 3«^ and is Hopes 2. ka- 2. 3- 4^ : C O N T t :4 r S. xxxix Kai irnak, a P^rf'^^^y. ^r«??4ff' ^7.4 .h^°^^^^ Green- lanckr, -rr awakenedy -and-MievfT, by hearing the Narrative of the Sufferings of Jefus read 385 He draws more Heathens after hiniy and is not to be turned aftde by any T^nptatiani f^rials 388 In tnfin^irig'the Heathen^ the Afrffioitaries perceive a powerful Work of Gf-ace, and they meet with both ■A'A V^ \' ^iV..X.l -v.!*' , "•'v f -v *-:. 5V ^''^^ Sorrow in ^hem \i 389 Js fpiritual and bodily Labour 'entreafed, they beg for, more Htlpers^ and a mart conveni&nt Dwellings H«Hft 391 ♦A"- .^n; The Seventh Year, 1739* §. H ■^^^^B '^m g J i-*. 1 1 '^ \* • t iu^y .■■f ' : >''^r i>\- '^ :« ;.. _ ^ J* 1 . jif Great Famine gives them more Opportunity to de- ddre the Gcfpel to the Greenlanders 392 2. A Mijftonary goes among the Greenlanders together with the Catechumens^ and inJiriiSts them 394. 3. More freque'^t Vijits of the Natives^ ivho now begin •^ - to be more defirous of Infiru^ion\ yet they arefiill ' iV\>^ very infenjible and favage 396 4. Joyful Proofs of Grace in the Qc^tefhumens^ efpeci- "^ ally in Kajarriak • itr, 39S 5. Preparation and Baptiftn of the four Firfilings of the Greenland Nation 400 6. The Fir/lling Sunwxel Kajarnak is feized with Fear for fame Murderers , andfies with his Family to the 1. Souths to the great Grief of the Teachers 401 •J. But they are re-animated by the Arrival of new . Hearers 403 8. The InflruSIion of thefe new 0ms is carried on xvith Blejfmgy tho' with many yicijfiiudes . . (• ■ 7 . i • • . ■ '• \"Y- ■ . . ■ ' - . v-V^ 404 M' {.;]/-!• ■idf' ', .-V. /t^uuv^N^^iJ A^f'-V^'f'ti-'^'r'^ obnKth-J-iTO^s i -^ The « . *. M ' i 1. 1 1. r ! ! ii ! I is'- xl CONTENTS. •J -i.. t: >ii*. THE .'/j,i 1 -r-ur.- 6, ..-, . SECOND VOLUME. BOOK VI. . i'.VjA The fecond Period of the Brethren's Miflion, from the firft Vifitation in 1740, till they got a Church built in 1747- . ' » ,.-r V The Eighth Year, 1740. 'I, fVV;,'! y. I. y/ SenftbU Difference betwten the following and the for^S°^^S ^^(^^h in the Method made ufeof andits blejfed Eff'e^is In the Converfton of the Heathens Page I 2. The AftJJion is brought into better Order by the Vifi- tation of an Elder, by the Arrival of a new Affif- tant, and by a blejfed Vifit 9f the eldijl Mrfftonary /a Germany - >> ... m i.i ^^v.. ^ 3. The Catechumens move away again, yet not without Hop? of an abiding ImpreJJion 4 4. Four joyful Occurrences in believing Greenlanders, . particularly the unexpeSled Return of the Firjiling . ^ Szmael, artd the awakening and Baptifm cfSsLrah .. '^ Puflimek " 6 5. The Example and Te/iimony of the Fir/lling4-4m Fa- vour of the Truth, raifes the Attention of the Hea- then far and near 9 6. Th'vare of great Service to their Teachers in tranf- latingy and an Fdification to the Infidels 10 ^ . The Word is not dejiitute of Fruit among the reft, ,^^ ...... tho* attended with many variations la "^ " The Ninth Year, 1741. '- =■ - §. I. THE Firjiling Samuel's lafi Hours '•^'•* ' '13 . 2. The happy End of this Believer has a blejfed Infiu- -i-^' .. tnce on fever al Heathens " " \ 16 »4. CONTENT S. xtl 4. Circum/iqniial Account of a Vi/h among the Natives \. j^. BleffedEfftils ef this Viftt uVtsviv j-'. 21 5. T'he Arrangement of the OpporiuMtUs fhrlriJlruSl' ^ ;. I(i>«, tf»^/ the Blejftng perceived from it, ejpecially . ■ / ' . among the Children 22 6. The edifying Harmony, and the hleffed mutual AJJiJi- ^4Vt^v> ancey of the Danifh and German MiJJionaries The Tenth Year, 1742. '''■"' \f 1. MATTHEW STACk returns from his Vifit in Germ ny, /7/»it*r^' 49 2. J Grccnhnd woman is baptized in Kzngck^ and it , proves the Aftans of more GrccnlnvAers being laid r^ ' .1 ^"^^ pfn nothjithjianding the Oppofttion of an Ange- .'.. } ' ^^^ 50 . : 3. Someadverfe Heathens and Perfecutors are either won, 1^, ' or put to Shame r.\V.vr' ^V: i^'iS- 52 4. The Plot of a Band of Murderers is frufirhed by t:ferious and evangelieal Expojlulation . 54 5. The Grecnlandcrs are regulated in a more orderly Manner at their unavoidable Excurftons^ and a '^ t_)r f, ^ea^her isfint with them \ >^\ \^ .i^^*^;*-- . - 56 ^ • "6. The Arrangement of their ^nter-meetingty and tha ' different EffeSis it produces among them 58 " ')} Aconnts and Letters from other Places give rife to an epijlolary Correfpondence of the Greenlanders 59 » 8. IntroduSfioH and Benefit of Choir- meetings and .A<^' Bands. The Mifftonaries are very much encourag- ^•'. >;t VV^ W by thi Deftroufnefi and the Blejfing aMhg their : 'Greenlanders ^. 61 i 9. ■ An Increafe offixieen baptizedi the'firfi Child of be- C licving Parents being one of them. An impartial ,N >«' Report of the State of the baptized. '■ 62 "^ 10. A baptized Pet fon is excluded, brow h to Rights C (^gain^ and makes a happy Exit. 65. V J I . The Chi ij: mas- Joy of the Greenlanders- ibid. The V 5- CONTENTS. xJ.ii rf- — The Thirteenth Year, 17^5. w— --r.-». §. I, DIFFERENT Kinds of Jdmonitlon^ according t§ the different State of the Hearers i and the F.J'ecl \^^^^ the Truth had .,^ ,.a.,.;u'\- ^^ • " i. The Believers are exhorted U a good /f^alk and Con- verfation among the Infidels. They overcQim the Temptations to Evil 69 The Teachers have both Pleafure and Pain in vijiii/jjr them,'*^' I \" ^^ '-' riT 7 1 The preaching of the Gtfpelhas different Effects on the Heathens 7 2 The Mijfionary Boehnifh comes back from Ger- many 74 6. Several Pieces are tranjlated for the Benefit of the Grecnlanders. Eighteen Perfons are baptiztd ... .7,5 ^^^i' Singular Deliverances frovi Dangers and Difcafis 77 ♦ The Fourteenth Year, 1 746. §. I, THE Angekoks try t9 deter the Heathen from the Truth by a Train of Lies 7 3 ^s^ a. The baptized come into better Order j and are a Blef- Jing to their Heathenifij Relations ' T.t«vV»4.V . *''8o A Circum/lantial Account of th Order and the Meetings during the Capelin-Fijhery 81 Account of an Excurjion tuith the Greenlandcrs in , Purfuit 4f the Rein-deer 85 StriSl Examination touching fome of the baptized j Admonition given them^ and their Amendment 87 f-6. Twenty-fix are baptized. Remarks on this Occofion^ iivi Y at alio on fome Marriages, and on one of the bap- -*•». V tizca, who was drowned 89 7 . Happy Arrival of the J^ijTionnry Beck and two risvj lielpersy after pajfing thro' a V^,dtiy of PeriU by '►-: \« \,l,and and Sea ^vif^iivi n>-im\'\aVy^4'»^wl'i^\. .;p90 'V .Wi^iwi sA\ \p svtid Vv^i/Xo t^,a«\^ '^■ 3- ft \.y.. !)^ 4- *.A ' ', ?_ .5- -m^ .V. jcliv CONTENT $. 'Bh ^ ,. ■ li>i" BOOK VII. ^^^^^^ ^ The third Period of the Brethren's Miffion, from the building of the Church in 1747. till the fecond Vifitationin ijS^r Y •«,., ;Vv.5 The Fifteenth Year, 1747. ■ §. J. A Summary Recapitulation of the fprea£ng of the. Gofpel among the Heathen^ and its blejfed EffeSls en the baptized gz 2. They could not be conjideredas a Congregation till this 3. A compleat Regulation was wanting, ttll a Church or. Chapel could he built 95 4. Since that Time, ^'^ \4T '^' * ^S 10. Blejfed Celebration of Chrijimasy and. Conclufion of this Year «^cH,»>f:M i+rv «i,^,«„'. 104 !*\\»H-' 'R?)?'T*>fl^»* '•''.+5^ 3ff(!»"T" \\'i t' The Sixteenth Year, 1 748.'5^ - *?. §. I. THB' great Emotion which had hitherto bnn among •Xit^vvA -' the Savages, fubjides^ and their wild Difpofition *W' A'^ gains ground again vs'O «'<.^i^\\ fe>R«> ,\\i 106 t- 2, External Necejftty brings themafrejh to an Attention, and Traces are ohferved here and thsre of Souls be- :jrtT '"^ touched by Grace ibid. 3. Th6 ■« ■ f\n CONTENTS. xlf 3. 77>e vifttlng the Heathen is attended with many Dif- ficulties and Danger of Life 107 4. Particular Prefervations tf the Greenlandcrs when in Jeopardy of their Ltves, and providential Care \ for their Sujienance 1 08 ^. Augmentation of the Number of Catechttmens., and Return of fame Heathen who had long gone ajiray, Bkjftng attending the Preachings and the Reading of the Holy Scriptures, foy on account of the re- markable Change wrought upon this People 109 ^. Increafe of the haptixed with thirty-five Perfons, . , , and of the Communicants with fifteen 1 1 1 ' 1, A Candidate for Baptifm fiolen away by the Savages j but opportunely refcued 1 12 g. Eight of the baptized depart into Eternity. Some remarkable Circumjiances attending their Departure g. Blejing of God with Regard to the "Neceffaries of ^^^,.^ Life. The building of the Houfe is finijhed ^ a Hymn of Praife and memorial 114 'A >. The Seventeenth Year. 1749.^^.^^ §. I. THE Greenland Congregation tJjri'ves inwardly and outwardly. Several, who had been longjiirred .A '. -^up, now believe, and many adverfe Afinds are ^ brought to Attention 116 2. Blejfed Celebration of fundry Church- Fejlivab and Memorial- Days 117 ^, The Teaching and Regulations continued in the Greenland Congregation during the Herring-Fijh- ery 119 4. The Mifftonary Stach returns with three. Green- landers /r^w a Vifit to the Congregations in Eu- j^. . rope tf«^ America 123 • 5. The Greenland Sijler Judith builds a Choir-Houfe ^- - .' : V?' for theftngle Sijiers ^ *; «■ if ? - 125 "* 6. A Steward and a Catechijl are appointed 120 ^^' 7. Increafe of the Congregation with thirty- five baptiz- ^^ • ■ tfi, and fifteen Communicants, and Decreafe of fix .'^4x?-\'^. who fell aflee^ 127 %\ ) . ■' " '^'^ '' • ■ The 111 O N T E N T S. r^ lil & i: i\m ii ■: ! • #9»«al «>^ A. xhi C fl^k- The Eighteenth Year, 1750. ^. X. A General Famine doth tiot contributt ntuch tovjardf 5*;- the Converfton of the Heathen . "' 128 '2. Change in the trading Company. Royal Mandate ; , relative to the Brethren's Mijfion^ and good Effi^U r ., . thereof 130 *^"^, Relation of a Viftt to the Heathen 1 31 4. Increafe of the Congregation by fame baptized in other *,^^..^ Places 132 ^. Number of the Inhabitants^ and their being dividfd into Bands 133 6. IntreduAiion of fome needful Regulations y and the Obfervanct thereof ibid. 'J, J" he Congregation by the Inter mijpon of certain fo- "$> , /fOT» Meetings^ looked upon u* needlefsy however fuf- fers Lofs 134 8. Increafe of fifty-twe baptized^ and thirty-fix Com- municants. Scruples about adminiflring Baptifm to "^'Wi^^l). young People that are not yet arrived to Hears of tftAo) Conjideration s^vrV • - v, \^.^ 135 9. Remarkable Occurrence with a baptized fngle Wo- v* i ^ man. Four believing married Pair receive the Blef- ' ' ■ - fing of the Church 136 XQi.The yoyful Exit of Believers has a happy Effe£l on V*i /^^GreenlanderS'.u ♦ 137 X^t.y- ... ♦v;/ The Nineteenth Y^ar, 175 1. §. r. GOOD State of the Greenland Congregation inter- ■.: nally and externally. Admonition about keeping Sun ^.: ? ^ : day 1*38 3. I'he Holy Communion is with-held from fome of them y \'^\ \\\ Ufhieh proves a Bleffing for their Hearts. Dejire ■^ 1' after it among the baptized u . *u. t 1 39 '3. Tihe Mijfitnary Boehnifli returns frorit^his Vifit in .~ -r. Germany. The Gxzt^\A^x\^tx^ go aUme to the Cape- J'^' lin-FiJhery^ and commit fome Irregularities 140 ' %. Upon an Eiiamination^ the Teachers meet with more i?>t Comfort than Griefs even from fome who had been 1^. Increafe rf thirty-ftx baptlzedy and fpecial Leading - : ,. of fome of them 143 6. The ibid. 138 W CONTENTS. jilv'u 6. Thi ardent Dejirt of many Catechumins afur Bsp- tlfm^ is utardtd by fime Cireumftanus 144 7. Some Inflancts of happy Departura of Greenland- ers t^ ^45 8. Ibe Daivifli Mijfmary rtturns tt Europe. BUf- »v ^f^H <'*f'»<^'»g b" LaUur in his Offiii^ attd his edifying Harmony with his Neighbours 148 g. Thankfgiving of the Teachers for the Blejing gtanud to their iighteen Years Labour B O O K VIII. i... . ■c'tiTv-/' ■* i'^''" • ■ y^ The fourtn Period of the Brethren's Miflion, ' from the fecond Vifitation in 1752, to the ■^ eredtin; f the fecond Miflion in 175S. — :}{The. Twentieth Y^^ar, 1752. tT^o* §. I. ANEW Vifttationrf the Miff^ is fiund need- . ^ . . . r^ fuh One of the Bretb en's Bi/hcps^ Johar?- , ^ r *♦* Beg de Watteville, offers himfelf for it^ and de- , ^ aV\ *^ftres the MiJJionary Stachyir his Ceirpanitn 152 His Voyage io Greenland it^arj* '\ '.V'«i|.i\ 154. y^^ Gr.eenJandersy«ri>;l , ... *.•, ''4 <^v;.u' ! . ico e.. An ExtraEf from the Journal of the ahove-men- 1 tioned Vifitation^ and of the Vijitators Voyage hack j6i • ' ^. A contagious Difeafe makes a great Breach in the '^£ ) Greenland Congregation. Different Sentiments of ^\ %'^\\the Heathens on that Occafion V^^■;^^^ 183 7. Some remarkable Cirsum/ianltes tf twelve of the de- c:.: xeafed . - ,.,, . _,; . ,-, 185 -v9; STAtf i^mn and.the Ctttfolation of > the Teachers at thU ^^^ ' J- . ■ ^A\\S\ ; 2. •Oi d •A^^»A » ^^ '<<«iib*^ ""Y The ll' I ^! .-^'jY. xM ffl jf^m. C b N T E N T S. ^ the Twcat^fi^ Te^, i^jfiv^. |,nr m* J4^:i.t. i#;>^w*niry JU'cttptlumhHoflaJiTfdt^s }l^oryt^l liT^Njfi^Ajsami^-aVifit to iheMeithenin%it\g'^ .193 ?v * mveswtfbbts^iufpr[c^^ 194 ':-^£, TheUfe the GreenUnd Helper/ *arg of to tBe Hea- S^Jl,.,..^ JhuLthai^arA..^fihrr4d up, ?4«i» Helper i make a A jiaL':.- Voyage to the Norths to declare the QoJ^el to thiir Peo^'lthey efca^ a Phaty\ »9 6, The Green landers are blef^^d in the Means of Liff* .rro-'^ they and their Teachers are ff-oteSfedin many Dan^ ^*b, 'f y?^ v(-'Bi '•'^**» 5*i ! '"- ■ ■ • .• . :*- * ^^^. '^*^^^98 "' ■ y,' l%e ghingawuy of two Familifs, ej^cialiy of one Man who made a Voyage to Holland, and his Fate ' » 200 8, An Jddiiton of d'J Inhabitants. The Jingle Brethren >ji^ 4 i^^ ^itd'tffenifelvei a Boufe, and Ihe Iffea^ of Fami- --rsdo ' Ues make a ColUSiionfor the Support of the Lamps .-^. ' ^intheMeetmg-Htdl .-.,. .. ^4^. ^n 201 y^ ' 9. Thirty-two are baptized, and fik)^Ueff> filled homey five of whom are particularly taken Notice of 20Z 10. Mifcellanedus Occurrenset. Jn edifying Letter of d ).wV D^mihMiffionaryv^^^vyy^^^^^ 204 '"'Vt 'h'>^ ^- r,j^ The Tisrerity-iecond "fei^ ly^li?. ^ ), I. JANUARY. A great many iifenf fjome ia our. Saviour this Tear. An Account of, the Sundays. and Fefiival' Days- of this Monthyond of the daily Courfe 207 Feb. The Feaji of, the Prefentafioh . of Jefus irf^ the Temple. The Bt^tifm of ten JPef^ont* J^emoirs: 3. March. Excejfive Cold and great Perij,h in prayijd-r,^ fii* >"''? ■■ ^^i J^^ehance, The ready Libiiii,^tyQf the lap' ' . t^thud, ^ PVork of Grace on fh'e a%vahii^^ !t{e^hen,'' ►^v'«V' ^he Feajiof the AnhUneiaYion^ and of {h,e ihtwa- nity of Jefui -.* ^212 t 4* Ap"J- '■■1 %j»'.t.\ '• 1 (? It "'4-. t. . if 'V,>, CONSENTS. xlixir April. The Heathen are vi/tted, the Eajier-Pejltvat is filcmnized with Uleffing : fourteen are baptized, ' ^ • and three Pairs married'. Stveral Whale - Fijhers takeP>elier In the''f£arl>our, whofe Stjy is attSnd- ■ • ed Vitth evii Confequtnus 213 May. The Purfuit of Food ajfords^goi>d Oppor- iunity ofvijiting the Heathen. An infetiious Dif" . (trder hfeuki ouU>among the, Greenlanders. Re- marks on it, 'and f me Afemoirs of thofe whom it tranfplanted to the eternal Manfiom '»^'V,"4i6 6. June; John Beck follows theftck Greenlanders %,^_ ■ to the Capelin-Fijhery, grows ftck himfelf and is ,;• - vifitedby Matthew Stach. A Burning-Ground •nVtvN ,: is laid out at Piffik(arbik :»*^ '^[^■- " 21 9 ^, July. T/fi^? i^rf«r« fl^M^ Greenlanders. The Sick- .;(jV. nefs abates. A Word of Confolation from Etc- y^T rope concerning it t^^y,J^. Auff. Fifhers-Lodge or FaSiory begun. '^'^^ ,!. U Greenlanders are vifited at their Work, ]^Jf>i: fame Heathen come to flay >aj^*t>^ _ 9. Sept. God's providential Care for the Widows and :^^V52^ 'V^"* ^'^P^^"^' Increafe from among the convinced , ■: ■ „ Heathens, and their projpering 225 ^' . .fo. 09;. The Entrance and Regulations of .he Green- '] . ^ landers in their Winter -garters. Dljiribution \^\^to, and chsarful Provifton for the Poor, and the *' prudent Confiderations kept in View at the fame Time. Danger and Fatalities at Sea 226 \i\ Kov. The Catechumens increafe, and yield good Hopes. The good Motions among the Heathen in J?ifliei'srBay are promoted by fending them fome 'H)-mns'i,^ .^/j. ■.. . 4C;, 228 •^12. Dec. Fijits of thetieathen. TranfaWons at the ^'" ^ lafl Congregation'-Day, at the Greenland iVfW- ^■''^ Year, Chri/lmas, and the New-TearU Night- fP ■ Watch -."^ ■■220 c- ' The Twer/:y-Third Yea?, 1755- J|,^l; MICHAEL Ballenhorft c<;wf back from Eu- rope uiith a new Aj/i/lant 232 Vol. I. . i a. Ge- Cv'- 222 The and 224 \ '' y' a-i i 1 C O N T E N ;T ^. J .^5, Geniral Obfirvathm on the ufual invXird mid out' ward Procedure in the Grccnltnd Congregation 5. Obfervations on the vtfitif^ of the Heathen, and their being laid hold of by the GoJ^el^. and the \}s\iA%\} Te/iimony if the Grwnhnd Jielpers 235 4. The Matter and Manner of the Grecntand Helpers *t.*.. ■ Difcourfes in public^ with fame Specimen^ thereof vh ' 236 >\ ^. The Teachers viftt their own People and the Hea^ ocs then^ and receive a repeated Invitatiotut^ Fifti- ■■\\v^ crs-Inlet *3^^^f'-^*"-?AM^' 238 6. fgyous Injiances of a IVork of Grace in the public andfmaller Aleetings, on the riJingTouih, on the 4:iw. CatechumeHs, the baptized and the Commttnieants '"^ 240 7. Increafe of new Inhabitants ^ and thirty-nine bap- ^t A^ tized .'s^w-.t^v uv .i'^s'S^^T i...^VA*^^ ^j^i 8. Remarks onfsme thai fell ajleep or were toft at Sea, Prefervation in Dangers 242 The Twenty-Fourth Year, 175^. ^^ I, Bleffed Experience of the Peace of God, and his rromifes to Teachers and Hearers 244 2. Traces of God's providential Care of his Children at a Time of general Scarcity. A famijhed Hea- then Child refcued 245 Vneafinefs caufed by afufpicious Ship, Danger by floating Ice, and John Soereiifen*8 fortunate Return from Europe 246 4. Dijicukies and Troubles of the Greeiilanders and ';.,„ Mijfionaries in providing Necejpiries s>\y>.V 247 5. Many Southlanders detained in the Neighbourhood by the floating Ice, and a further Motion difcever' ed among fome old Acquaintance 248 6. Some Heathen keep back ordratuaway their Relati' ons : others are gained by their Children* s Jieady Behaviour * •• 250 ;^ ,7. Evidences of Grace in th{ AfifHings, and in the daily Houjhold Caurfe . 252 "" " -"-""' 8. The ^■%^. : -' 1 I out' •1 'gation ■ f 233 ' •| , and ■■.; nd the 235 ' \ ^ Helpers "i thereof 236 ' Hea^ >Fifli- aS? • public^ , on the unieants 240 a baP' 241 ■ > at Sea, CONTENTS. ^ ^i )i ^8* The Congregation increafed by thirtf-Jix baptized y and diminijbed by twenty-one gone to Rtji. Laji yd\\wi Jtiouri 4f fome of them 253 , %«t^-,«vThe Twenty-Fifth Year, 1757,^ € ' %, \, THE Heathen in an extraordinary cold Seafonand xl'^'^\ « ^^*^ foangelically fpohfin tOy and bodily cjjijied "\cH'T^«^'> ^«\5jn'v\'.A?. •-y.txi 4i*'- >» l^\h^\ »'i jivti^aVirtii 258 ^. 2. Amidft iheir Poverty, the Believers perform the -viVl 'Duties of Love to the Ho^ft)old of Faith and to ^^r Strangers 260 ^„^. The Greenlandcrs, while providing their Sujle- >v\iv<s 267 '<^ Zy Increafc by fifty-three baptized. Firfl Congregation- sWiV'ii D^'y .gyjfl Minijlration of Baptifm in this year, '^^^■ Injlances of the abiding Imprefjion of Baptiim Vr.n> tr-.i*i^-. - ... V .•'^ ' ^^ r f •'b. LaJi Hours off me Berievert> 'fr*"?^-; , 27 X >^v «V V^uft f3,'^suV4^V- i^ ' v.^»V^V•^ nmV 3 o O FC i' 1 1 a C O N T E N T S;' :>■ If'^ h :^' B O OK IX.: , ,^.-> The fifth Period of the Brethren's MIflion, ' from the founding of the Miffion at futQhtenjels in 1758, unto the Year \']b2, ' |.^£ mdvii The Tweaty-fixth Year, 175?. i^.vi . Ay ^^ .<■ H. 0/" Ncw-Herrnhutli. ; • .^v^^ ^. 8. THE Heathen are often touched by the preaching /*'c *^ ' ^ J'-f'f^t ^^i endeavour to fortify themfeives .' , • ^^''^'?^^.v.,..>;^ >■ .••;^ .v;^..:,.p ' -283 g. Increaje of the Cbngrsgaiion ivith thirty- three Souls, A particular IP^rk of Grace among the Conimu- nicants 284 ^ XO. The Greenlanders are fenfible of the divine Blef- P^^^ f'^S ^^^ ^^^^ /»(3/«/ of their Maintenance^ and are ^v>u\^i\ ■/ prefer'bed from fpiritual and corporal Misfortune oij 286 -(^tH*4i. A'^emoirs of fome who are fallen aJJetp, efpeciaUy of ^\^ ' ftft'tto/«ii Judith ' ,, , , 287 •*nV .4. ., - . Xhe CONTENT^. liti The Twenty-Seventh Year, I75?f„-^... - I. Of Ne.\*^-Htrrnhutii. r Numerous Vifus of firange GrcenUndens, fom^ of . wi^t^tore powitfully wrought upon, but mofi of ^^fhem kept from the Ffiith b* carnal Pleafurei or ^\hy Fear Ji'>U)iini ^6}\i ot U\iu\U>Vj\ ^92 2. The preaching and vtjittng of the Greenland Help- ers is a means of drawing twenty' fivi Jtfeathen 294 3. Evidences of Grace in the baptized and young Peo- pUy efpecially in thi Point of an open Heart 295 In like Manner in the Communicants, and alfo with ' 'refpe£i to Church-Difciplin^^; and fame Cafes other- wife grievous 297 jf_,:-^' The MiJ/ionary Beck returys from GermoKy with «)rc n\{h Mijjionary ^rj .^v p;..^ '299 \. 6. Forty are baptizedt and ten depart this Liff ibid. .... , 4 >r c -^wJ>. -fi^jnO '^\\^ II. O/* Lichtenfels. , V, • .^ *^ " 7. TJfE' Gofpel is publijhed to the Heathen. Necejfa- ry Precaution obferved ' 303 8^ The good Motions of many Tears among Heathen - '''^[^ they were acquainted with, fliil attain no right u^, h>,y\\ Strength, and Strangers get the Start of them 305 9. Notwitjjfianding the f mall Appearance from without^ .", ,^,. . the ?t4embers of the Congregation grow in Grace and Knowledge, efpecially by Occafton of the read- ingthe Scriptures, and learning of neW Hymns ^06 Various Prefervations when Life was endangered 3c 7 The Twenty-eighth Year, 17^6. .^ -^ I. Of Lichtenfels. tr 10. ■* •«*. %V'l.THE Greenlanders/tt/ to hard Shifts for their Support OQQ \« , 2* '^^^^ ^^(^ffi^ning of the neighbouring He^th^tt is fubjcdt ^, Suddsn Increafe of the Inhabitants^ and Addition to \lr.V; * their Bui idifigs 314.' C:; 4. Mixture of melancholy and Joyful Occur fences^ ef- ■>vS.%-A'^ picialiy among the Yauth. Ejfe^s of Grace^s Chaf- •^^'^m tifement ,^w.-p." .>. a\„ »- ,. ^i^ •i^.^. Blejfmg of the lafl Prepcraiion and Baptijmal A^i of . -?v'j1v,a^ this Tear : ••. "■"■ , . , 316 ■-^■^ v'Al II. 0/* New-Herrnhuthc .»; ^ §. 8. SMALL Increafe tf the Inhabitants^ twenty-Jive >•.-> - of whom however are baptized 318 'oif^'-^. The baptized grow in the Knowledge of their human Corruption^ and of the Merits of jefus ibid. 10. Contents of fame Difeourfes of //v Gj'cenland Help- -A* ers to the Congregation 319 11, Short Account of the Lives of fome that are fallen ..t:d,n afeep '..>..•''••■ - •-■ ^-'--V ' 3*3 -'n: .'■vA.,^is Tlie Twenty-ninth Year, 1761* ^ I. Of New-Herrnhuth. <'.S^i^ - 1' ■• .t)! 2. 3- §. |. THE Mijftonary BoehniQi returns from Germa- .vv V. iiy» and the Author comes with him ..^ 327 The numerous F^// o/" Southlandcrs excite a Greene .land Helper to addrefs them with a divine Power 328 Many Heathen take up their Abode ;« the Ijlands^ and Part of them come by Degrees to the Congre- ■■;. gation 330 ^ 4« Th Heathen a^e lifted and mightily affeSied. A Daughter by her Firmnefs gains her Father 331 c ;^. Remarks on the Courfe of a Perfon of a lively and ^\\.,iiK>' well-inclined Temper, and on the Greenlajnders y;^f. edifying Marnier of Addrefs ' * 333 6. Some Sketches of a Greenland Helper*s Difeourfes, worthy of particular Notice 335 7. Dicourfes of fitfieotkalldpen to their People 33b . 8, StrUi f^ CONTENT S. ^ U: S. St nS Probation^ tkiCommunicantt.t and the Ex" ySom of n Qjr^DiUn4^ en Occe£w ok the Pe- g. Zow/)' Traces of a JVork sf Grace in yaung and'oldf ^. - on fiver al Occafims .,..'\>r. 340 *^ 10. Twenty- five are baptized, and futtetn ettpart this Life, among whom two old Pfidows are remari~ able .341 ff^ter . J I . Hard Labour, and narrow Efcape cut of the U :. ' ," -r — r*|ib>^m 343 < ■ "^ '^ ' -^ II. Of Lichtenfels. ''^^ -^^ .,12. THE Seed of the divine Word fpring^ up here ^.„ and there in fecrei^ but is ^iU £kaaifd_ in many "i,< Hearts .^ • ;.. v ♦». v^H;*- v -♦^f^''^;^-' ibid- .13. The Greenlanders negkSf no Opportunity of giv^ J, ing a Word of Exhortation to their Gauntry FoUs V . . . 34S .14. The Gofpel IS preached to the vijifing Sou{hl7U\dQrs ' in Hopf 346 15. Thirty-four Souls are added to the Congregation. Ne-^ cejfrty of more AJJiJJauis, and a Meeting-Houfe 347 16. The promifed Houfe is fent osuer, andfetup amidjff many Difficulties 34S "./n* Dedication of the new Chur,(h, Memo^al of it in ' \' a GrttnHnAMh Hymn \.„ :-''-' • 349 "18. The Lord and his Spirit avew this Greenland Con- / ,|-jjj,^!p.' Greer 'anders have a Jlrong Appetite for the *^^L ^^^^ °f ^i^^' ''"^ P^ fP'^^ '^'^<^ ^^ Knoivledge *v and Grace 3C3 \ 20. The Want of Necejfaries in the Beginning, daring , , \^vhich the Contentment of the Hungry was admi- 'y ' rable, is fupplied hy m rich Qapture ^ Seals ^ifi .21. Some Deliverances in Danger, md Ocmrrences in NtHure. -,,,,, >i -.u.s-.v. —v.- 358 The Thirtieth Year, 17^2. ^^ I. Of Lichtenfels. §. I. THE Viftts to the Heathm proceed with Bief- /'y 359 2- Maey m -« 1^^ CO N^T 1 m. E *lsr f o ' 2. .3- " -* * ' 4. Many tieathem touched in their Hearts repair to ^^ the Con^regatioHy but Part go back again 360 Circumjiantial Narrative of Viftts made by (he Southfamlers 36 c Many Southhndcrs take up their Abode in thofc ■ PartSy but afford little Hotes of their Qonverjion 5. Grace Jhews itfelf the morejlrongly in the Believers^ , •«hin < -ffQi}) ffj f)jg public Meetings and Eamily-Commu- < - nications 368 6. Farther Injlances of the powerful Work of Grace^ particularly in the Schooling and Catechijation 370 7. In like Manner among the unbaptized, and in Jome ' Defertefs ■•:.•" •"" *' t\ '.**'-■ ''••^- ^•:'*' 3-72 8. Particular Leadings of fame baptized ones 374 9. Manifold external Labour of the MiJJionaries 3*75 16. Ohfervations onfome that are fallen ajleep. The hap- py End of a Jingle Sijier lately baptized 37 7 v^.^, •■;., jj^ 0/*New-Herrnhuth.,v?' .< t -^ §. Ill Many a Soul is won out of the ^Jttiitg ' Meo' then ^ . 3.81 12. Malty conviSled Heathens go away,, arid others feck to elude orjlifle the Uneajinefs of their Hearfs-^t. 13. Forty Perfons out of ibe Heathenjiay with the Be- V rV -ir ^^'^^''^y '^^ ^?/^ ^f ^hom have been long con- "" 'j'"^ vinced; and forty-four are baptized^ in whom Grace Jhews itfeif powerfully 384 14. Short ExtraSlsofthe Difcourfes and^xho.rtfitionsof /^^ Greenlanders . - -^^ - ^g^ 15. The Greenlanders are much hindered by Sicknefs .- in providing their Food^ but yet are abundantly ^^^**;" helped cut ^ 387 ^"^ i6l' Nineteen Souls depart this Life. Circumjiantial Re- ^;. ;^,,: :^ chalofthe Life and End of the, ile^ed Grefen- ^-rtio^u land Pr^w^^r Daniel ' ** 5qq CONTENTS. Ivii BOOK X. Concerning the External and Internal Con- ftitution of the Greenland Congregation. §. j.TiHE Defign and Nature 6f this lafi Botk 39/ 2. A Difcripthn of New-Hcrrr.huth ibid. 3. Ditto fl/ Lichtenfels 399 4. The Number and Order of. the Greenland Families in New-Herrnhuth 400 5. Their Manner of Life both in their Summer and. Winter Habitations 4^' 6. The Advantage and Necejftty of the baptized Grecn- , landers living together in one Place 402 7. The Liberty left them in Oecommical Affairs^ andyet needful InfpeSiion over them 404 8. Concerning the Poor and the Defertedj and how far the Congregation is increafed from that garter 405 9. How the Poor arefuftained in the Greeniland Fa- milies, with the afjtjlance of the Mijftonaries 407 10. The Greenland Congregations maintain themfeheSj and are alfo ferviceable to the Commerce 408 11. Of the Contributions of the Greenlanders, and their Good Works done in feeret* How far the Miffionaries can have an Influence on the Green- landers Houjhold Courfe 409 la. The Number of Mijftonaries and their AJfiJiantSy and the Trouble and Danger wherevfith they prb' cure their Subfiflence 41 X 13, Their Application and Induflry in learning the Qixtex^v^A Language 412 14, Remarks on the Prefervation of their Lives and Health, owing to divine Providence, in the midji of fo many Hardjhips 413 15, Concerning their Viftts, andtlmr temporal and [pi- ritual Refrejhments 4 1 4 l6» Of their Houfe-keeping in common, and how this and the other Mtffteru are fupported 4 1 5 Vot. I, g xi.Thi *.'♦ ;,ii..r Ivin C O N T :E N r S. £1 22. 23- 17. The training up and U/e of the Greenland Helpers^ . »M^ tJisir Empkymtntf tmd tfj e C U Htiu n r t ju ipnimtfh Cafe ,417 iJj. General and ^articukf Adteiingi 6n If^orking-Days 418 ip. Ditto on Sundays 41^ 20. On the greater andltfftr Church' FejVtmlin and Mi-- mortal- Days 420 Of the Stile and Chara^er tf the pttblrc Spfpiivg, and of reading the holy Scriptures 42 a Of the Greefilandfers fyiay of Singing and Church- Mufic 423 The principal Suhjeil -matter and Method of the public Preachings and the good Ejfeils thereof 424 24. Thoughts concerning the Greenlanders Increafe in Knowledge and Experience 42^ 25. Of the Baptifm of Children 428 26. Of the Reception and Preparation of the aduH Ca- techumens ■ '' ^ ....;(u.Vi \ 429 27. Concerning the Baptifm of the jfdufff and its aiid- ingBhfifig^ ^ 431 28. The Preparation and Confirmation to the holy Commu- nion 433^ The Manner of celebrating the Lord' s-Supper ibid. Ccitcerning Agape' s and the Pcdilavium 11.34 Of the Enquiry into and rMrefftng of what occurs among the Greenlahders, and of Church- Dif- cipline ibid. Rcafons, why the Mijftonaries Introduced th Choir- iJivifons in the Greenland Congregation 435 Concerning the Choir-Homilies^ and Bands 43^ 34. Of the Education and Procefs of the Children,. t^nd their Schools , 4-27 35. Of the Contrails and Marriages ' 43^ 36. ConduiH of the Mijfioharies towards thofe wbe had been married in their Heathen State 439 37. Concerning the IVi dowers and tVidows, and how they are cared for 440 38. The fpiritULil and corporal Care of the Sicky Bene-- di6fion at Departure^ arid Burials 44 f 39. The ivhole Number of Greenlanders baptized by- -" ■ ihs Brethren from the Begimiitig^ departed or 29. 3'- 32 Mr 35 (J -4] •'•V;' CONTENTS. Uk - Jiill livings nchntd Mctrding to thir different Di- *,' vifium /^z , 40. Short Idta of the internal State and Chara^er of the Greenland Congregation 44^ Firfl: Appendix. Ccntaining fomt Letters of Greenlanders who are Jlill alive 446 Second Appendix. Containing the Life of the late Mijftonary Frederic Boehnifti ,^ 468 ' t ■ i^ \ •■ V,- AV- ■ f^ ,■.•.^> \ i -■ . f THE fcVl'- ii^ tU 4n^ « > • - b t|-; :^.;V:. % ^•■■i' .«rv '■f i\:\ I i.w m \f J. if > p^ F\i>'*' dj • /^ ~Wi! THE HISTORY 1 :i ,t/ii4w . a ■'>. 4 'Wwi Jj S>«Wu2 t'iJ; G R E E N L A N ry. iiiiVt v>nJ .3^! B O d K 1. , 'J 0/ /-?>^ Situation and Nature of the Land, the Sea, the '!'[' jiir. the Earth, thi Stones, and Vegetables, CHAP. I. ia sBil Of THE Country IN general. ..>! j»iB (i»a! erf ki« { § ^* G:ft E E N L A N D is the remoteft traft of land in the north ; it lies between Europe and Ame- rica, and is commonly ranked by geographers among the northern countries that are ftill 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 ; an J on the left fide oppofite to North America, north-weft and north, till about the 78th de- gree. So far the coafts have been difcovered. ' Whether it is an ifland, or contiguous with feme other land, has not yet been decided, as nofliip has yet pene- trated to the uttermoft end towards the north, on account of the ice. The conjc6lureof its joining ontheeaft with Spitzberg, Nova-zembla, and Tartary, is pretty well, B if V I inimiUM. loLI./t.f luiiiuiiimii ijiiiiiiiiiijn \m 1 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. I. if not entirely, confuted by the new difcoveries of the Dutch and Ruffians. It might be fuppofcd with more prcSability, that the north-weft fide borders on Ame- rica; LTcaufe in the firft place, Davis's Straits, or rather Baffin's-Bay, grows narrower and narrower towards the 78th '»Jj'ngc, p. 5c to 54. For this reafon the Englifli Capt. Baffiriy gave up all iu>pcs of finding a paflage into the South-Sea thro' DavWi'Straiti^ and confequentl) concluded, that Greenland joins with Amtrlca. landers, * -'is --.if ■■4 D. B. I. ries of the ivith more s on Ame- , or rather awards the ift, which fea, grows ide, which n's Sound, full moon, n the 70th I probably fubjoined, ch. howe- yy that the they can I be able to ' can ftrike ; runs fuch i trait, that aft-fide of Norway- \ and the id was, be- this Eaft- [rreenland, jps cannot quantities leenland fo is adorned not to be )w if we le Green- btf nortb-tvejl ty gave up all |i-5fra;>j, and landers, Of the Country in general. 5 But the weft-fide may with the fame propriety Cha^). r. landers. as the eaft-fide, be called the old loft Greenland (which is now fount! again, fmce (hips have failed thither), for the old Norwegians had houfes 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-fide, which was fo famous and is fo much fought for. When failors fpeak of Greenland, they generally mean the Spitzberg Iflands above Lapland, between the 75th and 80th dog. together with the eaft coaft of Greenland lying oppofite thereto; and if they were told of a heathen miffion 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 weft-fide, which is now inhabited again by Euro- peans from the 62d to the 71ft deg. Davis's Straiu from that great gulf which feparates Greenland from America. Thefe Straits were firft difcovered by an Englifhman, John Davis, in the year 1585, in his attempt to find a north-weft paflage ; fince then they have been frequently traverfed for the fake of the whale fiftiery by feveral nations, particularly by the Dutch, who have alfo given us the beft charts thereof. What h properly called Davis's Straits, is only the fpace which reaches between Cape Walfmgham on James's ifland in North America, and the South-bay in Greenland, from the 67th to the 71ft deg. above Dlfko ifland, and is about 60 leagues broad ; for lower fouth there is a wide fea between Greenland and Terra Labrador. But the failors chufe to call the whole compafs of water dn the weft fide by this name. " 1 he Weft- fide is high, rocky ^ barren land, which rears its head in moft places, cloie to the fea, in lofty mountains, and inacceflible cliffs, and meets the ma- riner's eye even 40 leagues at fea. All thefe, except the moft exceflive ftecp and flippery rocks, are conftantly covered with ice and fnow, which has alfo in length of time filled all the elevated plains, and many vallies, and probably increafes from year to year. Thofe rocks and cliffs that are bare of fnow, look at a diftance pf a dark brown, and quite naked ; but near, we fee them interfperfed with many veins of variegated colours B 2 ot I" I ' , r 1. 'in 4 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. I. of ftone, here and there fpread over with a little earth and tin f, 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 flirubs 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 the Norway coafl, 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 montium) to he (cQii, but thefe are clad with perpetual fnow and ice. . ^ ,i > , , .., ■■■■>i. §3- It cannot be expelled that any complcat 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 towards a geographical delineation^ and communi- cate fome things worthy of notice concerning the coaft, chiefly colledled from a fadlor, employed many years in the country. Moft of the Greenlanders live from Statenhook to the 62d degree ; or, as the inhabitants are wont to fay, in the fouth : 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 Greenlanders, 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 Fredericks Haab, or Frederic's Hope, in the 62d deg. lying on a point of firm land, called by the Greenlanders pamiut, or a tail. T^his 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 ha'f from the open fca. In the iflands eeks, that mmerable nd funken rois,/t>./f. :Jv « -y r^' Chap. I. Of the Country in general. $ iflands where the Dutch merchant Ihips formerly had a haven, many Greenlanders live, being well fituated for catching fi(h, fea-calvcs or feals, and rein-deer. The firft fadlors here, Gelmeydcn, and Lars Dalager, and the firll Danifh mi/Tionary Arnold von Wcrten Sylo, were brought hither from Godhaab. In the beginning things went very unprofperoufly 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 ftiip, which had carried over the buildings for this colony, was obliged to winter in Norway at a great expence. In 1743 the fliip bound hither with provifions foundered at fea, and half of the provifion fent over from Good-hope, toge- ther with 2 men, was loft. In 1744 the fhip ftruclc againft a piece of ice, and beat a hole in her by broad day, only 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 mips have feveral times been pre- vented from running into the harbour on account of the floating ice, and were obliged to unload the provifion st 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 fmce 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 factor's name is Peterfen, the miflionary's MuUenfort, and the catechift*s Greenbeclc. There are fix or eight failors befides, fome of whom 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- B3 1 *l mg fc ! ! 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 arc 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 dov/a. The ebb drives thro' them into the fea the pieces of ice that come tumbling off the hills. When the Greenlandcrs 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 flood, which proves that the mouth of the harbour was once open. The points of land that reach out into the fea on both I'ldes the ice- glance, are fand-banks, and the fand is fo fine and light, that any kind of ftrong wind raifcs it, darkens the air with it like a mift, and carries it fo far that it falls into people's eyes and mouths at twelve leagues didance. . 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 eaft fide. According to the account the Greenlanders give, there. are ftill ruins of the old Norway buildings to be feen there. Not far from thence, within the land, there is a lake of brackifh, or half-falt water, occafioned by the fea- water, which finds its way in thro' two little open- ings with the tide. In the fpring gr.at numbers of fpotted feals go into this lake, and are caught with little trouble by the Greenlanders when the tide falls. In the 63d deg. 36 leagues* from PVederic's Hope, there is a narrow bay, 10 leagues long, which the firft miffionary, Mr. Egede, called Fifchers-fiortef, qr Fifher's bay, on account of the multitude of different forts of fifh:}:. At the mouth of this bay there lie two • The degrees and minutes of a plare cannot be ftriftly fixed, and the diftance of a place is computed by following the windings between the illands. . . ■. .^ ■^ Fiorte fignifies a bay, buckt, a creek. X At prefent very few fi/h are caught there, ami feme fpecies are no morp. to be feen. The Greenlanders fay, that fome of their people once wantonly cut oft' the backs of the Ncpljct, or cat-fifli, and threw the reft ^gain into the vater, and fince then this fort of fifti forfook their coaft: entirely. large Of THE Coi'NTRV IN GENERAL. 7 Come Chap. I. large iflands, nine leagues in compafs, bcfide*, fmaller ones. Secondly, a couple of leagues from the fca, at tht end of the fouth-ifland, lies Fijher' s-lodge^ on an agreeable fpot where a good deal of grafs grows. The (freenlantlers call this fpot Kikkertarrucitfiak, from the ifland that lies over againft it. When they (ail in their boats, they iteer by the bearing of a certain high hill there, with the tops of fomc other hills, and thus find the places where the feals frequent. •'• This factory was begun by the afliftant at Good- hope, Andrew Olfcn, in the year 1754, by order of the general merchants-company. The name of the prc- fent faftor, or principal alTiltant, is Schade. A lodge or fadlory differs from a colony only in this, that the fadtor is fubordinate to the nearell colony, and has fewer people. The traffic here is but middling, becaufe few Greenlanders live in thefe parts. On the fame ifland, about three Englifh miles from the faftory towards the fea, the United Brethren eftablifhed their fecond miflion, in the year 1758. It is called Lichtenfeh^ 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 factory 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 Candy land, which is called the mufler-place, becaufe 'tis fo large and level, but it is uninhabited. So far reaches the traffic of the fa6lory northwards, and this place, and Frederic's Hope, is the mart of one (hip. \ ^ ^ ■ ■■■■ -■ r..r" § 4- -'^- ■ ' i'. ''' After this, four leagues further, follow the Kellingelt iflands, or as the Danes all them, Klingarne, which are included in the trade of the following colony. Here is an excellent and eafy hunt, or fifhery for feals, becaufe the natives can cut off their paCs with great facility, in the narrow waters between the iflands, ^ ' . B 4 Eight J ! 11 f I ■ii I , II Jyiii m 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 Amaralik-bay runs north-eaft into the land, being 20 leagues long, and four broad. In the very beginning of it fouth-eail: is the fmall Priefter-fiorde, fo called becaufe the firfl 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 ^ood fifliery for ang- marfet, or capelin, &nd 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, fmall bufhes, foft ftonc, which fome call baftard marble, and veins of red garnet j but there are very few Greenlanders here at prefent. ••,' ., ;. t;*..?» ri? 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 Jiigheft of its tK. ■;€ branches or points may be feen 40 or 60 leagues off at fea ; and its (teepnefs 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 ftorm 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 clve, or brook, deepening here and there Into little ponds, and near it a good place for rein-deer. Then paffing under theMalina, and Partridge moun- tains for a couple of leagues, you come to the third co- lony GoSaab, or Good-hope, as wewi}l henceforth call it, lying in the 64th deg. 14 minutes, and 36 leagues from Fiflier's-lodge : 'Tis fituated in Bals-rcvicr^ or Ball's river, as that whole Diftrid is called, * on u bay *'This place is faid to have derived its name from a certain mariner, whofc chri.'' jan name was Baltbafar, or as others relate it, his furname Ball. that re mouii- Chap. 1. Of the Country in generau 9 that ftretches north-eaft into the country, 28 leagues from the outmoft ifland, and in many places four leagues broad. There are fome hundred iflands crouded to- gether in the compafs of fix leagues, the outmoft of which are called Kookoernen or Cock iflands, and by the Greenlanders Kittikfut. Between thefe and Kan- gek, towards the north, is the ufual paflage called the Nordergat, or the north palTage. Kangek, called by the Danes alfo Hope-ifland, becaufe the colony Good- hope firft ftood on it, is cncompaiied with many fmaller iflands, and borders on Wefterland, which is feparated 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 fcal-fifliery in the autumn. Towards the fouth the Kookoernen are feparated by a paflTage, which is called the South paflage, from a multitude of large iflands, viz. the Blue, Raven, Partridge, Idol, Wood iflands. Sec. between which there is a paflage that is called Hamburgh-found. From the Kookoernen there is a paflTage fix leagues north-eaft:, up into the country, which terminates in a haven for fhips, formed by a pcninfula, where the blubber-houfe ftands. Half a league weftward on the fhore lies the Brethren's Greenlandjcongregation, Neiv-Herrnhuth-^ and the fame diftance north, the preftnt Danifh colony Good' hope. This confifts of the principal building, in which the fadlor, miflionary, and their people live ; the church, which ftands not far off^on a brook, the provifion-houfe, fmith's fhop, and brewhoufe. The Greenlanders houfes lie fcattered here and there. A couple of leagues further, near Wildman's-nefs, lies the ifland Saalberg, or Saddle-hill, fo called be- caufe its topmoft peak refembles a faddle. It may be feen 40 leagues ofi\ 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 iflands are eight or ten leagues long, and very high, and divide the channel into two bays. One of thefe bays runs fouth-eaft towards Piflikfarbik, where there is the beft capelin fifticry ; and out of this bay a fmaller one goes up into the main land, which is called Kook. On the weft fide of the northern bay lies Kannei- fut, t If i i; I I' » if \, " 'i 1^ ID HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. T. fut, a wide flat country, interfperfed with little rocky hills. There is a good falmon-fiftiery here, alfo a lake of frefh water at leaft eight leagues long, but not flocked with many fifh. Higher up, this northermoft bay fubdivides itfelfinto two arms. Oneof thefe is called Ujarakfoak ; on its ftiore 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 tradt of land, and the Piffikfaruik is divided from the Amarijlik-bay by a little rifmg ground. Good-hope, the cideft colony in the country, was founded in the year 1721, at Kangek, by the firlt mif- fionar>' Mr. Hans Egede, and the merchant Mr. Jen- toft, on the account, and by commiflion of a company in Bergen; 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 affiftant's Raven ; the miflionary's name is Gregerfen, and he has two Danifh, and two Greenland catechiits. Formerly thefe parts were inhabited by fome thou- iand 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 have fo decreafed, that except thofe belonging to the two miffions, and fome ftraggling fouthlanders, who are fond of wintering in Kangek, there arc very few other fettled Greenlanders to be met with here. Here I will take occafion to prefent the reader with the neareft computation poflibic; of the number of the Greenlanders on the weft fide : It was drawn up by a fa6lor who lived many ye?rs in the country, and who collected fuch an account from the Greenlanders of all parts, as may pretty much be depended upon. HefounJ in the compafs of about 40 leagues, which was the cir- cle ©f his dealings, the following. In Kellingeit - - - qo fouls Kariak - - - 20 Amaralik bay - - 8 Kookoerncn - - - 10 Kangek '-^t "i -^r y In the 67 d^. is the Wyde-bay* before which the ifland Nepifet or Nepifene lies. A faftory was efta- bliihed herein the year 1724, for traffic and the whale fiftiery; 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 caflrle or fort was built, but foon after it was again abandoned and demolifhed by the king's orders. Not far from hence, about 40 leagues from Zukker- top, is the Amarlok inlet, and in its vicinity fome whales are killed every year by the Greenlanders. ji . 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 miflions college, Count Holftein. The prefent fadtor is cap- tain Niels Egede, a fon of the firft mifllionary. The mifllionary is Jacob Borch, and his catechift Chriflian Wolfe ; who is at the fame time an afliftant to the fac- tory, as the factor is aflillant to the miflion. This co- lony is one of the moft commodious places both for dwelling and trading. • . • • From this place higher up, I could collcft no compleat nor certain ac- count, bccaufe the fador, who communicated the foregoing to me, had not navigated nor feen the land any further. The country northward varies but little from that which I have already defcribcd, and I (hould be able to fay nothing new, was I to traci and delineate the bays, inlets, iflands, fiihes, and birds thereof, Twelve :a •i'VI, V.>i 1' w t. 1*1:. 'I.! !i4» •i I., i t V'-: m 14 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. 3.1. Twelve leagues further comes 6thly, the well-known South-bay in the 67th deg. 30 min. where the Dutch whalc-firihcrs had their beft haven, and when the fifhery ivas ended, this was their place of rendezvous, in order to their return. A colony was erefted here in 1756, but iince the laft-mentioned colony was fettled and improved, this is occupied only by one man, who col- lects the blubber from the few neighbouring Green- landers. Sixteen leagues further, in the 68 deg. lies the 7th colony, Egede's Minde, i. e. Egede'-? memorial. This was cre6led in 1759, by capt. Egede, who gave it that name in memory of his father. The prcfejit faftor's name is John Peterfen, and he is catechift at the fame time. The whale fifhery has been very profperous fome years in the parts about thefe three laft factories, but yet the Greenlanders have moflly q.'itted thefe parts, tho* the country abounds in fifh and fowl. Refides, the lafl place is frozen up all the winter, and is not open till May v/hen the whale-fifliery is over. For this r'jafon they are confulting about removing this colony further to the Dunk iflands. §6. ■■■""■,;. V.,,^:" Wc come next to RifFkull, and then the north-bay ; after that the fea makes its way fouth-eaft into the land, and forms the well-known great Difko bay, where there are a multitude of frp.nll iflands, the princi- pal of which are the Wefl, Whale, Green, Dog, and Dunk iflands, Part of thcfc extend themfelves cafl- 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 Iiigh, flat above, and clad with ice. Beneath near the j'hips road is a flat level country. The Dutch map^ u tim;M: .vt.r~l Of the Sea and Ice, . . fT .. . - , . § 9. - E have already mentioned the Straits of Forbiflicr in §8, and thofe of the Bear-found in §3. Both ot thefe are marked in the Dutch maps of Davis's Straits, as paflaees to the Eaft-fide. There is befides the Ice- bay in Di{l;o, which they report to have been the third . .- . . pafl!agc w Chap. 7. Of the Sea and Ice.- - • 19 pafl'age thro'. But as neither Mr. Egede, who in 17:- {, attempted to find out the Straits of Forbifher for a palTage to the caft-fidc, could difcover the fame, nor the Icelanders make anv mention of it in their de- Icription of Old Greenland ; a doubt has arifen whether Martin Forbifher, who was fent hither by Elizabeth, Qiieen of England, iji 1576, ever difcovered and failed thro' any fuch Strait. I will not examine into it ; but at prefcnt 'tis imagined that the above-mentioned great ice-bay Sermcliarfok, which lies a day's fail fouth of Frederic's-hopc, between the 6ift and 62d deg. is the Straits of Forbifher, but they cannot now be tra- vcrfcd (jn account of the ice. A fador that refided ma- ny years in Frederic's-hope, communicated his thoughts about it to me, which dcfcrve 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 cxtradl thereof. *' I have had a good opportunity, in mv trading voy-^ ages, to examine into thofe countries. In the be- ginning I could not conceive how fuch vafl quantities *' of ice could drive out to fea, without the Icafl di- minution of the vifible remainder, from a bay, which, tho' i t was ever fo long, yetwasclofed atoneend. This efHux continues from July to November ; and when the flream is flrong, 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 I got v/as : — *' 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 Greenlandersrefort to catch rein-de-"-, to go 14 leagues thro' the ice into the bay, and then mounted a hill with fome Greenlanders, in order to have a profpecl of the P'orbifhcr Straits. But I faw little or nothing ; for the highsfl land, aa far as I could fee, which might be about 40 leagues, was *' nothing but mountains and ice. The place indeed C 2 ** where <( (( (C (C (( (( (( (( (( cc (( (( tc (( I- r ': ■ t\ i iJ ni ''I'll ^, ^.^' IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 11.25 1^1^ 12.5 ■iO ^^" ■■■ m u Uo 1 2.0 ^M4 6" V] ^V--' o / /A Kiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14SM (716) 872-4S03 Ifl I -: 46 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.I. •* where the /return fhould be, was perceptibly lower, ** but crouded with heavy flakes of ice heaped one up- on ariother. But there was much more of the mar- vellous to be heard than to be fecn ; for there was fuch a frightful rumbling, and cracking of the ice, as if many cannons had been fired at once, and then cnfucd a violent noife, like the roaring of a cafcadc ; which all together excited in me the fen fations 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 obftrU(5ted in fuch a manner with ice ; and yet how every year, within the fpace of a few days, fuch an immenfe fpread of ice, many eagues long and broad, could iflue frwn it. In the year 1751, I got a clearer folution of this j when, in September, I and feme Greenlanders undertook a journey at the Eis-blinky or fhining-icc, fo far into the land aS any Greenlander, and no European, ever was before j which may be feen in the cxtraft 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 . nd 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, th« floating ice flagnated in the mouth, upon which a fcvere froib and fnow enfued; afterwards, in the « (c «( «c (( c< if. .•.•.:■ -■ ,? >i ' ' « and «( ■ ! ' f.^ HISTOI^Y OF GREENLAND. B. U fail for many years, one of which they call the city Harlem, and another, Amfterdam. Sometimes they faften 'their (hips to them, and unload their train-barrels on the flat ice. This ioc is for the mod p^rt very hard, clear, and tranfparent as glafs, of a pale green colour, and fom« pieces (ky-blue j but if you melt it, and let it freeze again, it becomes white. Some large pieces appear grey, and f6me black; and if you examine them more nearly, they are found to be incorporated with earth, ftoncs, and bru(h-wood, which were waihed off by the rain from the hillocks (that peep out ftill above the ice), and fo were immured in ice. Nay Buffon * afferts, out of a voyage of the Dutch into the north feas, that people have found not only earth, but nefts with birds-eggs embofomed in fuch a piece of ice. Some of thefe pieces have a thick cruft of fait water frozen upon them, thro* their lying many years on fome (hallow fca-beach, where after the fun had thawed away a good deal of their upn"'* part, they became lighter, and floated again. Thef«. ps of ice, fome little, and fome large, are feen in numbers in the bays of Davis's-ftraits, but moftly in the fpring time, after a violent ftorm, when 7o or 30 pieces come driving out, and then in again, one after another. Some of them (as mentioned before) lie a while on the (hallow (hort, and partly diflblve, partly are fet afloat again, by the tide or floods, and driven out to fea } till at laft they are either foftened, and da(hed to pieces by the continual wa(hing of the waves, or are driven by the ftream further fouth, between the 50th ttnd'40thdeg. on the coaftsof Newfoundland orNova- Bcotia, and there entirely melted by the warmth of the fun. 'Ji-i Martens, in his voyage to Spitzberg, fays thatthere lie fuch great pieces of ice there at the foot of the hills, that are higher fome of them than the hills themfelves. There are particularly feven fuch mountains of ice all in a row between the rocks. They are blue, full of clefts and cavities made by the rain, and are powdered ir' H'ljie'ire naturtlk, T, II. p. 96, ' rvr' j! lIc/nsmK' with Chap. iH''/" Of the Sea and Ice. ^IH ^ with fnow on the top, by the melting and freezing agaifi' of which, they are every year augmented. This ice i* more folid than the driving ice, and difplays a variety of curious figures agreeable to the eye. Many pieces look like trees with branches, and the flakes of fnow that fall upon them, appear to the fancy like leaves. Some of them arc formed like a church, with pinnacles on the top, apd pillars, windows, arches and doors on the fides, and the blue-coloured rays darting outwards from within, yield the refemblance of a glory. According to the citation of Buftbn, out of Wafer's voyages J and others, there «:e pieces of ice towards the fouth-pole, particularly about the fouthermoil' poini of America, near Terra del Fuego, which the failors at firft took to be iflands j they computed them to be from one to two French leagues long, and 400 or 50O foot high. Ellis found pieces in Hudfon's-bay, 500 or 600 yards thick*. Baffin alfo meafured fuch a piece, and found the part that lifted its head above the water, to be 140 foot high, and vet it was but the feventh part ; from whence the dimeixiions of the entire piece might beeftimated< Nay there are faid to be fome ice-iflands nesir Nova- Zembla, that flretch above loo fathom out of the water. Where and how thefe enormous ice-mountains coa- gulate, difengage themfelves, and then enlarge ; is hard to fay with any certainty, yet conjectures may be made from parallel cafes. Some imagine they take their rife from fea- water that freezes in the bays down to the bot- tom ; that they are forced ofF by a rapid flood when the fnow melts in the fpring } that they are augmented by the mifts and rains, which dire(5tly congeals to ice, and at lad are wafted into the fea by a high wind. But this cannot be ; for, not to alledge that the fea-water very feldom freezes more than a few yards deep, and even in the fmalleft and ftilleft coves never to the bottom, of elfe the Greenlanders could not fifh in the ice ; without infifting on this, I fay, it is a certain confutation of the above hypothcfis, that thefe pieces of ice are not fait like the fea-water, but fweet, and therefore can be ^^ • See his Voyage to Hudfon't-bay, p. 127, Ai M ^ -CC!■■5^^ formed ' .'?: •'11 sS HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.I. formed no where, but Tome in the rivers, and thofe the fmallefl piece:-, and the moft and greateft on the moun- tains and hill», and in large caverns of the rocks. The mountains are not only fo high, that the fnow, cfpecially what falls on the north fide, is not fo liable to melt as in the valleys, and turns inftantly to ice in the night i but they alfo contain fuch clefts and cavities where the fun feldom or never injedls his chearing beams : BefidcA, there are proje£lions, or landing places, on the declivities of the Aeepeft hills, where the rain tnd fnow-water lodges and congeals to ice. When now the accumulated flakes of fnow Aide down, or fall with the rain from the eminences above, on thefe fhelves, or here and there an elve or mountain-fpring comes rolling down to fuch a lodging-place, where the ice has already feated itfelf, they all freeze and add their tribute to it. This by degrees waxes to a body of ice, that can no more be overmaflered by the fun, and which, tho* it may indeed at certain feafons diminifh by a thaw, yet upon the whole, thro' annual acquifitions, afliumes an annual growth. Such s^ body of ice is often prominent far over the rocks ; it does not melt on the upper fu- periicies, but underneath, and withal cracks into many larger or fmaller clefts, from whence the thawc:! water trickles out; by which it becomes atlaft fo weak, that, being overloaded with its own ponderous weight, it breaks loofe, and tumbles down the rocks, with a mighty rattle and crafti ; and where it happened to hang over a precipice, it plunges into the bays in fuch huge pieces as we fee, with a fhock like thunder, and with fuch an agitation of the water, as will overfet a boat a good way pff; and many a poor Greenlandcr, coafting without concern along the iborc, has loft his life by it. n -.s The gre^t pieces of ice that don't fall dire6lly into the water, but reft upon fome abutment in the mo5«n- tains, are enlarged by the fnow-water, and at the fame tiime mixed (as obferved already) with the earth, ftones, and flirubs wafhed oft' from the hills j which enlarge- ment and mixture thofe lumps m^iy alfo undergo that freez-e in the bays, ar)d may lie many years increafing till they are rent off by a ftorm. Thus we need not fo inuch wonder at their, jieight and thickne% Chap. ^. Of the Sia and Id. 39 Whoever has (etn the ice-hills of Switzerland, and thofe among the Grifoni and in Tirol, or has read the defci'iption of them, will be able te form an idea how fuch monftrous pieces of ice in the Grienland moun- tains, can difengagc thcmielves, and fall down by means of the cracks. The account of it may be feen in Grumrs Eisgebir^e des SthwfitxerlandtSy Part iii. The clefts or cracks in them are occafioned by the water's thawing underneath, and freezing again in the winter, or at night, in fuch a manner as to inclofe a. good deal of air. This confined air in tKc morning, efpccially in funtmer^ according to its elafticity, requires more room, and as the air and water that isfealed up by froftin a veiTel or bottle, afterwards burfts the bottle, fo this does the upper covering of ice, which thereupon fplits with an aftoniOiing noife, and with fuch a concuflion as they aptly denominate an ice-quake, by which people that are near it arc obliged to fit down or they would tumble. At fuch times, earth, wood, and ftones, nay fomctimes men and bcafts that have fallen in, are fpued out. This in fome meafurc I faw in the month of July, on fuch a. glaetjher. When this happens, whole pieces and plains of ice Aide down the hijl. Thefe plains of ice have overfpread feveral meadows ; and at Grindelwald, in the canton of Bern, it has filled up a road that was open 60 years ago, to Viefcher's-bath in the Va- lais, together with the chapel of St. Pctronclla, and whole woods of larch trees, which are flill fccn peeping out here and there. The fize of thefe fallen pieces may be feen in the fame writer's defcription of the Rheinwald-glaetfher, in the country of the Grifons, P. ii. p. 170. which at the fame time illuflrates the nature of the Ice-glance in Green- land. This glaetiher is faid to be two leagues long, one broadj and from fome hundred to a thoufand fathom '• high } it confifls of nothing but fo many great columns of pure ice, perpendicularly cut, which have tumbled down from the mountains, and ftand near together. At the weft-end flows a muddy ftream, that foon lofes itfelf again under the ice. At the eaft-end a magnificent arch of pure ice yields an avenue into the body of the glaetiher, from whence a rivulet meets you as clear as cryltal. Ac- Z cording !J >i I '; ;jj 30 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.I. cording to the report of the neighbouring inhabitants, a pcrl'on tiuy wal]c on a whole hour cre^l under this icy vault. if fuch enormous. pieces of ice are precipitated from 'i^^numn tains of Switzerland ; and if the Cordilieras di lot Andos in Peru, a chain of mountains 50 leagues long, ooc of which, Called ChimboraHb, (probably the htgheftmbuntain in the world, nut Sir from Qyito,; lies dircAly under the meridian line ; if theft;, I fay, are conftaivtly covered with fnow and ice : then let no one wonder at ihe amazing itr-niount^ns that floati in the waters of Greenland. But here J have one. thing to obferve, that pcdple ftretch the concluiion tpo Ux^ if they fuppofethut thefrcewng climate, which, ii\ the torrid zone, they, imagine to be 27.30 fathom above the fuper- ficies of the ocran, Anks gradually towards the pole in fuch a manner, that beyond the polar circle it r-eaches to the plane of the fea, or the lowed lands. Ocular de- monilration difproves it ; for not only do Greenland- erslive m the 75th deg. and Europeans in the 71ft ; but I am an eyc-witnefs that in fumnier it has not always fnowed, but moftly rained, on the tops of the highcft Greenland-mountains.; and when fnow does fall there, it foon vanifhes again. I own, they are not 3200 fathom high, like Chimboraflo, nor 2750 like Qouhard, but yet they are at leaft 1000 fathom high. -sw A^J 1^5^ hjBuc.itij/i .1'' ja iJafirto »ik^ Therefore a i! ;!; Chap. 2* ^^ ' Of the Sea and Ice. 35 Therefore one would rather fuppofc, that part of the floating ice comes from the many and great rivers that pour themfelves out of Great Tartar/ into the fo called Ice-feaj and this is the freih-water ice, that rears itfelf aloft in the plains of ice : the other, and the greateft part, annually breaks off from the (hores of Tartary, Nova Zembla, Spitzberg, and efpecially the eaft fide of Greenland, and is driven together by the wind and the ftreams that run in different dire^lions in thofe waters, till it falls into the regular current on the eaft-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 flream further off from land and away to the American coafts, and fo fouthward till the fun dif- folves it. § IS- .'• ' .-• •» * The lefler gulphs and bays, which fall in fo far be- hind the (heltering mountains, that the wind and ftream can caufe no great motion of the waters, are every win- ter overfpread with pieces of ice, partly frefh 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 defcriptioa of it. I vifitcd the brethrens miffionary in PiiEkfarbik, when he was there with his Greenland congregation at, the herring fifliery. June i. I failed fix leagues fur- ther to the end of the inlet, which was ftill frozen th?re, and open only towards the land. Then I landed ^nd walked up the valley for a league, to fee fome ruins of the old Norwegians, by the fide of a great lake of frefli- water; but thefe relics of antiijuity were now no- thing but a great fquare heap of ftones, grow^ over v/ith higli grafs. The valley fcen\ed to me tQ be full two leagues long, and one broad. In the middle flows a little brook, which here and there halts and fports ip/ little ponds. The adjacent hills do not afcend all at once lo haftily as thole by the fea, arc beautified with a goiid deal of grafs, mofs and buflics, and prefent a D 3 prcfpeit iCii ..4 \m i «;■ .36 HISTORY OF GREENLAND; B. 1. ^rofpeft like Vogclfl)erg in WcJtleravia. The fun. Which was cxccffivcly fcorching between the hills, drove rhe back again foon. As my Greenland boatfmen were bufrly employed in catching falmon, I went alone up a little hill, from whence I had a view o£ the nor- thern-bay fiiH 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 fcals. But as I could not dill fee the ice in its full dimenfions, I went about the fame fpace farther, over an elevated neck of land. There I faw with wonder a field of ice about 12 leagues long and one broad *. But, as far as I could fee between the hills weft, or toward the fea, I could difcern no open water j only the water- fog was h token that the bay muft be open there j it was about fun-fet near 10 o'clock. Towards the eaft or the land, the field of ice confifting of great pieces ftretched itfclf intp'a plain of abput a league long and half fo brbad. Then, according to the meafure of my eye, it raifed it- fclf to the height of a very lofty tower, and prefented itfelf, from one hill to the other, in the pi«fturc 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 rufting down between hills. A hill croffing the vifta, which was low and feemed to have but little fnow and ice upon ?t> terminated this long extent of ice. Yet on pach fide, northward, and efpecially fou'-hward, a pretty broad traA of ice feemed to fpread up into the land, who knows how far, § 16. * l<^ •>(!.- WTidi 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 befet with ice, that the poor inhabitants can find no paffage out, nor the ihips ainy pailage in ; and therefore he is afraid, • Not Tar 'fnTrt' it'mny be feca from a hill an extent of bhie ice aa leagues lon£ iwi broads ^ - , ■■' that I C Chap. ^^" Or the Sea and Ice.'^' ^ ■ ^ ' ff that the wcft-fide will once fhare the fame fate, and al- ready laments the unhappy deftiny of the poor natives. • We (hall hear afterwards more about the eaft-fide.' On the weft-fide this fatality is not to be dreaded, till univerfal nature alters its courfe. We need only re- mark the caufe of the floating ice. It comes 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 Toon as the wind turns northerly or eafterly, it expeils it with the ebb out of the bays again, and then it follows the ftream as far, as that takes its courfe north, from whence it makes towards the coafts of America, and ac 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 winds 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 ihips come in, and then they are ex- pofed to many difficulties, and in danger of their lives. But divine Providen<:e has taken care that this diftrefs ftiall not continue long, aui4 it feldom does laft a fort- night* m&inr> -'nj ■ rr v >\rtiH fwts , '■ The Founder of nature hath combined a great bene- fit 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 (hores a great deal of wood, which accordingly comes floating thither, part without ice, but the moft part along with it, and lodges itfelf between the iflands. Were it not for this, we Europeans fliould have no wood to burn there, and the poor Greenlanders (who, it it true, do not ufc wood but train for burning) would however have no wood to roof their houfes, to ere6t their tents, as alfo to build their boats, and to fliaft their arrows, by which they muft procure their maintenance, clothing, and train for warmth, light and coQking.- Among this wood are great trees torn up by the roots, D 3 which m '^'■Jl ^ hi I m I I. 3^ HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.I. which by driving up and down for many years, and • daihing 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 i alfo large trunks of afpen-trees, which muft come frbm a greater diftancc ; 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 ; this I fancy is larch wood, which likes to decorate the fides of lofty ftony mountains. There is alfo a folid reddifli 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 Imell of cedar, and grow on the high Grifon- hills, and the Switzers wainfcot their rooms with them. 1! It is plain this wood comes out of a fruitful, but cold and mountainous country. But it is difficult to decide whf , , r WOod Of the Sea and Icr. ^ common ood is moftly pines, which never grow^ hcri?^ and .ar?^ ten as big as the mafi: of a fhip. .',/ ,,f n>V./ W I will trace , this fingular fubjcifl a„ little farther,, Chap. 2 wood often fingular fubj It is evident that it comes with the Itream along with the ic£. This comes^ from the caft. Where the {jrcateft quantity of that kind of w.^od 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 fou^ce be fought. It i^ found in much greater abundance near. Iceland than here. And I fee by Ian old Dutch fea^ chart, there are two w^ood-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 fljip might be freighted with it. Therefore wc muft trace its fourcc, liilL further, either towards the pole or towards theeaftr Now fuppofing. there fliould be land under the pole, ftiil W^^ could as little grow there as in Greenland ; therefore it niuft come out of Siberia, or Afiatic Tar- tary, where the trees muft be wafhed down the moun- tains by tl^e wild waters that the rains and floods oc« cafion, which carry, away wiiole pieces of land with th&Jarge tree^ on them and thefe are plunged into the greatjriyers, anJ thus carried OHt to fea. From thence it, is driven, with the floating ice by the eajfterly current tpwards the pole, and then the northerly current that comes by Spitft)erg meets it, and conducts it betweer]^ Iceland and Greenland to the eaft-fide, round Staten- hook, into Davis's-ftraits, up to the 65th deg. As the ftream varies there, the wood goes no farther norfh, and accordingly none is found at Difko nor above it, but the fmall remainder of this wood is driven by a f:ontrary current weftv/ard to, America, I have found fomething about this drift-vrood here and ihere in Gmelin's travels through Siberia. The Ruffian vcflel that fet out 1735 by the Imperial orders from the river Lena to Kamfhatka, for the difcovcry of a north'eaft pallage, met a great quantity of fuch large floating, wood in its wintering h^ven, and the crewf built their houfcs of it. In the fecond part, p. 415, the author makes this obfeivation concerning it. f On the Ice-fea»no woods are to be found within •* 200 wcrfts pf the (hore, and yet the fhorcs arc co- .-•!..; p 4 vered II m ,..^: '!■ rt If, 4\ 40 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. I, f* vf red with quantities of wood, which fwims hither ff from other countries, fo that in many places there *• are vaft heaps of fuch floating wpod piled up It " confiils of '^arch and fir-trees.*' According .o the author's account, great Heaps of larch, cedar and fir are found on the fea-flior (hore between the Jenifei and the Lena ; ai^d though great quantities lie on the fhores eaftward of Lena, yet hone can come out of the country by means of the rivers, tecaulc they are but fmall artd mallow as far as Kolyma J if this, I fay, Kje true, tjien the nurfery of great part of this wood rriulj: be traced ftill farther. But tnis Heating wood k alfo found in Kanifhatka, where there are no firs growing, but as the inhabitants report, it is driven thither by an eaft-wind, and probably from the parts of America which lie oppofite to it *i There- fore fince the motion of the fea,' and confequently the moil arid largeft currents fet from eaft to wcil, one might imagine, that, though* part of thi§ wood comes out of Siberia through the Ob, yet p.irt may come from the weft parts of America, round Kamihatka to the Lena, from whence a gpbd deal makes towards the pole, a|id fo to Spitzberg and Greenland. 'l>*^*: •.i.# / f^Aii'aa, Thf ftupendous ice-movmtains, the no lefs prodi- jyious floating ice, and the curious circumftance of the Srift->vood, being obje ! :■ : i 4» HISTORY or GREENIlAND. B. I,- which melts but littlo or not at all,, and conrequcntl)0 affords the fprings but a fcanty fupply. Tlicrcfunr many Iprings dry up in fiimmer, and in. winter arc ar* rel^cd by the fro^ "*i their courfc. Men and bcafts wouid then die irfl, if a wife Providcnca had not ocdjcrodythat in .iK hardefl winter rain and thaw inter- vene, when the fiitmted I'nowiwoter gathers in poolt. under the ice. .f\ i:>(iif» ni -a ift'iTiSi i« #'ic?a artt nir'H 'til l/iif^. e H A p. ill. : lii.J rfU^irn ol Of the Air and seasqus. ij ^rm-Ur.: M mv, j]""--^ ig. !C-,»ri AS this country is covered in mod. places with everlading ice and lhow> it is ^afy to imagine, that it muft be very cold and ra^. In thoft: places where the inhabitants fnjoy the vifits of the fun, for aa hour or two in a day, in winter, the cold is bearable; though even there ttrong liquors will freeze out of the warm rooms, nav fometimcs in them. But where the fuii entirely forfakes the horizon, while people are drink- ing tea, the emptied cup, when depofited, will freeze to the table. Mr. Paul Egede in his journal of Jan. 7, J73^j records the followiHg amazing eft'cdtsof the cold At Diflco : " 'I'he 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 chimr ^' ney is an arch of froft with little holes, through *^ which the fmoke difcharges itfelf. The door and •* walls ane as if they 'were plaiftered; over with froft, ** and, which is fcarce credible, beds are often 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. 'I'he *' flefli-barrels muft be hewn in pieces to get out the *' meat; when it is thawed in fnow-water, and fct '* over the fire, tl^p outfide is boiled fufficiently befpr? the infide can be pierced with a knife." l.r'. .; z t< '111 « 1 1 Chap. 3.r ' OfI THt Aia 'ARt SiASdWi. • 45 III Hudf where Ellis* winHered 1746^ in U%. 57, the bay wais frocBcu pver on the 8th ol Oikober. Xh* iak frp»e by the fire, and the bottl««i be«c, tho* wr^pc«i MP in tQW, froze in the warm room. AU ftrong drink> f|o*c to ift fevcfe cold i'«l|sinHa. -very vherc, after the new-y«a«».}md is fo pietciug in February md March, that the (loncs fplit in twain, aiui.the fea roeka like an oven, grpecialjy in the biiys. This is caUeothe frolt- fmoke. But yet thivs is not lib cold as the drr air. For if a perfoft goes off from laiod into fuch a fioft-finoke, he perceives thf ( M -^^i t ■ § ll/C : ■J i. •7 In^eneftl thert it a wholcfome, pure, light air here, in which a< perfon may remain briik and healthy, if he has but "warm garments, eats moderately, and has fufficient bodily exercife. Therefore we feldom hear of the difeafes common in Europe, except ihe fcurvey *, or boils, and fome difofders in the breaft and eyes, which may proceed partly from the unwJvolefom Green- land diet, and partly from the cold and the dazzling of the fnow } but even thefe are not very common. It is a confirmation of this, that the firft German miifionaries have held out healthy and vigorous, and without any extraordinary illnefs for thirty years, notwithftanding their very hard way of living, efpecially jn the begin- ning, when they fared very badly, and with the greateft difliculty fubfided at all : at the fame time that their brethren in other miffions in warmer coun- tries went <^ into eternity very faft. It is true the ccid is rigorous and durable, but the people know how to defend themfelves againfl: it ; and when they come on a vifit to Germany, they are more incommoded with the fummer-heats there, and with the cloudy, moitt- cold winter-weather, than with the clear and perma- nent cold here. The weather indeed is changei\ble, but there is fel- dom a long lafting rain, efpeciaily in Di(ko, where they fay it is fine weather all the fummer. There arc few or no fudden Ihowers of rain or hail. The winds are as variable here as in other countries, yet t^e mod blow from the land and the mountains, Vut they are not fo ftormy nor fo cold as one might imagine; there is often tlic moft agreeable weather with fuch winds f. < t/' ^ "" ••••■"■-.'• » • ■...- fi •■■ ' 'i -i .« ■-' -■ ., ■.. i i-.<'! .; ■ Jj'ut * Ellis in p. T99, and Gmclm In P. II. p. 419. deftribe at lat^c the origin and fymptoms of the fcurvy in cold countries. " The want ot cx- *' ercife (they fay) and the immoderate ufe of braady foment it moft." And in truth a perfon that never ufes brandy, but in cafes of the higheft aeceffity, and at the fame time muft feek his food with hvnciiag In tive iharpeft cold, will preferve his health better than one that has an affluence cf every thing. ■f Buffon divides the winds according to the eoncs j and fuppofes, thst ns in tlic torrid zone the eaft-wind rules almoft entirely ; fo the north-wind mult moftly prevail in the frigid zone, which maJecs thofc parts fo cold. But Chap. 3.' Of' tHE Air and Siaaons. ' " ' '47 . 'But when it once begins to be ftormy, which happens moftly in autumn, it rages ib vehemently that the Aoufes quiver and crack, the tents and lighter boats fly up Into the air, and the fea- water fcatters about in the land like fnow-duft. Nay the Greenlanders fay, that the ftorm rends ofF ftonc* a couple of pounds weight, .and mounts them in the air. If any one is obliged at fuch times to go out of the houfe to bring the boats •into flicker, he muil commonly lie and creep upon his belly, that the wind may not make him its fport. la fummer, whirl-winds alio fpring up, that draw up the waters out of the fea, and turn a boat round feveral times. The moll and fierceft ftorms rife in the fouth, and take a compafs round to north, where they again .fubfide, and terminate in clear weather. At fuch times ithe ice in the bays is torn from its bed, and haftens into the fea in heaps. When the moon is hooded in a circle, and rays of various colours ftream in the air, it is looked upon as an pnien of an approaching Itorm. ■•■• f ..-j"'; ^i..^«\<.. ,".• ■• A thunder-cloud fometimes gathers, and emits flaflics of lightning, but it is feldom accompanied with thun- der ; and when fomething like it is heard, one cannot decide whether the found proceeds from a diftant thun- der clap, or from the crack of ice and ftones rending and precipitating from the rocks. For 30 years they have been fenfible of but one motion of the earth that had any refemblance to an earthquake. The Green- landers know nothing of volcano's or burning-moun- tains, though there are fuch in Iceland j and as fatr as I know, no brimftone is found here. * ;(.3 ,-*»«.| .- ■■ y-i'^iio 'tm -■. X 22. ' '""' '■ "^ T-.m inm .•.- ' ■ .'..v In fummer there is no night at all in this country*; for above the 66th deg. the fun does not fet in the longeft days; and here at Good-hope, which is in tlM> 64th deg. it does not go down till lO minutes after ip o'clock., and 50 minutes after one it rifes again, io that it only flays three hours and 40 minutes beneat^ But he t$ miftakcn, for the winds vary here too, «nd the further north we go, the more fouth-winds blow, whkh produces thaw-weather iri tfic hMivA winter. , ; : .• i the 'i •:*! i ■r: 1 I •f' SI 48 HISTORY OF GREENLAND, fi. t, the horizon. In June and July it is fo light here all night long, that a perfon may read or write the fmalleft; characters in a room without a candle, and in June one may fee the tops of the mountains painted with the rays of the fun all the night. This is of great benefit to the Greenlanders, who in their fliort fummer can hunt and fifh all the night through ; and alfo to the fai-> lors, who would otherwife run great hazard from the quantities of ice. Where the fun never fets in the mI'Jft of the fummer, it however does not flline with fuch luftre at night as at noon, but lofes its fplendor and /hines like a very bright moon, which a perfon may look at without being dazzled. On the other hand the Winter-nights arc fo much the longer, and in Difko- creek the face of the fun is never feen above the ho>- rizon from Nov. 30 to Jan. 12. During that period the inhabitants enjoy but a moderate twilight, which arifes from the repercuflion of the fun-beams on the Aithmits of th6 higheft hills, and on the cold damps in the atmofphere. And yet there are never fuch quite dark nights here, as there are in other countries. For the fiioon and the ftars yield fuch a bright repercuflion in the clear cold air from the quantities of fnow and ice, that people can do very well out of doors without a lanthorn, and can fee plainly to read print of a middle ftre. And in the fhorteft days fometimes the moon never goes dcnVn, as on the other hand we fee little of it in fummer, and never fee the ftars from May to Auguft. -And even if the moon does not ftiine in the winter, the lidrthfern lights, with their fportive ftreams of varie- gated colours, often fupply its place ftill better. I will not enter into the illuftration of the origin of this wonderful phaenomenon, but only obferve fo much, tliaf ileither I nor thofe that have lived many years in this country, have ever feen the true aurora boretdis or northern lights make their appearance in the north or JlOirth-weft (except a faint blue glance over the horiton, which might arife from the reflexion of the Am], but they have always fprung up in the eaft and fouth-eaft ; from whence they have often, if not always, extended over the whole horizon as far as the north- weft J and (omct^.mes they may be feen in all the four r'iii % . quarters Of thfi Aiit AND Seasons. 49 Chap. 3. iquarterjKof the flcy at once. Confequently they have a quite diFerent fttuation to thofe that are observed in Norway, Lapland, Ru0ia,. and all the other countries i>f Europe. As now mofl of the ice-mountains^ as well as the lulphureoiis Iceland, lie eaft and fouth-eaft of us here in Good-hope, and are iricreafing from time to timfi, as the northern-lights alfo are : this tnay not be an infignificant hint in the deafer examination of the caufe of the aurora borealii j fefpecially if we beiftow a little attention on the fentiments of the DaniQi (hip- captain, John Heitman, ^oncferriing the efFe61ts of the rdys of the fun, as alfo of the north-lights, and the fea-Bre (moor-ild), ^ baron Holberg has done. I have heard no particular obfervations cdncerning the confeqiienccs of the notth-lights, except that wheil they feem ftill arid motionlcis, mild weather followSj and when they look redj and the ftreams move vehe- mentlyj ftormy weather out of the fouth enfues y which feems to be the reverfe of the obfervations made incur temperate countries. ;, / .v ^ Of late years, people have feen Halls of fire in the winter falling down the (ky: I Will make no meiition of the rainbowi {hooting ftars^ and other phsbnomen: ' • ='i ?•• ... :'i . jz-'.aoj :b ■ •■' ' ■ '\ . - vr • § 23. , I '.' '' .•' • At the conclufion I will only fubjoin fome curfory obfervations of the weather from Auguft 1761 to 1762, firft premiftng, that the winter viras extraordinary mild and variable, and but little fnow fell. . .;■ . .\' In Auguft, was warm fun-fliine with intermixed' rhift and rain from the fouth. Towards the end, rime, and ice in frefli-water, yet warm fun-fhine, afterwards fnow or cold rain. ' InSeptember,ir thebeginning north-eaftwind and warm fun-fliine, at th^ fametime ice a finger thick where the fun- beams were excluded. Afterwards fouth-wind with un- common warmand fcLtled weather. Then enfued a ftormy fouth-weft wind with much rain, and ■ t laft a hard ftorni from the fouth and then from the north. Now the earth and windows froze without thawing in the fun-fliine, the ice in the frefh- water two or three inches thick. In Odlober, north-eaft wind and much fnow, which lay feveral days. Then north-eaft ftorm and cold. At laft fnow a hand deep, which remained, with ftormy weather from the fjuth. •»'' .vihsM; n .ftvtf.i v?ni ■* . "^ • I have obfcrvcd" ibinething like this at Bern and Neufchatel/ of'Ae Glac (hers, lying t 2?^/ Cfha?. 3;'^ " ' d)^ tHi'Wfir " AND Season^'.* ^ J ' * §i In November, in the beginning, uncomnlori'' horth- ' caft cold, fo that ftrbrig drink froze out of the wnrtn room, and water in It. The remote bays drove full of flakes of ice, which frize together with the fea-water. At the fame time the fun (hone fo warm by day, that what fnow had fallen before, Was quite evaporated. Afterv^ards Was ."jiith-eslft ftorm and InoW-duft. Then thawing weather, rain, fnovV, and at laft a fouth ftorm. .'.:•• 1! In December, all was covei'ed with fn<:>vV« After a little lightning, followed as fevere a cold as was ever heard of; but it foon changed to mild pleafant wea- ther with fouth-eaft winds, and thus the year ended. In January, the north and north-eaft winds ufhered in the cold in good earned, and forced oiF many great pieces of ice from the upper end of the bay,' and drove Ihem out to fea Then cnfued mild frtoWy weather, interchanged with clear cold, which however only lafted five or fix days. In February, the beginning was the fame. Then rain and flippery ice, ilfo clear mild weathei* with a little fnow. Then followed thaWing'and rainy weather with eaft and fouth winds, and at laft cold and rain to- gether. In Matdh, aln^oft dohftantly fine warm fpring-wea- ther, better than it ufes to be about this 'time in Ger- many, with fouth, eaft, and alfo north-«aft winds, but in the day time mdftly talm. Therefore a cold April v/as predidled, iartd becaufe of the fouth and eaft winds, a good deal of floating hCe. In April, at firft very cold witb north-eaft wind, then the cold bearable, and after that rainy weather with a fouth-wind. Onfe coiild bear to be without nrcj but towards the end, the cold greW again very piercing and fettled, but broke with tun eaft-wind and thawing weather. In May, thawing weather with intermingled froft and much fnow j afterwards hot days and cold nights, and at laft rain. In June, in the beginning, warm. The earth thawed pretty deep. The garden was fowed. Afterwards, cold Inowy weather with ft-ormy fouth-weft winds. Then E 2 agreeable ,' f 1 ; ' " I J 1 Ij 1 \ 'J : i<:\ I i)' m:.4t I I J ''^^ -^' 'J $t HISTORY OF GREENLAND, B. L agreeable Tummer weather with a north-eaft wind^ Mid at lafl: much fog and rain out of the fouth-weft. / . In July, in the beginning, rainy weather, then fe- yeral day? agreeably warm, nay hot weather with fouth and eaft breezes, but moftly calm. ,, ,,. ..,, ..^, Here it is to be obferved : J. That in this part of the world there is a good deal of calm weather, which is the more fettled the further north it is. '. . ,^^, 2. That the winds here are as variable as any where; and often a violent wind blows on the (hore between the iflands, when it is quite calm out at fea, and (o vice verfa. Frequently in fummer, land-winds prevail in good weather, which change the next day with the fca-winds. 3. That often in the hardefl: winters ftrong fouth- winds blow and uiher in a mild air and rain. This oc- curs more efpecially in Diflco and further north. They fay it is the fame in Finland and Lapland, which is a great alleviation for man and beaft, becaufe fo much fnow difiblves as fuffices them to drink. But the ice generates fo much the more, becaufe the rain and the thawed Caow-water, like water that has been warmed, freezes the fpeedier and harder in the cold nights. In Diiko it is often for two or three months conilantly calm, and the air clear though filled with vapours ; but then far more vehement fouth-ftorms follow, than .in the fouth, which rend off the ice on the water and on the mountains. They fay there is alfo a good deal of calm weather in Spitz^berg, and in autumn the fouth winds reign. Therefore we might eafily fuppofe, that it is almoft quite calm further up, even as far as the pole, aiid that no wind but the fouth wind can blow there, which brings in mild thawing w«ather, but by this means agairi the ice grows the fafter, if there be bat land there. —r , >/ ''": '■:!::.':r'^? ■ 7v chap. t .■ 4. 'U..D fui. ev, 4I3 m Chap. 4. Or Stone and Eakth. $Z rf. wtft T' -■.' • _ .■?.■.. ,».«•• »',v..-.d j and fome are fandy, of the fame kind as the free-ftone that is ufed for building, or the mill- ftones in other countries. Some fine whet-ftones are alfo found aniong them, which arft of a red or yellow colour J they are fometimes called oil-ftones. Little fquare bright garnets are found in a coarfer black Whet- ftone with a kind of glimmering rays ; this ftone fplits into long flates. The Greenlandefs bring out of the fouth a fine red gritty ftone with white round fpots, which they ufe for a whet-ftone. There are ftill the ruins of a church there, of that kind of ftone, and the floor is laid with large flat pieces. It takes a polifti like coarfe marble. There are no flints here any more than in Norway J thefe muft be brought from our own coun- try. And I got to know of but one pale agate. Of the lime-ftone kind, we find on the fea fide a good deal of coarle marble of all forts of colours, but the greateft part white and black, with veins running through it. On the ft rand we find broken pieces of red marble with white, green, and other veinsi which ac- '^ Saxum etvtretum, Linn. Saxum mieaeioccrneum ; Qei/bergcrfteip, •£ which the liigheft hills in Switzerland covered with ice, confift. quire X. 's 55 mir Chap. 4. Of Stone and Earth,^*j quire fuch a polifh by the frequent. rolling and wafh... of the waves, that it is not much inferior to the bcit Italian marble. I know nothing of any of the proper Hate or roofing ftones there, though there are here -ind there large layers of a fine dark-grey ftone, which by a blow or the dafliing of the waves fall into fquare pieces. Thefe may perhaps be fpat, they are met with in moft clefts of the rocks of all ibrts of colours, and fome of fhem are almoft pellucid. Sometimes the Green- landers have brought out of the foijth as a rarity, great pieces of a white half-tranfparcnt ftone, that is as frangible as fpat, and is at the f4me time fo foft that it may be cut with a kiiife or bit with the teeth without hurting them j ajfo white alabafter, that does not fhinc, nor take a polifh, and when jt i§ cut it falls into fine flour like hair-powder. ' ; There are feveral forts of ftones foi-ind, that are fire-proof, as glimmer, cat-filver, and the white, black and grey ifing-glafs ftone, yet not in fuch large panes as to make windows out of it, as they do in Ruf-. fja. . ', ^.««,. .J .jw'i — .. ^(,^., I faw no proper T^lk, nor ferpentine-flone. But in njany places, and efp^cially at Balls-river, is found the Weichftein or foft ftone out of which they make veffels, ollaris * ; which fonie call b^ft;ird-marble, on account of its marble-veins, but the coqimon name is French chalk. Its beds run pretty broad and deep between the ropks. The outfide coarfe fhell, commonly confifts of grey glimmer and hard glafly amianth fpccks. The greateft part pf this French phajk is of an afti- gfey colour, thpugh fonrie is of a yellow marble caft. It is not tranfparent ; yet the beft fort is fo, of a fea- green colour, and has often beautiful red, yellow, and other ftripes, but the ftripes are feldom tranflucid. They fay there is alfo forjie quite white, and fome fprinklt:d with black. It is mf compounded of fand, but of the fineft vifcous clay, which falls off^ in working it like • Ltbetum, Lavetch ftone, lapis eemenjis Plin. Laph qui tavatur tor- vaturjug in vafa cequtndii cibis utilia, vel ad efculentorum k/i/j, quod in Co- tntnji Italia lapide viridi accidere fcimus, Sed in Jipbiiii Jingularc, quad ex- talefaHui eleo nigrtjdt durefcitque, natura moUiJfmus, Plin. Nat. Hift. L.XXIII. Cm. E 4 the ilJ; r1 V'M\ m 1 * u\ !■ 56 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. P, I. the fined white flour, and makes the Angers grcafy. It IS (o foft, that it m^y he rubbed, cut, or bit with the teeth } yet it is very ponderous and comp^dt, and as it does not lie in ftrata, nor fcalc or exfoliate, it is dif> ficult to loofen a great piece without crumbling it. This ftone is eaficr wrought in cutting and turning than wood. It feels foft and greafy like foap or tallow. When it is rubbed with oil, it aflumes a beautiful mar- ble fmoothnefs, neither have I obferved that it lofes it or becomes porous by the air j fo much 4s certain, it grows more firip and folid by the fire. The Green- landers cut their kettles and lamps outof it, which they prize very much, and fell dear ; and as the food that is Hrefled in them is more wholcfom and better tailed than in our iron or copper veflels, therefore fome of thefe kettles are fent to perfons of the firft quality in Den- mark, where they are highly valued. The bcft and moft durable crucibles may be made of it. And I make no doubt but that much better velTels might be wrought of this fine compaA ftone, and vended with more profit, than the lavetlh-veffels made near Chiavenna on the Comer-lake*, which are fo much liked all over Italy, though they do not equal tlie Greenland veflels by far. I'he amiantus and a{befl:us or (lone-flax» are foun4 in plcntv in many hills of this country, tven in the Weich-ftein are found fome coarfe, foft, a(h-grey veins, with greenifli, cryftalline, tranfparent radii Shooting acrofs them. The proper afbefltus or ftone- flax looks like roiten wood, either of a white-grey, a green, or a red caft. It has in its g|"ain long filaments or threads, and aTjout every fingers length a fort of joint, and the broken end is hd^rd and fine like a hone« V • i. » , i It • They r.r.r hcwni out of the rock there in the form of a femicitttilar cylinder. One end ^.s pitched over and hy that means clung to a board on a Jive moved by a watdr-mill. Firft it is wrought or turned with a ftraight iron tfiol, afterwards with fuch as are more and more bended, fo that five 6r fix vjOels are wrought out of 6ne piece. An iron-ring is faftened round the rim of each, by which they hang it over the fire. Plun, w^jich was anciently a village, is reported to have gained 60000 ducats annually by trading, in thefe vefTels. Meat ftews better and fooner in them than in others, and preferves Its good and natural relifli. Set John Jatob Sbaicbzer's Natural Hi/hry of ■ S'Witsurland. P. I." p. 379. But Chap. 4. Of Stoke awd £arth. ' ' ^^ 5^ But if it is pounded or rubbed, it develops itfelf to fine white flaxen threads. When this done is beaten, mollified and waihed fcvenl times in warm water from its limy part that cemented the threads into a ftone, then dried upon a fieve, and afterwards combed with thick combs which the clothiers ufe, like wool or flax; you may fpin yarn out of it and weave it like linen. It has this quality, that it will not burn, but the fire cleanfes it inftead of lye or fuds. The ancients fhrbuded their dead, and burnt or buried them, in fuch incom- buflible linen. They ttiW make purfes or fuch kind of things of it for a curiofity inTartary and thePyrenean mountains. Paper might be made of this linen. The purified filaments may alfo be ufed as we ufe cotton in ^ lamp. But we muft not imagine that the Green- landers have fo much invention : They ufe it dipped in train, (for as long as the fione is oily, it burns with-* out confuming) only inflead of a match or chip, to light their lamps and keep them in order. Neither is there any want of beautiful pebbles of di- vers colours, dark and tranfparent ; a yellow figured one and a red jafper, with white pellucid veins, fell into my hands. There are alfo quartzes and cryflals in pretty large pieces. Some among them are yellow and black, or topazes. There are alfo fome that, like the opal, reflect the colours blue and yellow according as they are turned. I reckon the Greenland garnet under the fpecies of quartz, becaufe it is feated in the uppermoft clefts of the rocks, and breaks in uneven pieces. But it is of a bright tranfparent blood-red colour, that inclines a lit« fie to the violet, and at the fame time it is fo hard, that the lapidaries rank it among the rubies. Only the pieces are fo brittle, that it is feldom that one is lar- ger than a fmall bean when it is burnifhed. I procured fome quite bright, fix-angled cryllals of the colour of fieel. They were joined together, and lefTcr-ones grew out of them. Alfo a white one wfith fine red flames running through it. I alfo got from the Greenlanders thin, pellucid ftones like China (herds or fragments, broad and flat, and two are always ce- 2 mented iUi ,i/i^ ■ m ; •. i !, 58 HISTORY or GREENLAND. B.I. fnented together with 9 reddiih flime. Thcfe will (Irike fir^. 1 , . • , . ...;w jdi*>w twu: l-^-'* \U>;h ,':r"'\\ ;■ ■-'■ ■ •*' --'; -■ -f' •^rr*' •'-^.r • f --" , , Wc find fomc traces that fcvcrfil minerals and mctaU lie in the bowels of the mountain!), but no one has yet been able to explore thofe inacceflible caverns. Once there was a (ki|ful miner, and alfo a judicious phyfician, in this country. But whether they difcovered anything, or what, has been kept a fecret. And evea if nietals ihould be difcovered here, it could be of no profit, becaufe of the fcarcity of wood, nor would they pay the expence of the long conveyance. I never faw any fait, nitre, alum or vitriol. Yet the Greenlanders fay, that near the brink of the already- mentionpd fpring in the fouth, in which they curp themfelves of an eruption, and purge their furs frorr^ ;iny infedlious filth, there is a certain greep fubftapce found. There arc but few fulphurcoys^ ftones here. Some CO^s were found at Di^o, hut they are faid to burn badly and ftink. Marcafites are found here and there. They look like brafs, and are fo hard that when they arc ftruck with ftee| they epiit many fparks. They are commonly fquare and flat, and feveral cohere together. Some concentre their fpur fides to a point at the top like a cryftal. ,. ^,,:i ,.,,.,, /., ... .|' , 1 \ , : *'. There is no want of Iron ftones and ore. In fomc places the rock, .urn out blue and green, and they imagine coppei- to be there, I found in a dark-grey, fine-grained rock an excrefcence of a pale yellow fhin-i ing colour like brimftone ; the gravel thereabouts was reddifh. A kind of lead-ore is fometimes found in th^ French chalk, which is part folid, and part fcales into thin lamina. The Greenlanders bring fometimes great and fmall pieces of ore, that are very heavy and fpark- ling. Some haye taken them for real metallic ores. But they h^ve been aflayed and found to be nothing but a coarfe bell-metal ; therefore I fuppofc them to bo fragments of the b^lls that the old Norwegians ufed in their churches, I never ■}>^i JRK ,3?.^: h^^'j-ni ti'i .a Yet the alrcady- Kcy curq Furs froin fubftapce ;. Some to burn nd there, hen they rhey are together, t the top « In fome md they rk-grey, ow fhin-. Duts was d in the ales into les great d fpark- ic ores, nothing m to bo ufed in I nevef ■% Chap. 4*>i'^' Of Stone and Earth. I 2111 ^^ I I never faw any petrifications, except one piece of confolidatcd clay mapeJ like a flat button; but towards the lad I was told by the Greenlanders that many petrified fifhes had been found in fome diflant places. They (bowed me a broken piece of one that looked like a fifli's tail ; the infide confided of a grceniAi ftone, and it was covered with an iron-coloured hard rind. This rind had a cruft which might be fcrapcd off. It was traverfcd with little lines that ran fquare through one another, and had alfo knobs like lentils. Another quite naturally reprefented an egg as to its form and colour i it confifted of the above-mentioned fubftanre, and was as hard and heavy as iron. -' ^it- <*ii The pumice-ftone is rare here, becaufc there arc no burning mountains that we know of; yet they find white, grey, but moftly black ones, which pro- bably the fea haii brought hither from Iceland. § 27- Lefs can be faid of the kinds of earth than of the ftones, bce«ufii* there is very little earth at all, and that never deep. The country round Good-hope confifts moftly of either clay, fand, or turf. The clay is a pale blue, very fandy, unfruitful, and of little dura- tion. In other parts we find a light grey, loamy kind of clay, mixed with a mineral like cat-filver, which endures the fire. There is alfo found a very fine and light glimmer-fand, which is greafy to the feel ; like- wife a very fine white pearl-fand, uncommonly heavy, and filled with many black and red tranfparent garnets, Moft of the fandy foil in this country is grey or brown, mixed with many ftones, and if it is manured, things will grow on it. Turf is found in the fenny places, mixed with fome little mould, fand and gravel, but it is not good for firing. The right turf is interfperfed with many roots, withered niofs and grafs, and fome- times rotten wood and bones. It is found on low lands, fome on a fan jy bottom, and fome on the folid rock. We find a fort of periwinkles in this turf, v/hich are not met with any where elfc in this country, and craft might fuppofe from thence that the fea once rctire4 from it. But yet we might rather think with the fame, nay m . . ' -f; i m Vl:M 1^ HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. li nay more probability, that this turf-eround was formed from the light earth and grafs warned ofF from the neighbouring hills by the rain. The beft turf grows on ""he higheft ridges of the little uninhabited iflands and naked rocks, on which a multitude of birds At to rcoft in the night, or to depofit their eggs. In theiir dung, together with fonve earth blown there, mofs and grafs grows in time ; this increafing with more dung, fathers, fhells, bones, and other things, (which are difcernible enough a little deep) forms at length a tough bed of turf 2 foot thick, which overfpreads the ridges of the rocks, and in one place has entombed a ftone* beacon, erefted in former ages by the failors. This they call Kupp-turf. It is very hard work to cut it, becaufe of the many tough roots ; but it repays the toil by a good flame and heat. C H A P. V. Of the Land and Sea Vegetables. '*''" ..^Uil ■ i .': .ihii § 28. .•n^y 'i'^yBi^.':'^' THE reader may eafily conclude from the fituation and nature of the country, what he is to expert in regard to its fertility. The vallies for the moft part prefent him with no other garniture than mofs and four moor-grafs : the lower cliffs, that are covered here and there with a little fand and earth, and alfo the uninha- bited iflands, where the birds neft, and manure the earth with their dung, furniih us with a few herbs, heath, and fhrubs. But they are very fmall on account of the aridity of the ground, and coldnefs of the air. However, near the Greenland houfes and encampments the land, though in itfelf nothing but barren fand, yet by many years cultivation with the blood and fat of the ieals, produces the fineil: herbs in uncommon quantity and lize ; though few are fo large as in Europe, for they commonly come up and blollbm a month later. There are many among them that I never remember to have fcen. No doubt they would be very^wholfome for #■. . . *^ ■ ".■■*.> Chap. 5- Of Land AND Sea Vegetables. 6i for the natives in their fickneffesyy if they were ac- quainted with their virtues. Thofe herbs I could col- ]e£l and name^ which were but few, (hull be mentioned in alphabetical order. Acetofa arvenjis lanceolata^ She^s-lbrrel, with pointed leaves, the length and breadth of a iinger^ formed lik^ ft fpear, and growing on fandy plains. t' V „^ - *** 7 . h ..^i Acetofa montana rotundifoUa, This fpecies of Sorrel grows here very plentifully, tho* *tis not common in other places. It has round dark-green leaves like fcur- vy-grafs. The ftalk is three feet long, two thirds of which are occupied by the flowers and feed. This and the foregoing have red flowers. It grows on the craggy rocks, and the ruins of the Greenland houfes. Though the Greenlfinders eat very few herbs, yet they fearch after this, but only in fuch places as are fKt from dung. Acetofdlay Wood-forrel. ; Adiantum aureum^ Golden Maiden-hair. It grows amonemofs. ,. ,,ki;i.» i^A,-^^^^..'^r,,y. %>;» jw,(\o^ ,; AkbimUa vulgaris^ Ladies-mantle. It grows in great quantities and large. , ,tiu*-> Alfme^ Ghkk-weed, of feveral forts. AngtUca, This grows plentifully and very high and Arong, in moift narrow vallies which lie warm. The Norwegians call it Quanne, and becaufe the Green- landers call it almoft the fame, viz. Q^iannek, 'tis be- jiieved that they adopted this, and a kw other words that found a^like, from the old Norwegians. They are fond of eating the ftalk and root of this herb. It alfo taftes better here than in warmer countries, which is an obfervation conmion to all mountain-herbs. . },. ^w/Z-riJifl, Wild tanfey. f /^ Afperula, Wood-root. Btjiorta minima^ Small fnake-weed or biftort. This grows very plentifully here, but fmall. The Green- landers love to eat die root, which has a very rough aftringent tafte. Caryophyllus montanuxj Mouiitain pinkj hath an agree- .able, but not ftrong fmell. Cochiearia, Scurvy-grafs, the beft medicine againft the fcurvy. This grows here in great quantities, wherc- ever only a little feals fat or other manure falls, or upon m <.i'' M ! lip'bn ,the cliffs, e{pech\\y in the uninhabited iflands^ Where the birds build their, nefts, and drop their dung. The ruins 6f the Greenland houfes are particularly pverfpread With it» Its fertility is I'ank and rapid, Co, that twdve ftalics and upwards grow out of one root, though it (iaft ftand but one winter. There are feveral forts ^ fome have toitnd leaves, others a little long and jagged ih, Which ait generally brownifh, ^nd at the fame time thicker, m6re juicy, afid relifhing^ than the .round. The feed fowsitfel^ in autumn, and is proba- bly fcattered about ahb by the bird?, who frequent thefe places about feed tirrie. It fhoots up in the fpringunder the fnoW, a"nd even the plants of the for- mer ye&r grow green th^trgb v^ry Ynlall. It is gathered in autuniri, and iki'd up the Whble winter co^erfed with fnoW, in order to hiake foop. Which taftes' excellently, at leafl in this barren land, and it is efleemed the befl; Iphyfic agaihft all forts of diforders. It fs alfo e^ten like fallad, and moft agreeable when frefh gatheredj fbr it doe's n©t tafte (b rough and unpl^afant as in our country, but like an agreeable bittcr-f\kreiet. Howevef- if much, of it is eat in the evening, it will interrupt flccp J a fign t^at, ^s It abounds with very ftimula- tm'g and heating parts, the chilled obftrufted blood i§ Warined arid by it put into eirculatioh. Whenever, for want of fufficient eic'drcifeinthe winter, I^vas attacked with any fy'mptbm's of the fcurvy, as lifflefFnefs, a pref- fuie oh the liitibs, heat, giddiiiefs, tir an bppreflon oh the breaft, which iYe pre(bntly followed with burning boila ; a handful of fcurvy-graft, ahd aglafs of cold water to it, was my bcft arid fpeediefl remedy.' Therefore this herb feems to be kindly fuited for the inhabitants of the jiorth, where, it grows in. the greateft quantity and vigour, and might prove a cathol icon for all the difea- fcs of thcGrecnlanders, If they had not fuch an invinci- ■.ble averrioi\ for all hCrbs to the pro Jiiftion of which any human ordure has concurred. ■-iJ-i- ii.-',Viia;w; CanfoUda niedia^ Bugle or middle cbirifrey..^" ^ Eqiiifitiun^ dii herb ufed for polifhing, called Horfe*- tall. E,,romm. Hedge-m.ftard. *^'* ''"*^ ^^ *' • ^ Little fern or brake. "X^^'^* ''-"''* X let lira rfunor., Fill IX -9 Chapk 5; Of LANf)'A^D'SBA~V|['6ETAi8LEs'; I $^ •^fFilix ramofa et cornuta. Great fern; Thofe that doi npt hufband their tobacco well, fubftitute this, rathti^ than fail, for. fmoking^' i' >;,» i^ju.-* i.:.;: Gentiamlla^ Dwarf-gcntlah of fdlv*^rtr i '^i .M.ii.>i)xr!', "Jacobaa merit ima, fea-ragwort; J- ">• i rr.rn "Levijiicuniy Lovage, it has a very agrefeable tafte, ast well as its root, almoft like ceHcry.i'^ i ,^iVi'<^iWv V Lyfmachia fpicatai flere albo,' White-fpikcd ' willbw kerb. • '" .:\v.:x- . .. \ Morfus diabolic follh hirfutisy Devil's bitw ' ■'" • . Najiurtium praterifi, Ladies-fniock or cuckow flower. I faw only a little of it in one place. i. Ophrys, Twayblade. ^ . ;, „. . . PedicuIariSf Loufewort. Pentaphyllumf Cinquefoil or five-finger-graf$» -'tV Pclypodium, Polypody. -.;»nivis( Pyroia fpicata florida. Winter-green. ' ^''^ "^ '»''"' ^^^^ RanuKculus aquaticus^ flort luteo^ et a/bo^ Water cfoW- foot, yellow and white j it delights in dung pits, but is very fmall. r- >•> w at ^4. .li^ur.- Rofmarinus fyhe/insi Wild Rofematy, or 'tiirpehtihy plant, of which it has a ftrong fmell ; it grows in great plenty in dry mofly places, and is of two kinds, one with long pointed leaves and a yellow down' be- neath, the other with fhort leaves and white jjeneath, ' \> Sanuuia diapenjiay Mountzin fanicle. :^ l^J7. j:..j t Saxifraga alba^ White faxifrage. ' Serpyllum, Mother of thyme, moftly of a reddifh caft, it has a ftrong fmell, and grows oii the rocks in fu^y^ place*. It may be ufed inftead of tea. •"^•^W rrwjdi m Taraxacum^ dens ieonis. Dandelion, it grows plentt-* fully in moift places. The /Greenlanders like to eat the root, but prefer it raw. TelephiuT Orpine or livelong. The root of this' herb, which the Greenlanders call Sortlak, in other, countries has ufually the appearance of little oblong nuts, but here it is long, branched out, reddifh infide^ has a ftrong fmell of rofes or clove- gill! flowers, efpe- cially in the fpring and fall, and it retains this fmell' after 'tis quite dry. The Greenlanders love to eat both the root and the whole herb. It grows plentifully on the rocks, and alfo in the Kupp-turf. When t •,r.% t looked ftW i ■''iiL m ' 1 w J ■■■.».. f? :i:i| 64 HISTORY OF GREtNLANli). B. t looked at this root ag^in after it had lain above a year in pgper, and tnoftly in a warm room, I found that it had ftruck out feveral fprouts, therefore I ezve it to a phyfician to plant, who called it rtulix rboMa. It greW green for a little wliile, but afterwards rotted^ being fet in too moifl a place. i ji, , aj-.i\y.%.. Tormentilla, Tormentil. -i ' ,Trif>l'mm fibrittum^ M^rfb trefoil or buck bean. Veronica flors caruUo^ Baftard flueilin.or f|>eedwell with blue flowers» . -i'ViO ^■\^<\\ 'C'-^ ,'t\45vvj*4:- ^Cr- 'i''L Vhla alba et tJtntleay White and blue .wild violets, without fmell. ..,;;^ ,t^;uj«a ^.i it : ;.;.-- -** 29. ''i,: Grafs grows here not only on fenny* Tandy and turf- ground, where it is generally very fmall and bad, but alfo in the clefts of the rocks where any earth has lodged, and above all near the Greenland houfes, where it grows very thick and long. I fuppofe mofl: forts might be found here, but I will only mention two^ One is like the reed'-grafs (grameit Orundinacettm majus) but very thin ; it likes to grow between the rocks, and the Greenlanders twifb it into very neat bafkets; 1 he fecond fort I never faw any where elfe. It comes neareft to the barlcy-grafs (gratmn hardeacium). It grows neaf the dwellings of the Greenlanders in a fandy or gravelly bottom, and between the ftones. It has long broad leaves, and a thick ftraw a yard long, like wheat, which it alfo moflly refembles in its ear^ only that it is often fix inches long. It is faid the grain looks like oats, but feldom ripens becaufe the fummer is To ihort^ The Greenlanders lay this grafs inftead of ftraw in thjeir (hoes and boots, in order to walk foft and The Europeans have feveral times attempted to fovr barley and oatst They grow as fine and high as in our countries, but feldom advance fo far as to ear, anu never to maturity, even in the warmefl places, becaUfe the frofly nights begin fo foon. ;fiiol sdi r z^iift^ * It is probable this is the very grafs which they call wtM^rie in Iceland^ They thatch their houfes with it, and account its meal better than that in Denmark, Scs NicU Horr$iow'i Natural Hifiory of Iceland^ Chap* XXIV* :...•" ♦ For »'Chap. 5. Of Land and Sea Vegetables. 65 For this reafon, they cannot raifc many produAion? of the garden, becaufe the feafon will not admit them to fow till the middle of June. Even then the ground is frozen beneath, and in September the furface freezes hard again. Every thing muft then be taken up out of the earth, and laid by to keep, except leeks, v^rhich will endure the winter. Sallad and Cole will not bear tranfplanting, and remain very fmall. Radifhes grow as well here as in other countries. The black Radifhes are fmall, and the Turnips fcldom larger than a pidgeon's egg, but they m^v be eaten with the greens, and Y xve an excellent tafte. This is all that art can rear in the garden, and even thefe muft be fof.tuated as to be {helter'd from the North-wind and the fpray of the Sea-water. " The moft that grows here is mofs, in fuch quant'I- ties and of fo many forts, that as I was once fitting upoa a rock, I counted near 20 forts round me without fifing. One fort is like a thick foft furr. The Greenlanders make this ferve to ftop the chinks of their houfes,. and ufe it as we do wafte paper. • Another fort, whofe fibres are often a fpan long, and adhere to each other like fome fungous excrefcences, ferves them for tinder, ^nd wicks for the lamps. A third fort looks like tender fir-fprouts, or the lycopodium, only it produces neither flowers, rior powder. Among the leaved kinds of mofs there is-: one quite white, which fupplies the reindeers with food in winter, and may even in neceHity preferve the life of a hungry man. An Icelander afllired me that there is another fort of a dark-brown colour, ■ with broad leaves like young cole, which is ufed inftead of bread in Iceland, or boiled with milk inftead of oatmeal. It alfo grows here. They call it there fiaiia gras or mountain-grafs. They have both a rough tafte at firft, but when well chewed and fwallowed, leave a fweetifti tafte like rye. The firft nearly refembles mttfcus Urrtjlrh coralloides^ and the latter mufcus puimonarius. Vol. I. F As 1 'J % • u mj ni 1 • tj- il ^ Pa l^'ll V '■ 66 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.I. As to Fungi or muflircoms, there grows here the yellow mufhroom, feveral alfo red, and fome in the torm of cloves, but they are all very fmall. § 3^ Concerning the Shrubs and underwood, there Is one fort which creeps very low upon the ground like wild- thyme^ and bears many bloilbms, but has neither fmell nor berries. Another fort has little round fmooth leaves, always in pairs, and fupporting a little downy flower between them. They fay this ferves for the food of the rein-deer. Thofe forts that bear berries, called in Greenland berry-grafs, which they gather for kindling fires, are, i. Thofe that the Norwegians call Crow-berries, a low, tough plant, with little thick leaves like fpruce, and white bloflbms which produce black berries, with a red fweet juice. Thefe grow here in great abundance. There is another plant quite like this, that bears a violet bell-flower, as large as a cofFee-berry, but it bears no fruit. 2. Bill-V^rries or Whortle-berries. 'iO 3. Red Cranberries. i'' - ■** r 4. Molttbar, chamamorus Norwegicay This grows here too, but never ripens. The leaf and fruit come* neareft the mulberry, only the fruit is yellow. Its ftem is the length of a finger, and the flower white with 4 leaves. They grow only in the Northern countries, and are there packed up in little veiTels and exported. They are a very refrefhiwg delicacy, and a good medicine againft the fcurvy. njin / The Greenlanders gather all thefe berries and eat them with pleafure, efpecially the crow -berries, which keep all winter under the fnow. On the other hand,, they don't regard the Juniper-berries at all. Thefe grow much larger and have more ftrength than in Eu- rope, though the bufh does but creep upon the ground. Thr^'e forts of Willows grow here, one with pale green leaves, a 2d with bright green pointed leaves, and a 3d with broad downy leaves. The repofitory of the feed of the laft fort is filled with a good deal of down. But the cold obliges them to creep upon the ground like the broom-buihes. The Birches can mount no higher (Chap. <;. Of Land and Sea Vegetables. 6^ . higher rieitier, they are fomcthing clifFcrent from ours, and have little dented leaves. But in the bays, where there is a iruch more genial and durable warmth, theie buflies and the Alders, which grow by the fide of thd water-brooks, are as high as a man, and 3 or 4 inches thick; yet they are fo crooked, that but few of thelii fcan be lolded in a boat^ neither can this wood (plenti- ful as it is) ferve for fireing ; but for their fires they muft cut turf, gather floating wood, or import coals or fire-wood from other countries. According to the report of the Grecnlanders theft fhrubs grow in the Southern parts of this land twice . the height of a man, and as thick as a man's leg. The wild Service-tree alfo grows there in abundance^ and brings its fruit to niaturity. They muft have Afps there too, becaufe the fea fbmetimes throws in fome of Its branches here. They likewife talk of a kind of ivild i*ea, and fince they have feen the ufe we niake of' them, they boil and eat them. They alfo mferition a fruit growing there, which, according to their defbrip-r tion comes hear to our large yellow plums, and which they even compare to orariges. But the further we gf> north, t)ie more naked ^nd fteril is the land, until at lali nothing is to be found bpt bare rocks. «'..' i'jjitiii cf^.taf. «"=■ 32- Hj'f Mi:.] >'H , may be fup- pofcd to be the femen. Some of them look like oak- Jeaves, others like peafe-ftraw, locks of hair, peacocks feathers and other things. But further from the ftrand the long fea-grafs lies, and is like the weeds fwimming on ponds. This twifts itfclf together like a rope by ' the rolling of the waves, often as thick as oneV arm, and feveral fathom long. Some look like a great calve's chaldron. The largeft has a hollow ftem 2 or 3 fathom long, 'tis flender beneath at the root, but an inch or two thick above ; its leaf is 2 or 3 fathom long, and above a yard brpad. Another of the long broad forts has a flat compared ftem, that divides the leaf in the mjddle. If we dry thcfe 2 fbris' in l[he * ihade, efpecially their ftems, on the firft th^re c^n^ls ^a fine fait in long fubtij cryftal particles, and on the ■" 6ther a kind of fugar. This, very like, was the atga facchariffroj whjch Bartholin fays the Icelandei*^ eat with butter. The flieep like to eat it in winter, and the Greenianders, nay even the Europeans mg i piit up •^ with it, when they can get nothing elfe. But the Greenianders frequently eat a bright red and green ^ leaf, very tender, as a fefreftiment, as we do fallad, ' which is fervicealile to them againft the fcurvy. I faw r jne here either of the foft and porous fea- " productions or trees, or thofe pf the ftony kind, fuch ■ as are found near Norway, and fire defcribed in Pon- l toppidan*s natural hiftory of thr.t country j * and I faw ■ but one little branch of the Coral tree ; ithough a pretty large tree of it was once ff,nt to Copenhagen ; and 'tis probable there is no fcurcity of the other forts hero too. * Chap. VI. § 3. ^ .v*jv i.ot;/. i • ' i 3VKtl />:i» --4 :'V.,.n:r;v>i^-j'f!^.-l .'U* .1 /, • 1 .^^.f •■t: ■ int. » f V ;n m n B' I' ky n m I- - fi p i,l |,/ ' tXi m mi m^i:^ PJWWgfiVfULVii'- iWm'3Sy ■ il'll' • m^HL^dym f »»'.:?»i» ^'»i'«.ii <.f.i..ri I f.70] ..t . .. ». BOOK II. i>:.t ;:.>fnf.t;».. Of the Ueaftsy Birds and Fijhs, -.IH t mwdji.Ti; to -^^ U THE Land Animals. ' • f Irto..; t %n;^ijii'fi hftR vf....f NFRUITFULas this Land Is, yet it affords nourifhment to fome, though but^ very few kiflds pf hearts, which furnifn the natives with ^, food and Raiment. They are heafts that can only fubjfift ^ in the cpW northern countries, and will find arhainteh- i ance pycn in Slpitzberg, and fuch places Wheie ho man , . Of the wild-game kind here are Hares and Rei|idecr; ,,hares'are in pretty good plenty, the reindeer have been plenty too, but arc now grown very fcar^e. The hares are white both winter and fummer, at ,leaft I faw no grey ones, fo that they may perhaps be J.; fomevvhat different from thofe in Norway, which are grey in fummer and white in winter. They are pretty ...large, and lined with., a little fat betweei) the fki^i and y ,fitlb ; they live upon grafs and white mofs, Ipu't are not J,; at ^Ij regarded by the Greenlandcrs. ^ The reindeer are the northern deer, that are not oply met with in Greenland, but alfo in Spitfberg, Siberia, T>orway, Lapland and the northern parts of America. i3ut they cannot fubfift in warmer countries, where th<'y have not the pure mountain air to breath in, nor can r-rop the tender grafs and mofs. It is well known that t>i^e Laplanders have whole herds of feveral hun- Chap. i. Of Land Animals. -^^ -' . • 71 fwift, and having a quick fcent, they rarely let the hunter fteal upon them, if the wind blows from him to them. They once caught a young one and bred it up j it grew as tame as a cow, but becaufe it did all kind of mifchief to the Grcenlanders, they were obliged to kill it. The largeft are of the fize of a two years heifer. Their colour is commonly brown or grey, with white bellies. i their (kin is vciy thick of hair, which is above an inch long. Their antlers or branching horns differ from thofe of the common buck only in their being fmooth, grey, and of a hand's breadth at the top. They caft them every year towards fpring. As long as the new growing horn is foft, it is clad with a woolly (kin, which the beaft afterwards rubs ofF. In fpring they get new hair, which is very ihort J at this feafon the beaft is alfo very lean, and the Ikin very thin, and of little value ; on the other hand, \n autumn the (kin is very thick and full of hair. They are lined then with two or three fingers thick of fat between the (kin and the flefh, and are full of blood. Thus, as Jnderfon in his Hijiory of Greenland obferves of all the beafts of t|ie north, they can better endure the warrn.th of fummer and the amazing cold of win- ter. Their flefli is tender and well tafted. They are very cleanly and conteiited creatures : In fummer they regale thenifelves on the little tender grafs in the vallies, and in winter they dig after the white mofs under the fnow between the rocks. Formerly there were the moft reindeer at Ball's-river, and the Green- landers caught them by \\ kind of clapper-hunt ; that is, the women and children furrounded a certain fpace of land, and where people were wanting, they fet up Jogs of wood covered with turf on the top to look like nnen, and thus marching forward frightened them, tiU they drove them into a narrow defile or pafs, where the hunters killt i them with their darts j or the wo- men drove them down to the fide of fome bay, and then hunted them into the water, where the men killed them with harpoons or darts. But ftnce they have got powder and (hot, they have thinned them very much. Many Grecnlauders ftill neglect their bcft filh and fea F 4 capture <■?' V}\ i,n,niw\n -^ T>:^'^j. l<'' n % [t I. 'i. a?. ji 'HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IT; capture for this hunt, and fpcnd their prime fummcr months to get a couple of fkins to make a figure in. The further we go north, the fewer reindeer we meet with. Yet there are fome foUnd on Difko-ifland. Their being found on this ifland gave occafion to the following fabulous ftory, that a gigantic Greenlander dirtevered this piece of land from Ball's-river, and towed it thither with his kaiak. He intended to have united it with the main land, but becaufc the curiofity of u. lying-in woman tempted her to peep out of her tent, he could not quite corhpleat his forcery. They ftill fhow the hole in the rock thro' which he drew the rope, as a token of the truth of it. * The foxes arc lefs, and of fomewhat different fliape than thofe in the fouth countries. They approach the neareft to the rock-foxes or pefzi, as they are called in Siberia. Their head and feet refemble a dog's, and they bark almoft like a dog. Moft of them are blue or grey, but fome white ; they are very thick of hair in winter. They don't change their colour, only when the blue fort change hair, they become fomewhat fallow, and are then good for nothing. They live upon birds and their eggs, and when they can't get them, upon crow-berries, mufcles, crabs, and what the fea cafts out. I could gather no figns of their fin- gular cunning, only that they plafti with their feet in the water, to excite the curiofity of fome kind of fifhes to come and fee what is going forward, and then they fnap them up ; and the Greenland women have Jearnt this piece of art from them. They have their holes among the crevices of the rocks. One way the Greenlanders catch them is by a trap, which is built , of ftone like a little houfe, in which a piece of flefh , is tied to a ftick, which when the fox lays hold of, it pulls a ftrjng, by means of which a broad ftone falls before the mouth of the trap. Another way is by fpringles of whale-bone, which they lay over a pit in the fnbw filled with capelins ; mean while a Green- lander fits near in a tent of fnow, and when the fox comes, draws the fpringle clofe. Another method is by a deep pit dug under the fnow, then covered ilightly * See Mr. Paul EgnJes Continuation of the Relation, &c,_ p. 93. ' 4 ^IT^d ■; Chap. I. Or Land Animals. and made even, and ftrcwed with capclins. The blue fox-flcins are eagerly bought up by the fadors. If the Grecnlanders are in want, they will cat foxes rather than hares. Thcfc creatures arc not hurtful but beneficial to them. The white bears, and they only, arc fierce and mifchievous. They arc often feen iii the fouth and north part of Greenland, alfo in Hudfon's-bay, in Si- beria, and in Spitzberg mod of all. They have a long nirrow head like a dog, and are faid to b.xrk like a dog. Their hair is long, and as foft as wool. They are much larger than the black ones, and often 3 or 4 yards long. Their fiefh is white and fat, and is laid to tafte like mutton j the Grecnlanders like to cat it. They have a great deal of fat, out of which good train is melted, and the fat of the paws is ufed in me- dicine. They go upon the flakes of ice after the ftals and dead whales j they alfo attack the morfc 6r (ea«lion, but this creature defends itfelf nobly with its long teeth, ■' id fonietimes matters them. They fwim from one flake of ice to another ; when^ they are attacked they defend themfelves, and brifkly encountering a boat full of men, many a man lofes his lift. But if they are purfued, they dive and fwim on under the water, according to the relation in the deibription of Spitz*- berg. When they art upon land they live upon birds and their eggs, and if they are impelled by hunger they will devour men, and the dead bodies out of the graves. In winter they immUre themfelves in the holes between the rocks, or' bury^ themfelves in the fnow, till the fun invites them abroad again ; then they are allured by the fcent of the feals flefh to hunt out the Greenland houfes, which they break into and, plunder. The Grecnlanders in tffcir turn fet up the hue and cry after the robbers, fiirround them with their dogs, and kill them with their knees and harpooilsj''^ but many a time lofe their own livfts in the fray. Ther« is very feldom any feen in the country round Good- hope, but they have killed fome Grecnlanders this winter near the colony in the South-bay. / .g-^'^' 'The « '-, ■,^' ^■f ;*3 «* .11 5, 111 ;'■(• ', *■ ■ • .r i . M 74 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IL The Greenlanders alfo give out that they have fecti black bears, which either fear or fancy hath magnified to the fize of 6 fathQm long. But there are more that talk of a kind of Tiger, which they, call amor rtk. They fay they are white, fpotted with black, ^nd as large as a calf, but |io European has ever yet feen any of them, This may perhaps be the fort of fpotted bears that go upon the ice froto Greenland to Iceland. N. Hfirrehwi he, cit. § 24, I'he Greenlanders have no tame bea/ls but dogs of a middle fize, which look more like wolves ths^ti dogs, Mofl of them are white, yet there are fome with thick black hair. They don't bark, but growl and howl fo ,^uch the more. They are fo ftupid that they can't be ufed in hfeiiitingy only to drive the bears ir«tc a cotrner or ^Cjcoy. They ufe them inftead of horfes, harneffing fjcom 4 to 10 dogs for a fledge, and 141 tliis pompous Hgure vifit one another qf draw horn . their feals Over the tee, tho* the latter can be done only in Difko, yrhere the bay freezes over. Therefore they are valued Bs ijAUch by the Greenlanders as. hordes ^XQ by us. * Some of the Qijeenlanders will eat the doga, nay all of them when pinched with hungers ^hey ufe their (kins as coverings for thfiir beds^ and alfo to border and fean^ their cloatbs with* In the year 175^ one of our mifliionanes. V^^wght 3 Sheep with him itefti Denntark to Newherrnhuth. Thefe have fo increafecl by bringing fome 2, fome j Iambs a year, that they have been able to kill fome every year fmce, to fend fome to Lichtenfels for a be- ginning ther(^, and after all. to winter 10 at prefent. We may judg6 how vaftly fwveet and nutritive tho ^rafs is here frdm the following tokens, that tho' three Iambs come from on^ ewe, they are larger even in au- tumn, than a iheep fA a year old is in Germany, and that they often get more than 20 pound of fuet and 70 of flclh from one ram. The meat has but little lean 6i\ \i.^ but the fat is fo mild and tender that one may * FZ?«' mentions all the fitme thinp of >he do^ of the Indtaas ia Hud* (on's bay, ^. 163, ^ eat «Bhap. ji yp ^Of land Animals. fi itzt it without prejudice. This little breed of fmall jcattle ftands our brethren in very good ftead, efpcci- ally on account of the great decreafe of rein^deer^ and the fmall flock of butten They could probably paf- ture 20p flieep on the littje pjain round New-Herrnhut during the fummer, but then the fummer I?ifts only four paonths, and for the long winter after, they muft iearch out the fmall quantities of graf? among the old abandoned dwelling-places of the Greenlanders, and bring it by water with a great deal of trouble j on this account they will hardly be ^ble to winter more than ten fheep._ . _, ■; - j: . , Formerly they kept cows too at Goodr-hope, but the coft and trouble was fo great, that they gave it up again Jong ago. They might keep, goats and pigs: here with lefs trouble 5 but they decline jt becaufe thofe beafts aye unruly, and the tents of the Greenlandors, whic^h are . of; ikins, ap4 their proyifions, which often lie in the . ppen air, would have no compliment paid /them by ^hofe creatuTjCs, , ,•. . i U There ife neither a great number nor variety of land birds, jecaufe there is but little food fot them ; yet fhere are a good many r'*^», as they are called in Norway, that is the northern partridges, which only frequent cold countries and the Alps. In Switzerland they call them fnow-hens. They are grey in fummer and white in winter. Some people imaginie that they keep their feathers, and only change their colour i but we here have taken ftriil notice that they caft their feathers every fpring and autumn, and get new ones ; only the bill and the top of the tail-feathers remain grey. In the fummer they refort to the hills, where they find the mofl crow-berries, which they feed upon together with the leaves. They do not retire far fiom the fnow, becaufe they like the cool j but when the fnow falls too abundantly for them in winter, they are . obliged to betake themfelves nearer to the fea, where the winds fweep fo much fnow from the rocks, that they may gather their food. Man reaps the benefit of thjf i iiimq-ii r^r iMJii' wiMKiiWiiy^imf {^ ^Hf w^^ K \k ^9;||fi' wi.i^i H'-su^lilr * JiS ''-'' kH ffij'ijil-i ; ' iiP Wmm^M-> ill »?* iiii'i 1 ml 76 HISTORY OF GREENLAND; B. II. |:his nearer approach to his hand, and they prove a wholefem and relifliing repaft to him. There are fo many pretty things reported of this bird to the praife of the manifold wiWom and providence of God over the poor irrational creatures, that one could read them with pleafure ; but they are not all to be depended upon, and fome of them contradi<5l themfelves. Thus they pretend to have obferved, that' in brder to have a little fuftenance for the long winter, it gathers in a harveft of berries near its neft, which is faid to he built in the higheft jrocks. Alfo, that towards winter it fluffs its craw quite full, then beds itfelf in the fnow for warmth, and is iiouriftied all the winter by the ■ftock in its ftomach. If this }s not related of fome other bird (which by the defer iptipn, it does not feem to be) then it belies the Greenland partridge ; for we fee them all the winter-long flying in great numbers a- bout tht rocks, wnere they daily feek and find their fbod. A kind providence is more manifeft in other ref- petis. It is a filly bird ; it a little hedge or barricade of twigs or ftones is fet, to fatten a fnare or nodfe to, it does not ftep over, but out of ftupidity runs into the fnare. I tnyfelf have obferved, that when it fpies a man, inftead of hiding itfelf between the ftones, it betrays itfelf by its noife and by ftretching put it? neclc. It ftands unconcerned whbn the fowler takes aim at its life, ^nd when it is frightened on the wing by ftones, it perches again prefently and ftands gaping at its foe. Only indeed in winter they lie flat upon the fnow to conceal themfelves, as if they had more fenfe in the cold feafon than the warm. Now as this, ^ird is very eagerly hunted after by the birds of prey, it ap- pears to me that the divine Providence had an eye to its prefervation in the change of its colour, fo that in the fummer it is dreft in grey like the rocks, and in winter like the fnow, that the murderous bird of prey may not diftinguifh it from the floor on which it fits. Again the claws of its feet are provided with thick balls covered over with fmall feathers like wool (con- trary to the make of other land-birds, which procures it the name lagopusy that is, hare's-foot) very likely that it may the better endure the cold i and its toes are not feparated Chap. I. ' Or Land AiiiiAAts, i <'.ni '^ feparated all the way up^ that if it ihould UilWarily venture over too wide a watcr^ and wearinefs make i% drop in, it may be able to fave itfelf by fwimming, and perhaps that it may fit on the waters in fafety from the robbers of the air. I myfelf faw a young one, that the Greenlanders would have taken, fall into the water in its flight, and fwim like a water-hen^ I have alfo feen that this very gentle bird, yet when it i^ c^ught^ cannot be tamed as a captive, but refufes all food^ and dies for grief in an hour or two. ; i , . . ^.~As to fmaller birds, here are fnipes, that live moftjy on the little fhell-fifh on the ftrand ; they are good to eat, iMit very fmall. Befides thefe, fome kind of little fongfters favour us with a vifit in fummer, when the feeds of the herbs, and efpecially the fcurvy-grafs, arc ripe. One of thefe refembie a fparrow, only it is fome- what larger, more beautiful, and fmgs agreeably. Another is like the linnet; it is very fmall, part of its head is as red as blood, and it fmgs vaftly agreeable. The Norwegians call it /rz/J. They nuy be both made tame and fed with groats, but they feldom live out the winter becaufe of the heat of the rooms. They are ^ fometimes thrown by a ftorm on board a fliip when it is 80 or 100 leagues from land. A third fort is like the wagtail, and is called Steenfquettt in Norway ; ji lives upon worms. And then I have obferved by the water- falls among the uninhabited rocks a little finging \>\xd with a grey back and a white belly, which muft be ei- ther the fofle-fald* (water-fall) or the fnow-birdf def- cribed by Poritoppidan. The Greenlanders fay, that: thefe birds abide during winter in the clefts of the rocks. As to foreign birds, the Europeans have brought hi- ther common poultry and pigeons, but they are too expenfive to maintain. It would be eafier to maintain tame ducks, but as they venture too far out to fea, they are never fafe from being driven tjuitc away by the waves in a ftorm. *Vonn. p. 13?. .iS;^Ji. tC 5'»3(f i^/'ltlj ;;l \.^^.f■■' '" •■'■'V Of K fh 1^*i .'¥ \ I' :\.j(: ■•)^ mm ■ '^ .t i!|Ui4l;.:,| 78 HISTORV of GREENLAND. B.lh Of birds of prey we Hnd here the great ers are not numerous, and refort moftly among the mountains^ Qn the other hand the ravens, which a^e confiderably larger than ours, have their refort in great numbers about the houfes$ help the Greenlanders o^ with what they have, and often pull their leather-boats to pieces 6ut of hunger ; but they are obliged to li.Vp moftly upon fea-infeds, as mufcles, ftar-fifhes, &c. Thefcr they drop from a great height upon a rock tq break them, but when they are very hungry they fwallow ihell and all. They eat alfo crow-berries. They are hard to be fiiot, but tiie Greenlanders cdtch them in fnares, and if there is a fcarcity of whale-bone they tife their feathers for fifliing lines. When they fly about in a reftlefs manner making a noife in the atr^ it is t^e prefage of a ftrong fouth-wind and ftorm. As to infects and vermin, there are here fome fmall gnats, and great ones in fuch quantities, that in hazy iummer-wpather we do not know where to fcreen our-* felves. Their fting makes the part fwejl j but they laft only about fix weeks. Round the Greenland houfes^ where half rotten bones are never wanting, the blowing* fly fwarms. We fee but few of the little ftingingf flies, and feldomer a little kind of humble-bees that gather their food from the flowers. I faw a couple of yellow butterflies, but no catterpillars. There are all forts of earth-worms and maggots, but no venemous vermine, except fmall fpiders, no ferpents^ toads, frogs, rats, mice, or fuch thing"?. Thefe crea- tures can as little endure this cold country, as the nor-^ them part of Norway. They know nothing here of fleas, and fuch othef ve^rmin as we find in houfes elfewhere ; and whilp I was in the ihip, I took notice that a dog that was full of them 4&:,i;' Chap. I. Of the SiA-Foii«!t/;OTctrn 79 them, was quite delivered as foon as we arrived be- tweerj Shetland and Iceland. On the other hand the Greenlanders are (o much the more infefted v/ith lice. ^ *** >*:;•>!» herr'i^ nht^ t-«>f»*^i' Deftitute as the land is of living creatures, the ^ches of the fea mrke it up, as well in variety as mul- titude. Firft, with relation to the winged tribe, the fea- fowls have all alike webbed feet like a goofej their legs are commonly ftuated pretty far behind and bent backward'j^ which makes them unikilful walkers, out fo much tlic better praditioners in fwimming and div- ing. / 11 of thern, and erpe':ially thofe that muft dive deep, are furnifhed above with a plumage thick and clofe, and underneath are copioufly fupplied with a veft- ment of foft down, which, with the fat between their Ikin and fiefh, and their fulnefs of blood, ferves for warmth, and for the greater conveniency of fwimming. It is alfo obferved of fomet that when the wind i« high, they always fwim or fly againft it, that their fea- thers may not be difconcerted. Thefe birds muft be (hot from behind, becaufe the (hot cannot eafily pene- trate the feathered coat of mail guarding their breaftand fides. Some have only three claws to their feet, others have alfo a fourth behind, which Is very fhort, but yet fupplied with a nail as well as the reft. Some have fliort wings, but are fo much the better qualified for diving, and therefore remain moftly on the water. But thefe are diverfiiied again by their bills, for inftance, fome have them broad and dented in as the duck, others round and pointed, as the willock. Again others are furnifhed with long wings, as fea-mews or gulls, but then they cannot dive, but muft watch * Very lately was publiAed at Copenhagen in 8vo. A natural blftor^ of the tider-fuivlf by Mart Thrane Bru'mnkh, in whicli more is faid of thu bird. |;pi^: ill Chap. I. Of the Sea-Fowl. ^ t^ ten of Pontoppldan, of which many pretty things are obferved. 2. T\i emmer ox penguin^ called by the Grecnlanders ■ efarokitfok (i. e. little wing) and in the Orkneys, em- ber-goofe, is not much different from the foregoing, ex- cepting that its wings are fcarce 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 coftceive how the bird can ftand. Therefore the Norwejrians think that it is never feen on fhore only the week before Chriflmas, which for that reafon they call emnier-week, and they alfo ima- gine that the hen docs not brood and hatch her two eggs (for ftie is faid never to lay more) on the land, but between her wings and her rump. * 3. The Sharf^ in Greenland ifh, okeitfok, that is lit tle-tongued, becaufe it has fcarce any tongue, and makes no found at all ; is fhaped almoft like the pre- ceding, but has a very long Jbill and legs, and might very well be called the fea-ftork. It is fo voracious, that it will devour an incredible number of fiflies, which it fetches up from a depth of 20 or 30 fathom j and like the ftork it fw^llows them whole, even though they are a foot and half long, nay even flounders that are a foot broad. It never can be (hot 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 encompaflfed with a yellow and red rmg. Thefe three forts may mofl: properly be reckoned to the mergi or cormorant-genus, of which Johnftion counts twelve fpecies in his Hijioria nainralh de Avibus, L. IV. Chap. VII. He fays fome of thefe can be tamed, and trained to catch fifh. 4. The lumm, in Latin colymhm^ in Englifti diver ^ loo or loon, approaches the neareft to the fea-ftork, but has the longeft wings among all the fliort-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 near to fome frefli-water pool, and abides fitting in her poft, even when the place is overflowed. This fowl is • G 2 here i¥ |i,,fi 84 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.If. here called the fummer-bird, bccaufe 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 gccfe and other fuch fea-fowls, which are fccn here only in fummer. The noife he makes is like the ducks, from whence it is probable he got his Green- land name Karfaak. His cry is looked upon as a pre- fagc, fometimcs of rain and fometimes of fair weather, according as he contra(Sls it fhort, or lengthens it in a chearful tone. 5. The willock, In Latin alca, and in Grcenlandifh akpa *, is as large as a common duck, and has a coal- black back and white belly. They remain in flocks far oiF at fea, and do not approach the land till the jTioft 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 Grcenlanders 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 mbftly on thefe birds, at leaA here in the opening of Ball's river, (for thefe fowls do not vifit every where). Their flefh is the moft nouriihing ahd tehder of all the fea- fowls, and they make molt of their under-garments of their ikins. 6. The fea-pidgeon (in the Greenland language, the bird of the ftream, becaufe he feeks his food where the ilream is the ftrongeft), is like the willock in almofl: 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 (ea-parrot has a! beak and claws an inch broad, thin, ornamented with yellow and red flripes, crooked and fo (harp, that he can mafter his enemy the raven, and draw him down under the water with himfelf. As to the reil it looks like the alk or willock, only it is lefs. f • Vulgarly called arn^h,} .( ;.., .!, lli "''>fclt{ Jiii l.i 9% .if Chapel. Of the Sea-Fowl. 85 B. There is another fort of fea-parrot, which the Greenlanders call kallingak^ it is black, all over, and as large as a pidgeon. g. The akpalUarfuk^ or fca-fparrow, which its beak refembles ; in Newfoundland called ice-bird, bccaufc it is the harbinger of ice ; is no larger than a fieldfare, but clfe (hapcd like a willock. 10. The lead bird is a fea-fnipe, which like the land-fnipc lives on the little white cockles. It might be called an amphibion, for it can ftiift for itfelf both by land and water, two of the claws of its feet being joined by a goofe-web, apd the third at liberty like a land-bird, : r * t> - »i;v §6. -ih ISfow we come to the third clafs, the birds with long wings and bills. I > The moevet in Latin larusy and in Greenlandifli naviay our gull or mew. This is the moft known, buc this fpecies is again fubdivided into feveral kinds. The Dutch call the firft fort burgomafters, and the othv^r forts fenators, the Norwegians call the firtk fchwartbak" ker^ becaufe their backs are black. It is the fizc of a duck. TJie other forts differ from this partly in the fize, (the fmaUeft being no bigger than a pigeon), and partly in the polour, fome being grey, others bluifli, and others ^Imoft entirely white. They have a long fmall bill, rounded in at the tip, with a rlfing a) molt 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 fomcwhat long and wide. The wings are very long, with which the bird keeps itfelf hovering in the qir, watching for its prey, and as foon as it fpies ^ny thing, it darts down upon it like a hawk. It can ^llQ dive a little, yet it feldom fettles upon the water, except when it wants to reft itfelf, and can light of no ice nor wood. They moftly hover Qver the ftiallow rocks to catch up the fifti that arp wafhed upon dry ground by the raging waves. But this bird is well known in all maritime countries, and, fis far as I can recGlle(5l, on the lakes of Switzerland. " I 86 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. II • Johnfton dcfcribes eight forts of them, moft of which frequent the rivers. 2. The fifth fort of gulls is called by the Dutch mallemucke.t u e. the fooliih 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 havheft^ fea-horlc ' . They feldom approach the land, but fwarm in fo much the greater abundance every day about the fhips even 80 leagues off at fea, to catch up any flelh thrown overboard. If they have eat too much, they throw it up, and eat it again till they are tired. An" derfon gives an cxtenfive anatomical defcription of this bird in his account of Greenland, p. 177 — 183. 3. A fixth fort the Norwegians call jo-dieby and the Dutch /I runt-jagerfy becaufe he perfecutes the other gulls tiil (according to the vulgar notion of the failors) they drop their excrements out of fear, which, afs they fay, he catches flying, and fo quenches the thirft he has contradtcd from eating the fat of the whale. But the truth is, that being himfelf no fwimmer, and only refting on wood or fea-grafs, he tries to rob the gulls, who are more fkilful fifhcrs, 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. Linnaus defcribes him amply, under the name Labben^ larus reSiricibus in- iermediis longijjhms. 4. The tattarety fo called by the Grecnlanders be- caufe their cry has the found of the name. It is our little common gull. It is the moil beautiful, though the lead of the gulls j moftly quite white, but on the back fky-bluc. They are birds of palTage, that fpend the winter in warmer countries, but are fome of our carlielt vifitants have. They refemble a pigeon the mod, have a fiiort, crooked, yellow bill, and only three claws on a foot. They follow the courfe that the fmall herrings ftccr, at which time the Greenland boys [* It is probably what we call hoobics.] k..*^ ft Probably what Ibme of our lajlora call the man af way bird, and at NewfoiindlanJ the dung-lbwk] "* are Chap, f . Of the Sea-Fowl4. 87 are very dexterous in catching them with a fnarc or hook, with a fifh at the end of it, which is fartened to • a faggot of brufh-wood. They make their ncfls in flocks together, on the ftecpcrt precipices of the rocks, and if a perfongoes by underneath, they all take to the wine and make a frightful noifc, as if they would, for- footn, terrify him from their borders. 5. The Icaft of the clafs of long-winged birds is the Taern, hlrundo marina^ in the Greenland tongue imfT' kote'tlak,^ i. e. a diver ♦. It is larger than a fwallow, but its head and long forked tail is very rr uch ^likc it. Its colour is whitif 1, only it has a black ipot upon the head like a calotte f ; it has an exccflive long fharp bill in proportion to its fize. It is alfo a bird of paflage. Martens calls it kirmoeve \x\\\v defcription of Spitfberg, and has pi6lurcd it very prettily, as well as mod of the fea-fowl there. There are fomc other forts of birds both in the foiith and north pans of Greenland, that are not fcen in thi:j latitude, fo as ours are not feen in fome other part^. .'Thus further north there is a kind of alks, that are white nil over, and much lefs than the black ones. The Greenlanders that live in the extremeft parts of the north, where there are no European colonies, relate 'that a fmall bird, which they call akpallit^ fliapcd like a pigeon, comes every fummer acrofs the water, pro- 'bably from America, in fuch numbers that they make the frefti 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 fomc- 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 failors call it the boatfwain's wh'ftle, but it is moftly called a fea-fwallow. [t] A French word for a black cap, fuch as old men wear under their hats. G4 §7- S8 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.II. 1 7- .1 P U'M I j3i'< I, myfelf, have feen fuch a multitude and variety of Tea fowl, even in this latitude only, that I think it would be one of the moft amufing refearches, how, and in what 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 fifli, becaufe of their broad blunt bill; but the more eafily feed themfeives with fhell-fifh, fea-grafs, and the little animals fwarming ia 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 cat very little or no fmall filh, and no trainy fat at all) don't tafte fo much of fifh or train as other fea-fowl j and the Eider- fowl, that feeds moftly on fea-grafs, the leaft of all. The fecofid cU'fs, viz. the Alks, feem to feed moftly on fmall fifh, which they direftly bruife with their iharp beak, and then fwallow them whole, Both thefe clafles are fvirnifhed with fliort 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 qf their long wings and tails, but fly fo much the better. Thefe probably feed alfo on little fifhes, ■which they fpy as tl>ey fly hovering pn the furface of the waterS;, and efpecially on the ihallc v.. rocks ; and then feize them with their long bill, They keep themfeives up on the water with their wings, that they may be able to dip their head the better; fpipe 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. 3ut thefe live moftly on dead whales and fcals. Therefore their beak is not only long and fharp, but alfo bent inward, and furniftied before with a rifing, that they may the better cut into the flefh and back off a piece. Yet I never heard of any among all the B.II. Chap. I. Of the Sfa Fowl, t^^iu g^ the multitude of fea-fowl, that followed the occupation of birds of prey, in perfecu^'ag and devouring the in- ferior forts of fea- birds. And their element preferves them 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 fteepeft 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 condu61: their young brood into fafety, fometimes by creeping into the hollow rock-cJefts, 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 fkilful as the Norwe- gians, who let themfelves down the fides of the fteepeft rocks by a rope. Many birds think it fufficlent to make their nefis on the fmall iflands and rocks where the foxes cannot come. The Eider lays its eggs even on the bare ground, therefore we get the moft of th'^m. In former times the natives could gather a boat ful. of Eider's eggs in a fliort 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 diminifhing, and yet there is an aftoniihing number of them ftilJ. Moft of the fea-birds eggs 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 (hell and efpecially the fkin is much tougher, the yolk red- di(h, 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 prefervation 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 hatched in a fhort time, often in eight days. The ..-.« redder 90 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. II. redder the yolk is, the fatter, but the more difagreeablc the eggs tafte ; and they will alfo fooner grow rotten, fo that they can feldom be hoarded a month. :!{ •mm >m vr ri'-^": i 'A': ■k esr.v. CHAP. II. ;»:.•- '. "''> Of the Fishes. ^'^■^'""' """' e^^> .' 1 ; 'it^ ^ ,* .- • '• § 8. "' ''f^' ' TH E north is the proper rendezvous and reAdence of the moft, and moft profitable fiihes. They find fheltcr 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 frefli, breath ; fo that here is their retreat both to breed and to fatten. Therefore we find the richeft fifberies and the fatteft fifli in the northern parts, as by Iceland, Lap- land, Norway and the Orkneys, and the further foutK 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 fiihes ? and haw would they yield the tribute they owe to man, who is appointed to be lord over the fifties of the fea ? Therefore the wifdom 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 inacceffible retreat in innumerable flioals like fwarms of bees ; tho* one can- not affign 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 fliort, or from an inftindt 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 fifh ; and all thefe again are fo followed and frighted by the feals and whales, that they are neceflitated to betake themfelves for fafety to the fhalloweft fand-banks, bays and havens of the coa:\ partly to fpawn, and partly to efcape tlio whale, that --*'-v \s. dare B.II. rceable rotten. Chap. 2. >1A.^Op the Fishes. :^,\-': 91 dare not venture into {hallow places. But even by this^ they run into the hands of the inhabitants of the country, who ufe 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, which the unfruitfulnefs of their own land denies them, out of other countries where fifh are wanted j 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-fiih and other fisheries into Noi way, which is otherwife noted for its poverty. But it is ftill more amazing, (tho* it makes the vaft fums more comprehenfible) to read, that in Norway, which is not the richeft land either in the ftock-fifli or herring fifliery, there are (hipped off many a year, only from the town of Bergen, fix hundred tun of fait cod and ftock-fifh, befides piany 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 notatteft it, vis. 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 fliort-fighted minds might be afraid left fome fpecies of fifli, which are caught in fuch aftonifliing quantities ; and are, perhaps, devoured in ftill greater by other fifties j fliould 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 Hijiory o/* 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 preiervation and main- tenance of all, even the meaneft of his creatures ; for See his Natural Hjfioryy Vol. 11. Chap. $. p, iff. th( h n 92 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. 11. 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 row of a fingle herring. I have taken notice of the Greenland capelin, that they do not lay their fpawri in the fea, but croud over one another foveral fathom high upon the rocks, where 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 wafting 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 fiflies don't fpawn all at a time, but keep to their proper month, fo that in fome parts ther^ is fcarce a month in the year that fome fpecie^ don't fpawn in, and confequently there is always an Exuberance of fiih eafy to be caught : hence we have ja. palpable evidence of the benevolent concern of our Makei- for needv men ; though, the greater it is, the lefs it is conudered, acknowledged and enjoyed with thankfulnefs. Therefore if any one was inclined rightl) to ftudy Ichthyology, or the fcience of fifhes, he muft refide fome years, or perhaps his whole life, on the ihores of the north, as the beft or grandeft fchool for this kind of information. Here one may attain the knowledge of them fundamentally, not only in regard to their ex- ternal form, their fcales, fins, and the like, but may alfo difcover the nature, properties, food, emigrations, and inftinft of every fpecies. This would be a fpacious field for a curious inquifitive mind, and he would often fall into a pleafing and profound meditation, when he furveys and traces, in thought, the nature and aim of all the inhabitants of the vaft ocean, from the minuteft infect, fcarce perceptible to the eye, to the monftrous whale, together with the fcemingly fabulous great fea- monftcrs, and the equallv inconceivable Zoophytes or half- Chap. 2. pf/^. Of THE Fishes. 93 half-animal fea productions. Then the tjijlorla natu- rails pifcium would be pra(Stical, an., the cafual fup- pofitions and conjedtures, which however adorn the natural hiitory of our days much better than operofe, often groundlefs, nay fometimes ridiculous allegations from the antients^ would be more folid and convincing. Yet after all, the moft fpeculative and peretrating human minJ will never be able to pry fo deep into the manifold wifdom of God in his creatures, as to be qua- lified to give the true and indubitable bottom with re- gard to them all, or even with regard to the meaneft of them, and fuch as are placed before every one's eyes. But for that very reafon, becaufe we are fo imperfeCl, we are never fatiated with the ftudy of nature, nor weary of rendering- that praife to the Lord of nature which he expeds from his creatures. ■J*. I -'£.;»(;■ J ■.,'':;W But fuch a defireable account of n(he3 and other creatures, cannot be expected of one who wait only a year In a country, and could not vifit all the coafts where moft fifhes refort ; and furthermore had neither time nor opportunity to make a ftrict fcrutiny into thofe few kinds of fifh that he faw. Neither can th>3 be expected of moft of the miflioharies, for they hav^ no time nor inclination for it, left their principal af- fair fhould fuftain any detriment or interruption by the too great diverfity of objedls, and the remiffion or due attention to the proper one, Befides, there is not fuch a great variety of the jfinny fpecies in Greenland, as there are in other northern lands of the fame latitude. Fo' as there are no large rivers here, at leaft they are not far difcovered, on account of the ice lying in the bays and between the hills ; and, as the lakes are frozen to th(. very bottom, fo there are but two forts of frefh- water fifli known here, Salmon-trout and Salmon. Sal- mon-trout is plenty in the brooks, and they are pretty large and fat } the falmon is more rare, and only in fome places, neither is it fo large and fat as in Norway and other countries. The Greenlanders catch theie fifli with their hands under the ftones, or they pierce them with a prong. At the feafon when the fiilmon come \ I' %■ [|! li r I. ! i\ ' m 1 la entanglement 94 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. 11. 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 longthe water falls and leaves them upon dry ground. The Europeans moftly catch them with nets in the pools, but thev muft always have the affiftance of a Greenlander with his kaiak to lift up the net from its between the ftones. • In the fea there muft needs be a great flore and variety of fifties, 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 flicker themfelves in the depths of the ocean far from land, out of the reach of the foal, who is obliged often to draw breath. The proper herring, that ferves for the food of fo many profitable fifties, does alfo not come into this latitude ; and this, as well as the want of fliallow bottom and fand-banks, and perhaps want of feveral fea-plants, may be the reafon that many numerous fpecies of fifti, well known in Norway, are quite unknown here. The Greenlanders have their moft common food from their Ahgmarfet or fmall herring, a kind of Lodden, * called by the Newfoundland men Capelin, near half a foot long. Their back is dark green, and their belly filver white. Their back is broad, and on that account furniftied with fubtil crofs-bones ; they have no per- ceivable fcales, and therefore can only be ranked to the clafs of herrings as far as they refemble them, and like the herrings, fwim into the bays in fuch quantities to lodge their fpawn on the rocks, that the fea looks black, and ruffled or curled. They make their firft appearance * If it be true that the lodden in Norway have fuch a hateful ftink, that one cannot eat even the goats that feed on them) and that they drive all the other fifh from them, as Mr. Peter Dafs writes in liis Poetical Description of the North j then the Angmarfet cannot be called lodden. It is true they have a ftrong fmcU when they are dry, but they don't ftink ; much lefs do they give our mutton a bad tjdle. They feem to approach the neareft to the Hramlingent in Chap. 2. ' Of THE Fishes. ' 0'r?,IH ' i$$ in March or Aprils and ihe common gull is their be- trayer. They fpawn in May and June, and this is the Grcenlanders harveft, when they lade out whole boats full in a few hours with a hoop-fieve knit with- finews ; 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 fhoal that drives out of the Ice-fea by Iceland towards America. Whoever reads the agreeable, and learned, obfervations in Anderfon*% Account of Iceland^ and in the 77th number of the well- known (German) weekly piece called the Phyjician^ will find how this wond'rous hoft of herrings divides itfelf into two large ihoals in the fouthern parts of the north-eaft and vv^eft-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 bufles a rich booty. .">i:i ;:« , Next to angmarfet, the Grcenlanders eat moft of the Ulkes, fcorpius marinusy what we call Toadfifh, or in Newfoundland Scolping ; it lives all the year round in the little and large bays near the land, yet in deep water. Ii is caught, efpecially in winter,, by poor wo^ men and children with a line of whale-b6ne or birds feathers thirty or forty fathom long, at the end a blue longifli ftone is fattened to fink it j inftead of a bait, they put on the hook a white bone, a glafs bead, or a bit of red cloth. The fi(h is commonly a foot long and full of bones. The Ikin is quite fmooth, and fpotted 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 fifh hath a very ugly look, yeL its flefb, and the foop that is made of it, taftcs extreamly agreeable, and is very whoIefom> and the fick may eat it. .;n;t ar^v J.> J ;A.q There is a pretty great plenty and variety of Cod- fifli, but moft oi them are fmall and lean. The reader ! i i'l .|lj| If II f fi y^9|f| 1 s H l^n ^IP^11 1^ HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. 11/ may 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 falted and dryed in the air in Iceland and Norway in different Ways, (which diftinguilhthem by the names of rock^fifli, hung-fiih, flat-fifh, round-hfli and red fifli) ; thefe are all exported under the common name of Jiock-fifl). A long thin fiih like a herring is found in the belly of the Kabbelau, which is probably the fame as the fand-herring in Iceland. The Red-fifli derives its name from the red colour of its fcales, and this, and the right falmon are the only ■caly fiflies known here. In other refpedls 'tis like a 1 1 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-fifli, or red- lump, draw near to the land to fpawn ; (called Rogen- kall by the Danes, from their vaft row, they alfo call them Sea-cats) then the Gretnlanders 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 in the deep. This Hfli 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 (harp knobs. The flefh fhines reddifh through the dark grey hide, and when it i» quite fat it has a greenifli caft. It has five rows of corneous protuberances on its back, its belly and each iide. It has a broad head, and its two great eyes make it look like a cat or an owl. On its breaft jufl under its head, it has a foft flefhy fpot as big as a half- ' crown, by means of which it can cling fo faft to a ftone that it is with difEculty it can be diffevered. Its flefh is white, but fo foft and fat, that a perfon is foon fated with it. Yet the ftomach will bear it better if it is dryed in the air. The Greenlanders like it verJ^ much, as they do all fiih-fat. They eat the row boiled like a millet pulp, and the row is the greatefi: part of thefilh. - The Stone-biter is an uncommon fifli, almott two feet long. It is called by the Greenlanders Kigutilik, '5 i. e. ^ Of the Fishes. . Chip. i. *" ' Uf the Wishes. t^j ' i. e. dentatus, becaufe not only his jawj are full of teeth like other fiOi^ but his whole mouth above and below ; they are fharp bony teeth that are more like thofe of a dog than i. fifti, with thefe they mark what they feize without iiny reprieve. Horrebow calls it lui>us marinui or pike, others the fea-ferpent. It has a round ill-favoured head ; like the eel it runs /lender or fliarp behindj and is grey and flippery. It has a fill above and beneathj which reaches almoft the whole length of the body. It lives on mufcles^ fea-urchins and (hrimps. Its flefli refembles bacon^ but is feldom eaten by the Greenlanders, and never frefh, but dried in the wind. - There is another kind of thefe ^^es which they never eat ; it is quite {lender like i & ' only it dif-* fers from it by a long fin at its ta'. . ■:■-■'-'(. 11. . . . Thefe feas alfo yield gfeat and htt. flcunders, whicll however are feldorti caught. 'it nt certain feafons the Greenlanders catch a great k .a.\ ,y Halibuts (in La- tin hippoglojjus) wherein they make ufe of a great fi(h-hook, fattened to a whale-bone or feal-gut thongs from one hundred to one hundred and fifty fathom long* The largeft are a yard and half or two yard* long, about half fo broad^ and a full fpan thicks They weigh from one to two hundred pound aftd more^ They are faid to be fo large in Norway, that one of them falted^ will fill upwards of a quarter cafk. They have a fmooth fkin, white beneath and fpotted dark- brown above. Both their eyes are on the upper fide, larger than an ox*s eye< and encircled with a (kin, which they can Aide over their eye like an eye-lid ; their mouth is not large, it is planted with a double row both aboTe and beneath of Iharp teeth bent inward. In the throat there are two uvula furnilhed with points^ and the fame are found m the mouth. There is a little fin clofe to the fifli's head above and under, and it is lined with a fin on each fide from head to tail. The/ live moftly on crabs, and therefore chiefly refide in the depth of the ocean. One would think that this pon- derous fifli muft always grovel at the. bottom %i the fea, • Vol. L H ' and II M i '' i ■Hi »^& HISTORY OF GREENLAND, fi. M* and mud be a heavy fwimmer, on account of his broad flat form, and fcanty fins, as Andcrfon obfervcB in his account of Iceland. But the fiihers aiTured me, that as foon as it is pricked with the hook, it fkips up (boner than they can draw up the line, and -miKn it fpics its enemy, ic darts afide with fuch velocity that the fri(Stioin of the line frets their hands raw. It has coarfe Icaai flcfh, yet it is white and well tailed, and is enriched with a good deal of delicate fat, and efpecially under the fins. They cut raf out of this fat, that it; 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 re/:eL The reft is faked and laid by for a winter- difli. But the Green- landers cut it all into fmall flips, and dry it in the fun. ; ^uyi .1 mgii -^..t It Is probable the halibuts are among the rovers who purfue their fufienance from one place to another. In fome pkces there are none at all, as in Fifher's-bay. At Goodhope fome are caught in May, but tlie moft in July and Auguft, yet never between land, but in the open fea. P'urther north by Zukkertop they are not caught till Augufl: and September. In this laft place there is alfo a fmaller fort of halibuts that are only half as large. ,-.( -■ --5*iV ' Now wc come to the fiflies that have no blood. Somtf of thcfe are houfcd in fhells 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 fhape of fpiders, and have eight loiig legs and tv/o pincher-claws. Their eyes are like horn, they arc fixed, tranlparent, and projediing far beyond the head. Inftead of teeth thev have two broad white bones, with which they cut their meat to pieces like a pair of fcilFars. They have no tail. Their flefh has fomewhat of a putrid tafte, and it is thought they live mottly on dead ieals ai:d fowls. There are no common river craw-fifli nor lobfters in this country. There are plenty of little fiirimps in the fea-grafs, ^but wheji tiiey grow big, they retire from the borders of ^..■^. I the Chap. 2. .Of the FisHE*. 99 the land to the bottom of the fca, and furnifii a repaft for the feal. Here is alfo the fea-urchin, echinus marinus^ defended with fharp prickles all over ; alfo the ilar-fi{h, I'omc with five and fomc with fix fpikes. Both of them have their mouths under, and the anus above. The ftar-fifh is furnifhed beneath with innumerable ftich little horns for feeling as the fnails have. But the defcription of thefe two wonderful creaturer. wouUi be too extenfive for this place. It may be fecn in Pontoppidan's Nutu^ ral Htjiory 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 in them fometimes 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 i* blifteredj the other is fmooth and marbled, yet fo that ftripes may be feen running breadth-ways. Here are alfo fome ftriated ihell-fim like fcollops or cockles, (pe^lines) whofe flelh is white and pleafant tailed ; here is alfo a long oval mufcle the fize of a duck -egg j alfo a fort of white ihell- filh, (haped like a horfe-bean ; again a fliell-fiih fhaped like a finger, called the folen-ftiell (daStylos) ; alfo lim- pets, (patella) which have but one fine marbled fliell that fticks to the rock. This might be reckoned to the clafs of fnails becaufe of its fenfitive horns. Finally there is a very little ftiell-fifh of this clafs no bigger than a cofFee-berry, of a blue colour, and ftriated 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 ihf. Greenlanders ; 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 turbo, which is a fpecies' of fpiral fhells. But there are^ the H 2 moft. Pi 1 1 [J ,M ' fi.'i 1 if 'Vf 1 l:i; ,'!': lli K ',!■ jw^'.)''. li !' i pp- 1 1 |'B;;'ii; ; ,;f:' i 1 |?^'J '■ if 1 i ||M.;''|J ft B'-^ijJJf : ^" : .]' ;"^ 1 111 II % H piF^ r ;i!;: 100 HISTORY OF GREENLAND; B. II. moft of the barnacle kind, (balunusmarinus). Wherever thefc cement themfelves, they adhere fo faft cither to the rock, fea-wecd, mufclcs, cribbs, or even the whale, that they cannot be feparated without being broke to pieces. This fnail is white, fhining and rib- bed, or llriped length-ways. It is commonly the fize of a wallnut, and open above ; but it has two moveable cover?, through the crevices of which it imbibes the Jca-water, which is its iole nourifhment. When it lies out of the water in the fun, it puts forth two horns plumed with numberlcfs little feathers. They fettle in great numbers on the keel of a fhipj- hence fome, that never faw them in their own country,- are of opinion, that the w(,»od-worms that eat through the Ihip proceed from thefe fhclls. •» I found on an old blue mufcle, befides the barnacle, a number of fmaller wrinkles of the fame fliape as am" nionita., their fize frorr, a muftard-feed to a lentil ; when 1 examined further with a magnifying glafs, I found that what appeared to man's (hort fight like filthy icurf disfiguring the mufcle,- was innumerable little fnailsj nay they had feated themfelves even on thofe little fnake-ftones or ferpent-fliells. The yifc and growth of thefq 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 lalt fettles on the rocks^ and they imagine this to be the fpawn of the {hell-fifh *. , ,W\.\hii£i \. ^ ^^' _ ^ There are befides many furts of lefl^r infe to hold fail with. * D. Kalm's Vejage f Ktrtb jirnerica, p. ixi. I.' i." rt ♦ * It '*^*^-' Of the Fishes. It has a head like a beetle. This little creature, fihly )the length and breadth of the joint of a finger, tortures the fifties, nay even the whale, to fuch a degree, that ]thcy leap above the water as if they were mad. I faw none of the whah-huje^ put it is a triangular infeft, has fix fhclls and feet of the form of a fickle, a|id by thofe, and the four horns branching out from its mouth, it cuts ifs way into the (kin of th? whale, arid efpecially under the fins and on its lips, and works .put fuch pieces th4^ ^lie n^injook,s as if it was pecked by DirdS. ' «, t ' ' ^ It is probable that njany other kinds of uncommon .^ jnfe£ls may have their abode in the deep, as for inftance, once fome people drew up one with a fifti-hook like a ringlet of ftraw or a caterpillar when rolled up, with numberlefs feet, and another time one Ihaped like an ox*s heart. ', ' ,' I faw no quite naked, flabby, (limy fea-infe£ls, only once thefepiaf cuttle or ink-fifh ; and that was fuch an ugly creature that I threw it away again directly. It was about a fpaji long and two fingers thick. Its body Jooked like an open purfe, which it can, very likely, draw clofe and hide its head in. This fame head is the jnoft wonderful part of the whole fifli ; for befides the peculiarity of its two great eyes, it has a mouth like the beak of a bird, clofe to which tliere are eight long crooked horns fixed, the two middlemoft are as long at lea(]- as a finger, and the others half fo long, and all provided with little teeth or globulets. Thele horns, as Well as the body, are only a vifcid or (limy thing, of an alh grey colour, and half tranfparent. The coal-black liquor, like ink, (from which it has its name) fhines through its belly; this liquor is the means of its efcape when it is purfued W the rapacious filhes that are pecu- liarly eager after it ; for when it emits this liquid, it dilFufes 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. Ir is pro- bable that this fifh can metamorphofe itfelf into ievcral inapes by virtue of its vifcous nature; and in the fpriiig 1 myfelf obferved that a parcel of fuch little creatu- s. >vhich the retreat of the tide had Hi Upon a m- 11. .ui K;t?s ' 1 1 ,| 'I I •m: .:il h! Jf! i02 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.II. ftrand- and v/hich 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 long 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 fcrpentine form. This is called the ivhale's. focd^ and it is believed that the whale, that is properly called the Greenland whale, lives folely upon this, and feme very fmall worms, that look like flies and fnails, but only they are foft. The manate, fea-lungs^ or fca-n-ttle (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- il-iiices are living creatures too, that imbibe their ali- ment frorn the fea, and transform themfelves into va- riety of fhanes. One of this kind that I examined more clofely, was in the water the fize of an Englifla fllil- ling, of a white colour and tranfparent. In the hand it liquiiied 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 odangular feams were bound with red. ""* 'ihey are commonly reckoned among the zoophytes^ or bodies intermediate between the animal and vegetable- nature, or that grow like a plant, and alfo imbibe nu- triment like an animal ; only the z.)ophytes do not fwim,, but fix themfelves on a flone 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 j both thefe forts werfi as white as fnow. They would be 'taken for a mere plant, if the bowels of an animal did not appear when they are crufhed. Iji ilormy weather the fea throws out a kind of n^fl,. the bigntfs of an apple, adhering to the fca-wced. It ii tomi-iofcd of a multitude of li;jl\t-yellow, half tranf- he fea, fome- •whaUs ropjCrly n this, es and -lungs, I burns a /maU IS fyb- 'ir ali- ito va- \ more fb fliil- i hand eight f fide J hollow ed. jetable 3e nu- fwim,^ I faw or fir, i and haped )wing vverd mere when ranT- tfcnt Chap, 2.''-'' ' Of THE Fishes.—" '^ ' " 103 parent infers, which look like a firing of pearls wrap- ped together, or like the grains of Jndian coru w maize. ? ..;.:. "1. . . - Thus there Is a gradation in all nature's prod u<5lions. There are herbs that feem to have life, as the fenfiiive plant, and there are living creatures that feem to be as inanimate as the plants, of which the zoophytes arc an jnftance. The creation advances gradually, one crea- ture always more perfedl than another, till at laft they are not much inferior to man. Profeflbr 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 crepttures qf the fea, from the zoophytes and mufcles that have no voluntary motion, to fuch as rcfemblc in all rcfpctSls a land-beaft more than a fi(h, .uxyn 'is ^.', ; * F-;-:^'' Ov OTHER SINCtTLAR S.EA-ANlMAt8<{^"5 ^'i- .-•i drrt .-I'll" .rj-.!! 2ft. ^ i«j,ln5/!' i .':;; .oloa r; io bfi • WE liow come to thofe creatures in the fea, which mahifeftly differ from, other fifhes, though ra- ther in the internal compofiticn of their pacts, than in the fize and external form ; for the feal is lefs than the fhark, and t,he whale is fhaped like another fifli ; but they have warm blood, cannot continue long under wa- ter, becaufe they have lungs and mufi: draw breath j and they alfo bring forth living youdn ones, and npu* rifh them as the beafts do. Tlieir l"/ones and fins al- fo are not like thofe of other fifhes, but their fins are formed of bones like thofe of bcafls, and covered with, nerves, flelh, fat and fkin like theirs. The tail lies not perpendicular like that of other fifhes, but hori- zontally on the water. The flefn 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 touj,;. ; ». ':k fkin, or.a hairy hide. All this con- tributes to thc.iuate their fwimming, and to maintain the vital warmth which they need fo much in this 'n- gid ocean j fof *tis probable they very feldom ilray from ♦his into other feas, and if they do, 'tis'in the purfuit of fifh or in a itorm. Mofl of thefe creatures are fhap- ed like a fifti, for inflance, all of the whale-genus, great and fmall, but feme, as the feals, are furnifhed with feet and hair, and may be fcckoned among the amphibious creatures. \ . V|^. § 16. The rort'5or rpecics of Whales are fc many, and are fo widely difpcrfcd in tiie vaft ocean all over the world,^ th.it Chap, 3. Of PARTicctAR Sea-AmimaWc 107 that as far as I know, they could neve- be all ranged .id* defcribed aiccording to their proper claf(e«!. 'iliere are fome thit reckon 24 different forts only ih the north feas. Their number is fo great there, that, according to the telVimony of Pontoppidan, * the fea on the coaft o'' Norway, fromi Stavanger to Dronthcim, that is 180 leacrues, looks like a great city with its chimneys fmoaking, as we may imagine of the fleams, 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 j fame have their heads armed before with a tufk or horn, jmd fome have other peculiarities, as a long fnout with rtoftril§, &c. but thefe laft are rarely feen. I fliall fol- low the Curious and attentive Anderfon in my divifion and delcription of them. Among thofe that have a frhooth back and whKkers about their mouths, nay amoojg all fpccies of whales, the chief is : , ;' •■ ■* -- r^-^^--^^ >^-:f^ .rr^ovno 1. That which is properly called the Greenland Whale, by the Englifli failors the black-whale, for whofe fake fo many fhips are fitted out. This I will defcribe from Marten's voyage to Spitfberg, and Tjorg- drager's Greenland fijhery. f In our age we find this filh only from 50 to 80 feet long, though formerly they were above 100 nay 200 feet in length, whenthry were not caught in fuch multitudes, but had tin e tr grow to the full ; not to mention thofe that Pliny re- ports to have been 960 feet long. The head is a tru 'd part of the length of the body \ it has no fins upon th-^* back, and the two only fins it has, ' hich are fituated in the nether part of the head on xch 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 j it can ftrike fo vi- olently with it, that it dafhes th : ftrongeft boat in pic- * Parf. II. Chap. 5. p. 2*6, •f Here I muft obfervc, that though I faw many whales in the fca, yet I had no opportunity to examine near at hand any but that fpccies of, uh.»les, called the white-fifli, and thcpor^puf, and therefore I can only re* lite in biiif whit^othcis have feen, ce». t !i % .v>. fcWWj'l -' 4 ■■''■ •^ lit i '■I : .1 V i|. 1' i::. bi :■ ^■ 111' fi io8 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. II. CCS. Yet it never begins an attack, bccaufe *tis timid a,ncl .flies at the leaft alarm. The (kin is fmooth, com- monly black like velvet above and white beneath, though in fonje places, and efpecially on the nns and tail, 'tis marbled with all forts of colours. Upon his head is a bunch, in which arc two noftrils or apertures ; through thefe he breaths, and alfo fpouts out the water yrith a loud noife, and efpecially when he is wounded, lo that it refembles a bpi/lcrous wind which can be heard abcvc a league. His eyes are fituatcd 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, buj on removing the outermolt fcalp on the head, there appear two little apertures behind the eyes, through wnich th« failors extra£^ a bone that Is faid to help man's hearing, and they ca|l it the whale's trum- pet. He has no teeth in hi3 niduth, bijt inftead of it he has in his upper jaw, which is fix yards long, the tarders, blades, or whifkers, as people call them, of which they make the Whale-bone. There are com- monly 350 pieces on each I'de, but of thefe 700 only 500 are taken, which have tjie due mealure. Some £{hes that a. - full grown ari faid to have a thoufand or upwards of great ancj fmall barders. They hang like the pipes of an orga:^, the leaft before and behind, and the longeft in the middle ; thefe laft are full two fathom long. They fink into the under-jaw, which is a little hollow, like i.s ii]itoa fheath. They are fhaped like a fey the j where they are contiguous with the gums tliey are a foot broad, but tun iharper towards the end, ^d the middle is thinner th.an the oytfide. They are furrounded vtith long hair lilcc horfe bajr, that they may not hurt the tongue, .ah4 ihat the food which the fifh fups in with a good d^al of water, may not wafli out again. The tongue .s compofed of nothing but a foft fungous fat like bacon, which will fill from 5 to 7 large barrels. Commoi7ly they bring forth only one young one at a time, yet fometimes two. When they are purfued, they wrap them up in their fins clofe to their body. 7'hey hav^ properly two fkins, the inner an inch thick, the outer as thin as parchment, tin- der B. ir. timid Chap. 3. Of PARTICULAR Sea-Animals. 109 der thefe lies the fat from 6 to 12 inches chick, and . about the under-lip 'tis 2 foot thick. They can fill from 100 to 200 barrels with it, fome fay 300, ac 'rd- ., ing to the fize of the fifh. The flefti is coarfe, and is • faid to tafte 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 fyre, or four whey. Horrebow fays that 'tis only the flefh of the whales that have teeth, and confequently eat fifh, that is too rank and fifhy to eat. The bones are hard, and on the infidc 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 nfhes for his food j but his fwallow is fcarce four inches broad, and therefore his diet, is the fo called whale's food, which I defcribed before j the fifti fups it up by a Itrong 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 greateft quantity be- tween Spitzberg, Nova Zembla, John May's Ifland, and Greenland, and in thofe places it floats In fucb abundance, that the creeks are crouded with it as ditch- water is with infeils. Therefore this fiih rarely emi- grates far from thefe parts ; but here they are in furh numbers, that there have often been feen 300 or 350 fliips 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 .1800 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 fuch a vafl number of fhips, which with their boats look like a great fleet, made them at laft fo lliy, that they firft fled from the creeks into the open fea, then took refuge among the floating ice, and when their pcrfecutors found means to follow them there too, they retired Itill further, perhaps nearer the pole, and arc lofl. a. Th« iit.i m ■ im i :';j; s • 4. \ b-\ ■ '''. I . L J, . -Asifrf 110 HISTORY Of GREENLAND. B. H. 2. The north-caper derives his name from the moft northern jiromontory in Norway, North-cape, where they refort in thegreateft nurtibers. It is like the pro- per whale in all refpedts, only it is not quite furh a huge creature, has fmaller baiders, and Icis and worfc 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 monflers of his kind, follows the flioals of lefler fifhes that are his prey, but he feldom ventures lower fouth than Iceland, Norv/ay, and Shetland, for fear of being ftranded on the ihallows ; fome other fpe- cies of whales being lighterj truft themfelves in more iouthern feas. j^ ^ •'«•-• '• . .^ . = u» > ■ § 17. To the fecond clafs of whales thofe belong that have the whale-bone barders, and at the fame time a fin up- on their back, which the foregoing have not. Among thefe the chief is : 3. The fin-fi/h, whofe diftinguifhing fin ftands 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 fliort and knot- tvi, and his blubber little and bad. Yet the Greenland- crs value him very much for the fake of the vaft quantity of his flefh, which they think taftes very a- greeable. r -s ^ - 4. The jt4piter-ivhale, which the Spanifti whale-fifh- crs call more properly gttbartas, or gibhar, from a pro- tuberance, gibbero, which grows towards the tail, be- fides the fin. This fifh is longer and (harper 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. Tht Chap. 3. Of bARtlCOLAft !>EA-ANlMAli. |f| 5. The bunch, or humpback-whale, as the New- England fiftiers call him, has a protuberance on his back like a deprefled cone, about as big as one's head, inftead of a fin. This approaches next in good- nefs to the fin-fifti. 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- glifh. They have fomething like great boils on their head. They fay they are longer than the Greenland whale, but not fo thick, and run up narrow towards the tail like the roof of a houfe. They have but little blubber, and that but indiiferent. § 18. '' ■I't :,lj; I > '|^ To the 3d clafs of whales thofe belong, that have 4 horn on their nofe. The moft noted is : 7. The unicorn-fiih, nionoceros, alfo called narhval. This fpecies is commonly 20 feet long, has a fmooth black fkin, fharp head, and little mouth. A round double-twifted horn runs ftraight out from the left fide o'i the upper lip. It is commonly 10 foot long, as thick as one's arm, hollow infide, and compofcd 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 frefli air, and poffibly alfo as a weapon againft his ene- mies. Another little horn a fpan long lies concealed ia the flefh on the right fide of his nofe, which probably' is referved for a frefh fupply, if fome accident fhould deprive him of the long one j and they fay, that as a fhip was once failing at fea, it felt a violent fhock, as if it had ftruck upon a rock, and afterwards one of thefe broken horns was found fattened in it. Formerly thefe horns or tufks were looked upon to be the horni of the fabulous Land-unicorn, and therefore they were valued as an ineftimable curiofity, and fold exceilive dear to gentry, 'till the Greenland fifhery was fet on foot, when they found them in the northern part of David's II !1 , ^-^ t;. i r ii 1(1* li$ W ^Nili'^' J i 'J ■ , f ' 112 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. II, Davis's Straitaih greater plenty than any where ; yet for fome time they carried on the cheat. Th y are (6 common in the north of Grcpnland, that the natives for vyant of wood make rafters for their houfes of them ; yet how unknown and valuable they were, even to- wards the clofc of the laft century, may be feen with feveral particular remarks, from La Peyrere Relatitn du Grosnland^ a Monfieur de la Mothe le Vayer^ Chap. I. Some have been caught with two horns of an equal length, but thefe muftbe very rare. This fifh has two noltrils in the bojie, but they run both into one aper- ture in the external fkin. It has good blubber, fwims with great velocity though it has but two fmall fins, 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 tlw; harbinger or fore* runner of the right whale. 8. The faw-mh, prijlh^ at the end of his nofe has a thin flat horn a couple of feet long, and three or four fingers broad, which has ftrong teeth on both fides lik6 thofe of a comb. It has 2 fins on its back, and 4 un* der its belly. It is commonly about 20 foot long. They are the greateft foes of the right whale, and ht is exceffively 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 fsa-fowl. *?"" ' The bill-fifti might be reckoned to* this clafs, if wft '^ere but better informed of it3 quality. They catch them fometimes in Norway, though but feldom. It is ■feight yards long, and has a long mouth like a goofe's •bill. . J 1.: i. %^ ■i' '^^ § 19- vt The 4th clafs of whales are thofe that have teeth, but only in their under jaw. To thefe belong : . 9. The cafticlot, catodon, or Pott-fifh', the whale •from whofe oil tht fperma ceti is prepared. But there is more than one fpecies of this j fome look black, o- thers of a dark green ; fome have flat, others {harp crooked teeth j they are alfo diftVrent in magnitude, 2 . from Chap. 3- Or PARTICULAR Sma-Akimals. = 113 from 50 to 100 foot long. The head is difproportioii- ably large, and makes up almoft half the filh ; it doc§ jiot go oft* picked or round before towards tlie niouthji but is quite flat, and is as thick there as it is in thc^ middle or behind. Its head is broad above like th«, roof of an oven, but beneath it runs narrovt^or to the under-lip, fo that it is fhapeJ like the ftock of a gun, or like the hinder part of an inverted fhu -lad. Its noftriis are in the fore-part of the head, wh. reas other whales have them in the back-part. It has a little pointed tongue, and a lefs mouth than the proper whale, but fuch u monftrous throat, that it could fwal- low an ox ; and once one of thefe creatures, being ftruck, in his anguiih threw up a {hark quite whole and 4 yards lon<^ ; at the fame time there was for.nd in ita. llomach, fome fifh-bones a fathom long i therefor* fome have thought that Job's Leviathan an i 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 arecui^itics in the bone of the upper- jaw juft fitted for thofe teeth. However, fome have 4 few broad grinders in the hinder part of the upper-jaw. It has a bunch upon its back, and a fin behind each eye, near which it muy be eafily wounded, tho' its (kin in general is very tough, and not eafily to be pierced. Its fat is above an inch thick, and if the fifti is lar^i^e, will yield 100 barrels of blubber. ; ,,-,,j The cafhelot's huge head is the principal magazine of the un<^uous, he-dWngJperma ceti. It is covered o- ver in fome with a lolid bony lid, and in others with a thick tough fkin. This its brain lies in 20 or 30 ca- vities like the clearclT: oil, Jjut 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- tainino; the fame fort cl" oil. Nav 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, which is diftufed in numberlefs fmaller ramifications. One may fill 20, others fay 50 barrels with it. Its head or neck is full of finews, whereas the other whales have raofl in their tails. Vol. I. I . . in •I ' -i' ii r ■'^.'■■■; >■•..!• ! }■,& 1 -. f..^-. '■' I'';']', f ^ m IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I Li|28 |25 ^ 1^ ■ 2.2 ^ us. 12.0 I: = a m I^IIJ^I'-^ < 6" ► Photographic Sdences Corporation \ ^ ^ SJ \\ 6^ 23 WEST iMAIN SUtUT WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716) 872-4503 114 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. II. In the year 1723, fcventeen of thefe fingular fiflies were ftranded near Ritzebuttel in the mouth of the Elb, and fome have been lately flranded in Holland. A further account of them may be fcen in An- derfoii. - t •» »• ' § 20. .r. The 5th clafs comprehends t-he fniall whales that have teeth above and below, as : 10. The white-fifti, which derives its name from its colour i 'tis only two or three fathom long, but in other refpefts pretty much like the true whale, only the head is (harper and the two Ade-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 in hes in diameter, which unite in one above. The white vrinkled fkin is the thicknefs of a finger, the fat is a hand's breadth thick, and it yields only about four barrels of blubber. It^ flefh is as red as beef, and taftes almoft like it. Th^ir greateft rendez- vous is at Diflco } however a great many are caught by the Greenlanders at Goodhope. As for the European whale-fifherF, 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 notion 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, exactly to fuit thofe beneath. But the three hindcrmoft 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 filb, for they are very different from each other. 11. The grampus (porcus jnarinus major) has a flat nofe, is 15 or 20 foot long, black above and white be- neath, and in all other refpe(^s like the great whale. 'Tis very like this is the creature which the Icelanders call fpring-whale from its leaping. 12. The porpoifc, (porcus marinus minor) called the fea-fwlnc from its wallowing in the fea, and having a nofcn Chap. 3» Of PARTICULAR Sea-Animals. . 115 nofe like the fnout of a fwinp. It is pretty much like the grampus, only in its hog's nofe, and being but ::uout a fathom long. The fin upon the back is curved like a half-moon towards the tail. Its fle/h does not on- ly relifli well to the Greeniaftders, but to many fifliers in Europe ; for the porpoifes are fcen in plenty in all feas, cfpecially if a ftrong wind rifes, when they fwim in droves around a fhip, juft as if they were running ra- ces. It has been obferved in general, that the fea-ani- mals not only keep in greater number near the furface of the waters when a Horm is approaching, as if they were afraid of being daflicd ujK)n the fand-oanks by the raging billows ; but they alfo demean themfelves like timorous anxious creatures, and are in an unufual agi- tation, when there is an eclipfe of the fun or moon. 13. The delphin, called alfo tumbler, from his leap- ing and tumbling, is very little different from the por- poife, only 'tis not fo large, and has a {harper nofe ; therefore both the Greenlanders and Norwegians call both forts nifa. But what is called the Dolphin in the fouthern feas, is quite a different, kind of fifh. 14. The fword-filh, in Greenlanuiih tikaguUk^ gets its name from the fin on its back, which is from 2 to 4 feet long, flender and bent inward towards the tail, though it refembles a blunted arrow more than a fword. This fifh is 7 fathom long and has very fharp teeth. Ir troops they aflauit the largcft whales, tear out whc ' ^ pieces of flcfh from their bodies, and don't defift till they have utterly deftroyed them. Therefore they arc called whak-kiliers by the New-F.nglanders. 'rhcy are fo ftrong, that a fingle 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 ihey are not above a yard and quarter long. 15. The Grecenlanders call another kind of fword- fifh, ardlu'it. Thefe are only five fathom long. Where thefe appear, all the feals difappcar, elfe they make a defperate fluutihter among them, for they have fui h la^?;acity and Ikili in catching them with their mouths and fins, that they r.re fomctimes fcen loaded with five ;U a time, one in ihe mouth, a couple under each ■ . i I ?. w a " fin. ;^ 'I • IB h1 I' it r ii6 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. 11. fin, and one under the back-fin. The Grcenlanders catch thefe as well as the other whales, and eat their ficih with pleafure* H' iKi .n- ,\ tyim oi >w,; § 21. .sy*. ■ To the 6th daft might be reckoned fome rare and huge Sea-monflers, 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 Mgede, ihdecd, 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 io 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 j its body feemed to be grown over with (hell-work, and its (kin very rugged and uneven ; it was (haped like a ferpent behind, and when it ^ived into the water again, it plunged itfelf backwards, and raifed its tail above the water a whole (hip-length from its body. Our eye could rate the meafure of its body to be no ** lefs than the bulk of our (hip in thicknefs, and in ** length 3 or 4 times as long. In the evening we ** 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- vei* but in a perfed calm, in the months of July and Auguft. Its length is computed at 100 fiithom, its thicknefs the compafs of a great wine-vcfTel, and its folds in number from 20 to joo, like great floating calks. The northern poet, Peter Dafs, 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 a horfe's head, its neck is decked with a \on be no and ill ing we day a think) that is tid ne- !y and m, its tid its cafks. > 100 ghedi 2 niif- look white f^rey lliiny Chap. 3. Of PARTICULAR Sea-Animals. 117 flimy fleifh. Mr. Hans Egede^ in the 85th page of the Englifh ieditioji of his defcription of Greenland, quotes out oiThormodor Torfaus*s Hijior'ta Norvegia etGraenlan- d'tay fomething concerning the fo called mer-man^ which is dcfcribed as having a heaa inclofed with a (kin like a monk's hood, and a nofe, mouth and eyes refcmbiing a man's ; there was fuch a on*? alfo, it is faid, found dead in Norway of late years, three fathom in length. He alfio defcribes the mermaid as having long blacTc hair, "breads, long arms, hands, and fingers M^ebbed like a goofe's foot, and as being ihaped all below the middle Ijke a fifli with a, tail and fins. They likewife talk of feveral ibrts of ^reat 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 moil horrible and hideous monfter that the fables of the Norway filhers have invented is the krake^ fea-horfe ov hafgufa, which nobody ever pretends to have feen entire ; yet the filhers give out, that when they find a place which is ufually So or lOO fathom deep, to be at certain times only 20 or 30, and fee alfo a multitude of fifhes allured to the fpot by a delicious exhalation which this creature emits, they conclude that they are over a krake ; then they make hade to fe- cure a good draught of fifhes, but take care to obferve when the founding grow fliallower, for then the monfteff is xifing. Then they fly with fpeed, and prc- fently they behold with the greateft amazement, in the compafs of a mile or two, gr^eat 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 however no-body pretends to hav« ieen) with fifhes enough, vv^hich 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 fccn this whole fifh ; but they reprefent it as a vaft Polypus Wkh a multitude of antenna and UHiecula or fcnfhivc horns like the flar-fifh, Jlella arborefcenSj caput Medufa, Sea-ftin, or PJiny*s Ozeenay which are fuppofed, by fomca to be the young of this monfter. ' if! • U< I'm i» it .1 ISi 1x8 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. 11. We enter not into any difcuffion about thefe fca- monfters, which, except that mentioned above by Mr. Egede^ have not a^ yet been feen in the Greenland fea. However, the compiler of the natural hiftory ofNorway, after rejedling the fabulous part, labours to demonftrate the poflibility and real exiftence of {\ic\\ creatures, a priori et pojleriariy for which purpofe he fummons many witneffes and introduces many uncommon ob- fcrvations, which are at leaft agreeable enough to read, in the 8th Chap. 2d. Part. ^. ^, . .. , . ' . •, . . '*; :rf*i. '.'••^i-^'j ;we *" § 22. vjim .aH;i; aiil '^\x\Au But to retufn to the proper Wliale, I will here fut- join a relation from the mouth of a Miffionary, who in 1 745 was , obliged to attend the whale-fifhcry in Dijko in a Dutch vcflel, of what he remarked and re- membred ofi^ The whales in Dijko-bayaxc killed in ,^pril, and if the fifhcrs don't take any, or not enough, they follow them to the coafts pf America, whither they (leer 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 liiat they retire further caftward. When a whale is Teen or heard, a long- boat with 6 hands muft make up to it dire£llv, and 5 pr 6 fuch boats are always in readinefs for it; they take what care they can to come on his ,fide towards the head. When now the fi{h, rife? again to draw breath and ftays up a while, as his manner is', the boat rows up to his fide, and the harpooner ftrikes him moftly near the fin j that ihftant the boat hurries ofF before the fifh feels the thruft and overfets the boat, pr dafhes it to pieces with the flouncing of its tail. The harpoon or harping-iron is a triangular barbed iron about ^ foot long and fattened to a ftem. As foon as the fi(h feels the fmart, it darts down in the deep, the harpoon Is in him, and a line being fattened to the harpoqn> (which is a finger thick, made of quite freft hemp, and IQO fathom long, nine of which lines are laid in eyery long-boat) this line runs with fuch rapidity after the whale, that if it fhould entangle itfelf any wiicre, it mutt either fnap like a thread or overfet the long-boat. lil : Chap. 3* Of PARTICULAR Sra-Animais. " 119 long-boat. Therefore a man is ftationed to give great heed to the line, that it may run ftraight, and without being entangled, and another to wet the place with water where it runs over board, that it may not take fire by the friction of the wood. The whale flics on with the line like an eagle, and the boat hartens after him as fail as it can. If the fi{h 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 cafe the other boats haften to their a/fiftance, and add frefli lines. If he betake himfelf to the floating ice, tMey ftill row after him ; 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 j by which they mifs a prize worth perhaps 200/. for a middling fifh 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 beJly upwards. *^,»r^iJ , . ,.- In the mean time the (hip comes as well as it can to meet the boats, which are towing the fifh along, and at length fallen it to the fhip, by cutting tv^o flits in tl^e blubber, through which they draw a rope, and fo laih it along flde. The firfl; work was to go with 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 largeil, 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 ftrip 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 iharp irons on their (hoes to prevent their flipping. They cut oflF the fat in long quadrangular pieces, and haul it upon deck by a piilley, where others cut it into lefs pieces and flow it for the prefent in the (Peerage or hold till their fi(hery is over. The tail and fins are cut off whole, but afterwards divided into little pieces, and referved 1 4 principally I. : III I20 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. II. principally for boiling glue. The tail confifls of u number of finews. Such a bufy band of 40 or 50 hands, diOributed into fmaller companies, and mutually aiding each other throughout the whole, muft ftrip a filh in four hours time if all goes right. As the body of fat diminifhcs, progreffivcly from the head and tail towards the piid- ilc, fo they keep removing the ropes, until at length the fifh tui;ns round of itlclf. Then finally they cut away the rin-s; of fat that was left to the laft. With the lofs of its fat the fi(h lofcs its buoyant faculty ^ there-. fore, when it is turned adrift, down goes the carcafs orfcrag into the deep, with a general and joyful huz/.a of the whojc crew. In a few days it burfts and rifes again, and its vaft ftock of flefii regales the fi/lie^, birds and bears with a profufe feflivity. But if the cutting up the whale is obliged to be deferred on account of turbulent weather, or the capture of more fifhes, it will fwell with a humming noife, and at length burft vrith a dreadful , and at the fame time will fcatter a vermilion-col f.ithy moifturc out of its cntrailsa wh ch ftinlcs h^^.iibly. .» v^,,,^,, .^q .4 , When they have enough) they fail away to fomc ha- ven, or in ferene weather, grapple on the ice, and un- load the caflcs ,to gain more room for cutting it fmaJl, for now they haul up all the blabber out of the hold of the fhip,, itnd take oft' all the rind, which they caft into the fea, and there the Grecnlan> ( \t 122 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. II. creeks, where they arc branded. In the fame manner the Icelanders terrify the whales by a dreadful (hooting, dafliing the water, or flouncing things into it, and thua hunt them fo far into an inlet, till they are flranded ; yet they know how to kill them with the harpoon. Sometimes they pour blood into the \vater that he may fly to the landoi^tof averfion for it, and there be ftranded ; this pofTibly gave pccafion to the ftory of a tub, with which the whale-fiOicrs, as alfo with a red cloth, try to entertain the whalo till they can pierce him un- oKerved. ,- tat; i^ya^^^^w^u. ,U.;JU~ti, 5, ^- i J r- -) n-^ni^^r^ ^'•ILC HAP. IV. .,,/» . .: • . .■ > •.. ... .^ .1' " ' ^- ■ ' *' ^■^*f. UW.A .!;•*»■ >U Or THE (^ADRUPED SeA-AnxMALS, OR SeALS. ,« Vtn I .krv-Y..!^"f^^ t^,:^' 5 H' 'i .•'K^«^':^', '■'ifr.'f V* \.. IT remains to fay fomething of thofe fea-animals that have four feet, and are amphibious, viz. the Seal or Sea-calf, in Latin phaca, in Grcenlandiih pua, and in French hup marin. There are feveral forts of them, but they are all alike in having a firm, tough, hairy ikin like the land-animals, only that the hair is thick, ihort and fmooth, as if it ^yas rubbed over with oil. They have two fhort feet before ftqnding downwards for the conveniency of rowing, and behind they have alfo two (landing outwards for (leering, one on e^ch fide of a (hort tail. With thcfe they (Irike the water behind them, and drive thcmfelves along. They have five toes on their feet, each con^ifting of four joints, and terminating m a long nz\\ or claw, with which they climb up the ice or the rocks. The hinder feet are palmated, or joined togethef with a thin (kin like a goofe's foot, fo that in fwimming they are fpread like a fan. The water is their proper element, and any fi(h they can get, their food. Yet they often lie on the ice or land, to balk in the fun-beams or deep. When they are fleeping, they fnore very loud, and may eafily be furprized in their found fleep. They have a lame gait or walk j but yet they can pad along fo faft with their fore-feet, and give fuch leaps with their hind-feet, that a man B. IT. Chap. 4I H - ^ Of the Seals. ^ f'-H .,j^ a man can't eafily overtake them. Thcjr head has pretty much the refemblancc of a dog's head with the ears cropt, though fomc are rounder and others fhar^)cr. Their cry has fomcthirtg of a dog, but more of a wild fwine, and. their young ;onc5 cry like a cat. Theit jaws are planted with fharp teleth, and their Hps with ftrong hair like briftles. They hiVe two noftrils in their nofe, and are obliged to come up to the lurfhcc of the water every quarter of an hour to take air. " They have large fiery eyes with eye-Hdi and cyc-brows j fhey 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 thrpugh the water fo much the eafier. At the firft glance they look moft like a mole. Their fat is from a finger to a hand-breadth thick ; their fiefh red, tender, j,uicy and fat, almoft like the flefh of wild fwine, nOr does it tafte fo filthy as the flcfh ot moft fea-bhrds does. ^nit-iOi. . ■.-.^ ..„,.§ 25f c*, . - . .? ■.*c^ :it'T .'.I Some fort's of thefe animals, though not all*, are.found in al) other feas, and as fdr aSAve can form a judgment, there are fome forts the fame as our Greenland feals, both in (hape and colour. A Jutlander afTured mc, that he had feen feals in their feas which had a fifh's finny tall inftead of hinder feet. The defcription of feals in Pontoppidan's natural Hijiory ,coincides with this. An- derfon fays (p. 235.) that there are feals in the frefh water-lake Baikal in Tartary, which lies at leaft 20 degrees diftant from the fea ; it, is probaHe they ftrayed up the river Jenifei and there propagatedi and could at length fubfift without fqa- water. The - feal that was caught in the Elb by Magdeburg, m the fpVir^, 176 1, is ftill in frelh remembrance. There are five ^ecics of them caught here, they are indeed alike in the ihape of their body, but are diflFerent 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. KaJJigiak is a long feal with a thick head, its colour black fprinkled Vith 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 i i '\ (J m ,24 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.II. make the bed cloathing of the fkins of their young ones, and if the back is black and the bcUy white, they look as. noble and as rich as velvet, 'rherc^orc the ekins of the young one« are exported in great number, and worn for waiftcoats. The older the crcatnrc is, the larger are the fpots, fo that foincof them look like ti- gers skins, and are ufed for houfings or coverings for horCes. A full-grown feal of this fpecies is about 2 yards long. ,...\^, ,„^.,^L^',". a* Juar/iai has a pointed head and big bodyn and more and ,D«ttcr blubber than the former. Wlicn 'ti-i full gro\yji 'tis near 3 yards long, and then *tis almoit all of a white-grey colour, and has a black figure on its back like two balf-mopjis, with t,heir horns in a uniform dh:e£lion towards one ano|:her : but there are rotbers fomewhat bU'ckilk ^1 over. All feals vary an- nually their colour tiU they are full grown, t>ut no fort fo much as this, and, the Grcenlanders vary its pamc according to Its age. They call the foetus ihlau-y in this (late thefe are quite white and woolly, whcrc- ras the other fortfi arc fmooth and coloured. In the ift year 'tis called 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 flielter for its eyes iij ftormy weather, by draw- ing them into a fafe repofitory. The ears are fituated far back ill the nape, and their perforaf'ons enter the cra- nium quite behind, nor have they any /kps, ib that I could fc.irce find their little apertures. It had no fharp indfor£S in its mouth, and none at all before, but on- ly four teeth on each fide. ; on the right fide of the under-jaw three pretty broad concave grinders. There- fore it cannot catch and qhew fifti like the feal, and the tv/o long tusks or horns growing out of its face above the noic, 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 compact than ivory, *tis alfo quite white, on- ly the very heart of it is fomewhat brown ifh. At the root where they enter the fcull, they are a little hollow, not quite /ound, and moftly full of notches ; and they fay that they feldom find one with two whole found tusks. The right tusk is about an inch longer than the left, and its whoje length is 27 inches, 7 of which are graft- ed within the fcull ; its circumference is 8 inches. They fland about thr^Q inches afunder in the head, i . .ir . , , ' and Chap. 4' 'T'' *^ Of the Sealsi - ..^^,- 127 and at their extrenuties 9 inches apart, and i>ent 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 mufeum of the college df the Unittis Fratrum at Barby. The ufe the fea-cow makes of thcfe tUskJi feems to be in part to fcrape the mufcles and fuch kind of fhell-fifh out of the fand and from the rocks, for thefe and fea- grafs feem to be its only food ; and alfo to grapple and get along by, for he faftens them in the ice or rocks, and thus draws up his unwieldy helplefj trut:;k ; and finally 'tis a weapon of defence both againft and and ice, and the fword-fifh fierce enemies in the the white bear on the land and fuch forts of nimble fea. What induced Martens to conclude that it lives on fea-grafs mofUy, was, that its dung looked like horfe- dung. But he alfo fuppofes that it eats fleih, becauic it fei'^.es upon the fkin of the whale which is thrown over-board, draws it under water, and then throws it up aloft again. But the Greenlandcrs have made the fame obfervation with refpeft 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 * "^' U:v'r OMOa: 3/1^; yf)^ U.. >i.; ,^vj ■?;•■-; ^ i..i ■:. S .: ih JU';-,- ' ; ' :' § 27.^1.. ff ; "..aJ',///-.,'' •;,;;, , ; We meet with few fea-eows 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 coafl of the Ice- fea are no traces of them, but then again they are fo much the more numerous in the fea of Kamftiatka, where, according to D. Gmelin's account in his Sibe- rian Journey, Part III. p. 164, they found on the fhore great numbers of fhed teeth, that were much larger 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 laro-e droves fleeping. They killed them chiefly for the fake Of I*' t2$ HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IF* Qf their teeth, of which the artificefs wrought all forts of beautiful trinkets. But after they came to knoM^ that man was their moft dangerous foe, they arc faid to have made the capture more difficult and rare to him, By fetting a watch, rendering each other mutual faiths ful aid, and when they were wounded in the water, by endeavouring to overfet the boat, or diving and flrik- 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 Johnfton in his Hi^. nat. de P'tf- dbus. Art. VI. makes another Angular obfervation con- cerning them, that in warmer climates they rob and ruin the vineyards and orchards contiguous to the fea- iQiore. 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 ; this Charle- voix alfo relates of Canada. Voyage de I'jlmeriquey Let. vm. . • . In Davis's-Straits the two firft defcribed fpecies of feals are in the greateft plenty, viz. the fpotted kajjigi- aty and the black-fided attarfoit. The firft fort is to be met with all the year round, though not always in equal numbers. They cannot be caught by fingle Greenlanders, except they are with young and helplefs, becaufe they are ^ watchful ; but they muft be fur- rounded and killed by feveral 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 agaip 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 {Qt off in March to caft their young, and in the be- ginning of June back they come, young and all, like a great flock of fheep*. But then they are very lean. * Ilorrehoiv remarks of this fpecies of Seals, that in December they come to the nonh-fidcof Icdr.nd, and in Mi'.rch they all go away a^ain. Ghap. 4'^^'^^^ Of THE Seals. tiq In this laft tour they feem to obferve a certain fixed time and track, like the birds of paiTage, and take a route that is free from iee ; therefore the (hips near Spitfberg can fafely follow them. 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 Frederic'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 flay 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 way through fome nari'ow paf- fage or found, fuch as it is imagined that channel may be in Dilko-bay, now covered with ice, in the 69th deg. and alfo that in Thomas Smith'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 j 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 fleep fuffici- ently. It may be they are compelled to fuch a fpeedy flight by the Rohben-Jhlaeger, or (hips that go upon the feal-fifliery 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 j firft they Vol, I. K frighten ! 'i 130 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.II. frighten them by fhouting, and when they ftretch out their necks and yell, they give them o/ie defperate blow upon the nofe with a club, by which they are ftunned or ftupified. 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 when they are flaying it) therefore the executioners muft hurry round the fecond time to difpatch thofe quite that were felled down. In this manner thofe (hips that catch no whales, may 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 drefled 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 efFedled yet in Greenland. . ,;_ . i . .Qtt § 28. •an ..J, "^'A ,..;; ; There is no people to whom the feals are fo profitable, nay fo indifpenfably necelTary, as the Greenlanders, for the fea is their corn-field, and the feal-fifhery their mod 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 neceflity they could live folely from it. The feals flefli (together with the rein-ileer, which is already grown pretty fcarce) fup- plies the natives with their moft palatable and fubftantial food. Their fat furniflies them with oil for lamp-light, chamber and kitchen fire ; and whoever fees thf ir ha- bitations, prefently finds, that if they even had a fu- perfluity of wood it would not do, they can ufe nothing [)ut train in them. They alfo mollify their dry food, moftly fifh, in the train ; and finally they barter it for all kinds of necefifaries with the factor. They can few better with fibres of the feals finews, than with thread or filk. Of the fkins 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 si^sw iron Chap. 4* Of the Seals. 131 iron, they made all manner of inftrumcnts and working tools of their bones. Neither is the blood wafted, but boiled with other ingredients and eaten as foop. Of the fkin of the feal they ftand in the greatefl: need ; for fuppofing the fkins of rein-deer and birds would furnifh them with competent clothing for their bodies, and co- verin-TS for their beds j and their flefh, together with flfh, with fufficieht food ; and provided they could drefs their meat with wood, and alfo new model their houfe- keeping, fo as to have light and keep themfelvcs warm with it too ; yet without the feal's fkins they would not be in a capacity of acquiring thefe fame rein-deer, fowls, fifhes and wood, becaufe they muft cover over with fcal-fkin both their large and fmall boats, in which they travel and feck their provifion. They muft alfo cut their thongs or ftraps out of them, make the bladders for their harpoons, and cover their tents with them, without which they could not fubfift in fummer. Therefore no man can pafs for a riguL Greenlander, 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 thcmfelves, make themfeives agreeable to others, and become beneficial members of the community. But no one can rightly comprehend their method of proceeding till he has taken a view of their boats and inftruments, which will be defcribed in the fcquel. p'^f-'Iifii: ,JL- 'J ■ ' ■' ''tii' .,'-1^ :r\^' _, \';r "ihA": '.'V c -v "• ::;!j; 6!r->{ vli:.*'i-;^.<''^-'-; :^)t f - ■■j-( • BOOK ■ <.'•■ S >f iftSfUi: ii.'r^ • ti". i.a ^^•J^li *. r.^ ; - j. t 'm .Uij Jj, 5:;, . i^f .t^mjio.! [ 132 i 11^ BOOK III. Of the Greenlandifh Nation. C H A P. I. Of the Greenlanders Person, and Way op Living. § I. TH E Greenlanders call themfelves withput any further ceremony Innuit^ i. e. Men, Jndigena or Natives. The Icelanders, who many hun^ dred years ago difcovered and pofTefTed this country and the neighbouring coafts of America, called them in fcorn SkralUngSt becaufe they are little of ftature ; few exceeding, the moft not amounting to, five foot high, and having the appearance of ipibecillity at the fame time *. Yet they have well/fliaped, proportionable limbs. Their Face is commbnly broad and flat, with high cheek-bonesj 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£l:s but little. Their mouth is commonly little and * It is a common obfervatlon that men, as well as beafts and the produA^ of the ground, grow fmaller and linalkr towards the pole, though khe elk, the white bear, and the rein-deer are manifeft exceptions to this rule. Some people attribute their diminitive ftature to the cold pinching air and mills. Ellh (who has given us the moft ample defcriptiort of the Efqu'mau* in HudCon's bay, who agree with our Greenlanders almoft in every thing, and very likely were one people originally) obferves, p. »56, that though there are large trees growing at the bottom of Hudfon's Bay, there are no- thing but flirubs in the 6ift degree; and alfo that the people kept dimi- niHiing in ftature the higher they lived, till th« 671^ degroe, where thert are no people at all. - ? , \ round. i>. hh \ C 132 \ BOOK III. Of the Greenlandifh Nation. CHAP. I. Of the Greenlanders Person, and Way op Living. \ — § I. TH E Greenlanders call themfelves withput any further ceremony Innuity i. e. Men, Indigena or Natives. The Icelanders, who many hun^ Jred years ago difcovered and poffefied this country and the neighbouring coafts of America, called them in fcorn SkricUingSy becaufe they are little of ftature ; few exceeding, the moft not amounting to, five foot high, and having the appearance of i/nbecillity at the fame time *. Yet they have well/fhaped, proportionable limbs. Their Face is commbnly broad and flat, with 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- jefts but little. Their mouth is commonly little and * It is a common obfervation that men, as well as beafts and the produA^ of the ground, grow fmallcr and fmalkr towards the pole, though the elk, the white bear, and the rein-deer are raanifeft exceptions to this rule. Sonie people attribute their diminitive ftature to the cold pinching air and niifts. Ellh (who has given us the moft ample iticT'v^txQiioixhe. Efqu'imaux in Hudlbn's bay, who agree with our Greenlanders almoft in every thing, and very likely were one people originally) obferves, p. »56, that though there arc large trees growing at the bottom of Hudfon's Bay, there are no- thing but flirubs in the 6ift degree; and alfo that the people kept dimi- nishing in ftature the higher they lived, till the 671^} degroe, where ther* •re no people at all. - ? ; ^ 1 , ' . round. \i •- IJO. 133 than the the face hrough). from na- )is others, , for they hg in the lemfelves. to make { fo many e of cold kummer ; lomewhat ^al trainy tmge, for >us by it, lands feel Mt have a pre whofc jf pafs un- ily among ; Switzer- ihers were ing to the .from the the coun-* >f another it were as t, ftrong eldom any jjieir hands nd the reft ^reafts and ire obliged irs. Their th fat and cold very Ind necks ; es, all ex- fuch a hot endure it,. And M-kl AGreenlajider njAe umu* /h>m t^^ Sea, n^iiA Ai*Ktu/i^ en Ai^ Jlrtft. ;H'Uh-a ^reen/aMd£r4^4^i''ivSe4il. VcLLpjsS ...' ■U '• ^l .,• > I I Or THE TK ft a tired yean the neighl fcorn S^f\ exceeding and havid time *. i limbs, i high chee.' eyes are 1 It is true • jedls but * It is a ci of the grounc the white b Some people mifts. Ellh in Hudlon's . tnd very lika there are laif thing but {iv ni/hingin itf are no people Chap. X. The Greenlakders Way of Living. 133 round, and the under-lip fomcwhat thicker than the upper. Their body is dark-grey all over, but the face brown or olive, (ana yet in many the red (hines through). This brown colour frems not to be altogether from na- ture, bccaafe their children are 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 feldom wafh themfclves. Yet the climate may contribute a good deal to make this colour hereditary and proper tothem> after fo many generations, cfpccially the fudden alternative of cold and raw air, and burning heat of the fim in fummer; and this makes the Europeans that live there fomewhat browner too. But it is probable their perpetual tralny food may contribute the moft to their olive-tinge, for their blood becomes fo denfe, hot and undluous by it, that their fweat fmclls like train, and their hands feel clammy like bacon. But there are fome that have a moderate white fkin, and red cheeks, and more whofc face is not fo very round ; thefe might eafily pafs un- diilinguifhed among the Europeans, efpecially among the inhabitants of fome of the mi mtains of Sv/itzer- 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 dfi 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 reft of their limbs are large. They have high breafts and broad flioulders, efpecially the women, who are obligea to carry great burdens from their younger years. Their whole body is flefhy, and well enriched with fat and with blood ; therefore they can endure the cold very well vnth very thin cloathing and bare heads and necks ; and they commonly fit naked in their houfes, all ex- cept their breeches; 'l.elr bodies then emit fuch a hot ftcam, that an European that fits by cannot endure it, K3 And I«. *1{ 'I t I If i; 134 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. II!. Ami when thoy (the chriftian converts from among thii naiion) arc nrtcmblcd even in the winter-time to their divine worfhip, they evaporate or rather blow out fuch a calidity, that v/c arc prefently obliged to wipe ofKthc fwcat, and can fcarce draw our breath for the thick ex- halation. They are very light and nimble of foot, and can life their hands too with a good deal ot dexterity and fkill. There arc but few maimed or infirm people among them, and fewer misfhapen births. They do not want for adivity and ftrength of body, though they don't know how to fet aboui any work they arc not ufed to; however in their own bufinefs they excel us. Thus a man that hath eat nothing for three days^ at leaft no- thing but fca-grafs, can manage his little Kajak or ca- noe in the moft furious waves ; 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. ' ' ■ • : - _ . - . . ' .(11 § 2. It is hard to form a true judgment of their Tempe- rament, bccaufe their mental qualities are fo blended, that one cannot take a diftindt furvey of them. Yet they feem to be principally of a fanguinc difpofition, intermixed with fomcthing phlegmatic ; I fay princi- pally, for there is a difference among Greenlanders, as as well as among other nations, and there are alfo cholerick, and melancholy complexions. They arc not very lively, much Icfs jovial and extravagant, yet they are good-humoureJ, amicable, fociablc, and uncon- cerned about the future. Confcqucntly they are not covetous to fcrape a heap of ftuft* together, but are li- beral in giving. It is true, one cannot perceive any peculiar high fpirit in them, but yet they have, out of ignorance, a good fhare of what we may call ruftic or peafant's pride, fet themfelves far above the Europeans, or Kablunat as they call them, and make a mock of them among themfelves. For though they are obliged to yield them thepre-eminence both in undcrftanding and manual performances, yet they don't know how to fet zny value on thefe. Whereas on the other hand their own Chap. I. The Greknlandf.rsVVay or Living. 135 own inimitable skill in the catching fcals, which is their ftaff of life, and bcfidcs which nothifjg is indif- peiifably neccflary with them, affords fufFicicnt food for their good conceit of thcmlelves. And 'tis certain they arc not fo foolifli and (lupid as the lavages are commonly thought to be, for in their ways and employments" they arc wife and fharp enough. But yet they are not * WJiat Gmel'in writes of the Tungufes, Part II p. ai6, is very v.fU adapted to the Grccnlanders : *' They arc plain and upright," fjys he, " yet more becaufe they have no opportunity to exercife their iinderfti'.nd- " ingaboutany other affair but their hunting, than any particular princi- " pic or bent towards fincerlty. The common report is, that they are ftu- " pid, becaufe they may eafily be cheated ; but for my part I believe, that " others arc equally as ftupid j and according to this procedure, we mud " call every man a fool, who has no great acutenefs in things that he has *' had but little opportunity to hc^r and fee much of We difcover the na- ** tural undcrlbnding of moft nations Left in their common employments ** and inftitutions. Therefore it is no wonder that the Tungufet have not " exercifcd their underftandings in things that never lay in their way. They •* ore as fliarp-witted in their muter, as the greateft (harper, on the other ** hand, may perhaps be awkward in hunting." We may fee that the Greenlanders poflcfs a competent (hare of under- ftanding and the art of imitation, by this, that the baptifed Children cafily learn to read, and alfo to write very prettily, and that one of our Grccnland- ers is the common gun-ftock maker, and another is the barber for the Eu- ropeans. <-^!ilJt i-n:; ;s :' , ' .;■, K4 .". .t. They li ;K" 136 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. They are not idle, but always employed about fome- thing ; yet they are very variable or fickle, fo that if they begin a thing, and any unexpe<5led difficulty thvirarts them, they throw it by diredlly. In the fum- mer they fleep 5 or 6 hours, and in the winter 8. But if they have worked hard, and v/aked all night, they will fleep the whole day. In the morning, when they ftand with penfive filence upon fome eminence, and take a furvey of the ocean and the weather, they are common- ly thoughtful and deje£ted, becaufe the burdens and the dangers of the day ftand in profpeiSl before them. But ivhen no labours demand their application, or they re- turn home from a fuccefsful fiftiery, they are chearful and converfable. They are fuch adepts in difguifing or fupprefling their paffions, that we might take them for Stoics in appearance. They afFedl alfo to be very refigned in calamitous accidents. They are not foon irritated to anger, vr can eafily bridle their animofity ; but in fuch cafes they are quite dumb and fullen, and don^t forget to revenge themfelves when an opportunity prefents it- felf. But I fhall have a better opportunity to fpeak fur- ther of their morals hereafter. §3- C . ', krh yj. They make their Cloaths of the fkips of reindeer, feals and birds. Their outer garment is fewed faft on all fides like a waggoner's frock, only not fo long and loofe, fo that they firft put in both arms, and draw 4t over their heads like a Ihirt, but there is no open flit before, 'tis (ewed together up to the chin. At the top of it, a Cap or Flood is fattened, which they can draw over their heads in cold or wet weather. The Man's outer coat reaches only half down his thigh, nor does it fit tight about him ; yet it admits no cold air to pe- netrate, becHufe 'tis clofe before. They dOn*t few with the gut, but with the finews 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 ufcd the bones of fifties, or the vj-y fine bones of birds i^iftead of needles, and their knives werq h.t 1 I p. werq Chap. I. The Greenlanders Way OF Living. 137 wereof ftone. But now they ufe fteel ncedlef , (and none but the fineft will fervethem) and we cannot fuf» ficiently admire the neatnefs and ingenuity of their work. The furriers and workers in furr-cloaths confefs that they cannot come up to theui in that branch. The fkins of fowl with the feathers inward, are made up into what may be called their fhirts, tho' they make them of reindeer-fkins too. They put another gar- ment of fkin over this, and feme of theni ufe for that purpofe a fine-haired reindeer pelt ; but thefe arc 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-flcin. But at prefent moft of the men of fubftance 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 fhort both above and below. Their ftockings are made 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 ftand 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 ftockings, breeches and caps. When they travel by fea, they put on as a great-coat over their common garment, a tuelik, i. e. a black, fmooth feal's hide, that keeps out water j and perhaps underneath too a ftiirt of the inteftines of fome crea- ture in order to keep in their natural heat and keep off the wet. i *'■ . ^i '•■- .< :^ '.:., The Women's cloaths 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 thigh downward and form both behind and before a long flap, the pointed extremity of which reaches below the ' ; knee. n I JC ft^-iif^ •»«f i I 138 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IH. knee, and is bordered with red cloth. They alfo wear breeches, with fhort 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 nurfds or waiters, put on an amaut, i. e. a garment that is fo wide in the back as to hold the child, which 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 fall 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 away when they catch them, (at which they are as dexterous as any beggar) but crufh between their teeth. But they keep their new and holiday drefs very neat. The men wear their hair fhort, commonly hanging down from the crown of their head on every fide, and Squared off at their foreheads. Some cut it off as'high as their poll, that thtelr 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 refolve never to marry. They biiid their hair in a double ringlet at the top of their heady in fuch martner that a long broad roll or tuftj and another little pne over it, decorate the crown ' of the head, which they bind with fome gay bandage, adorned pierhaps alfo with glafs-beads. They wear the. fame kind of gems in their cars, round their neck and arms, and round the borders of their clothes and fhoes. They alfo begin to alter one thing or another in the mode of their drefs, and the rich ones bind a fine- figured flrip of linen or filk round their forehead, yet fo that the ringlet of hair, as their moft {lately orna- ment, may not be covered and hid. But if they aim at bdng very beautiful, they mufl 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- way, as if they had a bearfl. The mother performs this painful operation oii her daughter in her childhood, for fear fhe might never get a hufband. The Indians 4 *** ' f % \ n . mm, * . 3v/ile pr tik/ne^ Fa^licj. vaSBHsmimm J^ 3 ^ 4 i d 7 S ^ ^ uattfy/u£n^li<>/v/ FclZpjXQ Chap. I. The Greenlanders Way of Living. 139 in North- America, and feveral tribes of the Tartars, , have the fame cuftom, not only the women but the men ialfo, in order refpedtively to majce themfeives look beautiful or terrible. Our baptized Greenlanders have relinquifhed this praftice long ago, as a fenfelefs vani- ty that was meant for a temptation to fin. In Winter they live in Houfes, and in fummer in - tents. The houfes are two fathom in breadth, and from 4 to 12 fathom in length, according as more or fewer live in them, and juft fo high as a perfon can ftand ere&. in. They are not built under ground, as is commonly thought, but on fome elevated place, and preferably on a fteep rock, becaufe the melteri fnow- water may run ofF the better. They lay great ftdnes upon one another neir a fathom broad, and layers <5f earth and fods between them. On thefe 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 witli pofts. They lay rafters acrofs thefe, and fmall wood again between the rafters. All this they cover with bill-berry bufhcs, then with turf, and laft of all throw fine earth on the top. As long as it freezes, thefe rOofs hold pretty well, but when thefummer-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 " fupplied by a vaulted pafi'age made of ftone and earth • two or three fathom long, entering through the middle " of the houfe. It is fo very low, that 'tisfcarce fuffici- 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 Imoke they have none. The walls are hung infide with old worn tent and boat- . ikins, faftened with nails made of the ribs of feals ; 'i ■->; j';i • ;;';• , V • : •:< 'w: ' -- • J-f . this mii '^ ■ »» 3v/l/e of a (^n:€ri/a/n//iiiA.ffiHi^/brrih/n^Fani4li€J. 3-S^BJ f-f -. '-5 L /' SI rCii"] ^,:-.:v^ ■•■ ^ «^>i ict— ""^"'J ,-*'lL ■f^M ^-.i^ji.;3^ii3 '«! (jrwufty^-^i/ot r^ft^Same \/v7^r7mTami/^/ \fvrt;h^^Seam/^ | ^t^ Thirds. '^^am^ 2 2 ^ . 1 ^ "f ^ ^ 'f r Sar/k c/~^erm4in^ Ja'rd^ //vzoi-j ^lutrUrj JEn^li.th'^ FclZpjs^ ? 1 ii It 140 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.III. this is to keep off the damps ; the roof is alfo covered with them outfide. From the middle of the houfc to the wall, the whole length of the houfe, there is a raifed floor or broad bench a foot high, made of boards and covered with Ikins. This floor is divided into feveral apar^ents re- fembling horfes-ilalls, by fkins reaching from the pofts that fupport the roof to the wall. Each family has fuch a leparate ftall, and the number of families occu- pying one fuch houie are from 3 to 10. On thefe floors they fleepupon 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 Turkifh mode. The woman 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, ths 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, on this the ftran- gers fit and fleep. By every poll is a fire-place. They lay a block of wood upon the ground, and upon that a flat ftone ; on the ftone a low three-leg'd ftool, and on that the lamp, hewn out of their French-chalk or foft baftard-marblc 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 (o bright, that the houfe is not only fufliciently lighted with fo many lamps, but warm- ed too. But the chief article is ftill behind, viz. that over this lamp a baftard-marble kettle hangs by four ftrings fattened to the roof, which kettle is a foot long and half a foot broad, and Ihaped 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 deaths 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 tach of them day and night, their houfes are more equably Chap. I. TheGreenlandersWay OF Living. 141 equably and more durably warmed, and yet not fo hot as the German ftove-heatcd rooms. At the fame time there is no fcnfible exhalation, much lefs fmoke, nei- ther is there themoft remote danger of fire. But then the ftink of fo many train lamps, the reek of fo much flefli and fifh often half-rotten, boiling over thefe lamps, and above all of their urine-veffels (landing in thehoufe with their skins in them for drefling, all this is a difa- greeable nuifance to an unaccuftomed nofe ; however it is bearable. In other refpecls we are at a lofs which to admire rtioft, their excellently contrived houfe-keep- ing, which they have comprized within the fmalleft cir- cle ; their content and fatisfadlion in poverty, in the midft 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 ftore-houfes, in which they lay up their ftock of flefli, fifli, train and dried herrings. But all that they catch in winter is preferved under the fnow, and the train it produces is fl:ored up in large leather pouches of feal-flcin. Clofe by they lay up their boats with their bottom upwards, on fome raifed pofl:s, under which they hang their hunting and fifliing tackle and their flcins. In September they build or repair their houfes, for commonly the rains make the roof fall in before the fummer is over j this mafonry falls to the women's fliare, 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, thsy move out again with rejoicing, and fpend the fummer in tents. They lay the foundation of thefe tents with little flat flrones, in form of an oblong quairangle ; between thefe they faften from 10 to 40 poies, which lean upon a kind of reft or door-frame about man's height, and terminate in a fpire at top. They cloath thefe ribs with a double covering offeal-flcins, and thofe that are rich hang it infide with reindeer flcins, the hair turned inwards. Tbc a « 1^ t, ') 142 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. The bottom of the covering that reaches the ground, is flopped clofe with mofs, and loaded with ftones, that the wind may not over-turn the tent. They hang a curtain before the entrance inflead of a door, it is made of the tendereft pellucid entrails of the feal, is finely wrought with needle-work, has an edging of blue or red cloth, and ties with white firings. This keeps out the cold air, and yet gives admifTion to a fufHcient glimmer of light. But the (kins hang above and on both fides a good way further than the door, and form a kind of porch, where they can place their flores as well as their dirty vcfTels. They do not in common boil their victuals in the tent, but in the open air, for which they then make ufe of a brafs-kettle, and burn wood under it. The miftrcfs of the houfe lays up her furniture in a corner of the tent, (for fhe lets all her finery be feen only in funimer) fhe hangs a white leather curtain over it, wrought by the needle with a variety of figures. On this flic fattens her looking-glafs, pin-cufhion and rib- bons. Every family has a tent of their own, though fometimes they take in their relations, or a couple of poor families with them, fo thnt frequently 20 people live in one tent. Their fleeping place and fite-place is the fame as in the wintcr-houfcs, only every thing is more cleanly and orderly, and much more tolerable to an European both as to the fmell and the warmth. .., , ; ■''■':■-'' "r^ , ' . ": § 5- ' ' '.■''■ / ' '" ■ The Greenlandejs cannot live by the produce of the Land. We have already fhewn under the article of Plants and vegetables, the fcanty portion they have of berries, herbs, roots and fea-grafs, which ferve more for a dainty than diet. Their moft agreeable food is reindeer flefti. But as that is now very fcarce, and even when they get any it is moftly eaten during the hunt, fo now their beft meat is the flefh of the crea- tures of the fea, fealsj fifhes and fea-fowls j for they don't much regard partridges and hares They don't eat raw. flefh, as fome think, and much lefs raw fifh. It is true, as f©pn as they have killed abcaft, they eat a little bit of the raw flefli or fat, and alfo drink a little Il i in the I make , The corner m\y in ver it, s. On Chap. I. The Greenlanders Way of Living. 143 little of the warm blood, but perhaps this is more out of fuperftition than hunger ; and when the woman /kins the fcul, (lie gives each of the female lookers-on (for this would be a ih.ime for a man) a couple of bits of the fat to eat. *. The head and legs of the feals are preferved in fummcr under the grafs, and in thewinter the whole feal is preferved under the fnow, and the Greenlanders feaft on fuch half frozen or half rotten feal's flcfli, called by them mikiak, with the fame ap- petite and gout, as other nations do on venifon, ham or faufages. The ribs are dried in the air, and laid up in ftore. The other parts of the beads, and efpecially all their birds and fiflies, are well boiled or ftewcd, yet without fait, but with a little fea-water ; though indeed the largcfl Rihes, as the halibuts, codd, falmon, &c. are cut in long dices, wind-dried and fo eaten. The little dried capelins are their daily bread. When they have caught a feal, they flop 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 inwards are not thrown away neither. They make windows, tent-curtains, and ihirts of part of the feal's entrails. Thofe of the fmaller creatures are eaten, with no other purgation or preparative, but prefling out their contents between their fingers. They iet a great value upon what they find in the maw of a reindeer, and fend fome of it as a prefent to their beft friends, calling it nerukak^ that is to fay, eatable ; this and what is found in the guts of the partridge, they mix with frefh train and berries, and make a de- licacy of it, that reliflies as high to them as woodcocks, or fnipes do to others. Again they take frefli, rotten and half-hatched eggs, fome crowberries, and fome angelica, and throw them all into a feal-fkin fack filled with, train, and this they refervc for a winter's cordial. * Here I cannot omit what an European affured me, that when he was out hunting, if he fiiot a reindeer, he followed the exampltof the Green- landers,' and often aflwaged his hunger with a piece of the raw ilcrti, ncr did he find it fo very hard of digcftion, but it feemed rather to fatiate him lefs than boiled meat. They fay the Abyffimam alfo eat raw flefh, and cr.n iligeft it in their hot climate. The reafon therefore why we cat our flelh boiled, is, becaufe it taftes better, and affords a better nourifhmcnt. Out «* ■*: 144 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 fcal-fkins, they take a knife and fcrapeofF the fat, which could not be clean feparatcd 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, l^c. and what they don't want they barter. Yet they like to eat a bit or two of fcal-fat with their dry herrings, as alfo to fry their iiih in it, firft chewing it well in the mouth and (hen throwing it out into the kettle. Their drink is clear water, which Rands in the houfe in a great copper vef- fel, or in a wooden tub which is very neatly made by them, ornamented with filh-bone diamonds and rings, and provided with a pewter ladle or dipping difh. They bring in a fupply of frefti water every day in a pitcher^ which is a feal-fkin fewed very tight, that fmells like half- tanned fole-lcather ; and that their water may be cool, they chufe to lay a piece of ice or a little fnow in it, which they fcldom want. They are very dirty in dreffing 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 difhcloth. Yet they like to keep their baftard-mar- ble vefl'els neat. They lay their boiled meat in wooden diflies, having firft drunk the foop, or eat it with fpoons made of bone or wood ; but their undrefTed meat lies on the bare ground, or on an old (kin not much cleaner. Fifli, they '-ke out of the difli with their hands, pull fowls tc 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 ttroke that too down into their mouths. And when 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 contra(5^ed in the kettle, with their tongue ; and (hould any one not kindly accept it, J he Chap. 1. The GreenlandersWay of Living. 145 he v.ould be looked upon as an unmannerly man for dcfpiring their cpility. .• '» '-■'• i'hcy cat when they are hungry. But in the evening, when the men bring home the fpoils of the day, they have the principal meal, and arc very free in alking the other families in the houfe that may perhaps have caught nothing, to be their gucfts, or fend them part wf it. Tiie men cat firll alone by thcmfelves, but the women don't forget themlelvcs neither. Nay, as all that the man brings, falls into their hands, they often feall themfelves and others in the abfence of the mm to their detriment. At fuch times their grcateft joy rs to lee the children ftufF their paunches fo full, that they rol; 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 \\\rh frefh fupplies every day. But by and by wlien 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 tcnt- Ikins and (hoe-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 csn kindle it again by turning round a ftick very quick with a ftring through a hole in a piece of w^ood. 'I'hey love dearly to eat foreign food if they can get \t^ viz. bread, peafe, oatmeal and flock-fiffh, and many of them are but too fondly accuftomed to it. But they have a great averfionfor i\vine's flefh, by feeing how this beaft devours all forts of garbage. They have formerly abhorred ft. ong liquors, and called them mad- water. 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. ^ many ' If' i - ^1 f 1 l; 146 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. many a one when they have over-eajt themfelves. Thefe laft alfr* love to fmoke tobacco, but they can't puf- chafe a fufficiency. However they dry tobacco leaves upon a hot plate, and pound them in a wooden mortar to take ?.H fnufF, and they are fo inured to it now from their childhood, that they cannot leave it oft', nor in- deed do they fcarce dare leave it ofF, becaufe df their running watry eyes. * '- - ; § 6. The methods and implements of their procuring their maintenance are fo fimple, and yet fo well contrived and accommodated to their purpofe, that though wc fhould be at a lofs how to ufe them, they can manage better with them than we with our much more expen- fivc inftrumcnts. In former times they made ufe of boWs for land game ; they were made of foft fir a fathom in length j and to maice it the ftiffer. 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 feen now, fince 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 Erneinek or harpoon-dart witR a bladder. The ihaft is tvi0 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 fpfin's length has barbs, and is pointed at the end with an iron fpike an inch broad. At the but-end of the fhaft are two flat pieces of whale-bone a fpan -long and two lingers broad, of the fhape of a weaver's Ibuttle, an- riwering the end of the feathers on an arrow, to make the caft the more dire«El and fure. Betwixt thefe is iitted 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 having a notch on both fides in order to procure a faft hold for the thumb and ^^.fe - 5 ^ i^ • ,. fjrc-fingcr /vrlhrvl . -J .i- >%:%%, ■r^ .- m '. "^1. v.:> V^k If .'A \ VclZpuf T,he /)a?'tj ujf(/ /?/ Fi^ I n 1 1 1 n 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ft Scule c/s (?er^nanl^rdj. 3.Ang'ovikak or Greatiii?icei/uitt(>^el^her. 4. The jo^ne, wit/i thf^ '^/le /)a;tt uj^^// /j/Jyj/uM^/. ^r. ^^^ X !^i^/22^. •'K-'T !i \i..< '(, ,> .'■I •- - ■ 'J' ii. .) •'!v- -> ,/■ 'ijMjl a )! 'fn u'* rrui ^K'.,'i IV ;.■), . t ", • < ' ^t .! ' ji:-; r; :;'.'■ '^ I, I I 1/ ;■-, '\..r\ \ \ Chap. I. The Greenlanders Way of Living. 147 fore-finger, (the weight properly lying on the palm of the hand turned up horizontally.) A firing hangs to the harpoon about 8 fathom long, which is firft clap- ped tight (yet fo that it can yield) by means of a bone-ring over a peg in the middle of the Ihaft, 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 fattened to a bladder, or blown feal-fkin pouch lying behind the Greenlander in the kajak. This dart de- ferves much notice, but is hard to be defcribed. It muft not be all in one pie^~, elfe it would be broke to piece direftly by the feal. Therefore the harpoon muft be made fo as to feparate from the (haft, and that this may the eafier be done of itfelf without breaking, the harpoon-bone muft fly out of the fhaft, 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 /haft 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 angovigqk, 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 direftly flip again out of the fkin of the feal. 3. The 3d inftrument of death is the kapot, the littje 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 ibrt of hunt, viz. the clapper-hunt, they make ufe of, . 4. The agligak or mifllle d-rt, which is a foot and half long i in the fore-part it is furnifhed with a ronnd iron a foot long and a finger thick i which, inftead of being bearded, is notched in a couple of places j this alfo feparates from the fliaft, but the fhaft remains hanging to it by a firing faftened to the middle of it. A bladder made of the gullet of a feal 01 ijreat fifh, is . • . : !> L 2 faftened t-!'.,f t4H HISTORY OF GREENLAND. 53. iU. faftened behind to the fhaft, to fatigue the feal ainl pre- vent its being loft. Irt this Clapper-hunt they give it more than one luch dart in its body. In all thefe blad- ders they have a little bone-pipe with a ftopi>er in it, that they rr.ay blov/ up the bladders or let them be empty :is they pleafe. 1 fhall defcribe their method of catching the leal, when I come to fpeak of their boats, • - ' « ... For bird-catching they ufe : 5. The tiuguit or Fowling-dart, two yards long ; in the wood part is faftened beforCj a round blunt iron a foot long, and barbed only irt one place. But as the fowl may evade the caft by diving or flight, they faft- en flopingly three or four pieces of bone a fpan long in the middle of the fhaft, notched like tenters in three or four places, that when the fowl cfcapes 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 fifh, and their tackle and implements foi it, has been already mentioned. c, . §?■ Their Boats are alfo as fimply, yet ingeniouHy con- trived, and as conveniently adapted to the procuring their fuftenancc. There are two forts, a great and a fmall. 'J he great boat or Women's boat, called in Green - landifh u/niak, is commonly 6, nay 8 or 9 fathom long, 4 or 5 foot wide, and 3 deep, it runs fharp bei'ore and behind, and has a flat bottom. Its conftru6tion is of {lender laths about 3 fingers broad, faftened with whale- bont, and covered over with feals fkins tanned. Of» each fide of its flat bottom runs a rib parallel with the keel, which meet Logether in the Iharp head and ftern. Upon thefe three main beams, fome thin crofs-pieces are laid and mortifed in. They then fix fliort pofts in the'ribs on either fide, and faften the gunnel of the boat upon them. Thefe pofts being prefled outwards by the benches for the rowers, (of which there are 10 or 12, and each ©f them refts on a rib on both fide^) that they may not be forced out too far, two upper or gunnel-ribs X K. iff. 1 ainl pre- ey give it hefe blad- Pl>er in it, them be method of of their rds long ; blunt iron 5ut as the they fall- ^n long in in three the point, and-board may caft ackle and d. lufly con- procuring eat and a n Green- lom long, )e('orc and lion is of th whale- led. Ofi with the and fleru. o(s-pieces lort polh nel of the outwards re are lo Jth fidCo) upper or inel-ribs TVuiai . c>r W(} >nrff.t liont. T0IZP.14S. '•■-tr ii I' .. i I Chap. I. TheGreenlanders Way OF Living. 149 gunnel-ribs to the outfide bind them in. Thcfe four ribs arc faftencd to the timber fore and aft. The beams, pofts and benches are not faftencd with iron nails, which might eafily ruft and fret holes in the fkins, but with wooden pins and whale-bone bands. The Greenlander performs his work with real fkill and beauty. Thougli he ufcr. neither rule nor fquare ; yet his eye metes out the due proportion. All the tools he ufcs for this and all other work, are a little lock- faw, a chifel, (which when faftened on a wooden haft, ferves him for a hatchet) a little gimlet, and a fharp pointed pocket-knife. When the artift has coni- pleated 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 ftitches rather fwell in the water. If they chance to rip a hole upon a ftiarp ftone, they few a patch upon it direftly. But they muft be covered over anew almoft every year. Thefe boats are rowed by the women, whofe number is comm.only four, and one fteers it behind with an oar. It would bs a fcandal for a man to meddle, ex- cept the grcateft ncceffity compels him to lend an hand. The oars are Ihort and broad before, pretty much like a fhovel, only longer, nnd they are confined to their place on the gunnel, with a ftrap of feals leather. In the fore-part they eredt a pole for a maft, 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 ftripes. But they can only fail before the wind, and even then can- not keep pace with an European boat under fail. On the other hand they have this advantage, that when the wind is contrary 01 calm, they can row much faftcr than ours. They coaft along in thefe boiits from one place to another, voyages from two to four hundred leagues, towards north and fouth, with their tents, houfe-furniture and whole fubftance, and often i o or 20 people befides. But the men row, near at hand, in their Kaiaks, with which they (belter the boat from the greateft waves, and in cafe of need lay hold of the gunnel with their hands to keep it upon a ballance. ■ -— . L3 They ' ■( .:,r ■ 1 V } ' ''I 11 , \ . 150 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. They generally travel 12 leagues a day in thcfc 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 (tones, 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- fclvcs fuch boats, and find they are of more fcrvice in certain feafons and occupations than their heavy wooden long-boats, • m .31- The lihte Man's-boat, called in Greenlandilh hiaX:, is 6 yards in length, (harp at head and (lern, juft like a weaver's (buttle, fcarce a foot and half broad in the broadeft middle part, and hardly a foot deep. It is built of a keel like a flender pipe-ftafF, long fide-laths, with crofs hoops not quite round, bound together with whale-bone, and is covered over with fome fre(h-dre(red 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 (harp ends at head and ftern are fortified with ajn edge of bone, having a knob at top, that they may not receive damage fo loon by rubbing againft the Uones. In the middle of the covering of the Kalak there is a round hole, with a rim or hoop of wood or bone, the breadth of two fingers. The Greenlander flips into this hole with his feet, and fits down on a board covered with a foft (kin j 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 fattened acrofs the Icajak. Before him lies his line rolled up upon a little round raifed feat made for it ; and behind him is the f^al-flcin bladder. His pautik or oar, (which is made of folid red deal, (Irengthened with a thin plate three iingers broad at each end, and with inlaid bone at the fides) T/teKa ':% >^l rw r.p.i^c i ACrivenlaiider^i^ kiiJCaui/:i>r^dxinjl'oat^yolm//v .itri^'e aSm/e. A'll. .♦. rw j.p.23i\ ;,.* t> ••lU- '. Ur: i^s \' I I *,>■ '.s^^- ■; ?n.ut'j o ,' f! ^Hiij.-<'- Li7 Chap. I. The Greenlanders Way of Living. 151 fides) this he lays hold of with both hands in the mid- dle, and ftrikes the water on both fides very quick, and fo regular as if he was beating time. Thus equip- ped, away he goesafifliing, and has as bigh a conceit of himfeif as any Mr. captain on his fhip. And verily . one can do no other than furvey the Greenlander in this his parade, with admiration and pleafure ; and his fable fea-veftment, fpotted with many white bone- buttons, gives him a ftately appearance. They can row extremely faft in them, and upon cccafion, if a letter requires expedition from one colony to another, they can perform 2Q or even 24 leagues a day. They fear no ftorm in their kajaks. As long as a fliip can carry its top-fail, even in ftormy weather, they are not. frighted ^t the boifterous billows, becaufe they can fwim over them like an arrow, and even if a whole wave breaks over them, yet prefently they are again (kimming along tl>e furface. So it is with the kaiak. If a wave threatens to overfet them, they counteraft its force and keep themfelves upright on the water by their oar. Nay even if they are overturned, they give themfelves fuch a fwing with their par, while they lie with their head downward under water, that they mount again in their proper pofture. But if alas ! they lofe their oar, they are commonly loft, unlefs any one is n£ar at hand to help them up. y 9* Some Europeans have advanced fo far, after a great deal of application and labour, as to be able to di- vert themfelves in the Kajak when the weather and water is ftill, but feldom are they qualified to fifli in it, or to help themfelves iv\ the Icaft danger. Now as the Greenlanders are endued with an art and dexterity here- in quite peculiar to themfdves, which a mart muft ad- mire with a mixture of panic and pleafure ; and as they a;"e obliged to provide all their maintenance 'n^ thefe lit- tle cock-fhells, in which they are expofed to fo much danger, that many a one perilhes in the deep; there- fore I hope it will not be diiagreeablc to read fome of the manceuvres and exercifcs, which the Greenlanders (nwil learn fromtl\eir youth up, in regard to recovering L 4. themfelves t > ♦ *■ L ,/' 'f ' 3,^ .'1 II \' '> t IS2 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.III. themieives and the boat after being overturned in the water. I have taken notice of ten methods of prac- tice, though very likely there may be more. J. The Greenlander lays himfelf firft on one fide, then on the other, with his body flat upon the water, (tp ijTiitate the cafe of one who is nearly, but not quite pverfej:) and keeps the ballance with his pautik or oar, fo that he raifes himfelf again. •' 2. He overturns himfelf quite, fo that his head hangs perpendicular underwater; in this dreadful pofture he gives himfelf a fwing withaftrokeofhis paddle, and raifes himfelf aloft again on which fide he will. Thefe are the moft common cafes of misfortune, which frequently occur in ftorms .ind high waves ; but they ftill fuppofe that the Greenlander retains the ad- vantage of his pautik in his hand, and is difentangled from the feal-leather ftrap. But it may eafily happen in the fcal-fiflicry, that th? man becomes entangled with the firing, fo that he either cannot rightly ufe the pautik^ or that he lofes it entirely. Therefore they mult be prepared fbr this cafuMty. With this view "^ 3. They run one end of the /> under one of the crofs-ftrings of the kajak, (to imitate its being entan- gled) overfet, and fcrabble up again by means of the artful motion of the other end of thQ pautik. 4. They hold one end of it in their mouth, and yet move the other end with their hand, fo as to rear themfclvcs upright cigain. 5. They 1: y the pautik behind their neck, and hold it there w:th both hands, or, 6. Hold it fail: behind their back ; fo pverturn, and by ftirring it with both their hands behind them, with- out brin'.'inn; it before, rife "rind recover. 7. They lay it affrofs one ftioulder, take hold of it with one hand before, and the other behind their back, and thus cmt-rgo from the deep. Thefe exCiCifcs are of fervice in cafes where the pautik is entanrrlcd with the firing; but becaufe they may alfo quite lofe it, in which the grcateft danger lies, theicfore, 8. Another exercife is, to run the' pautik tl^ough the water under the kaiak, hold it fait on both fides 2 With Chap. I. The GREENLANDErvS way of Living. 153 wirh their f.icc lying on the kajak, in this pofition o- verturn, and rife again by moving the ozr fecundum ar^ tern on the top of the water from beneath. This is of fervice when they lofe the oar during the overfetting, and yet fee it fwimming over them, to learn to manage it with both hands from below. s ■ ■ jj 9. They let the oar go, turn themfelves head down, reach their hand after it, and from the lurface pull it down to them, and fo rebound up. 10. But if they c?n*t poffibly reach it, they take ei- ther the band-board ofF from the harpoon, or a knife, and try t»y chs force of thefe, or even fplafliing the water v/ith the palm of their hand, to fwing them- felves above water ; bivt this feldom fucceeds. They muft alfo excrcife themfelves among the funk- en rocks; where the billows tofs and foam exceflively, and where they may be driven upon the rocks by a dou- ble wave befetting them behind and before, or on both fides, or may be whirled round feveral times, or quite covered over with the breaking furges. In thefe cafes they muft keep themfelves upright, by artfully ballan- cing the boat, that they may ftand out the moft violent ftorms, and alfo learn to land fafe afhore in the midft of the tempeftuous waves. If they overturn and lofe all means of helping them- felves, they are wont to creep out of the kajak while under water, put up their head and call to any one that is near to help them. But if no one is within call, they hold by the kajak, or bind themfelves to it, that fomebody may find their body and bury it. Every Grecnlander is not capable of learning all thefe ways of overfetting and rifmg again ; nay there are good feal-flfliers that cannot rife again in the eafieft way. Therefore many men are caft away in the feal- fifticry, which I will now defer ibe. j . ; ni f' The Grcenlanders have three ways of catching feals, either fingly, vi'ith the bladder j or in company, by the clapper-hunt ; or in the winter on the ice. Where- to may be added the Ihooting them with a gun. The i :■% 't*'- ■ .,'■ ■ ■'^ I lil'i ^■'■^ • 154 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III., Tjic principal and mofi: common way is the taking them with the bladder. When the Greenlander fets out equipped according to the 7th Se«5lion, and fpies a fea), he tries to furprife it unawares with the wind ; Ad fun in his back., that he may not be heard or feen by it. Fie tries to conceal himfelf behind a wave, and 'iialccs haflily but foftly up to it till he comes with- in 4, 5 or 6 fathom of it j mean while he takes the ut-. mofl care that the harpoon, line and bladder lie in pro- per order. Then he takes hold of the oar with his left haiid, jT.nd the harpoon with his right by the hand-board, nnd fo away he throws it at the feaJ in fuch a manner^ that the whole dait flics from the hand-board and leaves that in his hand. If the harpoon hits the mark, and bu- ries itfelf deeper than the barbs, it will dire<5tly difen- gage itfelf from the bone-joint, and that from the (haft, and alfo unwind the ftring from its lodge on the kajak. "Fhc moment the feal is pierced, the Greenlander muft throw the bladder tied to the end of the ftring into the water, on the fame fide as the feal runs and dives, for that he docs inftantly like a dart. Then the Green-, lander goes and takes up the {haft fwimming on the v/ater, and la^•s it in its place. The feal often drags the bladder with it under water, though *ris a conft- dcrabk impediment on account of its great bignefs ; but it fo wearies itfelf out with it, that it muft come up again in about a quarter of an hour to take breath. The Greenlander haftens to the fpot where he fees the bladder rife upj and fmites the feal as foon as it ap- pears, with the great Lance defcribed in the 6th St-^i-r on. I'his lance always comes out of its body agi.in, but he throws it at the creature afrefh every time it comes up, 'till 'tis quite fpent. Then he runs the lit- tle lance into it, and kills it outright, but flops up the wound dire6liy to preferve the blood ; and laftly he blows it up like a bladder betwixt fkin and fle(b, to, put it into a better capacity of fwimming after him, for which purpofe he faftens it to the left-fide of his ka- jak. In this exercife the Greenlander is expofed to the inoft and ereateft dairjger o( his life j whic^i is proba- '■ '■ ° • ,. ■ bly 'm Chap. I. THEGREENLANfiERS WaY OF LiVING. 155 biy the reafon that they call this hunt or filhery kamavek,^ i. e. the Extir .tion, viz. of life. For if the line ihould entangle itfelf, as it eaftly may in its fudden and violent motion, or if it ihould catch hold of the kajak, or (hould wind itfelf round. the oar, or the hand, or c- ven the neck, as it fometimes does in windy weather, or if the feal ftiould 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 dra'^rndown un- der water. On fuch defperate occafion* the (>oor Greenlander (lands in need of all the arts defciibed in the former Section, to difentangle himfcli from the itring, and to raife himfelf up from under the water fcf- veral times fucctflively, for he will continually be overr- turning till he has quite difeilgagcd iiimfelf from the line. Nay wh;en he imagines himfelf to be out of al' danger, and comes too near tliedying feal, it. may ft ill bite him in the fjice or hand ; and a female feal that has young, inftead of flying the field, will fometimes fly at the Greerrlander in the moft vehement rage, and do him a mifchief, or bite ^ hole in his k^ak that he muft link.! 7ri:.v:.v! tiiii.7tt!i\L.\ .-i^iS /f t^dlfi ny;'\ •-i:va .•.i»3ilo-.»i: : Jii ^ *• .:: \'i' ■{\i:v -^r^X' ■: .i^r',Ti^ii%. In this way, fingly, they can kill none but the care- lefs ftupid feal called attarfoak. Several in company fliuft purfue the cautious kajjigiak by the clapper-hunt. In the fame maimer they alfo furround and kill the > i^^mi iu* ■ i%\ t*Jk\ \'li '' f^. ^» CHAP. 11. Op the Conduct of the Greenlanders in do- mestic Life. . ;',!v.mI /ill., k >• i.c-/^ I ■'" § 13* * ■* *' ^ r, 1 ^ ' > I — ^ t ;« -■'H »• > '< , V Now it is time to fay fomethingof the principles and ufagesof the Greenlanders in the various circum- ftances and occurrences of common life, as far as I, from what I have feen myfelf, or have been told by others, or have read in other accounts printed already, have been able to gather. 1 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- mily. According to appearance the Greenlanders lead a pret- ty good orderly life ; we neither fee nor hear any unbe- coming word or action. As I am fpeaking of their ex- ternal order, their fecret pradlices are out of the quefti- on, and mufl: be treated of in another place. Single- women have very feldom any illegitimate children ; it more frequently occurs to a wife divorced, or a young widow i and though fuch a perfon is defpifed, yet fhc many times makes her fortune by felling her children to one that has none, or being taken into the family of fuch a one, if he does not even marry her. Single people of different fexes feem to have no particular converfation together at any time, and a young woman would look upon it as an affront or injury in company, -■ if a : ■ •: . ? 1 1" 1! 1 1 i ,_ jt. .~-iu'.;i; «•? I m !i? [ 158 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. jf a young fellow was only to offer her a pinch of fnuff. A man does not think of marrying till he is above twenty years old, but then when he is determined up- on it, he chufes a perfon not much younger than him- felf, and acquaints his parents or neareft relations of the perfon on whom' his choice is fixed. He does not look after a marriage dowry, for he gets nothing with his bride but her deaths, her knife, her lamp, and at furtheft a ftone-boiler, and often not fo much j but he looks at her fkill in houfwifcry and fewing -, and ihe on the other hand pays the chief regard to his being a good hunter. Their parents confent diredly, for they let their children, efpecially their fons, have their will in every thing. Then they fend a couple of old women as negotiators to the parents of the bride ; thefe do not enter abruptly upon the treaty, but firft fpeak highly in praife of the bridegroom and his houfe. The Pamfel will hear nothing of the matter, runs away, and tears her ringlet of hair to pieces ; for the fingle women a£k the part of great baftifulnefs, and refift as much as they can, that they may not fall under an evil report, though the man is often previoufly afcertained of their acquiefcence. Yet this is not always diffimulati- on, but often a real formidable impreflion, which goes fo far, that the young Woman fometimes faints away, fometimes elopes among the barren mountains, and fometimes cuts off her hair, which is an act of great confequence in a Greenland woman, for then flie will certainly never be wooed or folicited any more. Perhaps this averfion may have fprung from the many examples of repucJiated and rejected wives, and haugh- ty fecondary wives. Mean while the parents don't give their exprefs confent, but fuffer it to be done. Then the women fearch for the daughter, and drag her by force into the houfe of the fuitor, where (he fits for fome days dejedted, with difhevelled hair, and without eating any thing ; and when no kind and courteous perfuafions avail, ihe is compelled by force, nay fome- times by blows, to change her ftate. If fbe runs away, ihe is again brpught back, and forced fo much the foon- cr to tie the knot. However, Chap. 2. Of their noMFSTic CorJDucT. 159 However, fonic parents take care to fettle iheir chiU ^rin themfelves, atid fome even betroth them to each other in their childhood, and confirm the contract with mutual pledges, and in this cafe they come toge- ther as foon as they pleafe without any further ceremo- ny. Sometimes a Greenlander that has one wife already, brings home another by force, if he finds her any where alone, or even at a dance ; but in thia cafe he muit provide himfelf with feconds, left it fhould come to blows, which however is not often the cafe. They feldom marry firft coufins, or even perfons that are no relations, if they have been bred up together in one houfe as adopted children. On the other hand there are inftances, though but very few, that a man takes to wife two own fiftcrs at the fame time, or a mo- ther and the daughter fhe brings with her i but fuch things are odious to the moft. : . , %« •; .;,i Pol) gamy is not very common among them, for fcarce one in twenty has two wives. A man that has, does indeed not render himfelf ignominious, but rather is regarded as a good earner in that he can maintain them. And as it is a great reproach to have no children, efpecially no fon, who might be the ftay of their old age ; to that end, thofe capable of providing for feveral, are apt to think of more than one wife. Yet after all, becaufe *tis however a thing out of the common courfe, fuch expofc themfelves to the criticifm of the Green- landers, whether it was a regard to the welfare of the family, or lafcivioufnefs, that was the real incentive to it ? But if a man engrofles three or four wives, (fome inftances of which there are, as well as of a woman having two hufbands) he certainly incurs the lalh of every body's tongue. Some women are uneafy in their minds about fuch things, efpecially fince they have heard that it is prohibited in chriftian countries. On the other hand fome wives perfuade their hufbands to thefe fteps j and they both fometimcs, from a defire of getting ifl'ue, have recourfe to fuch projed'» mother alwayx maintains the fuperiority over thofe of her fcx, and treats the wife not much better than a maid. But nei- ther of thefe feparations often occur, if they have had children together, efpecially fons, for fons are the Greenlanders greateft treafure and the beft fecurity of their fubfiftence. In cafe of feparation, they always follow the mother, nor are they to be prevailed on even after her death to return again to the father to fup-« port him in his old age. There haveaKo been inltan- ces after divorce, that one of the parties, efpecially the hufband, hath run into the dreary defart, avoiding the face of men as long as he lived. Sometimes fuch a hermit hath dwelt many years in fome cavern, and kept himfelf alive by hunting, but flying always at the fight of a human creature. No one likes to Venturis alone far into the parts where fuch a fugitive rcforts, becaufe they think their lives arc not fafe. However, fuch quarrels and feparations only happen between peo- ple in their younger years, who married without due fore-thought. The elder they grow, the more they love one another. If a man's only wife dies, a few days after he adorns himfelf, his houfe and children in the beft manner pof- Yible ; but his Kajak and darts, which arc his greateft , - ■ parade. if.- 4\ Chap. 2. Of their domestic Conduct. i6i parade, mud above all be in the fined order, and all this to render himfelf amiable. However, he abftains from all merry company, and docs not re-enter the married flute till a full year is vlapfed, unlcfs he has fmall children and no-body to nurfc them. In cafe of more than one wife, if the chief or proper wife dies, thjn the fecondary or junior wife takes her place. She muft join in the funeral howl, and even lead the chorus of lamentation, out of pun«Etilio, (tears on this occa- fion never fail) yet, the voice betrays that t'jc heart takes but little (hare ii^ it. ShecarclTes the mothcrlefs children of the deceafed more than her own, fhe laments that they have been hitherto neglected, and artfully in- fmuates that fhe has rectified or redrefTed this or the other defedl in the houfwifery of the deceafed ; yet all the while pretending to praueherj fo that one can't help wondering at the artful flauery of thefe othcfwife unpolifhed people. '■ittU.>.',ULl. 14. /..■{ ■'^^intik^fe- 1 t*r^»- rr The Greenlanders are not very prolific. A woman has commonly three or four children, and at mofl but fix J they generally bear but one child in two or three years. Therefore when they hear of thefrqitfulnefs of other nations, they contepxptuouHy compare them to their dogs. They very feldom bear twi'ns. Very few women die in lying-in. They moflly do all their com- mon bufinefs juft before and diredlly after their delivery, and a ftill-bprn or deformed child is feldom heard of. The parents or the mid- wife give the child a name, borrowed from beads, animals, indruments, or parts of the body. They like to give a child the name of a late deceafed relation, efpecially of their grandfather or grandmother to perpetuate their memory. But if fuch came to an untimely or accidental death, they avoid mentioning their name, that they may not renew the pain of their lofs. Nay if a perfon is already called by the fame name as another lately deceafed diitinguifhed friend, they drop that name for a whileout ofcompafTion, and give him another. Thus in ' procefs of time a Greenlander may acquire more than one name, from fome laudable ground (or perhaps llidicrous or fcanda- VoL. I. M lous It! '\i ■^ . 162 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.III. ous adlion) fo that many a one is at a lofs to tell a ftranger his own name, becaufe he is too modeft to call himfelf by his honourable name, or title of Greenland nobility, and is alhamed of his nick-name. They love their Children exceflively. The mothers carry them with them whereve/ they go, and whatever they are about, in i conveniency made in their drefs between their flioulders. They fuckle them till they are three or four years old and longer, becauib their country afFords nothi g to make proper food for a tender infant. Therefore many children die, when they muft refign their place at the bread to a fucceflbr, before they can bear harc^ food. And if the mother dies before the child can fubfift on common diet, then there is little hope that the poor babe will furvive her long. " The children are brought up without any difclpline, or any feverity of reprimand or chaftifement by their parents. But indeed fevere treatment of the Green- landers children is on the one hand not very needful, becaufe they run about as quiet as lambs, and fall into very fe;w extravagancies ; and on tho other hand it would be fruitlefs, becaufe if a Greenlander cannot be influenced to a thing by gentle intreaty, or by rational arguments, he will fooner be killed than compelled to. it. Whether this is the efFedt of i natural felf-will in their complexion, or whether it proceeds from the long habit of an unreilrained education, I am not able to determine. The time when the children are the moft untra6lable, and immoderate in crying, fcratching and ftriking, is Lo' ween their fecond and fifth year ; yet Ihould a mother's patience be worn out, and ihould (he re'^urn the blow to her child, fhe would be fure of the father's refentment, efpecially if it was a fon, who from his birth is regarded as the future lord of the fa- mily. The nearer the children arrive to years of under- ftanding, and the more employment they are engaged in, the more quiet and governable they are. There is feldom any extraordinary falfenefs, ill-nature, or other grofs vices to be obferved in them. They like to follow their parents willingly of their own accord ; but they expe<5l to be treated by them with benignity and 21 little on the footing of friends, and if they ::" arc •-'**«*■•* ■ t ;./% III? hi ?•■ Chap. 3iJ Of TttEiR domestic Conduct.' i6^ kre defired to do any thing c ntrary to their mind, they fay without any compliment : I will not. The parents put up with the refufaly till the children fee their error. At the fame time, inftances of ingratitude in grown- up children towards their ancient helplefs parents, are hardly ever to be niet with. Thus their character appears to te the very reverfe, in moft refpe(Sls, of many childi^en of more civilized nations, feeing thefe laft often appear better externally than they are within, and their vices expand and fliew themfelves more froni year to yeair. § IS. ' . As fooh as the boy can make ufe of his Hands and feet, his father puts a little bow and arrow into his hand, that he may exercife himfelf by fhooting at a target, and alfo puts him upon throwing ftones at a, mark by the fea fide, or elfe he gives him a knife to carve play-things with. Towards his tenth year he provides him a Itajak to praftife rowing, overfettirig and rifmg^. fowling and fifhing, in company with himfelf or othef boys. In his fifteenth or fixteenth year, he muft ^ 'i out with his father to catch feals. The firft feal he takes, is confecrated to (nake a feftivity for the family and rieighbourhood. During the repa'ft the young champion muft relate his noble atchieveirTent, and how he managed to catch the creatur?. The guefts idffiire his dexterity and prowefs, and extol alfo the particular good flavour of the meatj and from that very day the females begin to think of finding him a !)ride. But the poor wretch that cannot catch feals, Js defpifed to the laft degfee, and is obliged to fubfift on women's diet, fuch as fcolpings, which he can fi(h for on the ice,' miifcles, periwinkles,' dried herrings^ &c. Yet there are fome that never attain the art (*); At the age of twenty years he muft make his own Ka- , • I hare feen a hale ftrong Grcenlan Jer here in Kangek, who had beer| Kindered by his mother from learning to manage a Kajalc, for fear led he (hould be drowned, as her hufband and eldull fon had been, both at once. The poor fellow was forced to ferve the other GrRcnlanders like a maid, which k.ndof bafmcfs he performed with great activity and xm.- w ■i. : ^1 \M-Vi u J' if r< I in 164 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. jak and tools, and fully equip himfelf for his profeflion. A few years after he marries, but dwells with tis parents as long as they live, and his mother always retains the management of the houfe. .,.*.; ^"i* The girls do nothing, till thej are fourteen years old, but chatter, fing and dance, unlefs fetching water, or perhaps waiting on |a child. But afterwards they muft few, cook, drcfs leather, and when they advance further in years and flrength, they muft help to row the women's boat and build houfes. § 16. From what has been faid, one may alfo guefs at the employments of the grown people, and how man and wife have divided the domeftic bufinefs between them. The Man makes his hunting and fifhing implements, and prepares the wood-work of the boat ; artd the woman covers it with fkins. He hunts and fifhes, but when he has towed his booty to land, he troubles himfelf no further about it, nay it would be accounted beneath his dignity only to draw the feal up upon the fhore. The women are the butchers and cooks j and alfo the curriers to drefs the pelts, and make cloaths, fhoes and boots out of them, and thus are ftioemakers and taylors too. And for all this bufinefs they ufe no- thing but a knife in form of a half-moon, fuch as cooks mince meat with, (which they ufe alfo at the table, and have neither fhears nor knife befide) a tone or ivory-flice, a thimble, a couple of coarfe and fine needles, and their own teeth, with which they pull the ikins and fupple them both at dreffing and fewing. Yet more, they build and repair the houfes and tents quite alone, as far as relates to the mafonry, the men doing only the carpenters work. The men very coolly look on, while the women bring heavy ftones that are ready to break their backs. On the other hand they leave all they acquire to the care and difpofal of the women, (except the blubber which the men fell) and in the abfence of the huft)ands they feaft as much as they will, and when all is gone, and there is no- thing to be had, they both together endure hunger very patiently, or ejit the remnants of old (hoes. Only the craving y I Chap. 2. Of their domestic Conduct. 165 craving wants of their children at fuch times affefl them the moft. When a family has no children or only little ones, the hufband fometimes adopts one or two boys that are orphans for his children, to affift him in providing food, and to take care of his family in future times. The wife does the fame with a girl or a widow. It is true they are fervants, yet they are under no com- pulfion, but fuch a boy is looked upon as the rifing head of the houfhold, and the girl may leave her (ervice when flie pleafes. A mafter never ftrikes his man fer- vant ; but fhould he ftrike his mai^ fervant, it would be a difgrace to him indeed. 'Jli^J. § X7' i;., liillJ .»»',. IJ* :n{ But after all, the Greenland women have a hard, and almoft flavifti life of it. While they are little, or as long as they tarry with their parents, they arc in an agreeable condition enough. But from their twentieth year to their death, their life is a concatenation of fear, indigence and lamentation. If the father dies, their fup- plies are cut off, and they mud ferve in other families. It is true they will not want victuals as long as tne hoft has any, but there will be a deficiency of clean and decent cloathing. And for want of that, efpeci- ally if they be not handfome in pcrfon, or dexterous at their work, they muft remain fingle. Should any one take them to wife, (in which they cannot often have their own choice, as wag mentioned before) they ilu6luate between hope and fear for the firft year, left they fliould be put away again, cfpecially if they have no children ; and fhould they be repudiated, their charadler and regard is loft, they mufl return to fervitude, or per- haps purchafe the fupport of life at a fcandalous price. If the hufband retains them, they muft often take a black eye in good part, mull fubmit to the yoke of the mother-in-law like common maids, (who are often bet-, ter off) or muft fubmit to his having another wife c.r two. If the hufband dies, the widow has no othci jointure but whiit Ihe brought v/ith her, and for her children's fake* muft ferve in another family more fub- miflively than a finsile woman, who can go when fhe will.' But if fhe huu any upgrown fons, fhe is then M 3 better |:i' -.11 ft a- f* > ■■* « ) i 1; 1 V' k' J I ,1 ' i ■ Milt U 1 ' ) I I ! f J Nl PJ 166 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.III, tetter oif than many married women, becaufe (he can regulate the dome(Hc affairs as (he ple^fes. If a woman advances to a great age (and has not a family whii keep up her rei'pecl) Ihe muft pafs for a witch, and fometimes 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 ftohed, precipitated into the fea, ftabbed or cut to pieces. Should ihe efcape this ifatality, but ftill grow a burden to berfelf arid others, fhc is buried alive, or muft plunge herfelf into the ocean; the pretended motive is compaffion, but the true one is covetoufnefs. However, it may be eafily imagined, that this is not the fad cafe of each ^nd all of them. Notwithftanding all their har4 labour, fear, trouble and vexation, they commonly arrive to a greater age than the men, who arfe fo worn out and enfeebled by fpending moft of their time at fea, in fnow and rain, heat and cold, and in the fevereft winters as well as fummer, by ftjrenuous 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 fejdom attain the age of fifty. Many alfp lofe their lives in the water, fo that there are every where fewer men thai) women. Theworiien frequently live till thev are feventy, and . fometimes eighty and upwards. But then they are generally inftruments of mifchief, who betake themfelves to lying, backbiting, match-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 conviction from, the truths of chrifti- anity. /;- v.t :• fi'li. Off'//; § i8. -Jv/!' ■u. :h m-'i Here I will take occauon 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 Con juct. 167 1. For their kapiuk or hairy feal-fkin cloaths, they fcrape the fkin thin, lay it twenty-four hours in the karbik or urine-tub to extract the fat or oil, and then diftend it for drying with pegs on a green place. Af- terwards when they work the fkin, it is fprinkle^^ with urine, rubbe-^ with pumice ftone, 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 ^. knife or with their teeth, lay it three days in frefli water, and fo ftretch it for drying. 3. In the fame manner they prepare the er'tfak 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 alfo muke the fea-coats, ifrhich the men drnv/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 falt- 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 fliore ; 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-lkins are fele^led out of the ftouteft ' feals hides, from whiclir the fat is not quite taken off; they roll them up, and fit on them, or let them lie in the fun covered with 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, a|id few them ' together, and fmear the feams and ftitches with old \ feal-blubber 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-watet 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 M 4 the m< t m 4,\i i 1»S ■ If t* i68 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. 111. the air to bleach them white j and if they intend to dye it red, they chew the leather, with fpme 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 (kin of the fowls about the head, and then draw it off whole over the body. Having fcrapcd off the fat with a inufcle-fhell, the flcins 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-fowl Ikins, their warm winter-garments of the bellies, and their fine holiday drefs of the necks, and in thefe they comn|only turn the feathers outward. ....j* ,...4^, .^-i, ,,j;. ^.,^ :^.^f .-.- At firll 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 turri one's ftomach, to fee their filthy hands and face all befmeared with greafe, their meat drefled 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 tempcft, he is glad to creep into their houfes or tents for (helter ; and if he has )|;iothing 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 houfej 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 j and yet we always find their little limited apartments and their furniture in good order, and as for their hunting and fiihing implements, th« w. -i .-»ti J j!W'-i K If. r warm Chap. 2. Of their domestic Conduct/^-^ iB^^ the mail is continually clppining and improving them. * They lay by their deaths that they don't wear every } day, carefully folded up in a leather-fack lifce a p6rt-' ^ manteau, finely figured with the needle. I'heir water- refervoirs are made part of wood, prettily inlafd 'with " bone, and part of copper, and they keep them fo clean, that we (hould 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 whqq they have occafion to go backwards : they look for fome lonely place, and take a handfull of mofs. They arc fo delicate in this refpci?!:, that they rcfufe eating gar- den-herbs and the valuable feu rvy-grafs, if it grows in ' the vicinity of fuch places. But it mufl: be confeflcd that this neatnefs, which prevails but in the feweft*- parts of their houfwifery, cannot be fet as a counter-''- balance to their dirtincfs 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, cir'cunifpedl 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 oi. ly removes to another houfe without fay- ^ ing a murmuring word. They are glad to be affiftant ^ to each other, and live in fome refpecls 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 neceffary, becaufe hofpitality is prailifed all o- f ver the country, both towards their acquaintance and '• ftrangers. This cuftom is the more requifite and lau- dable, becaufe the different feafons and occupations often ' call (4^ ■■ f'j .'I :■ <• = . &L'y\ Of If a <■>■.'»! H.' ■^:j 'jrab,}^iv .i^- ij ! I I' Pi' \mV4 ir 170 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. call them many leagues from home, and they cannot find every where time and opportunity to catch what is neceflary for their fubfiflence. , . . ^,,, CHAP. III. >*^J^^^''^ t..i Or THE Deportment of the Greenlanders in Society, or their civil Character. ft § 20." •r- ri ' • HERE is opportunity likewife of knowing Jl_ their carriage in common life, and in fociety. In this refpeft they are difcreet, cautious, friendly, mannerly and modeft j but they know nothing of a falfe fhame, a jealous referve, oralaboiredaifedtation; only they have the art of concealing their wifhes and inclinations. They are not fo folicitous to diftinguifh themfelves, and to fliine in the circle, as to avoid ren- dering themfelves ridiculous, and tarniftiing their good na iie. U true complaifance can fubfift without arti- ficial and often difTembling 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 refpedl and reverence, but laugh at the European compliments, and at a man's Handing uncovered before his fuperior, and wonder to fee a mafter Itrike or maletreat his fervant. Yet not- withftanding this, the young people and domeftics maintain a due refpedt 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 efFe courfe, or to out-bawl one another. They laugh when any thing founds comical, aid efpecialh' when they a- nimadvert on the Europeans j but. 'ti. nt indelicate boifterous laugh. They are not aflii 'ned f what is not unnatural, or hateful in itfelf, zy-n on •. like to be taunted vvith it. They have fo littl. a »t'.on of any in- decency in breaking wind, or cavchi.g -i loufe and cracking it between their teeth in >prrable company, that they will not bear any rebuke ^oout 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. i" §21. ■>-... .v-*v:^ *f Wheri they rowfomewhere on a vifit, they carry fome trifle of eatables or pelts for aprefent. If they are cre- ditable, agreeable guefts, they are welcomed with Tinging ; all harids are employed in drawing the boats afhore and unloading them. Every one will ^ needs have the guefts at his houfe. Mean while the vifttors are filent, wait a little, and let them repeat their invitations. As foon as they are entered, they kindly compel them to take off 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 lit 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 fiihing y the women Brft mutually bewail their ' » ^ ' • deceafed .' ■^] » i' ''X • t' It I- ^ ■ ■■ ,V .v- I it: T-f?. " >i ' V \ .^-^ ■ r-^v I I 'i I i; 172 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. dcccafed relations with an harmonious howl, and then divert thcmfelves with all manner of little ftorles. All the while the horn with fnufFgoes conftantly round, out of which they draw the fnufF up with the nofe. 'Tis made of llags-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 hoft 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 difti- es, but if they intend it for a feaft, they have more. A Factor being invited to a great entertainment with feveral topping Grecnlanders, counted the following drfhes : i. Dried herrings. 2. Dried Seal-flefh. 3. Boiled ditto. 4. half raw and rotten ditto, called Mi- kiafc. 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 thegUefts were properly InvitedJ 7. Dried falmon. 8. Dried rein-deer Venifon. 9. A de- fert of CroW-berries mixed with 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 fubjeft 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- quilhcd a feal, they dcfcribe the very inftant of time, and tlie very fpot, and then a6t over every motion ofFen- five and defenfive that they and their antagonift the feal have made : the left-hand perfonates the feal, and rcprefents 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 ileadily 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 tager attention, and profit moft by the tale : They fay nothing Chap. 3. Of their social Deportment. 173 nothing till they are afked, and then anfwer with bre- vity and difcretion. If Europeans arc prefent, they like to hear them re- late foraething of their country. But they could form no conception of fuch novelties, if they wery not explained to them by fimilitudes ; for in- flance, " 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 eat no " whales, they eat bread that grows like grafs out of " the ground, and the flclh 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 tlie validity of their fuperftitious fables and cuf- toms too. . The ftrangers are affigned a fleeping place apart, and favoured with new fkins for bedding; but complaifance keeps them up till the mafter of the family lies down. t>^ § 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- ject your bargain ; in fhort, they will have juft the thing that pleafes them. They very rarely cheat or take 4\ n H iT 'it* I., vi '\ .' I git J ■ft 174 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.in. take the advantage of one another, much lefs ileal, which is very infamous among them. But they glory in ovcr-reacning or robbing an European, becaufethey think 'tis a proof of their fuperior wit and inge* nuitv. Their traffic is carried on in part among themfelves, and the reft with the fa6lors and feamen. They keep a kind of annual fair among one another. Wherever there is a great alTembly or rendezvous of Greenland- ers, as at a dancing match, or the Sun^feaft in winter,' iof which we fhall treat anon) there they do as the Loman-Catholics do at a great pilgrimage or fuch-like folemnity, viz. there are always fome that expofe their wares to view, and mention publicly what goods they wnnt in exchange. If this fuits anyone, he brings the demanded truck, and the bargain is compleat. They mofliy deal about veflels of foft baftard-marblc, which are not every where to be had. And as thofe in the fouth have no whales, and thofe in the north no wood, many boats of the Greenlanders coaft every fummer out of the fouth, nay from 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-fifli, 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 fubftance 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 ftsiy in one place. Some years elapfe before th^y 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 bell 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 flay and fettle entirely here or there, fo they have every Where friends and acquaiiitance to afliil them. Chap. 3. Op theik social Deportment. 175 The Greenlanders vend their Fox and Seal fkins, 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 Spanifli 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, ChilTels, and fewing Needles ; in the next place, ftriped linen and cotton, kerfeys, woollen dockings and caps, handker- chiefs, chefts or boxes, wooden difhes, pewter plates, copper kettles, looking-glafTes, combs, ribbons and all forts of toys for children. They are fondeft of buying fnufF, alfo guns, powder and mot, from whence they gain but little profit, and upon the whole fuftain great detriment in their domeftic affairs. Tobacco, which they ufe only as fnulT, ferves ir.ftead of fmall- money 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- co they bring you a couple of handfuls of uncleanfed eider-down, a parcel of eggs, birds, a diih of fifli 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 flrong liquors do in other countries; which lafl is of t6o high a price for the Greenlanders pv.rchafe, to their great good fof' tune. rr: J ;l-; § 23. I mentioned sbove, anaffembly fordrncing and f Sun-feaft. Thefe are not religious ad-; or ceremon '^''i A h I : I v.f as \ i m s ' .* 176 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. f as they poffibly may be among other Heathen nations, but they are mere fports or divertifements. The Gri^en- landers keep the Sun-feaft at the hyerhal or winter folftice about December 22d, to rejoice at the return of the fun, and the renewal of good hunting and fifliing . weather. They aflemble 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 burflr, 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 fkin 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-flick 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 mulic 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 ftanzaof hi? ode, with an oft repeated chorus of Amna Jjah, Ajah-ah-ah ! fo that the fi.rft bar falls a fourth, and the next begins a note higher and is fung through, and fo on. The fmger fings four cantos ia every ad ; the two firft commonly confift of the Jmna ajah conftantly repeated, and the others of a recitative, in which he fings a fliort 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, ajah, ah-hu ! - And brings us weather fine and fair* \' ' ■'- - Amna ajah^ ajahy ah-hu! The ,!' ■i'-': Chap. 3. Of their social Deportment. 177 The finger knows how to exprefs the paflioiis with peculiar loft r^ iinimatccl turns of the dium and mo- tions of his body, which one cannot but admire. An act laRj a full quarter of an hour. When one is tired,, and bathed in fvveat, from the conftant fpringing and agitation of liis body, another llcps forth upon the ftage. Thus tlKy continue the vvliole night through ; next day they flcep their fill, in the evening ilufF their bellies again, and then dance all night j and this jound they run for fevcral days and nights, till they have nothing more to eat, or till they are fo fatigued and fpent that they can no more fpeak. Whoever can make the moil droll motions of his body, bears the bell as a maftei-mufician or finger. They alfo play at ball. When the moon fhines, they divide thcmfelvcs in two parties, one of them throws a ball to another of his fide, and thofc 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 nimblefi:. * They have alfo ways of trying one another's ftrength or hardinefs ; for inftance, two competitors ftrike one another fucceflivcly with their fift on the bare back, and he that holds it out longefi: is the conqueror, and as fuch he ftruts about and challenges another, till he has his budget full too. Again they fit down, link legs and arms together, and try which can out-pull the other, and he that does, is mafter. They alfo try their ftrength by hooking their fingers together, and fo drawing. They fometimes faften a rope to a beam in the houfe, hang on it by their foot or arm, and exercife all forts of artful! poftures like a rope- dancer. The young folks turn round a board upon an axle, with a finger-piccc upon it like a one-and-thirty board, and whomfoever the finger points to when it ftands Itill, wins the depofited prize. The children, efpccially the girls, join hands, form a circle and dance and hop about, ilnging ajTiong themfelvcs to the motion. " ■■ i,i i '. ■!■ Vol. I. K §24, k1 i 178 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. ' ' ' ' ' " i' '" ■' ' • ■ . . . - ' Such (Jancing meetings are alfo appointed at other fcafons 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 fmgular of all, that they even decide their quarrels by finging a.id dancing, and call this a fmging-combat. If one Greenlander imagines himfelf injured by another, he betrays not the leaft trace of vexation or wrath, much Icfs revenge, but he compofes a fatyrical poem j this he repeats fo often with finging and dancing in the prefence of his domeftics, and cfpecially the women-, till they have all got it in their memory. Then he publiihes a challenge every where, that he will fight a duel with his antagonift, not with a fv/ord but a fong. The refpondent 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 aiahy and alfo fmg every fen- tence with him ; and all this while he difcharges fo many taunting truths at his adverfary, that the audi- ence have their fill of laughing, ""hen he has fung out all his gall, the defendant lleps forth, anfwers the accufation againil 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 aflault, and tries to ba^ic 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 paffion. The whole body of beholders conftitute the jury, and bcftow the laurel, and afterwards the two parties are the heft friends. It is feldom any thing unbecoming occurs at any of their fports ; (exci'pt perhaps that a man, v/ho has good fcconds, carries off a woman by violence, whom he has a mind to marry:) but as for this fport, it is more tl an a mere diverfior, they take this opportunit\r 19 .'«'V!. at maintains Ghap. 3. Of their social Deportment. 179 to excite one another to better morals by expofing the fhame of the contrary ; to admonifti debtors to pay whrt they owe; to difcountenance lying and detraction ; and to execute revenge on every fort of fraud or injuftice in their dealings, and alfo on adultery ; for there is no- thing that keeps a Greenlander in good order fo much as dread of publicic defamation. Nay this merry re- venge keeps back many a one from vi^reaking his malice in making reprifals, 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, an4 moral philofophcrs, behave the worft. § 25. Thus the Drum-dancings are their Olympic games, their Areopagus, their rojirum, their theatre, their com- mercial fair, and laftly t\\e.\r forum or court of juftice, before which they cite each other to adjuft their vari- ances, without depriving the antagonift 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 punifhing offenders, and procuring themfeh^s juftice, as long as they are favage, without religion, and without the leaft ihadow of a political conllif-ution. They live as we may imagine our anceftors 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 own family as well as he can, but has no one to command out of that circle, nei- ther will he take the commands of another. Nay when feveral families dwell in one houfe together, one has no authority to di6tate to the other ; only they muft repair the houfe in fellowftiip, and remove in and out at the fame time, becaufe many lamps are required to heat the houfe. Yet the men love to accommodate themfclves to fome Sire of the houfe that cuts the moft figure among them, is moft weather-wife, and has attained the grcateft ikill in the art of feal-catching j N 2 fat M i' i8o HISTORY OF G FKInI.AND. B. 1:1 his habitation is affigned him hi the rknj*^h-''n(' fthe houfe, and he is to infpe<3[ its order am' clejirirnefs. 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 houf^ the truth upon fome occafion In a fatyrical fong, it 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 affiftance 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 I'cparate from him when they pleafe. In fhort, no one defires to ufurp the leaft authority over another, to prefcribe to him in the leaft, to call hifn to account for his actions, or to demand any rates or taxes for the public want or weal. For they have no overplu-i nor riches ; they have a natural antipathy againft a.t 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- Head of laws ; but alas the praclice is often very de- fective, for the execution has no lupport, and the tranf- greflbr no punifhment, except the fatyrical dance, I v/ill now conclude this chapter by inferting the followin;.': A.uit. Tis, out of Mr. Dabger^s relation of the ways and nfu^ .s 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 fifhlng, v/hich is all the land affords, has no game-ail to reftrain it, but is every where free to all, nor does any one think of a profecution if a per- fedt ftranger comes to reap in the harveft that God hath given at a good fifhery, nay even at a falmon-wear "which others ere(51:ed with great trouble ; only they muft do no harm, nor frighten the creatures away. Should the ftrangers adt againft this order, the inhabitants will rather go away and put up with the lofs, than quarrel with 4;hem. Whoever finds Drift-wood, or the fpoils ' • • of Chap. 3- Of THEi;^ SOCIAL Df.porti/.ent. i8i of a fhip-wrcck on the ftrand, enjoys it as his own, though he does not live there. But he muft hawl it afhore and k ' a {lone upon it, ?s a token that fome one has taken pofleifion of ij:, and this ftone is their deed of fecurity, for no other Greenlander will oftcr to meddle with it afterwards. If a feal efcapes from a man with his javelin in it, and another man afterwards kills it, it belono-s ' to the firft man that ftruck it. But if the creature is ftruck with ,the hirpoon and bladder, and the ftring breaks, he that threw firft, lofes his right. If two ftrike a feal at the fame time, they di^ ide it be- tween them. The fowling rules are the fame. If any one finds a dead feal with the harpoon in it, he keeps the feal, but reftores the harpoon to him that loft it. If they catch a fea-cow, or any otiicr fuch great ani- mal of the ocean, he that call the weapon claims the head and tail for his own, but of the carcafs every man may cut oiFas mucli 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 amono; them, for feveral hundred people fall at once upon the animal with fliarp knives, and cut and (lice 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 i reindeer at once, it belongs to the dextrous hand whoiV arrow refted neareft the heart, however the others hav a portion of the venifon given them. But if one wounds it before another, he bears away the prey, though another killed it afterwards, liut fince they have had guns, and no one can know .lis 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 hi boat or tool, and it receives fome accidental damage, the owner muft de- mand no reparation, except it was ufcd 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 caniio' direclly pay, may have a thing upon credit. If he die;* before the debt ir N 3 difcharged. •■'4 I m^ i82 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. Ill, difchargcci, the creditor muft not renew the grief of the difconiolate relations by mentioning the deccafed ; however after fome time he may apply for his own, if it is not loft in the fcramble that commonly goes forward in the houfe of the dead. Nay if a perfon in the interim Ipfes 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 fancTlion of laws among the Greenlanders, appear a little ftrange to fuch as have other laws and ufages, and bring fome, and efpeciaily the fadtors into many a perplexity. Thp Greenlanders themfelves fee the infufficiency and inr iuftice 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." . C H A P. IV. i f 14 H h Of the r jral Character and Conduct of THE GrE'-NLANDERS. ■i .*t- ','i ■M Tf^V ^ 26. -SMiS' IT is now incumbcn.^ 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 v/orld, and that have neither religion nor government, rmd 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 moral and mental qualities of this Nation in the general ; for every nation, nay every individual per- fon, has a good fide and a bad, and according to the diiierent fides that different people fcan, their defcrip- tions of them diametrically differ, laudatur ab his, ciil- patur ob illis. So it v. in this cafe j at the firft vifw of this untaught people, wedifcern fo many lovely and laudable qualities, as may in truth put our Chriften- dom tc the biufh, m it.; pref^-iu fhite of excdient know- ■'"•^1 c ledge, 1 f- Chap. 4. Of their moral Character. i8j ledge, but of pra(Slice generally contradiftory both to the light of Nature and Revelation. This is the »iut; the Greenland nation prefents to every one, that has not fufficienjt time or opportunity to explore fundamentally all the latent fprings and meanders of their inclinations and adlions. This hath given ground to the good dc- 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 J 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 them among the moftfavage, abominable and vicioully- difpofed nations. For my part, I have obferved mor« agreeable than difagreeable things in thefe favages, be- caufe I have feen them mollly on the good, and lel- dom on the bad fide j but yet truth obliges me to inicrt their blemiihes alfo, as they have been reported to me, that I may paint their true picture as near as poflible. § 27. The Greenlanders are called wild or fayage; and people are wont to form fuch an odd conception of favages, as if their nature and manner of living muffc needs be not only immoral, but brutal and cruel. This word ihares the fame fate as the word barlartiSy which was the appellation the Greeks and Romans gave to all foreigners, who had often better, only not their manners and cuftoms. Navigators ftiled thofe people favages, (fyhatici) that did not dwell in cities and villages, but difperfed here and there in the forcfts like the wild beafts. Thus the Heathens got the name oi Pa^ani^ 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 untradtable, fierce, wild, barbarous, or cruel people, but rather ^ gentle, quiet, civil and good-natured gencfation. They live in a ftate of Nature and Liberty, as Anders [an cxprcflcs it, cnra dvitatem^ yet in Society \ fo that N 4 'the i84 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. the fictitious fuppofitions about the frate of mankind before the civil police commenced, are not at all con- firmed by their ftatc. Their community is compoied of feveral families in one houfe, and fcvcral hor.fes or tents on one ifland. Thefe limbs are not knit together by any publick laws and inftitutions, nuich kTs by compulfion, or penalties, but by voluntary agreement and order ; and yet it has flood its ground (in all likc- lihcod, feveral hundred years) without any great la- bour or expence, in many rcfpeds better than a Sparta or an Athens. They may be called in truth a fortu- nate people ; for every one does what he will, and yet rarely aCIs to the great prejudice of another, except in the cafe of revenge or private arbitrary puniflimcnt. Hence they can live in peace and fafcty ; nor is civil government (that miniflcr of God ordained to execute punishment on evil-doers) fo abfolutely necefiary for them, as it is for all civilized nations, who cannot enoush be thankful to God for Ciivino; them Go- vernment for their own prefervation. 'Tis true, the Greenlanders live a poor toilfome life in our eye, but they are chearful under it, and have all that nature requires in the little they poiTels ; and were they furnifhed with far more coftly i'upplies than their feals, they would be as little able to fubfift on fuch things, as we fhouid with their hard bill of fare. Therefore they think, they have no caufe to envy but to pity us, becaufe we have multiplied our wants fo exceedingly, that we cannot fubfift with their little and homely ftores. This Poverty, and at the fame time fufficiency of theirs, conduces very much to their fecujity and liberty, and confequcntly to their felicity, becaufe they can amafs no treafures for the thieves to break in upon and fteal. Neither is there any handle for war, violence, oppreflive injuflice, chicanery or fuch things, and they can fleep as peaceably in their lowly tents, as a prince in his fortified palace. § 28. So much has been already interfperfed up and dfown in the hiftory concerning their external carriage towarc^s ore = n Chap. 4. Of their moral Character. i8§ one another, conlldcred with a view to the mere decen- cy and propriety of behaviour, that there is nothing left for me to add, but foincwhat of their real itate as to Morals. Here u^e muft confefs that fome vices, which are fo general in other nations, that they are not to be ftemmed or rqjrelled by any laws or puniftiments, ei- ther do notexift in Greenland, or at leaft not in lucb -a. horrid (hape and degree. We hear no curfing, fwear- ing, fcolding, noily contention, or abufive clamours. Nay, as was laid before, they have not one abufive word in their vocabulary, uniefs you call certain nick- names fuch, with whicli 'tis true they can expefe any ridiculous or mean a<5lion in a very ingenious and fig- nificant manner. In company you hearjio bawling, loud laughter, talking all at once, contradidting, dif- puting, detracting, or railing j and though they arc veryjocofe, ai>d love to payoff" an unbecoming adtion with a humourous contempt, and alfo know how to make ufe of well-invented double-meanings, yet you will hear no coarfe, much lefs immodeft joke, no bitter mockery, no filtbinefs nor foolery. We but feldont hear of lying, cheating or flcaling ; and as for violent affaults or high-way robberies, they are quite unheard of there : nay, were we to judge from outward appear- ance, we miglit almoft think that they fcarcely covet- "ed or defired each other's goods. They know nothing of drunkennefs, nor its effects, ffghting, and brawling,; indeed they have the art of bi*idling and concealing their anger in fuch a mjlfterly manner, that one might take them to be Stoic philofophers. Neither do they difcover the leaft trace of obfcenity in their converfati- on, and as for that wanton romping and pulling one another about, and thofe lecherous actions and fpceches which are fo openly offenfive among other nations, they are fo perfedlly unprecedented among them, that for- merly when they fawthefe and other aifls of indecency and prophancnefs among the vulgar fort of foreigners, they ftood amazed, and knew not how to account for it, but by faying : " Thefe people have loft their un- *' derftanding, the mad waters, /. e, the ftrong liquors have made them infane." ...... 4 . Even x86 HISTORY OF GREENLAND, B. in. Even at their merriments and dances, to \A,hich old and young may refort, nothing is feen or heard that would put modcfty to the blufh j fo that wa^ it ivit for the drum, and the droll figure of the dancer, a fo- reigner that was a ftranger to the language, would fooncr take it to be a meeting for religious worfhip than a padimc. They are an upright people, and feldom tell an un- truth knowingly, particularly when they are to fhcw a traveller the way, nay, they will rather go a piece with him. But if they are accufed of a thing, one can feldom or never get the truth out of them. Though the children grow up without the leaft cdu^ cation or manners, yet we mull fay, that they give their parents comparatively but little trouble and vex- ation while they are fmall ; and when they arrive to years of maturity, and are become their own niaders, they fhew fo little difobedience, obduracy, ingratitude, or negleft towards their ancient helplefs parents, that quite the reverfe appears, and a fon and his wife often .compliment an old peeviih mother with even too abfo- lute a4ifpofal of all that they have, -»,»-> - ;,;, . . ,. ; Now *tts true, what I have faid relates moftly to the abfence of certain Vices j which may he attributed in .part to their quiet, phlegmatical temper, and in part ,to their not having bad examples before them, and cerr tain incentives to vice j for inftance, a man that has no fuperfluity of rich and high food, and no kind of 4lrong drink, and on the other hand goes through a great deal of hard labour, will certainly betray but few eruptions of the vices flowing from thefe fources, though they are all exifting in embryo in him. The quality of their land and , the poverty of their houfes faves them from many a diforder, that other nations .imbittereach other's lives by. But as thefe circumftai^c^s can only reftrain them from fome v^ricked praftiges, but at the fame time (hould be a fpur to other fpecies of tranrgreilions, as cheating. Healing, robbing, ilfc. we muft trace their feeming virtuous deportment to fon^e «ther ' • ■ » Chap. 4. Of their moral Cjiaractfk. • i^y other fountain-head. Now 'tis true, as the CxrcenJaiid- crs are uninfluenced by divine or human laws, v.'C might attribute thefe fpecious virtues to Reafon or common fenfc ; to this moft fimple axiom of equity. Do not to another, what thou wonldji not that <■ other Jhjuli do to thee \ and to the demands of the law of nature, the fecret reproofs of confcience, and the thoughts ac- cufing or excufing one another. For the Greenlandcrs have, without the leaft doubt, as much rcaion as other men, and know how to ufe it in all necell'ary employ- ments, and alas ! in many refpedts to mifufc it. But yet after all, fincc we cannot obferve in them any par- ticular reflexion, confideration, or entering into them- felves on any occafion, but in the moft of their adli- ons fcmcthi^g hcedlefs; therefore I am inclined to think with Anderfoii, that their moral actions proceed more from an internal natural inftindl, common in many refpefts with irrational animals, than from orinciples. And this inftinft manifefts itfelf in a quick le.nfibillty on the head of felf-love, profit, fear and Ihame. The feed of all evil lies in them, and their tendency to it is as natural and ftrong as in any other of Adam's children 1 but the fear for the retaliation of evil reftrains them from many vices, and the dread and (hame of a bad name from more. A Greenlander dare not rob, murder, ftrike another, nor vent his anger in wprd or deed, becaufe it might coft him or his deareft friend his life. Again, they muft demean themfelves regularly, decently and peaceably towards one another, or elfe their bad name would be ecchoed by common fnme, and they would be drummed out of the ring at the next finging-combat. The young people muft treat one another with decency and due referve, or they would forfeit their good name and fortune. Their love to one another, known or unknown, their fociable, amicable diipofition, and obliging fervices in domeftic life, and their horpitality and open houfe towards ftran- gers, does not ifl'uc from a native benevolence, or compaiTion towards the helplefs, (we fhall fee the reverie prefently) but from fclf-love and intereft. It is their intereft to impart of their abundance to the reft of the hoafv:, that they may give to them again when they m if I IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 L£|2£ 12.5 Ui IM 12.2 1.1 us I to 1.25 1.4 12.0 Mi m 73 /: '/ /A Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WBT MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716)S73-4S03 '^ iSt HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. they have nothing. They muft help their neighbours, that their neighbours may help them again. They muft be hofpitable to ftrangers, that their name may be ex- tolled all over the country, and that they may be treat- ed the fame, when, according to cuftom, they travel all round the land, and have no time to procure provi- iions for themfelves. In fhort the charader our Savi- 'our gave the heathen, Matth. v. that they only love thofe that love them, and do good to thofe from whom they expert the fame, is truly verified in the Green- landers. , And indeed the cafe is pretty m-uch the fame with the Natioi^s that are ruled by laws and political order. Was there no fe^r o*" infamy or judicial puniihment, we {hould foon fee aow far the deformity of Vice would reftrain, and the beauty of Virtue ftimulate the corrupted human race, and how ftrong the fway of the moft refined Reafon would be, even if it recommended the beA morals. And what is it that gives ignorant, or fo called innocent children, and fimple ruftics, fuch a preference in the eyes of the wife, before the more po- lifbed clafles of mankind ? It is their baihfulnefs, not having as yet gone fo far as to get above (or, according to the German expreffion, bite off the head of ) fhame, qr evento learn to place their glory in their Ihame. . The Greenlanders are pretty well verfed in the prin- cipal niaxim of the world's falfe but fafhionable Amo- ral ity, v'iz. to fave appetirances^ and to behave fo as to Ileal the reputation of an honefl man, or at leafl evade publick fcandal j nay they are better practitioners- in this art than other more intelligent and moralized na- tions ; fo that I have often thought, our pretended ef- prits forts might learn fpmething of them. Yet not- withflanding this fpecious malk, it is no injuftice to allow them no true virtue, and only the abfence of cer- tain vices. The following portraiture will prove what Ifay. To begin with their Love to their Neighbour j you will fcarce find a Greenlander do good to another, without the mercenary hppe of fome fpeedy retribution. • for Chap. 4» CPf their moral "Character. tSq For inftance, if a ftranger dies and leaves no near rela- tions or ''Tia that canfoon beef fervice, no one will take charge of the fatherlefs family, except fomcbody hap- pet^s to want a maid-fervant. No one gives them ei- ther food or (belter, nay they rob them of the beft they have, and afterwards they can fee the poor people freeze with cold, and ftarve with hunger, and be as in- different about it, as if they were creatures of another fpecies. If people alhore fee a kajak overfet at fea, and the unfortunate man is no relation nor has particularly ferved them, they behold with infenfibility, nay with a certain ctitfertairtmerit, how he ftruggles in vain to favc himfelf. It is too much trouble for them to ftep into their kajak, and haften to his help ; and fhould they be incommoded with the fhrieks and cries of the female relations, they (link away. But if they put to fea together, they will help one another up, becaufe that is not much trouble to them. They have an un- feeling mind to>Vards the very animals, (I mean fuch as they don't Want for their neceffary fervu e) even the children can torture a poor little ufelefs bird to death Vith a certairt cruel pleafure ; nay, fo little companion and fyrtipathy is found among them, that it does not (hew itfelf even in the fex that is commonly foft and tender by nature. On the other hand there are traces of a ftronger love between Parents and Children, and of the many paffi- ons rifing from it, than there are in other nations. A mother cannot fufFer her child to be out of her fight, and many a mother has drowned herfelf becaufe her child hath been drowned. But juft fo it is with the ir- rational creatures, they are infenfible to the pleafure or pain of other animals, but their love and concern for their own young is fo much the ftronger. This would almoft lead one to think, that the Greenlanders a6l more from the inftinft and movements which the irratio- nal animals have in common v.'ith mankind, than from human reafon. And their predominant turn is a cer- tain inconfideration. Even in mere temporal things they live at random, devoid of care for the future. When they fee a thing, they like it, though they don't •V ' . know ;M Chap. 4. Of their moral Character. 18^ For inftance, if a ftranger dies and leaves no near rela- tions or ^"n» that canfoon beof fervice, no one will take charge of the fatherlefs family, except fomcbody hap- petts to want a maid-fervant. No one gives them ci- ther food or ihelter, nay they rob them of the beft they have, and afterwards they can fee the poor people freeze with cold, and ftarve with hunger, and be as in- different about it, as if they were creatures of another fpecies. If people alhore fee a kajalc overfet at fea, and the unfortQnate man is no relation nor has particularly ferved them^ they behold with infenfibility, nay with a certain clittrtainmeht, how he ftruggles in vain to fave himfelf. It is too much trouble for them to ftep into their kajak, and haften to his help ; and fhould they be irtcomrrtoded with the ihrieks and cries of the female relations, they flink away. But if they put to fea together, they will help one another up, becaufe that is not much trouble to them. They have an un- fefelihg mind towards the very animals, (I mean fuch as they don't Want for their neceffary fervu e) even the children cart torture a poor little ufelefs bird to death With a certairt cruel pleafure ; nay, fo little compailton and fyrtipathy is found among them, that it does not (hew itfelf even in the fex that is commonly foft and tender by nature. On the other hand there are traces of a ftronger love between Parents and Children, and of the many paffi- ons rifing from it, than there are in other nations. A mother cannot fufFer her child to be out of her fight, and many a mother has drowned herfelf becaufe her child hath been drowned. But juft fo it is with the ir- *>!«»«« MM^ ! »* /^»^ itWI^ *■— ^1 — — 1 — ^ i^-^- i9o HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.Hh know what ufe to make of it. And if their dcfirfe fix- es upon any thing, they will barter whatever is moft neceffary to them for it, and afterwards fuffer want- If they receive a favour, or afBftance in their greateft need, efpccially from an European, they think of no acknowledgement or gratitude farther than, kt^onak^ *' I *' give you many thanks!" and if their bencfaftor fiiould want their fervice again^ ho would feldom find it. When they are dreffed in their Greenland finery, they ftrut like a peacock, and treat all beneath them with contempt, and efpecially if they are endowed with fome extraordinary dexterity, and are fortunate in feal-catching. If their paffions, which they know l»ow 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 obftinacy, accompanied with a ily craftinefs, is moftly found in the old people ; 'tis owing in part to their inadvertency, and in part to the total negleft of educating them, and breaking their will in their childhood. This caufes the Mifllonaries their greateft trouble, if they are not able to contrive fo, as to prevent beforehand their fixing their will« or wifely turn it afide. § 31- It is cafy to Imagine that the Greenlanders are not all exadlly alike, and confequently what I have hither- to faid, both of their agreeable and difagrecable fide, is -not univerfally applicable without exception. Some of them arc confiderate, judicious, beneficent people ; but fuch are very rare. On the other hand, thofe are not rare that lead aconfeflediy culpable, nay a vicious and unnatural life, when they have once conquered modefty and fhame, and have no retaliation to fear. Ikying and (lander are common among the women. The poor and the lazy are fometinics 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 i.H a feather in tiieir cap. their cap. Chap. 4. Or their, moral GharacteIi. igx cap. Therefore the Europeans place no great confV dence in them, becauft they have been cheated by them many times, nay have been decoyed afliorc, and then bafely murdered and robbed of their ^oods. But they dare not pradlife fuch fraud and villany on the Euro- peans that conftantly live among them, becaufe they can purfue the perpetrators all over the country, and bring them to punifhment. Neither does their plaufible outfide modefty go far. I will not be particular about their young Angle people, becaufe among them there are the feweit open breach- es of chaftity, though they are as filthy in fecret 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 luft. Moreover there are fome women that are whores by profefHon, though a fingle 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- lished, Ance there is fo much of the beaft in their acti- ons, as has been hinted before ; it v/ould fcarcely be imagined that they have much refinement in their 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 motion, better than the adepts in Turkey. § 32- How felf-intereftcd and unjuft, nay how barbarous their treatment is of poor widows and orphans that arc deftitute of a protestor, we may judge by their ftrangc and confufed regulation in the affair of inheritances. When a man dies, his eldefl fon inherits his tent and |iis women*s-boat, that is, the paternal eftate, but then i 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 children. But if he is al- ready furniflied with a tent and a women's-boat, he transfers - ■ ^.i .1 I }f ' II; ;? m ,j| 1 T--' ji 111 p ff t N ^1' • M '^' m ; } U^i.wti'''^fi ' if PMf ■ '.' E- ^ '^ l^'S'f.' If»# Mi 192 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. ill. transfers the herctlitament and its incumbencies to fomc ftrangcr ; for no one can uphold and take care of two tents and boats. Afterwards when the foj»s grow up, they cannot reclaim the tent and boat, but he that has it, keeps it ; unlefs t^e fofter-father hath no children or only young ones, for then the adopted fon takes pof- feiEon of the patrimony .and fupports the family when fatherlefs. So far it proceeds in good order. But here arifcs a flaw : Sinc^ as foon as the fons are grown up and commenced feal-catchers, the widow may do what (he will with what they earn ; and ihould fhc dcfert her old benefa6lor and his now helplefs 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 negfetled, bocaufeof the uncer- tain expectation of any advantage from it, cfpecially if they have nothing to bring with tlicm at prefcnt. Therefore many boys arc ncgleiicd in their youth, be- caulethe cquippng them with akajak and its appurte- nances is ex pen five ; but ftill more poor objects of the female fex pcrifh with nakcdnefs and hunger. But t{\e mofl: 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 diilradlion, all the chattels of her hulband arc in the mean while clandeftinely pur- loined by the gucfts, who at the fame time bear the compliments of condolence on their tongue. The delpoiled widow has no court of judicature to lodge her complaint in or fueto for a recovery, but mult en- deavour to ingratiate herfelf with him who has been her grcatcft plunderer. He will keep her a while, and when he is tired of her, Ihe muft try to iiiGnuate her- felf into the favour of another. But at laft fhe and her children arc left to their hard fate. A little longer perhaps they protra(S life, by eating fifhes, mufcles and iea-gra^s, but finally they muft ft*rve and freeze to • death, having no cloathing nor lamp-oil. This pro- bably is the principal reafon why the Greenland nation dimiiiilhes from year . to yeaj', ^^eipecially wJiere they -ifc-'^i »ii Jli i**ii »«v.';,.«i*uiiW tiij»^^ p.i\ ■ -have It en- bcen and her- and oivger zs and ze to pro- lation they have Chap. 4. Of their moral Character. 193 have enlarged their wants by new customs beyond their income. § 33- In criminal cafes the procefs is ftill more diforderly and favagc. No tranfgreflbrs arc puniOied with death but murderers, and fuch witches as are reported to have bewitched others to death. Bat in thefe cafes they proceed with fuch temerity and revenge, that at lalt no one's life is fafe. 'Tis true the Greenlandcrr. have not naturally a murderous difpofition ; but as they are employed from their youth in butchering feais and other creatures, and have as it were an hereditary inclination to it, fo fome of them, by daily cuftom, at lad give room to the unnatural thiri^ for murdering of men without any reafon. However, fuch fiends that mur- der out of mere blood-thirftinefs, or to make them- fclves famous or formidable, arc but few. There are more that do it out of envy at another's fuperior dex- terity or wealthier fti)ck, though they ileal none of it. But the moft murder out of revenge. Such an aflaflln perpetrates the deed at fea in a treacherous manner, by overfetting the Greenlander in his kajak and drowning him, of 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 iiifle their anger, nay they do not fo much as let a word about it tranfpire, for fear the ruffian or his fpies and accomplices might dif- patch them too to fecure himfclf. Yet depend upon it, they will not forget to avenge * the reeking blood, when they meet the murderer alone, even though / thirty years fhould clapfe before they can cffe^l it. They generally attack him afhore, declare the reafon in a few words, then fione 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 fpirit of revenge, withont uttering the leaft intimation of it till the proper time, is conveyed down to their children and grandchildren. But when they become true (Jhriftians, this fin and exceU- Lcaks too aluiig with the red, fo that they ihinic no more of old injuries, luc love one another very heartily. Vol. I. ' ' O heart ' '■'• K' "1:?, i ■' m n't vii ■.U'^ i IHf'l Jj.1!l 194 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. heart or liver, bccaufe they think his relations will by that means lofc their courage to fall upon them. If the puniflicd oftcnder [9 very notorious, and much hated for the murder he committed, and if he has no relations, then it goes no further. But commonly this inflided punifhmcnt of deaith is again revenged with death, either on the executioner himfelf or his children, coufins or other relations j and if they cannot come at thcfe, upon fomc acquaintance that live in the fame neighbourhood. And thus blood may continue to be heaped upon blood, till fomctimes it befalls quite in- nocent people. Their procedure with witches is alfo very 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 j when, I fay, her name is up, a man need but have his wife or child die, or his ar- rows mifs their mark, of- ''is gun mifs fire, the ange- kok or conjurer lays al blame upon fuch a poor wretch, ano if (he has -Jiance 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 fifter in the prefence of a houfc-full of peo- ple, and no one hath upbraided him for it. However, if the executed pcrfon hath any near relations, they endeavour to avenge her death, and thus the tragedy iil'ucs in a prolonged feries of murders. Sometimes when fuch poor wretches find there is no poflible efcape, they plunge themfclves into the more friendly bofom of the ocean, to elude the blood-thirfty weapons that woiild hew them in pieces, and would leave their dif- mcnibcred carcafs a prey to the ravens. ■, . ,•■ Jii ... « o J .>vi.om«id.4 t^o- Thus I have thought it requifite to draw the good and bad fide of the character of the Greenlanders, (who are perhaps the mod fimple and lead corrupted of all the Heathen Nations) and to frace as much as poffibla the ground ;vnd motive of their a«^lions j becaufe the 2 accounts M.\l \c p-ood D feKaji: 4. Of ^heir MoliAt CkAftACT^R. t9j( accounts of this Nation hitherto publiflied, as well as the fplendid defer iptions of almoft all heathen nations in ancient or later ages, might almoft induce us to think that there were virtuous heathens, who excelled the Chriftians in many refpe£ls^ and that they were only feduced to the pradice of vice by the bad example and temptations of the Chriftians, and by the new and unknown allurements they brought them. From thefe premifes they deduce this conclufion, that men may lead a virtuous life from the mere light of Nature and Reafon, and do not fo exprefsly need the light of the Gofpel in order to be pleafing to God and valuable to their fellow creatures. Every one knows, that this h the corner-ftone of Deifm. We alfo know that many ■ a Teacher delights to alledge, without reflciSling oil the confequences, the examples of the virtuous Hea- thens, as a reproach or excitement to his auditory } which either hath no efFe. . -I. iii^.nau . § 35- •ft.l »< ■ THIS brings me to confider the Religion, or more properly, the Superftition ofthis nation. But it is very hard to fay any thing about it, becaufe they are extremely ignorant, unthinking and credulous, and yet are very various in theiropinions, forafmuch as every one hath liberty to believe any thing or nothing. Before Miflionaries came into the country, the Greenlanders were reported to Be fuch grofs Idolaters as to worfhip the fun, and facrifice to the devil, that he % • «^ ^^ ' Of their SupfeRSTlTIOW. ?l ) Clup. 5. VJF THEIR 3UPF,RST1TI0W. I97 he mij^ht forward, or at leaft not hinder their hunting and fiihing. This the fcamcn dfd not learn from any difcourfc of the Grecnlanders, for they underftood no- thing of what they faid ; but they drew the conclufion from certain circumftances. They faw, that as foon as the Greenlandcrr- arofe in the morning, they went out and ftood with tneir faces towards therifing of the Sun, in deep meditation, in order to difcover by the look of the hemifphcrc, or by the motion of the clouds, whether they had good or bad weather to expert, or even a ftorm the following day. They do fo flill every morning. The failors, not knowing the true reafon, believed they worfhiped the fun. Again, others faw on fome forfaken places many "quadrangular fpots laid over with ftone, and upon one elevated ftone found fomc cinders, and near it aheapof bar bones. Theconclufion was directly made, that the Grecnlanders muft have fa- crificcd, here } and to whom (hould they have Hicrificed but to the devil ? But the fcamen had never feen the fum- mer-habitations of the Grecnlanders, which arc tents pitched in fuch quadrangular places, where they drefs their meat with wood. Thus may people err in their con- clufions concerning thcconftitution and religion of others, if they have only feen fome circumftances without un- dcrftanding them. The Grecnlanders have neither a religion nor idolatrous worfhip, nor fo much as znf ceremonies to be perceived tending towards it. Hence the firft Miflionaries 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 afked, who made the heaven and earth and all vifible things ? their anfwer was : Pf^e know not ; or, we do not know him ; or, // muji have been fome mighty perfon j or, things have always been as they are, and will always remain Jo. But when they came to undcrftand their language bet- ter, they found quite the reverfe to be true, from the notions they had, though very vague and various, concerning the foul and concerning fpirits ; and alfo from their anxious folicitucte about the ftate after death. And not only fo, but they could plainly ga- ther from a free dialpgue they had with fome perfealy O 3 wild ■; ;' »: *' il I t- ' ii rfS t ik Therefore the decifion of the great apoftle of the, r Gentiles remains valid, Rom. i, 19. &c. That which maf. ; he known of God is manif.Jl in theniy for God hath Jhewcd \. it unto theniy being underjioodby the things which are made ; though they became vain in their imaginations^ and their foolijh heart ivas darkened. And this propqfition is fufficiently fupported not only by the univerfal teftimony of hiftorians and travellers, that no nation has ever yet been difcovered but what had fomc notion of a God, O 4 however I ;fi li '}\ [■'■ ' '"1 ^4' lJ i' '< It ■f ;f1 i t 200 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. however obfcure and erroneous it might be ; but alfo by what is found in the wild and Uupid Greenlanders, their divers opinions concerning thti foul of man, and concerning other greater or inferior fpiritual effcnces. It is true we find fome Greenlanders, that do riot believe that their Soul differs from the vit:il effence e>:- ifting in other animals, or that it lives after death. But theie are either utterly flupid brutal creatures, that are even liughcd at by the reft of their nation ; or they are malignant crafty knaves, who feek to derive fon.e profit from the dclufion. Others grant, that the foul is difTerent from the body, but defcribe it ftill fo material or corporeal, that it can increafe and decreafe^ is divifible, can lofe a piece of it» fubftance and have it reftored again, nay can even be parted from the body for a time ; fo that many a one upon a long voyage has pretended to have left his foul at home, and yet continues brifk and healthy all the while. It is probable they have been mifled into thefe ftrange abfurdities, partly by a home-ficknefs, or continually thinking of their native place when abfent from it, and partly by fuch kind of fickneffes as enfeeble, or quite fupprefs the faculties of the foul for a time. Some of thefe materialifts will needs have two fouls, VIZ. the Shadow, and the Breath of a man j and ima- gine that in the night the volatile (hadow elooes from the body, and wantons about a hunting, dancing, vi- fiting, and io on. The dreams of the Greenlanders being very frequent and lively, nay often almoft incon- ceiveable, have' led them to this whim. This fe6l is the beft fupport of the angckoks or conjurers, who pretend to the art of repairing a maimed foul, of bringing home a loft or fugitive one, and of changing away a fickly foul for the found and fprightly foul of a hare, a reindeer, a bird on an infant. ^v *Tis very likely fuch Greenlanders may have much the fame ny>tiori, who pretend to believe a Tranfmigra- tion of fouls } which opinion we difcovered but lately among them. This fentiment is particularly propa- gated by the helplefs widows, in order to allure the bounty of parents by impofing on their credulity ♦ •'-;'.: :. io iic'ijO« o:kv: i...r! :-LU-frr'r '^ry-^- '^m- wn'i and ... .. "Cf-t Chap. 5. Of their Superstition. " ioi for inftance, a widow will tell a father, that the foul of her deceafed child is flown into his fon, or the foul of his deceafed child has taken up its refidence in one of her children. Accordingly the father (in the latter cafe) is ftudious to fhew kindnefs to the fuppofed foul of his child, or (in the former) believes himfelf to be very nearly re! ited to the widow. But the moft fenfible Greenlanders maintain, that the foul is a fpir-tual efi^nce, quite different from the body and all n .L^^rial fub.ftances, that it needs no cor- poreal nourif' nent, and though the body corrupts in the earth, the foul furvives after death, and muft have another kind of nuti, nent, but what that is, they know not. The Angtkoks, who pretend to have vifited fre- quently the realm of fouls, defcribe the foul as pale and foft, and that if any one would grafp it, he feels nothing, becaufe it has no flefti and bone. • '' § 37' '^'^ Hence it is eafy to conjecture what conceptions they form to themfelvesof tht future Jiate. In general they imagine it to be a better ftate than this temporal life, and they believe that it never ends. But they differ very much in their fentiments about the fite and cir- cumftances of the place. As the Greenlanders acquire the moft and heft of their fuftenance from the bofom of the fea, therefore many or moft of them place their elyftum in the abyffes of the ocean, or the bowels of the earth, and think the deep cavities of the rocks are the avenues leading to it. There dwells Torngarfuk and his mother ; there ajoyous fummer is perpetual, and a fhining fun is obfcured by no night ; there is the fair limpid ftream, and an exuberance of fowls, fifties, reindeer, and their beloved feals, and thefe are all to be caught without toil, nay they are even found in a great kettle boiling alive. But to thefe feats none muft approach, but thofe that have been dextrous and diligent at their work, (for this is their grand idea of virtue) that have per- formed great exploits, have maftered many vhales and feals, have undergone great hardftiips, have been drown- ed in the fea, or died in childbed. Hence ;^i mi P 'i -W 1 t» It . ife 202 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. Ill, Hence it is obvious, that they had formerly a tradi- tion that good would be rewarded. But to proceed ; the difembodied foul does not enter dancing i"to the Elyilan fields, but muft fpend five whole days, and fome fay longer, in Aiding down a rugged rock, which is thereby become full of blood and gore. I cannot fay whether the ground of this fable was a notion of the purgation of the foul j or only in general, that one is to pafs per afpera ad ajha. Thofe unfortunate fouls that arc obliged to perform this rough journey in the cold winter, or in boifterous weather, are peculiar objedls of their pity, becaufe they may be eafily de- ftroyed on the road ; which deftruAion they call the fccond death, and defcribe it as perfc(5l extindlion j and this is the moft dreadful confidera^^^ion of all to them. Therefore during thefe five days or upwards, the fur- viving relations muft abftain from certain meals, and from all noify work (except the neceflary iiihing) that the foul may not be difturbed in its perilous paflage, or even perifli. Hence it might be fuppofed, that their anceftors perhaps offered fome oblations for the depart- ed fouls of their relations : At ler.ft this is quite dif- cernible, that the ftupid Grecnlanders, as well as the fenfible ancient Heathens, conceive a horror at the thoughts of the entire annihilation of the foul. Others, that are more charmed with the beauty of the ccleftial bodies, foar beyond the rainbow, to the loftieft iky to feek their paradife there ; and they ima- gine the flight thither is fo eafy and rapid, that the foul refts the very fame evening in the manfion of the Moon, who was a Greenlander, and there it can dance and play at ball with the reft of the fouls j for they intv-iprct the Northern Lights to be the dance of fpor- tivc fouls. There the fouls are placed in tents round a vaft lake, where fifti and fowl abounds. "When this lake overflows, it rains upon the earth, but ftiould once the dam break, there would be a general de- luge. But the iirft of the fefts maintain, that none but the worthlefsj, lazy wretches afcend up into this aerial void, and find there a great famine of all things, for which reafon the fouls are exceeding meager, weak and . n.-i languid. (^iiap. 5. Of THEIR Superstition, 203 languid, efpecially as they can have no repqfe, on ac- count of the rapid rotation of the heavens. Tha^ jvicked people, and witches efpecially, are to be \>2i~ nifhed hither, and they will be fo infefted with raveps, that they will not be able to keep them off their hair. But the laft fe£l think, they know their deiliny better; they (hall afTociate with a group of fouls like them- felves, and fhall feed upon nothing but feals heads, which will never be confumed. The wifer Greenlanders, that look upon the foul to be a fpiritual immaterial elTence, laugh at all this, or fay. If even there fhould be fuch a material luxuriant paradife, where the fouls of the Greenlanders could entertain themfelves with hunting, ftill it ca|i only en- dure for a time. Afterwards the fouls will be certain- ly conveyed to the peaceful manfions. But they kno\y not what tl>eir nourifhment or their employ will be there. On the other hand they fituate their hell in the fubterraneous regions, which are devoid of light and heat, and filled with perpetual terror and anxiety. This laft fort of people lead a regular life, and refrain from every thing that they think is evil. 'it^ -».v.J p.p §38. Thofe that know what abfurd notions the antient wife Heathens had of the Soul and the future State, will not fo much wonder at the fenfeleflhefs of the Greenlanders, but will rather acknowledge here and there a fagacity, beyond what we can trace in them in other refpeds. I take thefe to be the fmall re- mains of the truths of the Patriarchal Religion, which tradition has propagated down to pofterity j but the further fucceeding generations removed from their firft dwelling^ and alfo from other civilized nations, the more were thefe truths difregarded and forgot, or veil- ed and adulterated with new additions. If we read the accounts which have been given of the moft northerly American Indians and Afiatic Tartars, we find a pret- ty great rcfemblance between their manner of life, mo- rals, ufages and notions, and what has been faid above of the Greenlanders ; only with this difference, that the & 204 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. the further the favage nations wandered towards the north, the fewer they retained of their ancient concepti- ons and cuftbnis. As for the Greenlanders, if it be true (as is fuppofed) that a remnant of the old Norway- thriftians incorporated themfelves and became one peo- ple with them j the Greenlanders may thence have heard and adopted fome of their notions, which they may have new-modclkd in the coarle mold of their own brain. " ' y J' JT "^-'7'' ,"** "' :r\ ' We find the like i^ulifated mangled traditions among them concerning the Creation of the world, its lafl; End, and Noah*s Flood ; many of which don't found more incongruous, but are as contradictory to each o- th&r^ as the notions of the Greeks in the fabulous ages of the world. Give me leave to intloduce fome of them. They c. '1 the firft Man Katlak, and fay he Ipruflg out of the earth, and foon afterward his Wife ^^riing from his thumb, and from this parr all rhan- "Kind proceeded. Therfe'are many that afcribe the ori- gin of all things to this rtian. The woman is faid to haVe brought death into the world, by faying : Let ihefe die to make room for their pojierity. As for the ori- gin of the Europeans, they fay, that a Greenland- ifh woman was once delivered of {om^ kablunat .[(o they call t^e European^) ahd fome dogs, which devoured thfeir father. Afterwards one of the kcibluneet mocked k Greenlander ;becaiife h«* could fhoot no birds ; the Ordenlaiider, to fhew that his arrow was not fuch a fboilfh wanderer, 'fhot the fcorner dead ^ this enkin- dled a war betwe6i» them, in which the Greenlanders "conquered at laft, and extirpated all foreigners; This . points to the deftrudllon of the old Norwegians, upon whom they caft that odium, to afcribe their brigin tt) dogs metamorphofed into men. They fay, fifties were produced by a Greenlander's taking the fhavings of a tree, drawing thfem between his legs, and cafting them into the lea. »r.in^^l^^nt^^t,. lUv";" ■ - " Almoft all heathen nations know fomethino; of No- ah*s Flood, and the firft miflionaries found alfo fotne pretty plain traditions among the Greenlanders ; name- ly, that the world once overfet, and all mankind, ex- cept Chap. 5- Of their Superstition. '" 205 cept one, were drowned ; but fome were turned into fiery fpirits. The only man that efcaped alive, after- wards fmote the ground with his ftick, and out fprung a woman, and thefe two re- peopled the world. As a proof that the deluge once overflowed the whole earth, they fay that many Ihells, and relics of fifhes, have been found far within the land where men could never have lived, yea that bones of whales have been found upon a high mountain. They cannot have much notion of the End of the World, and the Refurrection of the body. Some af- fert that the foul ftays live days by the grave where the body lies ; then the perfon rifes again, and feelcs his maintenance in the other world, fo as he did in this. Therefore the hunting implements of the deceafed are depofited by his grave. But as the more confiderate Green- landers have feen, that both the body and the hunting- "n- ftrumentslieupon the place and rot, they believe nothing of this and Icnownothingof that refurre6lion which is true. Yet fome few have uttered the following hints towards it, which are the more worthy of notice, becaufe they contain at the fame time feme trace of a fupreme Being. They fay, that in diftant future periods, when all man- kind fhall have died and be extinct ; the terreftrial globe fliall be dafhed to pieces, and purified from the blood of the dead by a vaft flood of water. Then a wind fhall blow the clean-waflied duft together, and replace it in a more beautiful form than ever. From that time there will be no more bare and barren rocks, but the whole will be a level champaign, overfpread with verdure and delight. The animals will alfo rife and reanimate in vaft abundance. But as for men, Pirkfoma, i. e. He that is above, will breath upon them, ^nd they ihall live. But they can give no account who '" he is, that is above*. ,Yv,m ^T*r b^HV'^*'?of.si/V^«tr'»* ; ^'^ . . • • •- -^ § 39. 'vf^^>. - Befides the foul of man, the Greenlanders fpeak of other fuperior and inferior Spirits, which have fome Si- militude to the major and minor gods of the ancient • P, Egidii Continujtion, p. 79, hea- s, ■■ 'I }'' ■■ ■' 'I I, mi ' , * ■■ - k A. ^1. 2C6 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.III; heathens. There are only two of the firft rank, a good fpirit and a bad one. They call the good fpirit Torngar-i fuk» This is the oracle of the Angekoks, to whom they feign to have made many a pilgrimage in his fub- terraneous happy manfions, in order to confer with him about difeafes and their cure, about good weather, afld fuch momentous matters. They don't all agree about his forih or afpedl. Sdme fay he has no form at all ; others defcribe him as a great bear'; or as a great fnan with one arhi ; or as fmall as a finger. He is im- mortal, and yet might be killed, if any one breaks wind in a houfe where witchcraft is carrying on< The other great but malignant fpirit, is a namelefs female. They differ in opinion, whether fhe is Torrrgar/uk's wife or his mother. But the northern Greenlanders believe that fhe is the daughter of the mighty Ange- kok, that rended Difko ifland from the main-land near Ball's river, and towed it near 200 leagues northward. This infernal Proferpine dwells under the fea in a great houfe, where fhe can detain in captivity all the animals of the ocean by her magic power. In the oil-jar under her lamp, the fea-birds fwim about. The portals of her palace are guarded by fierce and f-ampant feals. Yet 'tis often left to the defence of a great dog, that never flceps longer than the twinkling of an eye, and there- fore can rarely be furprifed unawares. Wlien a dearth befalls them at fea, rn Angekok mufl undertake a journey thither, but he will be well paid for it. His torngak, or familiar fpirit, having previoufly well in- ftrudled him, conducts him firft through the earth or feaj Then he pafTes through the kingdom of fouls,- who all live glorioufly* Afterwards he comes to a hor- rible abyfs or vacuum, over which a fmall wheel, a» fmooth as ice, whirls round with great velocity. Be^ ing happily got over this, the torngak conveys him by the hand along a rope ftretched over the abyfs, and then through the centry of feals into the palace of ihe tartarcan fury. The inflant fhe efpres the obtriid- ing vifitants, fhe fliakes herfelf and foams with wrath ^ ^nd makes efFc.-ts to fet fire to the wing of fome fea-» fowl, which could fhe effect, the poifonous flench' would oblige the fuffocated Angekok and Torngak to furrender B. Ill; •> t 1 f Chap. 5. Of THEiit Superstition. 267 furrender themfelvcs her prifoners. But thcfe heroes feize her before flie can emit the effluvia of her heiiifh incenfe, drag her about by her hair, and defpoil her of her filthy appendant fpells, which by their occult power detained the fea-animals. The inchantment be- ing diflblved, the captive creatures direftly afcend to the furface of the ocean, and the champion alfo enjoys cafe and fafety on his way back. But the Greenlanders don't pay much regard to this female phantom, becaufe there is fo much rage and ma- levolence in her, and ihe fo often occafions them fear- city of provifions, trouble and expence. Yet they do not look upon the goddefs to be fo bad neither, that fhe would torment mankind and make them miferable for ever j neither is her caftle reprefented as a hell, but as a glorious place. Yet fhe defires no one's company. But on the other hand they fpeak very honourably of Torngarfuk, and though they do not count him to be the author and creator of all things, yet they wifh to go to him after death, and partake of his affluence. Therefore many, when they hear of C od and his om- nipotence, are readily led to the fuppofition, that pro- bably we n -.'an their Torngarfuk. However, in gene- ral they look . pon him only as other heathens have done their Jupiter, Pluto, and fuch other fuperior gods, who ftill were not thought to be the fupreme God, from whom all things derive their being *. On- ly they render him neither honour nor worlhip any farther. They think he is too benign to demand their offering or bribe j except you can trace the fhadow of an offering in a cuftom of the Greenlanders to lay a piece of blubber, or ajiy fort of fkins, or above all a piece of flefh from tb^j firfl reindeer they fhoot, near a great flone. Yet tney can aflign no othci- reafon for ,,i.i ■'VI.: * The vvorditfelfieems to intimate, thaf*thcy antjentljrfegarded him as God. They call the foul tarngtk, any other fpirit torrgak j and Tc ngar-Joak ■fignifies a great fpirit, inftead of which they fay Tomgar-fuk. The Indi- ans in America call the Divine being the great j'pir'tty in oppofition to the Manitu or inferior fpjrits, who take up their reficence in various creatures, even thofe that are inanimate, and all theft: fpirits are honoured by the Indians. iVinjfl t;.i(;:iO(iu(j ^?:!> ,ijjii ju* t.jlj»>:> ..^.•. ' ;iVj?BgjriaT I>n^ ioiv^aA byj^^d!iJ^; • dj -7^1'' >^ .^ this '■J f^l- M I HI 208 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.III. this pradlicc, but that their forefathers did the fame, that they might be fucccfsful in their labours. fi iHhV^h 'r>ni § 21. No one but an Angekok can be admitted to an audi- ence of thefe gieat fpirits ; but other folks have e- nough to fay of the petit fpirits who rcfulc in all the elements. They report that there is in the air an Innua or pro- prietor, whom they call Inncrterrirfok., i. c. one that forbids ; bccaufc he bids the Angckoks to tell the peo- ple what they mull forbear if they would be fuccefsful. Their Erloerfortok alfo inhabits the air, and lies in wait for the fouls as they afcend upwards, to take out their bowels, and devour them. They paint him full as meager, dark, fullen, and favagc as Saturn. The Kongeujetoklt arc ncrcids, or fpirits of the ocean, that feize and devour the foxes when they come to catch fllh on the ftrand. The Ingnerfoit are igni potent or falamandrine fpirits, that inhabit the clefts of the rocks by the fea-fide, and are often feen like the ignxi fatuus. They fay, they were the inhabitants of the earth before the deluge j and when th^ globe turned up- fide down into the waters, they were metamorphofcd into flames, and fheltered themfelves in the cliffs. They charge them with ftealing men frequently oiT the ilrand tp get comrades, but they are however very kind to them. The Tunnerfoit and InnuaroUt 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 the ErkigUt have a face like a dog's head : They are martial fpirits, and inhuman foes to mankind ; however they only inhabit the eafl-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 tEoIus that prefides on fields of ice, and fends good weather. Frefh water has alfo its proper genii. Therefore when the Greenlanders come to an unknown fountain, an angekok or the eldeft man rj > niuft h Chip. $, Op THElA SuPERSTITIOI^. 20^ hiuft drink firft, to deliver it from any evil Tpirit. If people, efpecially women that have fmall children, or are mourners, grow Ack after eating certain food, then the neriim-intmet, i. e. thofe that harbour in eatables, muft bear the blame, becaufe they entice them to eat contrary to the rules of abftinence» The fun and the moon have alfo their tutelary refidents, who were once men. Nay the very air is a vital efTcnce, thkt may be kindled to anger by untoward a<^ions, but yet is kind enough to admit petitionrrs to aik its counfel. It is to be hoped thofe gentry at kaft will not wonder at this, who follow the religion of the wife Chinefe, or the pre« fent new European diale;>■»; t H ai6 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. UX. " Such kinds of forbearance from meat and work are alfo prefcribed to a fingle woman, in cafe the fun or moon (though we fhould rather call it a bird flying by) fhould have let any uncleannefs drop upon her ; otherwife ihe might be unfortunate, or even be deprived of her honour or life. Nay the torngak of the Arma- ment might be provoked to anger on her account, and vent it in ftormy weather. If the men fell a whole feal, which they dare not do the firft day, they will keep back the head, or fomething of it, if it be but a few briftles from its be^rd, that they m^y not foifeit their luck* v ?/x: :ort »rf3 v?il /j9«y. jfaiui They are fo different in tf)e amulets or charms they hang on people, that one laughs at another's. Thefe powerful preventives confifl in a bit of old wood hung round their neck, or a flone, or bone, or a beak or claw of a bird, or elfe a leather flr^p tied round their Jbrehead, breafl or arm. "A bt^i ' ■ Thefe myflerious relics are to guard them from ghofts, from difeafes and from death ; they are to enfure their good fortune, and above all to prevent the children from lofing their fouls by thunder or other frights. By hanging a rag of the European cloths or their old fhoes ^ibout the children, they imbibe fomething of the Eu- ropean ingenuity and abilities. They like particularly to have the Europeans blow upon them. When they go upon the whalc-fifhery, they mufl not only be all qlean dreft, but all the lamps in the tent mud be extinguished, that the fqueamifh whale may not take a difgufl. The boat muft bear a fpx's head in front, and the harpoon be furnifhcd with an eagle's beak. In the reindeer chafe, they throw a piece of flefh to the ravens. The heads of the feals muft not be fradtured, nor muft they be thrown into the fea, but be piled in a heap before the door, that the fouls of the feals may not be enraged, and fcare their brethren from the coaft, or, if you pleafe, that every one may have ocular demonftration that a man lives within, who has a table well furnifhed. They like to faften to their kajak a model of it with a little man holding a fword in his hand ; or only a dead Sparrow or fnipe, or a bit of wood, ftone, fome fea- thers, or hair, that they niay not ovcffet j although thofc i flying •n her ; ieprived ; $rma- Chzff. 6, Of their Sciences. '^ ^ ^^^ 217 thofe chiefly are loft, that had armed themfelves moft in this manner agaii^ft it, but only were iinfkilled or timorous, or relied fo much on their Aiperftitious pre* fervatives, that they ventured beyond their power. But you are particularly told, that there refides a great vir- tue in the fox's teeth and the eagles talons to extra£l all noxious humours out of the limbs. Bui fay, ye poliftied nations, have ye none among you that ape the Greenlanders ? are fuch kind of cures quite out of ufe among you ? However, many of the Greenlanders pendants are intended purely for ornament : and fome of them bind a firing round the arms or legs of their children, to fee how they grpw. •Mt \ ■ y- cX.^*'***^-'! CHAP. VI. ^?t;hBri'? \: t\- Of the Sciences of the Q^eeni^nders. '.■: 'ii _j .IS, 'J' • n. ^ 44. E F O R E I fpealc of their fcanty knowledge ii| ^ aftronomy, phyfic and chronology, I will gratify ^he linguifl with a little fketch of the Greenland lan- guage. It contains fome few words that may claim klndre4 with the Norwegian tongue, and thefe perhaps are the relics of the old Norwegians j but excepting thefe, it has no affinity either in etymology, declenfion or Hgnifi- cation, with any of the Northern, Tartarian, or Indi- an languages, as far as they are known to us. But we piuft except the language of the Efquimaiix in Terra- Labrador, who feem to be one people with the Green- landers. The pronunciation, in which the northern and fouth" em Greenlanders fenfibly differ, is very difficult to an European, becaufe the r is founded very guttural, and is often uttered like ch or Jki and the many terminations in k and / make it very unpleafant to the ear. The great jiumber of polyfyllables (for they have very few mopor- fyllaWcs) ii'ti- H' ' -^1 I'M ; »i8 HISTORY OF QREENLAND, B,IIf, fyllables) and efpecially of repeatedly-combined wurdb, makes the language exceiHve intricate, fo that; tL perfonAvho can read it readily, is already half-learr4e4 in it. Yet nptwit^flanding all thi^, the language is not fo raw and incompleat a? y/e might expe^ from fuch an unrefined people. One might rather entejctajn the conjedlure, that they mufl h^ve ha^ fome judicious clear b^^ds to reduce their tongue to fuch an artful and pretty rule. For in the fi^ft place, 'tis fo rich in words for thofe things that thfi. Grcenlanders have to think or fpeak about, that, like the, jQhinefe Tartars, they have a proper word for every thing or adion, if it reqi^ires the leaft diftin<3:ion*. They can f^y a g^^egit deal with few words, without being unintelligible. But, on the other hand, they have no words at all for fuch things^, as they could not hitherto know or revolve in their thoughts; for inftance, for religion, morality, arts, fciences, and abftrad): ideas. Secondly, the words are varied and declined with fuch different modifications, yet according to a fixed rule with few exceptions, and are attended with qffixa and fuffixos far more than the Hebrew, that the language is hot only graceful and prel.ty, but plain and unequivocal. And thirdly, (as hinted already) thjy join many words together, fo that, like the North-Americans, they can exprefs themfelves very concife and yet fignificani. But this very quality creates fo much difficulty to a foreign- er, that he muft apply to it feveral yeais, before lie can throughly underftand the Greenlanders, and (peak fluently with them • and after all, he will never ad- vance fo far, as to be able to expref^ himfelf lo c^fily, elegantly and emphatically as the natives. The following obfervations o^i the feyerai parts of fpeech, may illuftrate ihe fubje; circr /::i CaUe£tive nouns have only the plural, anH end in iV, as Uhtiar/oit, (hip ; Ighperkfuity city, t. e, a colIe:•* NunagZy my land, fi^ i* . . ^-T' ..■> Nuntt^ thy land. ,* \ . , . ^ Nuni^ the land of him (terra ejus). Nunane, *i 'Ml 1 :rjo on J Chap. 6. Op TrtEiR Sciences. I^i ati NunanCy his land (terra /ua). Nunarputy our land. Nunarpukf the land of us two. ^'-'■' '* ^ Nunarky your land. • iVi/» The conjundlivei whifch hath ho optative fignificati- on, but fupplies the omilfion of a conjunction, hath alfo a double modification : 1. Caufal, whereas, becaufe, (^c. as erfnikatne, be- Caufe he haswafhed. . ^.K^urj.^j vi.- .,,;,. 2. Conditional, if, provided, ^r. userfrnkune, if he wafhes. The Greenlanders have fuch an exa£l rule for diftin- guiihing the third perfon both fingular and plural of the conjun^ve mood, that there can be no mifapprehenfi- on when they talk of feveral perfons promifcuoufly. Thisr grammarians call two agents j but there fhould be a diftinftiori even for three, e. g. i . He was angry when he wafhed himfelf. 2. He (A) was angry when he (B) wafhed himfelf. 3. He (A) was angry when he (B) wafhed him (C, another perfon.) The Green- I/^tiders have a way to betoken each of thefe third per- foz^> only by varying a letter. But 'tis very difficult for if he rreen- €ha^. 6-/' '^ t)r their "SciEiic'ks. ^^ T r 3 H ^ i^^ j for a foreigner to attend to all thefe things, and to makehimfelf intelligible to them. .>'\ The infinitive has a triple modification, and fignifies for inflance, i. To wafh (me, tfteci hinifelf^ hin^ 6fc.) as ermiklunt^ 2. Whilfl he Wafhes, as ermikjfl- lung. 3. Before he wafhes (himfelf, thee, me, isfc.) as ermtkfmnane ; yet this laft belongs to the clafs of negatives. But another verb mufl be added, chiefly their pyoky which they ufe in numberlefs cafes, much more than the Engl ifh their ^^/ zn^do^ arid many Ger- Imahs their //>««, though it properly fignifies getting or poffefRng : And then this infinitive exprefTey what is de- noted by the conjunctive in other languages. Much reflexion and long pradlice is reauifite to un- ravel and arrange all thefe things. And tne paradigms of the conjugations are noteafy to be retained in the memory, though they are regular. For in the fir/t place you mufl conjugate through all moods and ten- fes with the adjuni^on of the adive pronoun, as well in verbs affirmative «3 negative, with fo many variations as may prevent all ambiguity, as : ermikpoky he wafhes himfelf. • ' ^»tit, thou wafheft thyfelf. ^cnga, I walh myfelf. ^ut, they wafh themfelves. ^ ' ^uk, they two wafh themfelves. poky ye wafh yourfe Ives. • - f • •» ^otik, ye two wafh yourfel ves. ' ^»gut^ we wafh ourfelves. ptfguk, we two wafh ourfelves. Then every mood and tenfe muft be infle<5led with ihe fuifixes of the pcrfons aftive and pafHve, as : j^,, irmiipZj hewaiheshim. * ^et, thou wafhefl him, ^ara, I wafh him. :■ j^set, they wafli him*^ ^ r /aek, they two wafh him. ^arfe, ye wafh him. 1 » ^a^tik, jre twowaflihim. : \;- • - /arput, -a .■;ij_^ . ■t -. ?, i^ .'.J/ it.: 'rA- - J '*<; %■■- k « ',»m 224 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.III, vj ■!*»•.■» an /arput, we waih him. ^krpuk, we two wa(h him^ And thus it goes not only through all the iix perfons of fingular and plural, as ** he waOies thee, &c. he wames them, Sec" but the dual muft alfo be conjugated thro* all the perfons^ as, " he wafhes thofe two, you two, us two j" and befides, if we reckon all the variations in all the moods, (fome moods^ parti- cularly the conjunftive, being infleded twelve diffe- rent ways) and in all the teni'es, wc ihall find every contam i8o kept in the verb, bodi affirmative and negative, to different inflexions, all which muft be memory. .»• *■ The participle, which fupplies the place of an adjec- tive, in the prefent and preterit, is the fame as the pre- terit, as ermikfok, one who wa(hcs, or Waflied. In the future they fay ermijftrfoky he who will wafh. The Greenlanders have no verbs -deponent nor paffive, but the latter are formed from the aftive by fome ad- junction. On the other hand, they have a multitude of verbs compounded, fome with ceriain particles, which feparately have no meaning ; others with auxilia- ry verb6»efpecially/>ytfitj 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 lafl only is conjugated with the fu/Hxes of the perfons. For inftance, aglekpok^ he writes. Jgleg-iartor-pok^ he goes away to write.** '"*'" uigleg'iartor-afuar-pok^ he goes away haftily to write. jiglek-kig-iartor—afuar-poky he goes afrefh away haftily towrite. .. ,j _ .\ . . f ..vv. AgUk-kig-'iartor-a[uar-mdr-pok\ he goes afrcm'a^ay haf- tily and exerts himfelf to write. Such complicated verbs are infle^ed through all the multiplicity of the variations, and they arc very much in ufe with the Greenlanders, for it enables them to fpeak with elegance and brevity at once. A Grreenlander ciiat is mafter of his language, can exprefs, with one tenfold- thdp. 6. Op TrtEiR Sciej^cbs; « H «5 tenfold-compounded word, the following whole fen" tence : •* He fays, that thou alfo wilt go away quickly ** in like manner and buy a pretty knife;" Knife Sauig - haften afuar • pretty buy go away - i(f - - - /tnt - - - - ariartok-' wilt in like manlier thou alfo he fays^ ■ Omar -^------- otit - tog - og. Yet I imagine this fenience may be rather a fpecimen of their art of combination, than that the Greenlandcrs can often carry it quite fo far. They have feveral clafles of adverbs, like other na- tions. But their numerals fall very fliort, fo that they verify the German proverb, that they can fcarce count fivej however they can make a Ihift with difficulty to mount as high as twenty, by counting the fingers of bwh hands and the toes of both feet. But their pro- per numeration-table is five, attaufek one, arleek two, pngajuak three, fijfamat four, tellimat five* If they muft go further, they begin with the other hand, counting upon their fingers j the 6th they call arbennek^ but the reft till ten hav^ no other name but again two, three, four, five j they call eleven arkanget^ and fixteen arbarfangety and thefe teens they count ac- cording to their toes. Thus they mutter 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 riiimber ; confe- iquently inftead of loo, 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- "vrife, as innuit pingafut^ three men. - < They tack their conjurtdions to the word behind, iA the Latins do their que. They have nO want of thefe^ nor of interjedlions. Their fyntax is fimple and natural j 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 l^guages. The/ Vol. I. Q, ^i i Ii6 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.IIL alfo vary from us in negative qucflions and anfwers, c. g. piomangUatit ? Wilt thou not have this ? If you will have it, then vou mull take care to fay naggay no. But if you will not have it, you muft fay : jp^ piomangilanga, yes, I will not have it. Their ftile and way of fpeaking is not at all hyperbo- lical, pompous or bombaft, like the oriental way, which may alfo be perceived in the North-American Indians j but the Greenlanders are fimple and natural in their ftylc. Yet they are fond of fimilitudes, efpe- cially after they are become Chriftlans, and this is the mod fuccefsful method of inftilling truth into them, or of their inftrudting one another. They do not make long periphrafes or circunilocutions in their difcourfes, though they often repeat a thing for fake of greater clearnefs ; nay they frequently fpeak fo laconic, that, though they readily underfland one another, a foreigner fcarce apprehends them after many years exercife. They have alfo divers figurative fayings and proverbs, and the angekoks make ufe of expreffions not only metaphorical, but fometlmes to be taken in a kwie quitecontrary 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 i water, the foftnefs j and the womb a bag. Their poefy has neither rh) ^^ nor meafure. They make butfhort periods; hovever, they are fung to a certain time and cadence, and between the fentences the chorus ftrikes in with amnah ajah :||; hey ! repeated feveral times. Tranflating out of this language would be liable to the fame inconveniences, as tranflations are in other lan- guages. The Greenlanders can exprefs themfelves fo concife and neat, that their meaning requires many words to explain it, and after all 'tis done perhaps im- perfectly. But there muft be ftill more circumlocution i in tranflating into their tongue, efpecially in matters that are quite unknown to them. In AnderforCs appen-' dix to his account, he has given a (hort dictionary, . fornc phrafes, a rule for conjugation, and feveral pieces ' uanfiiited } all, done as well as the labour of the firft; 5 . . . y^'^» Chap. 6. Of their Sciences. 227 years of the miflion could attain to, tho* there arc alio many errors of the pen or of the prcfs. To gratify thofe readers that arc lovers of languages, I will com- municate, as a fpecimcn of a tranflation pcrfe, ErnetuTinxxt^ a Spiritu Annernerub Virgine a Niviarftaxnxt Pilato Pilatus fan(^o cum cfTet conceptus^ ajunginnerub pimmago, Maria a natus elit. Pontic Mariamit erniurfok-, Pontiui gubernante pafl'us eft, nalegautillugo anniar-ti-toJt,, affixufque lignum in kikkiek-tortitorlo kerfungmxxt mortuus que fepultus eft, tokkovlunih illirfok^ exitum non habentes ad, annivekangitfometun nut, tertioque mortuis a p'mgajuanilo Tokkorfonit Coelum in que afcendit, KillangmnMo kollartoky Patris fui manuejus AttatzxnQ TelJerpixt inde rurfus venire Urfanga ama tikki - ytfomar mortuofque ut judicet eos. tokkungarfullo ekkartotillugiu Ita hoc eft. hnaipok. Credo ego, Jefum Chriftum Jefus Chrijius Patre fuo a Q.2 crucem in, . *• . fenningarfomutj , infernum in, , ' Jlltrrwit, fe rccepit, die pii'fok, udltd furrexit, makkitok, omnipotentis Dei ajukangitju' GuDK dextra in I'edem capeflit, tunganc ivkjiauvokj vult, vivofque ,4 1 y ck, - InnurfulU -%i'.^ Operpungay seterno a i£'okangitfotn\t Deum meum Gudioluinnartok natum ; Credo irniurfok ; Oper- itidem fj ^ If II 228 HISTORY OF GREENl^AND. fi. HI, itidem et hominem verum natum terra in, y-ung&tog Innuluinnartok, erniurfok • nunamcy Virgine a Maria a, Dominum meum efle, NiviarftatTixt Mariamit, Nalegarignvnti redemit me, cum condemnatus eflem, fervum annaupangz, ekkartotaugania, kivga-' effe ceffare fecit me peccato a omni a, ''yungnar-ftpding2L Jiortunnxit tammaiiutf morte a et, Diaboli poteftate a et, ToHomuUo, Tornarfub PirfauneranxxMoy pretio terrae bonis, nummis Erdlingnartunnlk Nunab peenik, Anning- redimere non voluit me, pingikalloarpzngz^ pretiofo valde cum, " >'^ erdlingnartorfoarmikj * pretioiis neque, aurfekfennigloneet, fanguine fuo cum fed, Jungvciinigley cariflimo incomparabili, cum e'flet idluartuimartomik. nellekangitfomikj piuang- innocenc, Paffione fua morte fua que redemit inname, Anniam'inik Tokkom'mig to annaup-' me. Ita fecit ut me iterum habere vellet, anga. Tatmailiorpok pi -gi-omau - vlunga, a me et ut ferviatur juftitia in, ttamnwUo nalekullune IMuarnermik, innocentia in que, gaudio in que, Piuanginnermxglo, Tipeitfungnermiglo regno fuo in ut vivam unacum ipfo et NalegauvingmxTiQ innuk - attigek - kullunilo ut cum ipforegnarem ; Quemadmodum noiiegauk - attigek - kullune ; Sorlo mortuis a furrexit TokkoyJ'unmt makkitok^ seternum ufque, Haec JJfokangitforawt. Tammakko creditu digna et vera funt. oper - nard - lutiglo illomorput. et vivit innuvlunilo omnia tammartrtik The verfe : " I have in my heart worthlefs, aflign'd *' to him a fhrine," ^c. . . , .'* A. (The Chap. 6. Or THEIR Sciences. ■tT 129 Tauna Irfertorpzxz - Umattimnwt mahnay Aungne koijftmago - Uanga pivlunga, - Ominga annauma.ngz Anniarchwikfammti JffannekangihngTL - Taima aktikfomik. - (The GreenUndiih rendered literally.) I have laid him up In my heart here, His blood becaufe he fhed For my fake, Thereby hath he me re- From my pain, [deemed I have no one that loves So very much. The verfe : "Thy blood, that noble juice," ^t. out of the hymn : « O whither fhall I fly ?" &c. Aut nellekangitfbk -r Firfaunekangarpoky - Kuttingub attaujingub Innuit nunameiut Annau - Jinna - kullugit Kingarfairfub Karnanit. That blood,' that ineftimable. Hath a very great power j A fingle drop. The men that are upon earth That it has power to redeem them From the cruel hater's jaws. § 45- Now T fhall proceed to the fciences. We may eafily fuppofe, that the Greenlanders are totally de- ftitute of thefe elegancies, becaufe they are totally ig- norant of their ufe. We do not fo much as find any traditions of the moft memorable events of their an- ceftors, comprized in heroic fongs, though it is com- monly found that thefe oral memorials are the vehicle of fuch things among other barbarians, that keep no memoirs with the pen. All they can fay in praife of their progenitors is, that they were brave feal-catchers, and that they killed the old Norwegians. But on the other hand they are fo much the more acut? in their fatirical fongs. Yet the reader will judge of their taftc ofpoefy and muiic by what was faid above, § 23. They are however pretty well verfed in genealogy, and can often trace their pedigree as far back as ten of their progenitors, together with all the collateral branches, and this is of great fervice to many a needy creature ; for no one is afhamed of his poor relations, Hnd fuch a one need but demonftrate that he is related : 0.3 to 1: : ^ - k J" i' ' 'i i 4 m 230 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. to fome wealthy Greenlander, though very remotely, and he will not want for meat and drink. Here I muft again remark, that the Greenlanders regard ingenuity arid dexterity in their bufmefs, as the fole, at leaft the fublimcft virtue, and in fome fenfe as their nobility; and they believe that it is hereditary from father to fon. And there is really foraething in it i for it may pretty certainly be depended upon, that the fon of a celebrated feal-catcher will diftinguifh him- felf among the knights of his order, even though he loft his father in his childhood, and could not be trained to it under his tutorage. I obferved before in § 44. how few they can count, and confequently how ihort their arithmetic falls. Of writing, they have no conception. Nay, in the beginning of their acquaintance with the Europeans, they were fo frighted at the fpeaking paper, that they did not dare to carry a letter from one to another, or to tQuch a book, becaufe they believed it muft be by conjuration that one man can tell the thoughts of ano- ther, by a few black fcrawls on a white paper. They alfo ferioufly thought, that when the minifter read God's commandments to them, he furely m.uft have heard a voice firft out of the book. But now they will gladly go poft with a letter, becaufe they get well paid for it, and becaufe it is an honour to carry the voice of a gentleman through the land. But I muft not for- get to fay, that fome of them are fuch good fcribes as to fend their petitions and promiflbry notes to the fac- tors, in which they mark the wares they want to borrow with a coal upon a piece of ikin, and the days of the bill's running, with fo many fcoies. And they honour their draught faithfully, only they wonder that the wife Europeans cannot underftand their Hierogly- phics as well as they do their own fcratches. Neither does their chronology extend far. They reckon their years by winters, and their days by nights. They can count how many winters a perfon hath lived, till he gets to the ne plus ultra of their numeration, that is twenty, and then they give over counting. However cf late they have made certain epochas, as, from the arrival :an count. Chap. 6. Of THEra Sciences. 23» >» arrival of the firft Miflionary, and fome other well- known perfons that came after, as alfo from the efta- blifhment of fuch or fuch a colony, fo that now they can fay : '* This or the other perfon was born at the *' arrival or departure of fuch a perfon, about the fea- *' fon of gathering eggs, or catching feals, ^c. Thus they have alfo divided the feafons of the year. They are not learned enough to fix the equinoxes, but they can guefs at the winter folftice within a few days by the fun- beams upon the rocks; and then they celebrate their new-year by the above-mentioned fun- feaft. From hence they reckon three full moons to the fpring, and then they move from their winter houfes into tents. In the fourth moon, i. e. in April, they know that the fmall birds make their appearance, and the ravens lay eggs. In the fifth their angmarfet, and the feals with their young ones, rejoice their coafts with their circular vilit. In the fixth the eider-fowls breed. But now they would be confounded in their lunar calculations by the difappearance of that accompt- ant the moon during the bright fummer-nlghts, if they did not carry on their calendar partly by the growth of eider-fowls and fize and fhape of the feals, and partly by the ftiining of the fun on the dial of the rocks and mountains, fo that they can ftill tell exactly when the feals, fifties and birds will arrive in flocks and ihoals here or there, and when it is time to repair the winter-houfes, in which they generally (helter themfelves foon after Michaelmas. , They divide the day according to the ebb and flood, though they mufl every day vary their reckoning ac- cording to the change of the moon. The night is di- vided according to the rifing and fetting of certain ilars. They think the globe of the earth ftands upon pofts, which are fo rotten with age that they often crack ; and they would have funk long ago, if they had not been continually kept in repair by the angekoks, who fome- times bring back a piece of rotten wood as a proof of their important fervice. Their aftronomy makes tlie firmament to reft on a lofty pointed hill in the north, and it performs its revolutions on that centre. Ct4 They ■I ' .,i It- 232 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. III. They will further tell you, that all the celeftial bo- flies were once Greenlanders, or animals, who by fome peculiar fatality were ^r^nfporte4 thither, and according to the quality of their di?t, their afpeft is pale or red. The planets in their conjun^ions, are two females that vifit or wrangle together. They haye difcovered thie (hooting-ftars to be fouls, that have a mind to take a tour once from heaven to hell on a vifit. They give the flars their particular names : They call Urfa major tuktp, /. e. the rei^ideer j the feven ftars are fo many dog:i, kellukturfet, that are bunting a bear, and by thefe they reckon their night-feafon. They call Geminr^ icillab kuttuk, heaven's breaft-ljone ; and Orion's-belt \s called fiektut, the bewildered men, becaufe they could not find their way home from fe^l-catching, and fa \vere tranflated among the ftar?. ^ But what think you of the fun and moon ? they are an own brother and fifter. They and others were once playing children's plays in the dark, when Malina be- ing teafed in a (hameful manner by her brother Annin- ga, flie rubbed her hands in the foot of the lamps and blacked the face and cloaths of her perfecutor with it, that fhe might difcpver by day-light who he was ; and thus you are to account fpr the black fpots on the pha- fis of the moon. She then endeavoured to efcape by flight, but her brother purfued her, till at laft flie fear- ed aloft and became the fun. Anninga followed her up into the firmament and became the moon j but he could not mount fo high as ihe, yet he keeps continu- ally running round the fun in hopes of catching her. When he is tired and hungry in his laft quarter, he fets out from his houfe a fepl-catching in a fledge drawn by four great dogs, and ftays feveral days abroad to re- cruit and fatten, and this produces the full moon. He rejoices when the women die, and the fun in revenge has her joy in the death of the men ; therefore the men keep within doors at the eclipfe of the fun, and the womc n at the eclipfe of the mooij. The moon muft ofcen bear the blame when a fingle woman is deflower- ed, and therefore they do not ftand long looking at him. And during an eclipfe he goes about among the fioufes to pilfer their ikins and eatables, ajid even iip I kill Chap. 6. Of their Sciences. 233 kill thofe people that have not duly obfeirved the rule? of abftinence. At fuch times they hide away every fhing, and the men carry chefts and kettles on the top of the houfe, and rattle and beat upon them tp fright- en av.ay the moon, and rnake him return to his place. At an 6clipfe of the fun the womep pinch the dogs by •|the ears j if they cry^ 'tis a fure fign that the end of the World is not yet come j for as the dpgs exifted before men, therefore, according to Grpeniarid Jogic, they muft have a quiclcer fenfation of future things. But ihould they not cry 'which however the poor dogs al- ways do) then the 4i^olutioi) of all things is at hand. --^T''^^--.- v<- ' ■ ' ■■-^"' '^^_ ::.,." :_., . When it thunders, the rcafon is, two women are ftretching and flapping a dried feal-fldn, apd the thun- der comes from that rattle. As I faid before, they have unrav^lleil the myftery of the aurora borealis, for we are told, it is the fouls of the dead frifking at a dance or a foot-ball. So alfo t|ie rains are the over- iRowings of the celeftial refervoirs.- But ihould the banks break, the (ky would fall down. But enough of thofe abfurd ilories, which indee4 none but the weakeft heads harbour even in Greenland, Nay it feems to me, that the Greenlanders, who have art enough to vail their craftinefs with the curtain of stupidity, have often repaid the relations of the Europe- ans with fuch romaniic tales, to fee how far their fenfe and credulity reaches, or perhaps to make themfelves agreeable to them. I could perceive but few traces of the art of aftrolo- gy or divination from the ftars, the bowels of beafts, or the flight and finging of birds. But they take fo much the more notice of the alteration and afpedl of the air, and they can make pretty fure conclufions from hen^c concerning the change of the weather. :i\: § 46. The Greenlanders after all dearly love their life, wretched and troublefome as it is, and are horribly a- fraid of death. So true is it, that people without a Redeemer, muft through fear of deaths b( all their life- time fuhjeSl to bondage j which peculiarly Ihews itfelf a- *' * "^ .\ mong ■if, (;. '■1 :' 234 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.III. mong the ignorant heathen. Therefore when they are fick, they are not appeafed with the fpells of conjurors and witches, which they only ufe that no ftone may be left unturned, but they betalcethemfelves to more rational means ; though their materia medica is very incompe- tejit ; and befides, there are but few people that will take the charge of the fick, for fear of being infe£led by touching them. I will briefly recite their difeafes and the method of treating them. Jn May and June their eyes arc often red and run^ ning, from the cutting winds and the dazzling rays of the fun on the melting fnow and ice, fo that fome- times they cannot open them. Some fcreen their eyes from it by a neat-made flap of wood three fingers broad, which beii^g bound on the forehead, hath the efFedt of the flap in the, front of a jockey's cap. Some faften a piece of wood before their eyes, with long narrow flits for the eye to look through, without being hurt by the fnow-glance. If the forenefs fiixes and lafts, they make an incifion in their forehead over the eye, that the iharp humour may difcharge itfelf. They often get a fpeck pr evqn a film over the eye : This the good wife will couch with a crooked needle, and cut ofFwith her coarfe knife, {q efFe.>iJJV •i' aOKiu Chap. 6* § 4?. )p THEIR Sciences. § ,. .i ni 47- ,<:,.., When a Greonlander is in the conflicts of death, they array him in his beft cloaths and bootS) and bend his legs up to his hips, probably that his grave may be the fhorter. As foon as he is dead, they throw out his things, that they may not make themfelves unclean and unfortunate. All the people in the houfe muft alio carry out their things till the evening, that the fmcll of the corpfe may evaporate. Then they filently bewail him for a fliort hour, and after that prepare for his bu- rial. They do not carry out the corpfe through the entry of the houfe, but lift it through the window, or if he dies in a tent, they unfaften one of the Ikins behind, and convey it out that way. A woman behind waves a lighted chip backward and forward, and fays : *' there is nothing more to be had here," They like to make the grave in fome remote high place, and make it of ftone. They lay a little mofs upon the bare ground (for the rock admits of no digging) and fpread a ikin upon it. The corpfe being wrapped and fewed up in the man's beft feal or deer-flcin, is brought by the neareft relation on his back, or he even drags it after him upon the ground ; he lays it in the burying place» covers it with a (kin, anu alfo with fome green fods, and finally heaps great broad ftones upon it to keep off the birds and foxes. Near the burying-fpot they depo- fite the kajak and darts of the departed, and the tools he daily ufed, or if it was a woman, her knife andfewing implements, that they might not be defiled by them, or might not be urged to too great forrow by the frequent fight of them ; for an excefs of grief would not be to the good of the feparateil foul. Moreover many are of the opinion, that they ihall want their implements for their maintenance in the other world. Such people lay a dog's head by the grave of a child,, for the foul of a dog can find its way every where, and will (hew the ig- norant babe the way to the land of fouls. But fince the favages have feen that thofe who know better,, fometimes take away fuch things that are left by the graves, and ufe them without being cxpofed to any vengeance of enraged fpedres, they have pretty much laid zk^Q Tuch offerings. Yet they do not ufe fuch 1 ■' 238 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.III. fuch things themfelves, but fell them to others who will feel no grief renewed by the fight of a good bar- gain. Whoever touches a dead body, efpecially he that carries it to the grave, is rendered unclean for feveral days, and muft refrain from certain kinds of labour and food. The reft of the relations, nay all vhe people in the houfe, muft do the fame, though in a fmall^ir de- gree, that they may not bring a misfortune u'on them- ielves, nor incommode the journey of the departed foul. A little fucking babe, that cannot yet digeft their grofs food, and has no one befides to nurfe it, is bu- ried alive with the mother, or at leaft fome time after, when the father can find no way to preferve it, and cannot bear to fee the infant's diftrefs any longer. We may ewfily conceive with what a painful fenfation a father muft perform this office, efpecially if it is a fon. Many an old fickly widow, that has no reputa- ble rich relations, by whom (he can be fupported with- out trouble, is alfo buried alive, and the children will tell you, that this is no cruelty but kindnefs, for they fpare her the pain of a lingering fick-bed, from which there is no hopes of her rifing, and themfelves a great deal of trouble, forrow and lympathy. But the true reafon lies in their lazinefs, covetoufnefs and con- tempt, becaufe there is feldom an inftance of their bu- rying an old ufelefs man alive, except perhaps he has no relations at all, and then they would rather convey him to fome defolate ifland, and there Ih- him ftruggle with his fate. If a perfon has no friends at all, they even let him lie unburied. >i «tfT;; §48.. ,w,} It.:! I V, hi ^>^* Among thofe earls that fubmitted to king Harold, was one called Thorrer, who is delcribed as fo rich, that he had three iflands in the north part of Norway, and on every ifland 80 fat oxen ; this procured him the name of Yxna-(or oxen)-Thorrer. He prefented one of thefe iflands and all the oxen upon it to king Harold for a dinnej: for his army, and by that he won his favour. His great-grand-fon Thorwald lived a while at the court of Count Hagen in great fplendor, but was obliged to fly on account of a murder he had committed ; he came with a new colony to Iceland, and there cultivated a tradt of land of his own. His Ion Erich Raude, or the Red-headed, extended it ftill further after his death. One of his powerful neighbours, Zyolf Saur, caufed fome of his fervants to be murdered. Erich revenged the reproach and injury that had been done him, with Eyolf 's death. On this account, and alfo becaufe he had come into a quarrel with the mighty Thorgeft, who would not rcftore fome houfe-idols that he had entrufted him with at his flight, he was obliged to think of flying again. Now he had been informed, that one Gunbioern had difcovered in the weft part of the ifland not only fome cliffs where there were plenty of fifli, which got from him the name of Gunbioern's Shears, but that he had fpied a continent further weft. The fugitive Eric, being adjudged to a three years banifliment, fought this land, and the firft point of it he difcovered was by Herjolfs Nefs ; he coafted along fouth-weft, and wintered at an agreeable ifland near a found, which he called Eric's Sound. The next year he examined the main land, and the third year went back to Iceland. In order to entice people to go to his new country, he called it Greenland^ and painted it out as fuch an excellent place for pafture, wood, and fifti, that the next year he was followed thither by 25 ihips full of colonift^, who had furniftied themfelvcs richly with hou(bold-goods and cattle of all forts, but only 14 of thefe (hips arrived. In proccfs of time more R 2 colonies 244 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IV. colonies came after, both out of Iceland and Norway, and ftockcd the country with inhabitants by degrees- both on the eaft and weft-fide, fo that they were com- puted to be a third part as numerous as a Danifh epif- copal diocef«i • '. t \k.[nH h^y ^ y'.,V :,,ij >i.' ^'••-MfK-Woi^ - T iuqoiilrd.i' J 3* ,t>.;:dl' :^'ioiK>^'i ':i!v The time of thefe events is recorded differcntlyi There are but two head-fountains of the Greenland hiftory : One is the Iceland Chronicle of the very an- cient Northern Hiftorian Smrro Sturkfen^ who was No- mophylax or juftitiary of the Icelam' -government about the year 1215. His account is preferred not only by the learned Arngrim Jonas, coadjutor of bifhop Gun- brand I'horlak in Iceland, in the beginning of the laft century, but alfo by the king's hiiroriographer Thor- moder Torfasus, a native of Iceland, in his Groenlandia entiqua, which 1 have made the moft ule of. Thefe date the difcovery of Greenland in the year 982. But on the other hand we have fome Greenland An- nals in Danifh verfe, by a Divine, Claudius Chrjjiopherfen or Lyfcander^ who fuppofes the difcovery to be in the year 770. And this calculation feems not only vo have fome foundation in the antiquities of Iceland, but is corroborated by a Bull iffued by Pope Gregory IV. An. 835, wherein the converfion of the northern na- tions, and in exprefs words of the Icelanders and GrecnlanderS) is committed to the firft northern apoftlc Arifgarlusy who had been appointed arch-Mlhop of Ham- burgh by the emperor Lewis the Pious. If this Bull is authentic, which we find no reafon to doubt, Green- land muft have been difcovered and planted 150 years earlier, about 830, by the Icelanders or Nor- wegians. >.?> u .iui/ib.>r ni But a greater difagreement prevails in the defcrip- tion of the country, not only between the records of the Icelanders and the Danes, but alfo between the Icelanders themfelves ; neither could the Icelander Torfaeus reconcile them after all his labour. In his charts, he follows chiefly the draughts of Ivar Beer,. who <( (( i( (( (C it Chap. I, Annals of old Greenland, 245 who was the Greenland bifhop's fteward andjuftitiary, ih-. the 14th century. According to this account, Greenland was inhabited and tilled both on the eafb and weft-fide. The eaft-fide, which is now called Old or Loft Greenland, was divided into two parts by a promontory in the 63d deg. called Herjolf's Nefs. Mr. Theodore Thorlak, who was bifhop in Iceland in the laft century, writes as follows : " Under this pro- *' montory lies Skaga-fiord or inlet, and before the mouth of it^a long fand-bank ; therefore large fhips can only enter it at high-water ; at which time a great many whales and other fifh alio take the opportunity of pafling. But no one dare fifh there without the leave of the bifhop, who is the pro- prietor of the bay : further eaftward lies the bay Ollum lengri^ or the longeft inlet, the end of which was never yet known. There are a great number of little iilands called holms, and plains covered with grafs." > *»rt •»•,.* This long inlet very likely may conneft with the Ice-inlpt in Difko bay on the weft-fide, where, according to the report of the Greenlanders, was formerly a paflage through. Torfasus places it in the 66th deg. All beyond he calls Obygdr, or Defart-places, v/hcre only one bay is noted down called Funkabudr, becaufe it js faid one Funka, a fervant of Olaus king of Nor- way, was fliipwrecked and buried there. On the main land hereabout two great mountains of ice are marked j one of them is called Blaaferken, or blue-fhirt, from the blue colour of its ice, and the other Huitferken, or white-fhirt, from its white ice. When a man is got half way from the mo ft weftern cape of Iceland called Snzefels-nefs, towards Herjolfs-nefs in Greenland, (which are two capes about 120 leagues afunder) he may fee both the Blaaferk, in Greenland and the Snaefels-Joekel or ice- mountain in Iceland. «; Between Herjolfs-nefs and Statenhook there were many more inlets inhabited. Thofe moft worthy of notice are Ketil's inlet, in which there is an account of two parifties, and a cloyfter of monks dedicated to St. Olaus and St. Auguftine. Again there was Raven- inlet, at the end of which was the ixunnery of St. .' v;^i R 3 ' Olaus. iC C( cc C( cc (( cc cc cc cc cc cc r i i)t:IK -u. C( cc cc cc We need not fay any thing of the nature of the air and the land on the eaft-fide, becaufe it may be inferred from the defrription of the weft-fide. But becaufe common report ha^ amufed us with fo many excellencies and felicities of the old loft Greenland, 1 will only infert fo much from Torfaeus, as ftiews that the eaft-fide was not much different from the weft as it now is. He fpeaks (conformably to the account of Speculum regale, a very ancient Iceland book) as follows : " The air is more ferene and fettled in Greenland, and the cold not fo vehement, as in Iceland and Norway. It is true, fometimes it is immoderately cold, and the tempefts rage more violently than any where, but they do not laft long, happen feldom, and are never fo exceflive as to kill the cattle." The author of this old book, who is faid to have lived in the 12th century, defcribes even then the north-lights, which he calls Nordrlios, but as fuch a curious or rare thing, that it was feen no where but in Greenland. Peyrere, formerly fecretary to one of the French ambafladors at the northern courts, wrote what he calls a relation, fo long ago as 1646, in which he defcribes this aerial phenomenon as fuch a won- der, which he would not prefume to relate, if the Iceland chronicle did not bear witnefs to it. He alfo relates out of the Danifh records, that in the year 1308, there was in Greenland fome terrible thunder and lightning, by which a church was burnt down j it was attended with fuch a tremendous ftorm, that the pinnacles of many rocks were torn off", and that the duft of the broken ftones flew about like rain. It was followed by fuch a fevere winter as they had ne- R 4 ver 248 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IV. ver had before, fo that the ice it left behind, did not thaw for a whole year. ' t Their defcriptions of the frultfulnefs or produce of the land a'-e not only various, but contradiftory. Sometimes the Iceland annals tell you, that it bears the beft wheat, and then again that nothing can grow there for the cold. They fpeak of woods where they hunted white bears, though the white bears feek. their livelihood from the fea; ?nd they mention oak-trees that bore acorns as big as apples, and of a tafte as agreeable as chefnuts. The report of the Danifh Chronicle is the moll probable, anl correfponds with the nature and quality of the weft-fide, viz. that Eric Raude lived only upon fifh at firft, but that his fuc- ceffors by degrees cultivated fome meadows in the val- lies for pafture. Torfacus writes the fame, chap. xv. de Groenlandorum Vi£iu, " I'hough fome people of " fubftance (fays he) have made a trial whether the ** land would bear corn, yet it produced but little, *' becaufe the froft and cold nipped the {tt^. The *' common people have never feen corn, nor knowri ** what bread is. In other refpeiSts the land is defcribed " as rich in pafture, and yielding very large and fat ** oxen, cows, Iheep and goats, that furnilh a good *' ftock of butter and chcefe." So far Torfaeus. Therefore I imagine, when Greenland is ranked among the eftates that fupplied the royal table, whither none but the kings iliips had leave to fiiil, and bring away the exuberant produ6ls of the country ; we are to un- derftand it as fpoken merely of the excellent cattle, which indeed generally thrive and tafte the beft in mountainous countries. Befidcs thofe beafts that have been mentioned in the defcription of the weft-fide, the IceJr.r.d hiftorians take notice of wolves, lynxes, beavers, fables and martens, as alfo of white eagles and falcons ; and Torfxus defcribes out of the Speculum regale IJIandicum^ fix kinds of Teals, befides the roftun- gar or fea-lion, and 23 forts of whales, moft of which agree with thofe defcribed before. X- Chap. I. Annals of old Greenland. 249 §6 ler none There is very little concatenation in the hiftory of the Norwegians in Greenland, but only fome prolix narratives of murder and blood-lhed, and fome v(rell- devifed heroic adventures or talcs, which Torfaeus relates and then confutes. We fee by his contrafled records, which contain little more than the fucceflion of bifhops in Greenland, that Leif, the fon of Eric Raude, made a voyage to Norway, An. 999, to give king Olaus Tryggefon, then upon the throne, an ac- count of the new colony in Greenland : and that he fpent the winter athrs court. This king, who had not long before renounced heathenifm, and was very zea- lous to fpread the chriftian name, perfuaded Leif to be baptized, and to take a prieft with him to Greenland, who might convert the inhabitants there. On his re- turn, he found fome fhipwreckcd failors fwimming on the fhip's fragments, took them aboard, and brought them with him to Greenland. His father was much difpleafed with him, both for this companionate aft, and for bringing the Norway prieft, becaufe he fup- pofed it would fhew foreigners the way thither to fub- due Greenland j but he was pacified by thw efficacious remonftrances of his fon, that by faving the unfortu- nate he had only fulfilled the duties of humanity, which nature dem.anded of man, and which Chriftianity ftill more nobly difplayed and rewarded ; nay he was not only appeafed, but alfo induced to hear the prieft, and to embrace the Chriftian religion, and the reft of the colony followed his example. At the fame time the Icelanders relinquiflied the idolatry of the northern pagans, who worfliipped chiefly four heathen gods, viz. I'hor, Odin or Wothan, Thyr, and Fieya *. New colonifts kept continually coming from Iceland and Norway, and part of them were Chriftians already. Among thefe, they tell you • Some of the days of the week are ftill named after them In the Ger- man language, and others that have affiiiity with it, as, from tbor, Thorfdag, Thurfiiav, Donnc.ftag j from Odin, Onfdag or Odenfdag, Wednefday} from 'Thyr, Thiifdug, Tuefday, Dienftag, and from Friyaf Freydag, Friday. • ■■ a won- n; ti lii; a50 HISTORY QF GREENLAND. B.IV^ a wonderful ftory of one Thorgils, a new but zealous chriftian, who went to Greenland againll the frequent remonftrances of his former heathen gods, and endur- ed many trials and conflicts from Satan, and many fore calamities by land and water for feveral years, after which, like Joi and Tobiasy he arrived to great honour and felicity. -uti-. ^ In procefs of time, when the Chriftian inhabitants were greatly multiplied, and had built many churches, Sok, Leif 's grandfon, fummoned the people together at Brattahlid in the the year 1122, and reprefented to them that the honour of the people, and the conferva- tion of religion, called upon them to follow the ex- ample of other nations, and to have a bifhop of their own, for whofe fupport they ((hould fettle a certain ftipend. They were all unanimous, and delegated Kinar, Sok*s fon, with a prefent of fea-lions teeth and ikins, to Sigurd king of Norway, with a petition to grant them a bifhop. The king chofe Arnold a learn- ed prieft for this office. Arnold obje6led his little lear- ning, and the roughnefs of the people, that would not be governed by bare admonitions and reproofs. But when Einar bound himfelf by an oath to protect the church's endowments and rights with all his power, Arnold ac- cepted the call to Greenland, and firft fet out with a letter of recommendation from the king to Archbifhop Afcher at Lund in Schonen, who confecrated him bifhop of Greenland j and then fet fail. On the voy- age thither he was attacked by a florm and driven to Iceland. He fpent the winter here, in the houfe of the ©Id Iceland writer, Saemund Erode. It is alledged as a token of his humility and condefcenfion, that he mended a poor woman's broken wool -comb. The year following he came to Greenland, and fixed his epifco- pal reftdence at Gardar. But many reputable Norwegians accompanied him. One of them, called Arnblcern, was forced by a florm, together with two fhips, on the forlorn north-part of Greenland. No one knew what was become of him, but it was believed that he was fwallowed up in the fea, till a certain man called Sigurd went up that way to ,:, . catch ! I » In •^*V: Chap. t. Annals of old Greenland, catch fifti, and found there the wreck of one *St fh 'P» and another (hip ftill ferviceable freighted with many goods J on the ftiore new it he found a houfe full of dead corpfes. He got them buried, repaired the Ihip that could be ftill ufed, and brought it and its freight to the bifhop, who let him have the goods, but appropriated the fbip to the church. After a while Aufur, thft unfortunate Arnbioern*s fifter's fon, came to Greenland, and demanded his un- cle's efFe6ts. Einar, who had vowed to defend the e- moluments of the church, rejedted his claim in a con- vention of the people. Aufur in malicious anger fe- cretly ruined and difabled the fhip that belonged to the church, and then fet off for the weft-fide. He found there two Norway merchant-ftiips, whom he prevailed upon to revenge more feverely the injury done to all good Norwegians in his perfon. When he came ao^ain with his comrades to Gardar, he was deceitfully mur- dered unawares by Einar with an ax in the church- yard, as they were coming together from divine fer- vice } for Einar had been provoked by a reproof he had undergone from the bifhop for fuftering the pro- perty of the church to be damaged contrary to his oath. The reft of his fadtion determined to avenge his mur- der. Indeed old Sok endeavoured to comprcmife the matter in a great aflembly, but as he offered the injured party a mere trifle to compenfate for the life of their head, they murdered his fon Einar upon the fpot. Di- jedly a bloody fray arofe, in which feveral loft their lives on both fides. Sok propofed to make war againfl the three fhips, but was difTuaded from it by a difcrcet farmer, and prevailed on to enter into a treaty of re- conciliation with the murderers of his fon. And as there had been one more of Aufur's party killed than of the others, Sok was obliged to pay feme money as a counterbalance ; but then thefe intruders fhould leave the country and come thither no more, fs^ ■ ' ^^ -*"'' *• V I have told this ftory, though very compendioufly, (which may be found at large in Torfaeus, Chap. XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII.) becaufe it will affift the reader to form an idea of the manners and government of the old Norwegians in Greenland* The 252 HISTORY OF GIIEENLAND. B. IV. The Danifh Chronicle fays, that the Greenlandcr* became tributary to the kings of Norway in 1023, which was foon after they embraced the Chriftian re- ligion. ' In the reign of Magnus, An. 1256, they at- tempted to revolt i but he obliged them to make peace in 1 26 1, with the afliflance of the Danifh King Eric Clipping, who fcnt a confiderable fleet thither. Tor- faeus, pafling by this, maintains, that they, and the Icelanders, in the year 1261, fubjedcd themfelves vo- luntarily under the Norwegian fceptre, and promifed to render a moderate tribute, and to punifh all mur- der, whether committed by natives of Norway or Greenland, on inhabited or uninhabited places, nay if it was' perpetrated under the pole. From that time they were governed by a king's deputy from Norway, according to the laws of Iceland ; and when an arch- bifhoprick was eredled at Drontheira, in Norway, the Greenland bifhops became fuftragans to this metro- politaii. >|)^„ u.jtsll r i>s\i{i:-?:s^u M^>m<> According to Torfaeus's lift, the biftiops fucceeded each other in the following order : 1. Eric, even before 1120; but he was not regular- ly inftalled bifhop, neither had he any epifcopal feat. He moftly went up and down the country, edifying the churches, and at laft went to Wineland to convert the heathen there. 2. Arnold, IJ2I, he was afterwards the firft bifhop of Hammer in Norway. 3. Jonas I. 1 150. '.s^r- 4. Jonas II. 1188. ■ .in ivuiru^tv^ ^H t 5. Helgo, 1212. ymiy.' iiu \rf»iY» 'J. ' tii ^-i^fktabil/v*^ 6. Nicholas, 1234. 7. Glaus, 1246. Under this bifhop 3 Greenland deputies, Odd, Paul and Leif, either made peace, or fubmitted to the kings of Norway. This bifhop alfo alTifted at the confecration of Hacon archbifliop of Drontheim. ;t wH6ivv«w» j^^ 8. Thorder or Theodorus, 1288. K^Miitt--^ g. Arno, 13 14.. • ' »" 10. Jouas the bald, 1343. ' -.r '^ So fav Torfaeus's Roll goes. . ■ . , . . , - " ■'.:., ^ .."_ - y. ■ : -. ;.*, Baron 13- 14. IS- i6. Chap. I. Ankals of old Greenland. 253 Baron Holberg, in his hiftory of the kingdom of Denmark, aids the following Qut of the DaniHi chan- cellor and hiftorian Huitfeld. vafl.' -vaTXi. w 11. Alpho, in whofe days the Skraellings, or wild Greenlanders, were firft fecn here in this country. 12. Berthold. , _ Gregory. ij^^iytiitnoy k ii.l t^ Andrew. ',,<'. v. A'Sunn ,iii\i . , r i'.; John. 't3 u^nj^fHj/) ,i.O|ii 3R3«c.'J''i*Ri i!*^^-"^. ' Henry. He is faid to have been at the aflembly of the nobles, called together by king Olaus at Nyborg in Fuencn in 1386, where he and other bifliops procured feveral exemptions for the churches and cloyfters. But as about this time the voyages to Greenland were given over, and no further account was heard from thence, therefore Afkill archbifliop of Drontheim ordained, 17. Andrew bifhop of Greenland in the year 1408, and fent him thither to fupply Bp. Henry's place in cafe he was dead. But we have no account whether he arrived there, or how it went with him. After that, Greenland was no more thought of for a long time, but yet the Danifh clergy never forgot it quite ; for we find a document dated 1533, in which the fuffragan bifhop of Rofchild fubfcribes himfelf bifhop of Greenland. §7- ■x^i We find no traces of the military ftrengtb of the for- mer Greenland-Norv/egians either by land or fea. The Greenland trade indeed is faid to have been very confiderable, and it may be eafily believed that they exported a good deal of excellent flelh, butter, cheefe, fifh, train and pelts ; but it looks as if thefe commo- dities were fetched by foreign fhips, and that they themfclves neglected navigation ; though they muft have underftood it well in the beginning. For they not only failed from Iceland and Norway to Green- land in their own fhips, but the firft difcovery and navi- gation of North-America is afcribed to them. And perhaps it will not be unentertaining, if I briefly re- late this curious piece of hiftory, that has hitherto been little 154 HISTORY OF GREENLAND, B. IV. little known, fo as it is defcribed at large by Mallet in his Introduiiion a CHiJioire de Dantmarc *, and by Pon- toppidan in his Natural Hiftory of Norwayf, as they tranfcribed it from the Iceland hiftorians Arrigrim Jo- nas, and TorfsBUS, confirming it by the telUmony of the antient hiftoriographer Adam Bremenfis, who wrote in the middle of the i ' th century, and confequently at the time of the difcovery. An Icelander named Hcrjolf w«nt every year with his fon Bicern to traffic in feveral countries. Once, in the year looi, they were feparated from each other by a ftorm, and Bioern arriving in Norway, got intel- ligence, that his father was failed to Greenland, which was then but little known j accordingly he fet fail to follow his father thither, but was driven by another ftorm to the fouth-weft, where he difcovered a flat champaign country overgrown with wood, and on his return alTo defcried an ifland. But he did not tarry at thefe places, but when the ftorm ceafed, made the beft of his way north-eaft to Greenland, When this e- vent was divulged ; the above-mentioned Leif, the fon of Eric the red-headed, was ambitious of acquiring fame like his father by the difcovering and planting new countries ; therefore he fitted out a fhip with 35 men, and went to fea with Biaern. The firft land they now difcovered was ftony and barren. They gave it the name of Helleland, /. e, flat, bare land. Then they difcovered a low country with white fand, cover- ed with fome woods. This they called Markland, /. e, level land. Two days after, they faw land again, whofe northern coaft was covered by an ifland. There tliey found fome flirubs with fweet berries. They fail- ed up a river till they came to a lake, from which the river ifliicd. The air was mild, the foil fruitful, and the river crouded with all forts of fifh, particularly large falmon. They ftaid that winter there, and found that the fun rofe about 8 o'clock in the fhorteft days, which muft have been about the 49th deg. Mlw ttjfe '.. -•. .. »* '-'f!*^ il.iv «;!*• *".. ^p.4a3t6433. .; ^ ^ ' • . .... •-':*; 'J. -fh' .bit.-,. i:^":" Chap. I. Amnals of old Greenland. 255 cides with the latitude of Newfoundland, or the river of St. Laurence in Canada. After they had built fome huts there, they mifTed a German mariner named Tyrker, whom, after a long fearch, they ound in the wood (kipping and very mer- ry. Upon afking what made him to chearful, he an- fwercd, that he had eaten fuch grapes as people made wine of in his native country. When Leif fa,w and tafted thefe grapes himfelf, he called his new country Viinland, /. *. Wineland ♦. In the fpring, they went back to Greenland. Leif*s brother Thorwald refolved to carry the difcoveries far- ther, and failed thither the very fame year with Leif 's crew ; he examined the land weftward, and the fum- mcr following caftward. The coaft was very woody and befet with many iflands, but they f jund no foot- fteps of man nor beaft. The third fummer they ex- plored the iflands ; but as the fhip received damage on a certain cape, they were obliged to fpend moft of the time in repairing her, and as they could not ufe the old keel any more, they fet it up on the faid cape and called it Kixlarnefs. Having repaired the fhip, they re-examined the eaft- fide of the land, and perceived three fmal' boats co- vered with fkins, and three men in each. They feized them all but one, (who efcaped) and killed them out of mere cruelty. Some time after, u great number of the fame fort of men in their boats affaulted them ; but they defended themfelves fo Well from their arrows, be- hind the boards with which their (hips were guarded, that the lavages were forced to take to flight after an hour's Ikirmilh. They called thefe Indians Skrallings ovx of contempt t J and Arngrim, writing after Myritius, calls them Pygmaos bicubitales^ and fays that they were alfo found on the weft-fide of Greenland ; he defcribes thofe defpicable men as having fo little ftrength, that there was nbthing to fear from them, if there was e- ver fo many of them. Yet Thorwald, and he alone. • *Tiswell known that gobd^taftcd vrild grapet grow in the fotefts of Ca- nada, but they yield no good wine, , f It figniAc) chips, parings, i, t, dwarfj!. ^' ;' . was 256 HISTORY OP GREENLAND. B. IV. was obliged to fufter fot his barbarity, for he died of a wound from their arrows. He Srdered his people to fet up a crofs at the head and foot of his grave. On that account that cape was called Krcffa-nefs *. His companions wintered in Wineland, and next (pring they returned once more to Greenland.. • ..•.-.■• - - The fame year Thorftein, the third foh of feric the red-headed, fet out for Wineland with his wife Gudrid, his children, and all his people, in all 25 perfons j his chief intention was to bring away the corpfe of his brother, but he was driven by a ftorm on theweft-coaft of Greenland at a great diftance from any of the Nor- wegian dwellings. There he took up his winter-quar- ters, but he and fome of his followers loft their Ii"^es by an epidemical ficknefs. In the fpring his wife brought his corpfe back again to her own home. From this time the fixing a fettled colony in Wine- land was more earneftly thought of. An eminent Ice- lander called Thorfin marrio^d Gudrid, and by this means inherited Thorftein's right to Wineland, whither he went with her, 65 men and five women ; they took all forts of cattle, tools, &c. with them, and begun to build and plant. The Skraellings alfo foon found them out, and bartered their fkins and furs with them j they would fain have had fome of their weapons in exchange, but Thorfin had forbid it. However one of them ftole a battle-ax, and was ftupid enough to try it on his companion j but as his curiofity coft the other his life, a third took the battle-a: and threw it into the fea. ' Three years after, Thorfin came back to Green- land, and brought fuch valuable merchandizes with him, that he excited a defire in many to feek their fortune in Wineland. He himfelf went to Ice- land, and built a magnificent houfe there. After his death Gudrid took a journey to Rome, and afterwards * Hence if appears that Thorwald was a chrlftian, as well as his brother hilf. The reft of the Greenlanders, the Icelanders, and efpecially the Nonvegians, that refoited from time .to time to Wineland, were probably ftill heathens, who would rather live in a flrange land, than embrace the ChriiUan religion, which Olaus Tryggefyn propagated witl» iropetuofity ia Norway. ^:^. ' . • *" V ended Chap. I. Annals of old Greknlano. 257 ended her life in a nunnery in Iceland, b ^ilt by her fon Snorro born in Wineland. In the mean time two kelanders, Helgo and Finbog, fitted out each a Ihip for Wineland With 30 men, and took Frijidis a daughter of Erich Raude with them.- This wortian fomented an infurredion in the new colo- ny, in which 3d perfons were killed, and among them Helgo and Finbog. Then back fhe went to Greenland, where fhe was abhorred by every One, and epded her life in wretchednefs. The reft of the colonifts proba- bly fled and difperfed in the country, for fear of pu- nifhment. At leaft from that time there are no more connected accounts to be found of this colony j except that in the year 1121, that is, a hundred years after its firft difcovery, bifhop Eric from Greenland is faid to have gone thither to convert his forlorn country- men, who v/erc mofHy ftill heathens. *Tis probable thofe Indians at prefent about Newfoundland, who are fo very different in their fliape and manner of living from the other Americans, may be defcended from them. , . §8. ^ ., ... f/^,.:! j!i;5j, ....i,yti:,. ■^^>,,,1i^;l}»N{^^.,>■ I will ttake this occafion to fpeak of the extraftlbn of our prefent Greenlanders, who were formerly cal- ed Skra-'llings*. I find no fati$fa(5lory footfteps of Greenland's having been inhabited before the arrival of the Norwegians. It is true, the already rrtentioned Danifli chronicle written in verfe, fays that certairi Armenians were firft driven hither by a ftorm, and' that from hence they peopled Norway and America^, and alfo that many tribes were found in Greenland, who were governed by different chiefs. But this au- thor writes many things that are not juft or congruous, and we muft make him allowances as a poet. Torfae- us quotes feveral of the moft ancient Iceland writers, fome of whom, as Ssemund Erode, Arius Polyhiftor, * The GreenUnders fay, that rhcy were called Karallit by the former Chrillian inhabitants. According to their manner of pronunciation,- in which ihey divide confonantjthat ftiod together, Skra-lliiig might be turn- ed into this v.ord, or vice verfa, (It has however buen found, that the El'quimaux too give theaifelvcs the nntnc Karalit.) Vql. I. and nl'll IHK aBxIr* fl ' H ^Sa'^ B 'iH III S IB ^^^H{ 25& HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B,lV. and Snorro Sturlcfen wrote in th,c nth century, con- fequently foon after the difcovcry of the land, who fay, that though they found* feme pieces of broken oars how and then on the ftrand, yet they never faw any peo- ple neither on the eaft nor wcft-fidc, tho' they mon itcd the hills to furvey the land. Thorwald metwith the firft SkraJlings in his new-difcovered Wineland, and mur- dered fonie of them. Now it is fuppofed, that this Wine- land was no other than the preicnt Newfoundland, or perhaps Canada. In the 14th century, they make their appearance all at once in Greenland on the well-fide, where they are re- ported to have killed 18 Norwegians, and to have car- ried away two boys prifoners. The above-mentioned Greenland juftitiary Ivar Beer was fent thither by the bifiiop to drive away the Skraellings, but he found at his landing no men, either chriftians or heathens, but many oxen and flieep j he flaughtered as many of thcfe as his fliip could contain, and then turned back again. Torfseus makes the date of this to be in I34.9. Since then nothing is written more of the Skra^llings, and the accounts of Greenland alfo draw to a period Toon after. Peyrere produces the fentlments of the leari^ed TVor- tnius about it, 'viz. that the Skrsellings were firft: feen on the North-bank of Kindil's-Inlct, which was the laft bay northward that the Norwegians occupied on the weft-fide. Some rafh and venturefome Norwegians went over to them, and acording to cuflom infulted the contemptible Skraellings* ; but they were obliged to pay for their temerity with their lives. Further, that when thefe favages faw Ivar Beer's fhips, they concealed themfelves in clefts and between the hills, and that was the reafon pf^ l^eir finding no people, but many .liattle. Therefore the moft probable fuppofition is, that the ^refent favages firft came to Greenland in the 14th century, and that their route was not from the eaft out of Europe, but from the weft out of North-America. If they came from Europe, we mull ifuppofe they • This conjecture harmonizes \<'ith the tradition of the Greenlandcrs re- fpeftjngthe origin of the KaWun«t, and of their wars with the Innuit, B. III. ^. 3S. 1; ^> ,- : J X ■ \ ' • came Ohap. I. ANNAfs OF OLD Greenland. .^^ tame cither by Nova-Zembia and Spitzberg*, in fome , fuch way as the ftory relates of Hallur Geit, who per- formed a journey from Greenland to Norway on foot . with a goat, which kept him alive with its milk, from which he got the furnameGeit ; (but fince the difcoveries in the Ice-feaj by which we know that thefe Countries are not contiguous either with Ruflia or Green- land, this muft be given up entirely:) Or fecondly, they muft have crofled that wide ocean through fo much ice in their littlci boats ; which is fcarcc poflible. Or thirdljr, they muft have gone thither over the ice, as Arngrim relates of a certain woman called Helgo, who was carried from Norway to Greenland on a great flake, of ice. But methinksthis founds abfurd too. Indeed the way through the Ice-fea feems to be the neareft, but it has fo many difficulties, that 'tis hard to conceive it From the accounts I have iec;n of the northern nati- ons, I do not perceive fo much reiemblance or probable affinity to our Greenlanders either in the Laplanders, Samojcdes or Oftiaks, that live north and north-weft on the coafts of the Afare glaciate^ as I do in the Kail- mucks t, Jakutes, Tungufes and Kafnfhadals, who in- habit the north-eaft regions of Great Tartary between the Ice-fea artd Mungalia, T^his is the route our Greehkmders muft have taken ; they came firft into Tartary after the great difperfion ot the nations, and Were driven on further and further by imperious or at leaft more potent nations that followed them> till at -- * verclius ap. Torfsum, p. 25. '■- + More prop.criy Kallmfick, as they call thetrtfelves ; which word \i cotti- pounded of Kail to fettle, and Umaky a tribe. Now the Greenlanders call their original patriarch Kallak, and umiak fignifies a great or women's-boat, which carries the Whole family at once. Strabknberg, in his Defcrlption of the North and Exft Parts of Afia, fays in feveral places, on the credit « the Tartarian writer.Abulgafi Chan, that Og, or Ogus Chan, who reigned in Tartary long before the birth of Chrif^» made an inroad into the fouthern Adatic countries, and as fome of his tribes ftaid behind, becaufe they ould not follow him on accoii'ht of a deep fnow, thtty were called in reproach KaU-atxif and alfo Karlik. Now tht» Karlik, in its plural XW-d/i/, is tlie very name the Oreenlanden give themfelvcs. I have alfo obferved fuch a great fimilitnde between theht and the Kalmucs in their (lature and manners, and liiccwife in feveral Aimames which the Greenlanders have preferved without kniowing their meaning, that I appr^heod they brar a greatet aflinity to them than to any other Afratick nation, .^.y S » ' laft 26o HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.IV. laft they were hunted up to the remoteft corner of Tar- tiry near Kamftiatka. And when they could flay no longer here neither in peace, they were obliged to be- take tliemfelves to America. It is not my intention hereby to aflert, that America was primarily or pro- perly peopled by them. There are more ways how this great quarter of the globe could be flocked with in- habitants' long before, Moft of the Americans are fo ve- ry unlike our Greenlanders, that I cannot con- ceive them to be of the fame defcent. I only fay, that they came, into the moft northern ter- ritories of America. And with refpeifl to the nations of "North-America in particular, other authors befides have traced a great affinity betwixt them and the in- habitants of Siberia, in their way of livings their food, their drefs, in almoft all their manners, and even in their religion ; and hence they have coiicluded, that thefe Americans branched out from them.: If the vaft ocean between Afia and America deters any one from giving this opinion a hearing, let him only examine the charts that are drawn according to the latefl: difcoveries of V xo^^^o: deTIJle de la.Croyere, and read in Bujh>^ trig's Geography^ how the Ruffian captains Beering, Spangenberg and ITchifikow (with the lafl of whom; pe rifle failed,) met in their voyages on this fea be- tween the years 1725 ajnd 1740, not only with many illahds, and people inhabiting them, th^.t had the fame drefsj leathei- boats, and way of living, as our Green- landers ; but they alfo found that America approached fonear towards Kamfchatka, that about the 66th deg. one might fuppofe, if not a jun6lion between Afia. and America, yet at moft but a very narrow Strait *. "^^M* ■, ,,n -Iff fj) , '< .''''i ■ •"Profeflbr MU'er treats of this irore amply in his coll(?^ion of Ruflian trjjifaftions. Vol. III. p. 214. The n.itives of the American coafts came aboard in little canojs, ftiapcd like the kajaks of the Greenlanders. They indeed did not undtrftand the language of the Tfchwktfchi, whom the Ruf- fians had taken with then from Kamfthatka as interpreters, but however, on account of their fize and (hape, looked upon them as the fame fort of pieople with themfelves. Thefe Tfchiiktfchi have indeed no little canoes, but yet their large boats, which they call Baidars, carrying from* 30 1040 men, arc fpread with ribs of wood or bones of whales, and covered over with feal-jkins. See Strahlcaberg's Defcription, p. 437. . .c£.. ,► ■' . ■■ii-.'f •44^* ■ , J,' ._■ ■; ■ j^\ en ikfi -mIt (^o\\ 3tTv^ ^:'':K' ''-ri^^' "B 'iioV)rifcin t , ■ m .VI.. a av'i^.J'^.l t HO iOYilOT^lH K-o^ ,Chap. I. Annals of old Greenland. 261 Even before thefe difcioveries were rriudc, geogra- phers had prefiimed fuch a contiguity or proximity, becaufe they could not otherwifc account for it, how the various fpecies of animals could be propagated from Afia to America, 'rhe fame confideration made the Icelanders believe, that there mufl- be a conta6^ between Greenland and Lapland." Charle-vcix tells you, in his differtation of the origin of the Americans, that the jefuit Grellon, on his Chinefe miflion, met in Tar- tary with a woman, whom he had baptized in a for- mer miflion in Canada in the vicinity of the Huron- lake. She was taken prifoncr ii. war, and was car- ried from one people to another till (he came t6 Tar- tar)*. Another jefuit is faid to have found a Spanifh woman from Florida in China, who had been car- ried away prifoner by the Indians, and travelled through fome very cold coimtries till flie came at laft to Tartary, and was there married to a Tartar foldicr *- Our favages, therefore, fhunningtheviolence and in- juries of their purfuers, retired acrofs this ftrak, or from ifland to ifland, to America, where thev could ipread themfelves unmolefted in the then uninhabited countries, at firft round the fouth-eaft part of Hudfon's bay, or through Canada, as far as the north fea. And here they were firft found by the Norweg:;uis in their Wineland in the nth century. But afterwards whan thefe regions were alfo taken polFeffion of by other tribes of Indians from Florida, more numerous, potent and warlike lan they, they were once niore obliged to recede northwards as 6ar as the 60th deg. Here Ellis found the Efki^naux \ in his voyage to Hud- fon's bay, who had the fame afpeft,, drefa, boats, hunt- ing and fifhing implements, habitations, manners and ufages, as our Greenlanders. Had he underftood, or wrote down more of their language, than the iingle word tukto., which fignifies both with them and our Greenlanders, a reindeer; we {hbul,d probably have foutid that they fpoke the fame tongue. But I further ,,.■.. . ■ ■ ■ * ^ * journal d" un Voyage, Sec. p. 45. ' -f Charlevoix derives this their name from the Indian ^Viiivl Eskmati{J!k, which in the language of the Abenaquis fignifies tating raw, and it is cer- tain they do eat raw fifb. S 3 rerolleft. r\ 4 h \'»: nO- 26z HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.IV. recollect, that a cntain mariner, who had been fcveral times in Greenland, and had wrote down a number of words, failed from London to Terra Labrador in the year 1752, and he and the Indians there could mutually make themfelvfis underllood ; he found them very much like the Greeiil.4|idc;:§, only a littlp mpr^ ri^^ and wild *. -,i-' .v -ff , -*■• V _ . ;.. The clerk of the {hip Califorma fays, f that thef; Efquimaux are often purfued and hunted by the other Indians, that live about the fouth and weft (hores of Hudfon's bay round the factories, and are qaite a dif- ferent generation. Thefe fall upon them, take them prifoners, or murder them, becaule the poor Efquimaux muft bear the blame if the ethers are unfortunate in hunting or fiihing. For this reafon thefe fugitives have retreated fo far northwards., till probably in the 14th century they either crofied Davis's Straits in their boats, from Cape Walfmgham In the 66th deg. to the South-bay in Greenland, which can fcarcebe 60 leagues wide; or elfe they went higher up by Baffin^s bay, (where, according to the report of the Grccnlanders, there are ftoncs fet up with arms like qur guide-pofts, here and there on the fea-coa(t) and fo came down oa the parts where the Norwegians formerly had their "ih-j-^TJ^tnAs bt'.li Dir'jof**! 'X'H '-■■'■ f''->i.' -;■)"•- -"^a *:^}(-^' •■f*'-A • Sfnce I wrote the abm'e, tms afTaiv has been A'lly clcared'up and de- cided : For one of our brethren, who undtrftands the Greenland language, made a Voyage to Lihrndor in 1764, with the confont and furtherance of Hugh PaUiJery Efqj governor of Newfoundland, and on September the 4th, met with about aco favages. The firft that he fpolce to, behaved in the beginning very wild and ihy ; but when the Indiin faw him clad in his v^m drefs, and heard him Ipeak his own language, he called out to the others with 3i outs of joy s ** Our friend i» come." They conducted him further up to their familic), zii'). though other Europeans think they risk their lives to be alone with them, yet they fhewed him all imaginable fViend(hip> and rejoiced when he gave them hopes of vifiting them again |iext yfar {'"bich be accordingly did, in company of the Rev. Mr. Dra- it queen Margaret begun a law- fuft with them in 1389, for trading thither without her frant, becaufc thefc countries and Iceland, Fasroe and 'inmark, belonged to the royal domains *. Neither ihe f "rfelf •^' ' htr fucceflbrs refided any more in Nor- way, d ey had fo much work and difturbance on accoui.L union of the three northern kingdoms at Cain t\u>t ♦hey had no time to think of the for- faken Gicenlandti.': ' At the fame time many veflels were caft away by ftorms, and that difcouraged the merchants more Hill, fo that in Ihort the navigation thither was entirely neglecSicd f, Thus the deferted Norwegians might be eafily hemmed in, famifhed and Jcilled by the fav.'>ges ti or be compelled to the dif- agreeable alterrijftive of cafting themfelves into their arms, incorporating with them, and corifbrming to their manner c'^ life. At laft the regency thopgnt of them again, aiid fent them bifhop A"drew.in the year 1406. But our agcc^;;^ procure no certain intelligence i-ither of hisarrivaT, or of the Norwegians fmce that time, and their final fate j whether they all died of the peftilence, or were murdered by the favage Skrael- lin^s, Of whether fo'me of them are ftill cxifting, who Jjave receded back into the inlets between the moun- tains J which laft is the bpinion of many. " It i5 certain fome traces of them were perceived long after this. About the year 1530 bi(hop Amund of Skalholt in Icelarid Is faid to have been driven by a (Vorm, in hi^ return from Norway, fo near the coaft of Greenland by-H6joIft Nefs, that he cbuld fee the fitople driving in their cattle. But he did hot hind. •u-V niarliififl: fxtnr ♦ V ♦ > • Fontamisap. Torwrim, p. 24. ;,^, ' -t^ Lyfcartder ap. TorfatiiM, p^ 25.' ' '■ i Thtre is a diore people fljo^t arrows^ cfr a field of battle. It is believed that the ^kraellings hail an chcpofite fides. b!u, V ' becaufc Chap. I. ' AKNAf s op' old T5fttfM£A%'D. 265 becaufejuft then a good wind arofe, which carried the (liip the fame night to Iceland. The Icelander JBicera von Sicardfa, who relates this, alfo fays further, that a Hamburgh mariner, Jon Grccnlander by name, was driven throe times on the Greenland iflands, wher« he faw fuch fifher's hutts for drying iifh as they have in Iceland, but faw no men; further, that pieces qf fhattcrcd boats, nay in the year 1625 an entire boat faftened together with finews and wooden pegs, and pitched with fcal's blabber, have been driven aftiore at Iceland from time to time ; and fince then theyfoufid once an oar witli a fcntence written in Runic letters ; Oft var ck dafa^ dur ek dro thik ; that is, "Off .4? " I tired, v»/hen I drew thee." A German Autli^r. Dithmar Blefken, tells us, that in the year ..'\6^ being in Iceland, he fpoke with a Dominican Oi k^ who tame but the year before from St. Tho?. s'j; cloyftcr in Greenland ; he went in company 'ith his bifhop from Greenland to Nofway and afterw J Set- tled in Iceland ; and this monk gave him a defcription of St. Thomas's cloyftcr. It is confefTed, that the {1:ory .i,s told a little incoherently, and its truth is much doubted ; but yet I find a fort of voucher for it in Cafar Lcnginus*s ExtraSl of all Joitrnies and Voyages *. There it is faid, that an Engliih fajilor, Japob (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 afErrtis that he alfo had fpoken with the aforefaid monk in Iceland in the prefence of the governor, and had enquired of him about the ftatc of Greenland. He told him likewife feveral thing? about St. Thomas's cloyftcr, 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 warmed 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 mado ofpumice-ftone, f Part II. p.'*47>'''^''" ?:^'^^,^!^^'"^'""H-H^i'^^'^ and cc l''*^^ ids HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IV. •* and if they ppured this hot wutcr upon the ftoncs, '* they would become clammy and yifcid, and fo they ** ufcd them inftead of lipic." , . '• ' The Panifh Chronicle of Greenland alfo makes itieption of this cloyftcr, and fpeaks bcfides of a gar- den, through which a rivulet of this hot fountain (lowed, and made the foil fo fruitful, that it produced the moft beautiful flowers and fruits. But the' mod jincicnt Iceland accounts mention not one word of this cjoyfter, nor of the city Albe in Greenland. The jmonk told Jacob Hall a good deal about the favages, whom he called pygmies ; but thefc relations neither harmonize vnth the prefent afpe£l of things, nor with Jacob Hall's ow;n account of Greenland *. For my part, I prefent you with what people have faid of the eafl-fidc of Greenland fo as I have it, but can affirm jiothir.g. As to what has been done from time to time for the frefli difcovery of this place, I Ihall CQpie to it jprefcntly. , i'0i;..,ui_^:v;;k4 ,4l!rJf-l;' ' • ^ 10. ' - -V->> ' "Xnthc mean time I will relate famething of its pre- fent ({ate, (o far as we could learn from fome Green- landers that came to vlfit fome of their relations in ]Newherrnhuth in the fummer, 1752. The journal contains the following account. . ' / ..',^, .V " One of thefe ftrangers, called Kojake, who, aftey ** he comes to Onartok or the warm fountain, hath ?' five days journey further to his own home, and con- « fequently live? 60 leagues up the eaft-fide ; this mao •h gave us the fpUowing relation, that he lodged two f* men laft. winter, who faid, that they and a third had made a three years excurfion on the eaft-fide in tbeir womejis-boats. He could not tell us the native place nor habitation of thefe ftrangers, only U that it was veiy far diftant from him north eafti ** ward. According to their account, they tarried thp f* firft winter by the way, the fee on d year they pro- *< cccdcd fo f^r as the ice. would permit them, and *« the third they came back ag^in. They h^d t>eeft . .'-xii.,- vidi 21 boow jiiii , .?j'r,w ^;clX no Jfi-j/ " cc C( « <* fa Chap; I. Amnais of old GRF.EmAND^;^ "^7 (( fo high on the eaft-^dc, that the fun did not quite fet in i'ummcr, but illuminated the mountains with its rays even at midnight, which agjx'es with the 66th deg. By the way they were obliged at time^ 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 ofF far to lea, becaufe a great deal of ice lies there, though there was ice enough alfo under the land, but it is fooner diflblvcd by the fun there, and carried away by the current, than off at fcii. They defcribed the people on the eaft-fide as bigger than thofe on the weft j they ha4 black hair, great beards, but looked brown like the reft of the Grcenlanders. Their dialedl was moftly the fame as thcir's, only they had a ftnging tone, They had feen no trees nor grafs, neither reindeer nor hares, becaufe they did not touch on the inain land, but ftayed upon the iflands. On the other hand they had feen many feals, efpecially the fpotted and hoode4 fpecie&j alfo many v/hales, red-fi(h, foles, eider- fowls, partridges, bears and foxes. Ir^ thefe confifts the food of the inhabitants, whom they characterized as numerous, and friendly in their converfation. They faw a fine inlet, but did not enter it for fear of the Cannibals or Man-eaters, which are faid to live in that place. All Greenljinders have a dread of them from former times. According to the opinion of this traveller, they did eat men at firft out of neceflity, becaufe once in a great famine in winter they had nothing elfe ; and as they reliflied it, they had now inured themfelves to the unnatural cuftom of making •' mkkiak of their dead^ that is, to lay them by in q pit with other meat, and fo to eat their flcfli raw, half-rotten and frozen. They do not like to flaugh- ter middle-aged people even in a time of dearth, but only old people and forfaken orphans; and they will preferably fpare their dogs at fuch a time be- caufe of their ufefulnefs, and flay Tome unneceflary perfon in their ftead. They build their houfes of ftone like our Greenlanders, and lay wooden raf- ters on the walls. But wood is there very icarce. They alfo wear the fame fort of cloaths as the others, jr:: -. " but (C (( (( (C <( «( (C (( cc i( c< i( to QnartOv on* J the weft-fide to catch angmarfqt,, \vhicl\ is their dai-'" ly bread. Neither does any grafs or fhfwbs growvi there, and confequently there aj]e ,nq rein-deer, only 1 (( (( (( «( i( (( (( (C (C (( Iceland accounts fpcuk of a barren dcfart bt:twcen i;|i;; e J. ^ :<0(V1 - •' JUV'!^ n-JTblirl^ Ti'"t.< o (( they a^o HISTORY OF GREENLAND; B. IV. ♦* they can catch plenty of feals, efpccially the hooded " fort. And we hive long been acquainted with this )" eaft-fide from Statenhook to the Ice-gulf, becaufe '^* Gieenlanders from even fo far as that, come in numbers up hither, and pafs on to DiHco bay. But with refpe6l to what lies beyond the ice-gulf, or Forbifher's ftraits, eaftward or northward (which is properly the old Ofterbygd, once fo well inhabit- ed by the Norwegians, and now the loft Greenland) *' the Greenlartders had never any thing to relate of it before 1752, except that fomany people lived there, that a great whde would fcarce fufficc for a meal for them, and that they were very barbarous ahd eat *' human flefti. In the year 1751, two men are faid to " have come back from the other fide of the ice-gulf^ •* and to have related a great deal of their tour*. In " the years 1756, 58, 60 and 61, fomfc Green- '* landers came down from th6 eaft-fide as far as $ta- •^^ tenhookto deal With the Greenlandcrs there. The laft company arrived there about- the end of July in two large women's boats, and many kajaks, and were ** three months in C6^ing, and having bought what ' they v/anted, returned again after a few days. Hi- *' therto I took thdfe ftrangers to be of the fame people* ** and that they only lived bet^veen the ice-gulf and *' Statenhook j but I am'nowaflured by fome Green- *' landers who hkve deailt with them, and who are at *' prefent ( 1762) making preparation to fettle this win- •f ter in Kangek, that they know all the natives of that *• diftriil perfe(ftly well, but that thefe new folks come •* from a ^eat diftance notth-eaft. Therefore, while ** they call themfelves fouthlanders, they diftinguiOi *' them by the name of Northlanders. They defcribe '* them as a firtiple, timorous people, and very little ** moralized. Thus the Southlanders reafon, who are ** themfelves accounted by us the moft ftupid and rough ** Greenlandcrs. They are tall and large-limbed, and ** have black hair, but no beard ; they fpeak Green- •^ landifli, only with a difFerent pronunciation, which approaches neareft to the diale6t of the Greenlanders cc cc C( cc <( tc cc «6 iiiU vi 4i;>j^jii, . j4^*& ■ •i'«n' 12* »t 2^2 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B, IV* ■i i m-. It li '■^■'xJ ur § 12. P>]<'- ■ \ •« • Thus I have given the accounts of the prefent ftate of the once fruitful and populous eaft-fidc, as good as they have been given mc, and I have the lefs reafon to fcruplc their truth, as they correfpond with what our eyes behold on the weft-fide. I will now proceed to relate in a few words, what trouble has been taken to find this loft country again. , ' ] For the fpace of loo years, during the reigns of the four fucccflbrs to queen Margaret, namely Eric of Pomerania, Chriftoph of Bavaria, Chriftian I. and Hans, very little was thought of Greenland, until that the d'fcovery of the Weft-Indies excited a defirc to feek after Greenland again. The Portuguefe had but lately worked their way round the cape of Good>- Hopc to the opulent Eaft-Indies, had juft begun to take pofl'eflion of its treafures, and had obtained a grant from the Pope fplely to occupy all the countries they could difcovor eaftwards, to the exclufion of all other maritime powers; Chrijiopher Columbus imagined, it was allowed to feek the way thither weftward in fa- vour of the Spaniards, who might fliare the riches of the Eaft-Indics with the Portuguefe. He fet fail on this expedition An. 1492, and difcovercd thofe iflands that are ftill called the Weft-Indies, and foon after- wards the continent, which was called America, as an unmerited honour to one of his followers Ameri- cus Vefputius. The Engiifh would not remain idle Ipe^latois Qf thefe important tranfa(3:ions, Henry y JI> in th' j^ar ^^497 fent put S^baftian Cabot to feek a puflage to th'. Eaft-Indips north-weft above America. He diCcovered the whole CQaft of North-America and Newfoundland, which the Englifli took pofleflipn of and planted many fine colonies, which by induftrious cultivation and traffic have acquired to the crown more durable power and more inexhauftible opulence than the mines of Mexico and Peru. It is faid that Cabot failed as high as the 67th deg. and then muft have been the firft that navigated the Ihaits of Davia. There is a report that 100 years before this, viz. 1380, two Venetians Chap, I. Annals 6f old Greenland. 273 Venetians of note, called Nicholas and Antony Zeni, being on a voyage from the Irifli coafts, were hurried by a ftorm up to the Deucaledonian fea, and there' difcovered a great ifland in the 58th deg, between Ice-> land and Greenland, inhabited by Chriftians, and con- taining 100 towns and villages. It Wert by the namel of Weft-Friezland. But fince that time no intelli- gence could be had of this country, and therefore it has been counted a fiction. Yet 'tis faid Forbifher land- td there on his 3d voyage, and found the inhabitants in all refpeds like the Greenlanders ; therefore he looked upon it to be a part of Greenland *. Some arer 6f opinion that it was funk by an earthquake, and that it was fituated in thofe parts, where the funkeri land of Bus is marked in the maps, and which the fea- ftien cautioufly avoid, becaufe of the fhallow ground and the turbulent waves. The defire of difcovering new lands v(r'as every where roufcd, becaufe adventurers flattered themfelves witrt the hopes of gold and filver mines in every new difco- vered country. There was the fame fanguine expedla- titfft from the unknown Northern countries.) As irt the year layt a flrrong north-wind wafted a quantity of wood and ice to Iceland with fome white bears upon it, the Icelanders concluded that there muft be more land above Greenland, and what land could thi: be, but that from whence fome Friefland (hips were faid to have brought ftore of gold, filver and precious ftones in the reign of king Glaus ? tho' thefe treafures were faid tor be guarded by Saturn and his infernal fpirits, or by cruel favages. Yet no dangei's can intimidate the ad- venturer ; accordingly they went in fearch of this land, but the ics forbad their approach f. In Green- land forfooth there miift be gold too, becaufe it ftandsr in their verfion of the book of Job, Chap, xxxvii. 22,^ ** Gold Cometh out of the North ;" and becaufe Theophraftus Paracelfus had predi6ted more valuable gold-mihes f here than in the eaft. * Recueil Jet Voyages au NordfT. y. j^. 54.. 8o»' -f Peyrere, 1. c. p. 12?^ Vol. I. "H . l-r*. Th^ i V/4- HISTORY OF GREENLANi; B. lY / The firft that fcrioufly thought of rcnewhi.T thw in . tcrcourfc with Greenland, and providing the poor a- bandoncd Ckriftians with teachers, was Kric Walken- doif, archbiftiop of Drontheim in the reign of Chrif- tian II. He read all the writings that treated of Greenland, enquired of all merchants and mariners what obfcrvacions they had made in the northern feas, drew the courfe they fhould fleer thither on a fea-chait, hired i")cople to trade and plant a colony there, and wrote rules for them to proceed by. But as he fell under his prince's difgrace, and travelled out of the country in 1521 to Rome, where he died, all his good fchemes were buried with him. ,. ;»t; J:: -^ii::;^. .;. >j:*? ' . Greenland was indeed thought of in the reign of Frederic I. but nothing was done. Chriftian III. difannulled the prohibition of Margaret with refpr'ii to the commerce with Greenland, and permitted every body to go there, nay he fitted out fliips hinifclf to fearch for the land, but they could not find it. Fre- deric II. fent the famous navigator Magnus Henning- fen thither in the year 1578. He, after much danger from florms and ice, was fo far fuccefsful as to come within light of land ; but he was obliged to rerarn, becaufe (as he reported) the fhip flood ftill all at once, and could not be worked any further, though there was the htik wind, and *i depth o^ water unfathomable. He attributed it to a hidden • .;y etical rock, and others to the fifli Re/rm;i, tha» 'it! .he fliip with its teeth j though we may as well luppofe that the iiear of the ice had a repelling power, or the magnet of his native country, an attraf the later iifcoverers that navigated this coafl. A black flone, out of which much gold was extra<5lcd, whetted the appe- tite for prct ecding moft of all. The next year he * failed Chap. I. Annals of jId Gree itAND* 275 failed thither again, and fought his miffing fa'lors, but could not find them. He niadt rcprizals by taking two fevages, and having loaded his fhip with a good deal of this fame black ftone, he returned. An. 1578, the queen fent him once more with a little fleet and 100 Jtjeh, with orders to eftabli/h a colony there, and then to proceed in the difcovery of the N. W. paflage. pMt he loft the fhip that carried the building-materials, neither could he find the Forbifher-ftraits again, but ran into another ftrait, where he again took in a good quantity of a black mineral earth, and returned to England* There is no certain judgment to be formed from his reprefentation of things, whether he landed in Greenland, or Labrador, or by Hudlon's bay, biraufc neither the latitude nor the courfe are diftii.ctlv noted. -■■". " What he relates concerning the country, its inhabi- tants, and his dealing with them, agrees exactly with Greenland. But when it is fubjoined, that he met with very civilized natives, whofe king, called Caki- unge, was decked with pieces of gold and gems j it is plain to be feen, that either the failors confoitned themfelves to the prevailing tafte, which regarded na voyage for difcovery as worth notice, that did not men- l.on gold and filver mountains, pompous palaces and courts, and efpecially a heap of prodigies or monfters j or elfq that others added to his true journal (which con- tains no fuch thing) fomc enlargements borrowed from the romances of the times. John Davis followed him upon the fame plan in t' a year 1585, and firft failed as high as the 64th deg. .5 minutes, that is, to Ball's river, where he landed and dealt with the natives, whom he defcribes as a peaceful pretty people. Then, and in the two years follow- ing, he difcovered the coafts of America as h jh as the 70th deg. gave the ftraits his own name, and left 6;ooa hopes behind him of finding a paiTage there. But it has finer been fought in vain by fcveral Englifti fea- men, even fill 1747? particularly by Button, Hudfon .md Baffin, who left their namc» to fomc of the bays. ''1- .'x-^M. 'fti 276 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.^V* n- ,; C'.*>. -lilt :i. § 13- The Danes were animated by thefe difcoverlcs to feek once more for their loft Greenland, and no one fpent more upon it than Chriftian IVth. In the year 1605 he fent thither a certain Englifh mariner called John Knight, who had a good knowledge of the Greenland feas, and the Danifh admiral Godfke Lin- denow with three fhips. The admiral anchored with his fhip on the eaft-fide, but did not venture to go a- {bore, he only traded for three days with the natives, bartering iron-work, looking-glafTes, and fuch kind of wares, and at laft feized two men, with whom be fct out the fourth day on his return. The Englifh- man failed with the other two fhips to the weft-fide into Davis's ftraits j he found the inhabitants there much wilder than thofe on the eaft-fide, and fent fome armed men aftiore, who difcovered feveral fine green; fpots. He made a chart of this coaft. They con- cluded from the fmoke that rofe out of the groundy that there muft be beds of fulphur ; they found fome metallic ftones, which wcij m !{ ^jjj w.if At f Chap. 2. Relation of GooD-HofE. 279 At laft Greenland was fo buried in oblivion, that no one hardly would believe that ever there had been I'uch aland as a Greenland inhabited by ChriiHan Nor- wegians ; and it would dill be called in queftion, if the relics that have been found of their churches did not fatisfa^'^lorily end the difputc. f. ■'('.' \:v i vi CHAP. II.., - . Historical Relation of GODHAAB, ..,. GOOD-HOPK. ,, ,.. ',^■'■1' ' ■■' ■ 'i '.!;• OR ih. THUS aHiduous and a(5Hvc had the Danes been during thi' reigns of fevcn kings, to fearch out and repofl'efs this loit land of their anceftors. But the dcfirablc event of obtaining a firm footing in Greenland, though at laft only on the weft-fide, was referved for the reign of Frederic IVth, a prince re- nowned for wifdom and vivacity in all his undertak- ings. The perfon whom God had fele£led, and cer- tainly called and excited to it in a very particular man- ner, was Mr. Hans Egedc^ a clergyman in prieft's orders, belonging to the congregation at Vogen in the north-part of Norway. Theoccafion of this, the time, trouble, and means this indefatigable man madeufeof to accomplifh his aim. In the midft of many mockeries and conflidts, are fo extraordinary and remarkable, that 1 pre- fume it will be agreeable tothofe readers, who have not at hand his own Relation of the Beginning and Progrefs of the Greenland Mijfiony to have a more particular narra- tive of it. After this pious man had been a little above a year in the facrcd fundtion, in the year 1708 he recollected his having once read, that formerly Chriftian inhabi- tants had lived in Greenland, v/hom the world now heard no more of. Mere curiofity (as he fuppofcd) prompted him to enquire of a friend at Bergcl^ who had often been on the whale-fifhcry, concerning the ... ' T 4 prcfent In*: 280 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IV. prcfcnt (late of Greenland. His anfwers awakened in him a cordial fympathy for the poor Norwegians, whom he fuppofed to be ftill left there, aiid who, as he feared, were through want of teac'.iers fallen back into hcathcnifm. His Philanthropy roade him look upon it to be the duty of every Norwegian, to fearch out his forlorn country-men, and to carry the gofpel to jhem. He thought of various methods, how this lau- dable defign might be accomplifhed. Such mufings infenfibly gave birth to a defirc in his own bofom, to be himfelf inftrumental to it. Yet at the firft this ap- peared neither allowable nor practicable, becaiife hp was already engaged in an office, and had a v/ifc and children and fomc other relations to provide for. Therefore he ftrove to fhake it out of his mind ; but jthis made him fo uneafy, that he knew not what to do yrith himfelf, becaiife on the one hand an inward im- pulfe urged him to do it, and on the other hand, not only the trouble and danger of fuch an undertaking, |3ut a modeft fear and fcrupulofity of his own prefump- tion, intimidated him from it. ,. . At length he thought it would be a proper medium, to make an humble propofal for the convei fion of the Greenlanders. by fome other better-circumftanced per- fons ; grounding his prppofition on the Scriptural pro- jnifes of the converfion of the heathen, on the com- mand of Chrift, on the example of the primitive church, and the pious wifties of many learned men. Still his timidity objciled, that the propofals to fuch an iinportant work from fuch an infignificant hand would be but little regarded, and that it could alfo fcarcely be executed during the war with Sweden, and the great fcarcity of money that war occafioned. However at laft he ventured to fend away his memorial in the year 1710, with a letter of petition to Randulf, tifhop of Bergen, (from which place the trade with Greenland was properly carried on) and another to bifhop Krog at Drontheim, to whofe diocefe he be- longed, entreating them to further and fupport the con- verfion of the Greenlanders at court in the nioft effica- cious manner. Both the bifhops anfwered him in 171 1, commended his Chriftian intention, promifed to do thtir - * ■ utmoll ^ K Chap. 2. Relation of Good-Hope. 281 utmoft in its favour, but at the fame time reprefented to him, on the one fide the difficulties that attended it, as well as on the other, the advantages that their country- men, more than any other, might derive from Green- land. ■'< v:^ iff ■C-i ■ _:■ -'■,».^ _:-5iS- .. „ „ ^_ _ Hitherto the alTair had Iain an embryo in his own bread. But now this epiftolary correfpondcnce made it more public than he wifhed, for it foon came to the ears of his friends, and they fet up a vehement oppo- fition againft him, and alfo inftigated his wife and family to endeavour to divert him from fuch a prcpof- terous enterprize, as they were pleafed to pronounce this to be. Their remonftrances and tears effefted fo much, that he really tried to defift from any further thoughts about it, confidering that he had done his But that Matthew : more than his mind beft, and could not fwim ^gainll the ftream. word of our Saviour in the loth of " Whofoever loveth father or mother, (sfc. *' me, is not worthy of me," brought into fuch a new agitation and conflict, that he had no reft day nor night, nor could any one appeafe hirri. In the mean time, by God's over-ruling hand, a concur- rence of teazing troubles and flight pcrfecutions, fo difgufted his wife, that fheherfelf vvas tired of living in the place where they were. Then he thought : Now is the time toftrike while the iron is hot, and he ad- monifhed her not to look upon this affair lightly or fuperficially, becaufe in all likelihood God had vifited her with thefe afflictions on purpofe, becaufe fhe could rot refolve to renounce every thing for his fake. This gave a turn to her mind j fhe followed his ad- vice, fpread the matter before God in prayer, and got an exprefs convidllon, that fhe fhould not run coun- ter to, but follow her hulband in his feemingly ftrangc call. Oh how glad v^'as Mr. Egede ! Now he believed he had vanquished all his difficulties, and immediately drew up a memorial addrelTed to the worthy MifTions- collcdge, and intreated the blfhops of Bergen and Dronthcim to promote his requeft with the utmoft ''"'*" J " earneftnefs. i&t IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) v- € F.^ 1.0 I.I I^|2j8 |25 i: k ■ 2.2 £^ Ml 12.0 u HUk 1.25 ,,,.4 1^ .4 6" ► Ta /a ^.^? ^ >^ ^ 7 /A Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STMET WfBSTH.N.Y. 14SM (716)S72-4S03 '4' ) c»82 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IV. carneftnefs. But they thought proper to advife him to patience till more pacific and favourable times. In this manner was his projcft not only poftponed from year to year, but ajfo loaded with all kinds of ccnfures. Therefore in the year 17 15, he thought himfelf obliged to draw up a vindication of himfelf, " under the title of, A Scriptural and rational Solution end Explanation with refpeSf to the Objeifiom and Im- pediments raifed againji the Deftgn of converting the hea- thenijh Greenlanders. But ftill the world ftrove to di- vert him from it, not only by urging the miferies of that raw and frigid climate, the dangers of his Voyage and of his abode there, the frenzy of relinquifliing a certain for an uncertain livelihood, and even of bringing his wife nd children into manifeft perils in an unjuftifiablc manner ; but, what was worfe, they defamed him with having carnal motives, as if he fought himfelf under the fpccious pretext of fpreading the honour of God, and that he properly wanted to ag- grandize his own name, or (contradidory as this was) aimed at advancing his condition in temporals, becaufe his benefice was not fo good as he wifhed. As to Mr. Egede, thefe tedious delays tired him out, and he had reafon to think that his memorial was not properly enforced ; therefore he determined .to go- himfelf and profecute the affair at the proper fource. Accordingly he wrote to his biihop, that he -intended to refign his office, but expeded fome annual penfion from his fucceffor, till he was provided for in Greenland or fomewhere elfe. But as no one would accept of his benefice on thefe conditions, he relin- quifhed it notwithftanding in 17 18, with the pre- vious knowledge of his bifhop. Yet when it came to taking leave of a congregation he loved, of many good friends, and his near relations, it gave him fome pain, and now his wife, inftead of relaxing under the melt- ings of nature, was obliged to animate her hufband, and to ftrengthen him in his good intentions. ^ In the interim a report was fpread abroad, that a veflel belonging to Bergen had been fhipwrecked in the ' ice on the, cg^lof Gr^^olaiid, %i\^ th?, erew retreatifig *», 'l to Chap. 2. Relation of Gooi^-Hopf.. ' • \ 283 to the !and, were murdered and voracioufly eaten by the favages. Neither was the frightful tale altoge- ther groundlefs ; yet could it not reftrain him, nor the ftedfaft heroine his wife, from profecuting their journey with their four fmall children to Bergen, in order to work their way from thence to a country dif- credited with fuch an ill name. . '" At Bergen he was looked upon by every body as a monfter. Moft people gazed upon him as a fanatic, that muft have had dreams and revelations to induce him to defert his proper call, and to Wander up and down the world like a knight-errant. Some few wife and fenfible men attended to his propofals of bringing a trade to Greenland into execution. But as the Greenland trade from Bergen had been ruined by the engroffment of fo many other nations, nobody was inclined to reftore it again, at lep.fc as long as the war with Sweden lafted. But juft then all of a bid- den, thro* the fall of Charles Xllth king of Sweden, in the year 1 7 1 8, there were hopes of a fpeedy peace ; he embraced the favourable crifis, repaired to Copen- hagen, and prefented his memorial and propofals to the college of miffions, and not only obtained the joyful an- fwer, that the king would confider of fome means of accomplifliing this facred work^ but his majefty alfo did him the honour of fpeaking with him himfelf, and attending to his propofitions. Thus he returned chearful to Bergen. November 17th, 17 19, a royal order was tranf- mitted to the magiftrates of Bergen, that they fhould colleft the thoughts of all the commercial people that had been in Davis's Straits, concerning the Green-« land traffic, and fhould fend in their opinion concerning a colony to be fettled there, and what priviledges the entcrprizers defired. But alas, no one had any incli- nation for it, and they all defcribed the voyage fo dan- gerous, and the land fo difagreeable, that good Mr. Egede, and his fchemes, became almoft the mockery of evil tongues. But what could not be cfFefted by the Sovereign's aid and .mandate to the people at large, that he il 284 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IV. he now endeavoured to do by his own private intereft, and by fpcaking with fome private merchants. And he fucceedcd fo far, that fome were perfwaded to lay st capital together, and above all a principal merchant of Hamburg offered to join the company with a con- fiderable fum. But as this laft prefently withdrew from the adventure, and as the requefled privilcdges were not approved of by the king, no one would hear a word about Greenland any more, and this worthy man was obliged to put up with dcrifion and ilander as the reward of his labour. Thus one year more pafled away. Mean while, amidft all theic difficulties, objections and confli^s, he did not let his courage drop, nor did he intermit ad- dreifing his humble petitions to the king, his repre« fentations to the college of miifions, and his exhor- tations to the merchants in favour of this undertaking. At laft he was fo fortunate as to prevail with fome up- right men, who were touched to the heart with his indefatigable zeal, to confent to a cinference, and there, by his repeated remonftrances and entreaties, that they would pay a regard to the honour of God, and to their own and their country's advantage, he at- tained his aim fo far, that each of them depofited a capital of about 40/, and he himfelf 60/. Immediately he drew up an inftrument, which he prefented to the bifhop and all the clergymen in the city, and alio to feveral merchants, who all made feme addition to the fum ; and thus at lad he got together a capital of about 2000/. After all, it was an inadequate ftock; however, a (hip was bought called the Hope, to carry him to Greenland, and tarry there the winter. Be- fides, two ihips were freighted, one for the whale- fiftiery, and the other to bring back an account of the new colony. Mean-while in the fpring, 1721, a joyful account arrived from the college of miifions, that the king moft gracioufly approved of the undertaking, and had favoured him with a vocation to be the minifter or pattor of the new colony, and mifilonary to the heathen, with the yearly falary of 60 /. befide a prefent of 40 /. for his equipment. ,< .;( u:. k -''«* '^' '^''r J l' ' Thus „.iai:r:^d'iii. ^«*^i> fjff -^J^f ,^l. or Chap. 2. ReiatIoh of Good-Hope. 28^ Thus this unwearied fervant of Godatlaft obtained, to his great joy, what he had been labouring after for ten years with great zeal, ai:d amidft numbcrlefa obftacles, namely, the laborious and perilous office of a miflionary among the heathen. In all which he could have no thought of paving the way to a more Opulent or honourable poft, (for fuch he had already enjoyed and relinquifhed) but was firmly refolved td' offer up his life in the caufe. ijiufii'i § 17- '.' \um -A V'i Vi\Vrf On the ad of May 1721 he went on board the Hope with his wife and four fmall children, where he was prcfcnted to the ihip's company, confifting of forty perfons, as the head of this colony ; and May. 12th they departed. June 4th they pafled Statenhooky but after that they had a great deal of flormy weather^ and fuch vaft quantities of ice, that they could fee nor end to it, which had almoft induced the captain to return. June 24th they fpied an opening in the ice^ and ventured into it, but foon found that the ice ftretched all along the lan' ;.t'i-»n;tT >'->'.* ' iir* ♦•."1 At lalt they came happily to land July 3d, at BalVs- river in the 64th deg. They prefently built them a houfe ••J 1:1 iltl J V* 2^6 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IV. houfe of ftonc and earth, lined with boards, on an ifland near Kangek, which they called after the fhip, Haabeti-Oe, i. c. Hopt'IJIand. Auguft 31ft they en- tered it, after a thankfgiving-fermon on the 117th Pfalm. l^he (hip defigned for the whale-fifliery had failed from Bergen before them, but was ovcrfet near Statenhoolc, where there is a ftrong current and fre- quently ftormy weather ; however it righted again without loling a foul, and was fortunately driven to Norway by a favourable wind, though without mafts. § 18. . ; ' At firft the Greenlanders were very friendly towards their new guefts, and wondered above all, that women and children came with them. But when the prepara- tions for building convinced them, that the Europeans c^id not intend only a fhort vifit and a little traffic, but to abide there ; they left the diftrift out of fear, nei- ther would they harbour the Europeans when they came to them. Yet by degrees they were influenced by friendly treatment and prelents, to entertain thofe that vifited them, though ftili they would not permit them to enter their houfes, but made room for them in a Jittle houfe by themfelves, and ftationed a watch there all the night through. At laft they ventured to re- ceive them into their own houfes, and to repay their vifits now and then. ''*'.*^. ^f 1* ^i^^f ^'''■':i' " Mr. Egedemade ufe ofevcryopportunity of learning their language, and as foon as he knew the word Kina ? i. e. " What is this?" he aflced the name of every thing that prefents itfelf to the fenfes, and wrote it down. After a while obferving, that a certain Greenlander called Arok, had a particular love for one of his people called Aaron, on account of the refem- blance of their names, he therefore once left this man feci'etly (with his own confent) behind him among the Greenlanders^ that he might learn their language and - enquire into the circumflances of the country. When Mr. Egede went away, they called after him, and gave him to underftand that he had forgot one of his men ; but he feigned as if he neither heard nor faw any thing. After fome days, the Indians brought an account that ' Aaron to Chap. 2. Relation of Good-Hope. 287 Aaron was well, and begged that Tomebody would fetch him, becaufc his being there was fufpicious to them. But they were prevailed on by Ibme prefents, to let him tarry the winter with them. Once when they vexed him and Hole one thing or another from him, he fell to blows, and thereupon was ill-treated by them, and beat fo as to dfaw fome blood. They alfo took away his gun, that he might do them no harm. However by and by they tried to make it up again by kind treatment, and begged him only not to tell the minifter of it, that they might not be punifiied j and Mr. Egede adted as if he knew nothing of the matter, and when he vifited them again^ he eve^i l^ft another man with them. '-, '' ^V r,v - «v.-;.yf i.ocii *; f l" j^- .j.^J.1'.. They were very much afraid of Mr. Egede, and got many an Angekok to conjure him and his people, with a view to do them mifchief, . and oblige them to withdraw. But when their black art availed nothing, . the Angekoks reported that the minifter was himfelf a great, but a good Angekok, who would do them na harm. ** The ingenuous minds among them gave the more credit to this, becaufe they faw how hepreaclied 'to his own p^ople^ and how all of them treated him with great refped. He was eager to inftru6t the poor heathens in divine things, but could not cafily come to any converfation with them. Therefore he got his- eldeft fon to draw fome pi«Slures of Scriptuie-tranf- aftions, and held them before them; by which they could not only rqore readily comprehend his meaning, but it alfo furnilhpd him with an opportunity, by the queftions they a(ked, both to learn their language and' to acquaint theijl with the principles of the Chriftian. doiStrine. / m^ngft the things (hewn them, the de- t fcription of the j^efurrection of the dead, and of the Miracles of Chriil, particularly his healing the lick and raifing the dead, ibund the moft entrance intothcir^. minds. And as they regarded him as the ambaffa-r dor of fuch a mighty and beneficent God, they defired , him to cure their fick by blowing on them, as their' Angekoks did^ He was obliged to lay hoM of this and other fuch^okens of their efteem and confidence, in order tQ.^ able to ijiftru^ thc^fc poor people, aiid to lead them ^S I ■. f I r I .U-A. to '8" ■ ■ 288 HISTORY QFGREENLAND. B. iVy to God as the caufe and donor of every good thing. Hi^ do(Slrine alfo prefently found acccfs, as far as they could undcrftand him, and he them. The number kept increafing of thofe who would hear the deeds of him who made heaven and earth, and who could per- form fuch wonderous works ; and when Mr. Egede went out to take a view of the country, he was chear- fully harboured and attended to by them, efpecially af- ter fome fick perfons grew well, whom he, having firft admoniihed them to acknowledge and invoke the trud God, had prayed over. § ig. .( ■A -»t ■• V .. ^.. .;,i i:2. "' "'' 'i'l-^U loi^]/ The traae had a poor appearance In the beginning/ The Greenlanders had but little, and the overplus- the winter left them they did not chufe to barter a- way with the Danes, becaufe they had been accuftomed for many years to difoofe of it to the Dutch, who knew the commodities it would go off in Greenland^ and could afford ther %er bargains. In the fpring 1722, r fleet of Dtitt. . ^aips failed by the Colony, ana the Danes faw with vexation, how one of them that ran in, bought more in half an hour than they could the whole winter. i-"''' ■ Even their neceflary fuftehance began to fail. They liad imagined the Greenland-fifhery and hunting to be better than it was, and provided themfelves with but little fifli or flefh. And as they were unacquainted with the country, and as the reindeer and hares were ihyy sind they couM fcarce catch any fi(h with their tackle^ want began to pinch them before the end of the year^ and many were attacked with the fcurvy. Thdf people began to murmur againd; the Minifter for leading them thither, and as the ftore-fhip ftayed away long- er in the fpring than they expedted, ttey determined to go all away with the fhip that wintered there. Thi* reduced poor JMr. Egede to great perplexity. His con- fcience would not fufFer him to defert a poft he had attained after fo Many years labour, and which aim- ed at the converfion of a heathen nation, whereto there was a pretty profpeA, Yet he could not ftay a- lon« con- ! had aim- icreto ay a- lone Chap. 2. Relation of Good-Hops. 189 lone with his wife and four fmall children, and fee them pcrifh. All that he could obtain from his people, was to wait till fometime in June for the arrival of the (hip, and if it did not come then, and they wei;e re- folved to go, they fhould leave him fome of their pro- vifion. He alfo perfuaded fix men to (lay with him on thefe conditions. But when thofe fix faw, that the ilores they left him would fcarce fuflficc for half a year, they gave him to underftand, that in cafe of need they intended to take refuge in a Dutch (hip, a 'id fail home. Therefore he was conltrained to take the heart-cutting refolution, to return with the fhip that brought him thither. But his wife withftood this intention with fuch courage and conflancy, as animated his mind, and put his incredulity to the blulh. She would not only pack nothing up, but reprimanded the reft when they began to demolifh their habitations, and told them not to make any unneceflary trouble, for fhe had a pofitive confidence that a fhip was fent out and would fafely arrive. The people laughed at the prophetefs, but on the 27th of June they were put to fhame, and at the fame time rejoiced by the happy arrival of the fhip ; and Mr. Egede received encouraging accounts both from the merchants at Bergen, that they would profe- cute the traffic notwithftanding its bad afpeft, and alfo from the worthy College of Miffions, that it was the king's gracious pleafure to fupport the miflion to the utmofl of his power'j for which purpofe he had order- ed a lottery in favour of the Greenland miffion and commerce ; and as that did not fucceed, he had laid a moderate contribution on all fubjeds of both his king- doms of Denmark and Norway, under the name of the Greenland afTefTment, and this produced a hand- fomefum*. jv §20. By thefe aiTurances Mr. Egede was anew incited to fpate no trouble or afliduity in any thing which might promote the converfion of the heathen, or accelerate ♦ Holbtrgs Damnmirks eg Nvgn gtiftlUht tg vtrdjlige Staat, p. 3 5 1. Vol. I, U the il -' i " 1 ago HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.IV. the fpcedy difcovery and plantation of the country. For this purpofe he and his two little Tons took up their abode for a while among the Greenlandcrs in the winter 1722, though in the beginning the ftcnch and vermin among thofe people was vaftly troublefomc ; by which means he endeavoured to gain fom.e know- ledge of the country, and to initiate his children in- to the language by their intercourfe with the Green- land children. Two dcfcrtcd children were induced by prcfcnts to live with him conftantly. Alfo in the winter a family of fix pcrfons begged to take up their abode with him. He faw direftly that thefe people only came to him for a livelihood, neither had he much room for. them ; and befidcs he had already more vifits from the Green- landers than he liked, bccaufe they only wanted to lee every thing, rnd have fome of it given them. How- ever he took in this family, in hopes of effecting fome- thing on their children, and of learning the language. But as foon as the feverity of the winter was over, and they had an opportunity of getting fomething at fea, they removed their quarters j and the two boys that had engaged themfelves to live with him conftant- ly, ftole away privately one after the other, fo that his hopes, and the trouble and expence he had beftowed on them, was all in vain. He had attempted to bring thefe young people off from a roving to a fettled way of life, and to inftrud them in the Chriftian religion, and alfo in reading and writing ; but he foon found, that he muft be obliged to give them leave to go to fea, or to vifit the favages, as often as they had a mind for it. As to their learning, it went brifkly at firft, be- caufe they had a fifh-hook or fome fuch thing given them for every letter they learnt. But they were foon glutted with this bufinefs, and faid, they knew not what end it anfwered to fit all day long looking upon a piece of paper, and crying a, b, c. Sic, that he and the fa6lor wcjc worthltfs people, becaufe they did no- thlnfr but look in a book, or fcrawl upon paper with a feather : but on the contrar} the Greenlandcrs were brave men, they could hunt feals and fhoot birds, from it he froui Chap. 2. Relation of Good-Hope, ' ' 291 from which they reaped profit and plcafurc, and (o forth. H(. took pains to make the advantage of read- ing and writing comprehenfible to them, becaufc a per- fon might not only know by it the thoughts of an ab- fent friend, but above all learn the will of God out of the Bible. But this was not fo much their concern, as temporal advantages ; therefore when they thought they had enough of the latter, they went their way without his knowledge. § 21. He had taken great pains from the beginning to fearch out the land, and therefore had fcnt out his peo- ple feveral times to difcovcr the belt places for hunt- ing and fifhing, the method of which they became bet- ter and better acquainted with j and not only fo, but he himfelf took a great deal of trouble to find out a better place for the colony on the main-land, where they might cultivate the foil. He found a fine creek, where there was much grafs and brufliwood, 3 falmon- brook, and a good conveniency for pafturing cattle. This creek or inlet was called Priefter-fiorde, and for fome time they dug ftones and made preparation to ef- tablifti the colony there. But they were obliged to de- fift, becaufc the feamen found the entrance to it too long and dangerous. In the year 1723, he made two expeditions in the Amaralik-bay, to fee the rudera of the old Norwe- gians, and to find out a better fpot for the colony. In the fame view he examined all the coves in his neigh- bourhood, and went twice up the inlet called BalT's- river, to try if the Greenlanders report was true, that one might find the feals lying upon the ice, and kill them by hundreds as they did at Spitzberg. He faw them indeed lying upon the ice, but could not fur- prize them. In his fecond tour in Ball's-river, he found in a beautiful valley a decayed quadrangular building of flat ftone, about 6 yards long and broad, and ftill four yards high, with a door-place in it. He took this to be the tower of a church, for not far from it he faw a parcel of ruins 32 yards long and 24 broad, though only 2 foot in height ; the foundation was ' U 2 laid 192 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.P/. laid in a .rery difterent manner from the mafonry of th« Greenlunders, and therefore it could be nothing elfe but the church. He met with many Icfler houfes of earth, but the ground was all grown over with grafs and thickets of birch, willows, elder and juniper. As agreeable as the afpeft of this valley was, fo dif- mal was the profpe: 294 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IV. there fhould be difturbcd, and do them harm. But fojr want of proper tools, he could come at nothing but a few coals, bones, and pieces of earthen urns. In their return, they found upon an ifland fixteen leagues from Goodhope, a yellow earth with vermili- on-coloured veins, fome of which Mr. Egede fentoto Bergen. He was afterwards acquainted that good ufc could be made of it, and was ordered to fend a cargo of it, therefore he went to fearch again for the place, but there was fuch a multitude of iflands, that he could not find it. In the beginning of this expedition, the Greenland- crs would not truft the Danes, but put themfelves in a pofture of defence. But when they underftood from the Greenland pilotj that the Minifter, or as they cal- led him, the great Angekok of the Kablunaks, was in the company, they received them with frnginp^ and fhouts of joy, accompanied them from place to place, and heard with pleafure of the Creator of all things.. Nay their confidence went fo far, as to condu(Sl the Miffionary once to a grave, befeeching him to raife the dead, becaufe they had heard fo much of the won- derful works of the Son pf God, and the future refur- redticn. They alfo believed that his. invocation and prayer would heal the fick, and once they brought a blind man to him, to whom he (hould rettore fight by touching his eyes. After a previous fpeech and admo- nition to him, that he fliould believe on the Son of God, he indeed rubbed his eyes with French brandy, and went away. Thirteen years after, the fane man came to the colony, and thanked him that he had o- pened his eyes upon believing his words. ' r: :^i. ■ - . :., j ., § 23. . **; ■ - -'■• •' ' Not long aff^r this voyage for difcovery, Jie went in November to Piflubik 14 leagues north of the colony, to fee if they could catch whales there, but he found none but fin-fifti, which are dangerous to meddle with, and have but little blubber. But as he underftood by the Greenlanders here, that 100 leagues north of the colony the right whales were to be caught in Febru- ary and March, he himfelf undertook a voyage ' ' thltheij Chap. t. Relation op Good-Hope. : r 295 thither in Feb. 1724, with two fhallops, though moft were of the opinion that it would not be pofHble to reach the place in fuch an early cold-feafon. They toiled through the ice till they arrived to the 65th deg, 56 minutes, and were only about 26 leagues from Nepi- fene their intended place. But after they had waited feveral days there in vain, expelling that the wind would fcatter the ice, they were forced to turn back a- gain, and thanked God that they came home unhurt, after a month's exceflive labour and col4. In their re- turn there was one found, which they could not pafs through between the land and the iflands on account of the ice, but were obliged to take a circuit round the iflands, ar.d venture out into the open fea, where there was alfo fo much ice that they could not fee the end of it. The Greenlanders laid the danger of fail- ing through this ice before them, but neceffity obliged them to venture ; and therefore, as their pilot kept back out of fear, they took him into the fhallop by force, and with much labour happily worked their way through. So much they had however Jearnt, that there are many whales at Nepifene in February and March, which go further north to Diflco in April, and then weftward to the American coafts. Two (hips came from Norway this year. One of them was to have traded along the coaft as high as Difko, but could only land at two places, and even there got but little, becaufe the Dutch had already bought up thebeft of the goods. The other was to explore the American coafts between the 66th and 67th deg. where the ftraits are narroweft, and from thence t"hey were to bring wood with them to Green- land to eredl a new colony. But they returned in Ju- ly again, and had not been able to land becaufe of the ice. As they came back, they furveyed the place at Nepifene, and foon after the veflel failed thither again, and took the Miffionary Top, 20 other perfons, a Greenland boy, and fome materials with them, and thus they began the fecond colony. Befides thefe two fhips, the company, by the king's command, fent another to fearch out the eaft-fide of Greenland U 4 pppof^tc. 1 I. j;^ ■.«;■■■) 'ii'. \m I Ii |.«i.| 1 llr %tfi HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IV.' oppofite Iceland. But the ice and ftorms obliged it to return again without effefling any thing. This year the faftor got his people to fpring a rock in Amaralik-bay, in hopes of finding fbme metallic ore, but he got nothing but brimftone-pebbles. There and in Priefter-fiorJe, in May, the Minifter caufed fire to be fet to the old grafs, in order to thaw the frozen earth, and then fowed fome corn for a trial. It grew very well till it was in ear, but in September they were obliged to cut it down unripe, on account of the too hard night-frofts. By all this we fee how bufily Mr. Egede was occu- pied in managing for the good of the colony, whofe direction he had accepted from the company. This was the reafoii, as he writes, that he was conftrained to intermeddle in affairs that might elfe have been taken ill of him as a divine. This was alfo the reafon of his undertaking fo many difficult voyages with danger of his life, to fhew every one by his own example how he fhould adf^, and to infpect with his own eyes where and how the company's interefl might be pro- moted j becaufe he was fully fenfiWe that the fpiritual concern, viz. the converfion of the Greenlanders, which he had fo much at heart, could not be attain- ed, but on fuppofition at the fame time of fome fufii- cient temporal acquifition. ,1,. •■■-•-■ - % 24. -'-'■ ' ■ ^ •^" With refpe^l to the mifllon, having now a colleague, he begun this year in good earneft to inflrudl the Greenlanders. He had tranflated, as well as he could in this intricate language, fome fhort queflions and an- fwers concerning the Creation, the Fall, Redempti- on, Refurreftion of the body, and the Judgment-day, and alfo fome prayers and hymns j thefe he and his col- league read to them, till by hearing feveral times they could make the anfwers, and alfo take-in more infor- mation concerning them. At firfl they heard them willingly, but when it recurred too often, they were difinclined, efpecially if they wanted to go to fea^ or had fome diverfion going on^ and were obliged to pofl- pone Chap. 2. Relation of GooD-HoPt/ 297 pone it till the reading and Tinging was over. But a- bove all, if an angelcok was there, and would pra£life his incantations, no devotion was then to be thought of; and if the miffionaries would ftill read on, they were only mocked and ridiculed by burlefque mimicry, nay were reproached for lying, becaufe the angekoks, who had been in heaven, had fcen no traces of God's Son there, nor had they found the firmament fo out of repair as to be in danger of a difiblution, as the Green- landers conftrued the dodlrine of the end of the world.. Therefore the Danes attempted to affume an authority, drove the angekok away, and ftationed failors among the natives to keep them in order; and when even this had not a proper efFeft, they threatened to bring over armed men among them, who ihould punifli their angekoks with death as impoftors and fcducers, and ihould reduce them all to good order. Thus, after much trouble and many expoftulations, both of a friendly and a rough nature, they efFe6led fo much at laft, that they heard their reading with pati- ence, at leaft did no more treat it with mockery and infolence, nor beat their drum during the Tinging. And if the teachers now went to one of their great aflemblies of merriment, in order to inftru£lthem, they did not all difperfe direflly, provided they were not altogether flopped in their mirth ; but they hearkened a while, nay fome at laft teftified, that now they be- lieved all they heard about God, becaufe when they had invoked him for feals, they had been fuccefsful in catching them. Further, if they were in diftrefs, or had any fick, they f«nt for Mr. Egede, and begged him to pray over the fick, that they might be healed. Once even an Angekok applied to him for this. He reproved the man for his impoftures, and afTured him his child would die (for it was in its Jaft agonies) ; but if he would call upon God with him, and let the child be baptized, it might ftill go to heaven. The man gave his afTent to all he faid, and earneftly begged him to baptize the child, which he accordingly did, after call- ing upon the name of God. The child yielded up its fpirit dire<5lly after, and when the family according to cuftom had howled a while, Mr, Egede was urged to J carry 298 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IV. carry the corpfe to its burial, becaufe no one elfe was counted worthy by its father. Nay after the interment the man and his family defired to be baptized alfo ; but he declined doing it, telling them that they as adults muft firft learn the will of God. In his return from Nepifene, a man complained to him that an Angekolc had prophefied he fliould die next fummer. But when the miilionary had convinced him that their pretended divinations were all delufions^ the man was uncommonly glad, and heard with great attention all ^hat was told him of God and the true ftate of heaven, and got fomewhat drawn out with chalk upon a boaid, that he might iio^ forget it, but inftru^l others. The Greenlanders liked to hear that the foul did not die w'ith the body, that it would receive its body again at the refune£lion, without being fubje£l any more to ficknefs, and that friends and relations would meet again. They were very curious to hear all that he told them of fpiritual things, which gave him good hopes. But when a fubje 302 HiStORY OF GREENLAND. B.lV. could not be conveyed there directly, this undertaking was deferred, and at laft entirely dropt. On one of thefe voyages he was vexatioufly attacked by a Greenlander. The cafe was this ; the year before they had torn oft* the Amulets from his child ; this brought on a litigious difpute, and the man maintained that the Grcenlanders Torngarfuk was no fuch malig- nant devil as the miffionaries defcribed him to be, but a good fpirit, and he would not believe that there was a God in Heaven till they would fliew him that God. This man took the prefent opportunity to revenge himfelf with his faucy tongue, but was repaid by fome with blows, and as he would have defended himfelf, was obliged to put up with more. But fuch another contentious afFair had like to have coft the factor dear. For being on a voyage to the South, there was an angekok, who, as he fuppofed, was praclifing his magic to hurt him and his people, and the fadlor was unwife enough to ftrike him in the face during his fafcination in the prefence of many peo- ple; the angekok flew to his bow and arrows, and the factor was then glad that he could infufe fo much fear into the reft of the Greenlanders by his gun, which how- ever was not charged, that they themfelves reftrained the man from doing the merchant any harm, though he was fo irritated by this indifcreet ad, that he was al- mcft frantic with rage. Yet it did not ftop here. A Greenlander can conceal his revenge in a mafterly manner, but not fo eafily forget it. A certain angekok had laid a bloody plot, and acquainted his people that the Greenlanders in the South had determined to mur- der the factor's afliftant when he came to trade with them ; and as the fadlor himfelf was alfo gone to the North with moft of the Europeans, that now would be the time to fall upon the minifter and the few people he had with him, and to kill the fador likewife at his Return, and then they might divide the merchandife they found in the colony among them. This machi- , nation was difcovered to Mr. Egede by a Greenland boy, who had run away from him, but came back again voluntarily for fear he fhould be retaken by force and puniihed. He appointed a good watch till the .. : 2 fador Chap. 2. Relation of Good-Hope. 303 fa^ior came again ; then he went to thefc fame people, and ordered the author of this cruel confpiracy to be taken prifoner; but, by the many entreaties of the reft of the Greenlanders, he was fet at liberty again, after they had all promlfed to be quiet for the future. He was not a little difquieted at the afllftant's flaying fo long away j but at lafl he alfo came back unhurt, with the account that the Greenlanders he had been with, warned him very much againft thofe that dwelt fur- ther South. '' • ;. ' '.ti i'i § 27. f V This was but a tranfient alarm, but an apprehen*- fion of another kind put them into greater confter* nation. It was this } in the beginning of Jun,% 1726, when a vaft deal of ice was driving alon^ the coaft, they faw the wreck of a (hip. Now as they conjc^lured no other but that this was the (hip they expected from Norway, and confequently they hnd no provifion to hope for this year, Mr. Egede refv^Ived to go with two Ihallops a hundred leagues northward to South-bay, where the Dutch whale-fifhers rendezvous before their return i, and fo to buy provifions of them. He was obliged to pufli forward night and day, that he might not come too late, and he arrived there fafe in five days. But he could procure but little of them, be- caufe thefe veffels did not intend to fteer their courfe diren; oj ,vc^ Yi">in.'b7o 3rf3 ifjsw'xnidi jori bib ab'n^H iM mtti^f inx'a^] •iVJJl K t?hap; 2* Relation op Good-Hops. %of ■ . "■: § 30. ■'■ ?.' - . • '•.-.., ..i Now as unpromifing as both the commerce and thi fniflton hitherto appeared, even to fuch a degree that the intrepid indefatigaUe miflionary was more than onccj ftaggered in his hopes of its duration \ lb ample how- ever were the difpofitions made in 1728, not only td uphold b(th, but alfo to extend them, and to plant abiding colonics for cultivation of the land. There arrived four if not five Ihips, one of which was a mart of war, and they brought materials, canrion and am- munition for eret^ing a fort and a new colony, asi a.lfo a fufficient garri/on, under the command of major Paars as governor^ and captain Landorph as com- mandant, who were to protect both the trade ahd the Greenlanders that defired protection agairift fome vefTels that robbed them of their whale-bone and blubber. A confiderable number of married pairs were fent over from Copenhagen, and among them mafons, ci'.rpcn- ters and other fuch handicrafts-men, fome ofvhont went voluntarily, and others were takeri out of the caftle and Bridewell there^ apd married, to people and tultivate the land. The officers brought horfes with them to ride over the mountains, and difcovcr the loft Greenlaiid ; and at the fame time one of the fhips was ordered to make one attempt more to land on the caft* iide. :-:■' .; . ^ ... . ' . By thefe ^ips Mr. ^gede got two coilegiies, ]Mr. Olaus Lange, and Mr. Henry Mllzoug. On the other hand his eldeft fon returned to Copenhaj^eri, io prcf- fecute his ftudies. With him went Poek and his wife^ now called Chriftlan and Chriftina, twO Greenland boys and a girl, who had juft before made cohfeffion of their faith, and been baptized by the names of Charles, Daniel and Sophia-Magdalena, in the prefence of the^ t)fficers. They directly made preparations to remove the co- lony from riope-Iiland, where they had remained till now, to the main- land four leagues further eaftward, and to enlarge it with the neceflary buildings. But alas ! a contagious diforder broke out among the Euro- peans, which Mr. £gede did not think was the ordinary X,2 fcurvy^ ' * ' t ■Ml • in' I 30S HISTORY OF GREENLAND. tJ. IV, fcurvy, but afcribed it to their irregular way of living, and their want of exercife, becaufe few of the failors, or the former inhabitants of the colony, who had con- ftant work, were infefted. The moft ufeful people and the artificers died away apace j and as the horfes could not be taken proper care of, they all died. Thus a fatal blow was given, not only to the defigh of tiiking a journey over the mountains (though indeed the horfes could not have been made ufe of in it), but alfo to the colonies which were to have been ere£ted for cultivating the land. Yet the moft dangerous circum- ftance of all was, that thefe people in the very begin- ning, when they faw that Greenland was no land of Canaan, and that they could not come at much to giiz- zle, grew difcontented and fretful, which at laft pro- duced a mutiny among the foldicrs, on which account neither the governor's nOr miffionary's lives were fafe, for they looked upon the latter to be tlie caufe of their tranfportation and their wretched condition. There- fore they were obliged to ufe a guard, and even Mr. £gede, who (as he expreffes himfelf) could before fleep fecure in the tents of the favages, was now forced to have a watch and weapons around his bed againft his Fellow-Chriftians. So indeed it was a good pro- vidence in behalf of thefe gentlemen, that fuch Sedi- tious people were carr'ied off by the ficknefs, and it was alfo well for the Greenlanders that they were delivered from a crew, who would certainly have taught them no good. .'.. ,,.,.-. .,., :^-r. In^iZiuQ This mortality lafted till the fpring, 1729, When ' the refidueof the invalids were carried to tne Green- landers, and fome of them were ftill faved from death, by «:he fcurvy-grafs that began to fhoot out under the fnow. Though their number was greatly diminiflied, ^et the governor endeavoured to execute the king'-s command in performing a journey to the Eaft-fide, and fet out April 25th, with his lieutenant, the fa6lor*s af- fivtant, and five other men, through the Amaralik-bay ; but May 7th, he returned fuccefslefs, having found the whole country overfpread with ice, whic'. was not only Chap. 2. Relation of Good-Hope. 30(J[ only fo flippery and uneven that they could not ftand upon it, but alfo full of fmall and great clefts, from whence large quantities of water fpouted out with a great roar. After that, meafures were taken for erecting the new colony and the fort at Nepifene fo often mentioned before, and they fet about it, though they had been juft then intimidated by a Dutch fhip with the account of g dreadful conflagration at Copenhagen, and were dubious about future fupport. But they were foon en- couraged by the fhips arriving from their own country with the moft gracious affurances of the work's being forwarded with ardency as hitherto, and alfo bringing new materials for building. An order likewife came to the lieutenant Richard, to try to find an entrance on the Eaft-fide, on his return with the man of war that wintered there. But he alfo was prevented by ice and ilorms from attaining his aim. The Greenlanders did not like to fee this great ac- ceffion of foreigners, efpecially as fo many military men came, of whom they were afraid. And when they died fo faft, they thought it war. owing to the ^rt of a famous an^ekok, who had promifcd to deftroy the Kablunaks by his magic. But when they faw they would not all die, and particularly the miniftcr, whom they looked upon to be the proper lord of the Euro- peans, moft of them removed from thefc territories to Pifko-bay. This was the fruit of armed men and for- treffes ; the miifion was more hindered than promoted by 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 effcdtd among the adult Greenlanders, but to gain their cold aflent to the word, without any refle<51;ion on their mifery or any defire after grace ; and yet he did not likcto fpend his time without fruit, and could much lels bear to fee the poor innocent children die away without baptifmj IJaercfpre h^ had come to a coiicluAon in the prefence ji. 7 ■ •>>-"..<■../ -v.i ■• -^ or ^■; > 310 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IV. pf God, to make fuch children partakers of holy bap- tjfm, whpfe parents gave their affent to the true religion, jn hopes that the parents would ftay in the neighbour- Jiood, and let their children be taught hereafter the knowledge and fear of God by capable inftruftors. Both his collegues acquiefced in his fcheme, and Mr. Olaus Lange corroborated it by maiiy arguments in a written Thejii. The next year thjsy received the approbatipn of the miflions-college herein, though on ^he following conditions, i. If the parent? are not enticed to it by blandilhments, much lefs compelled by force, but give their voluntary confent. 2. If they do not defire it out pf fuperftition, imagining that baptifqi may contribute to the bodily heajth and ftrength pf the children, like as they in paft years defired the iniflionary to breath on their ficic. 3. If they obligated ithemfeJves to let their baptized children be inftrufted 5n due time. On this account they charged'the mifli- pnaries to keep an exadl vegiftcr, that they might always know what children they had baptized, and what 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 inftru6led in the nc- ceflary points of the Chriftian religion^ and gave evi- dences of a true defire for baptifm. Accordingly Mr. Egede made the beginning in Kokoernen, February 1 itb, J 729, with fixteen children, whofe parents not only confented to it, bi^t alfo beg- ged to oe baptized themfelves. He proceeded to baptise the children on the refb of the iflands, as alfo in his former dwelling place at Kangek, and fays, that there were fome amqng them who could anfwpr themfelves to the queftions afked them. it;:. He was obliged to m^ke ufe of the baptized Greenland boy Frederic Chriftian in inftru6ling thefe children, and ^ow and then he fent him to the iflands to read to them and their parent;?. He himfelf had now but little time or Qpportunity to' go apiong the heathen. For though lucli extepfive apd' chargeable me!ifure§ had been taken for the furtherance of the million, yet the largeft and inoft ufcful part of the' people had died, and the reft, few excepted, who had enough to do in the coiii^ Chap^ 2. Relation of Good-Hope. 3" merce, were gone to Nepifene, and had taken thc boats moftly with them. * ■^ \ — ' - --— < -c^ i-. i:i I § 33- .-1 •!■ Yet it did not fucceed rightly with this new colony ''i neither. The (hip that wintered there for the fake of Ji the whale-fifhcr}% caught nothing, and the trading veflel got very little, becaufe the Greenlander^ hid their ^ beft wares from the Danes, to fell them to other (hips "i from whom they could have every thing cheaper. s By thefhips tarrying very late in 1730 before their i- arrival, they fell once more into great embaraflment a- 3 bout provifions, which was heightened by the lofs of i a (hallop near Goodhope loaded with provifions, with - which one man was loft ; a boat, that went to its affift- i ance, was alfo wrecked among the ice, and the reft of ^ the provifions in another {hallop was obliged to be \ thrown moftly into the fea to fave the people. How- ' ever at laft on the 2d of September the fhip arrived fafe at Goodhope, but becaufe the winter was at the door, it could not go to Nepifene. All forts of building-ma- ; terial§ were lent by this fhip to ereft houfes in the val- ' lies where the Norwegians formerly lived, and they were '■ to be inhabited by families from Iceland. iUiu* ?,v; § 34- >?t"<1S' XW But alas ! all thefe projeds, carried on with fo much ardour, labour and expence, feemed all at once to re- ceive their mortal blow by the death of King Frederic IV. in this year. For when the government under Chriftian VI. faw no way how the fums expended for fo many years, and ftill wanted, could be reimburfed by the trade and ere6tion of the colonies, and befides that the converfion of the infidels had yielded fuch an unfavourable profpe^ for thefe ten years paft ; for thefe rcafons a royal mandate ■wii tranfmitted by the (hip in 173 r, that both the colonies fliould be relinc^uifhed, and all the people (hould return. Indeed it was left to Mr. Egede's option, whether he would go with the rieft, or remain in the country ; and in cafe of the Jatter, he might retain as many people as would willingly ftay, ■'./-, • _, - ' . -'i- . X 4-^.-™ ■." •••■i-i -'-i-^ and •m- ^ . \i i ! a n' J I 312 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. IVT. land as much provifion as would laft for a year ; but Jie was exprefly told, that they had no further affiftance to expc£t. On fuch a ftate of the cafe, no one could refolve to flay with him. The foldiers they offered to leave with him, would be of no fervice to him j and as for the failors, whom he could ufe, they would not part with them. Thus he would have been necellitated to have abandoned with a heavy and for'-owful heart, after ten years toil and labour, a country which he had worked his way to with fuch a perfevering zeal, and alfo to have deferted J 50 children whom he had baptized, if very fortunately the fhip had not been too little to carry the ftock belonging to tl^e two colonies , Now, as all that was left behind, a^ well as the houfes, would have fallen a prey to the Greenlanders, or to foreign iailors ; he eflFedled fo much by his remonftrances, that ^en feamen, and provifions fufficient for a year, were left him ; but then he bound himfelf to indemnify the captains in c^k they fhould fuiFer any thing by this ilep. Nay he undertook to carry on the trade at his own hazard by the agency of his fecond fon, and if no fliip fhould come the followinp; year (which yet he ear- neftly petitioned for) he would however fend home the merchandize to its proper place by foreign (hips. So invariable was this zealous nian in carrying on a work begun in faifh among the fr,lthlefs, and that, though he had hitherro feen fc little fruit, and tLougW i|ie muft now fluftuate at leaft a year long betwixt the flattering hope of being affifted and fupported from his liative country, r^nd the dreadful ftar of being quite abandoned. His two colleagues, the governor, offi- cers and other peopip went away, and took fix Green- landers with them. It was not long l)efore Mr, Egede; received another of Job's niiirengers, that the colony at ^Jepifene was once more demolifhed by foreign failors, and all the goods left there burnt,, . . _ ,; On account of thefe heavy circumftances, which threatened the ruin of the miffion, Mr. Egede was i obliged § 35- ■I-:' Ghap. a.' Rklation of Good-Hope. 313 pbliged to fufpend entirely the baptifm of the Green- land children, not only becaufe he was uncertain how long he himfelf might ftay to take care of their Chrif- tian education, but chiefly becaufe he faw that nothing ■y/2LS to be done wjth the parents. For even before this fatal revolutfon, when he defired them to fend firft one company of children, and then another to the co-r iony, to be under his care for a month, that he might inftru<5l one clafs after the other, they would by no jneans confent to it ; and when he came to vifit them, they hid their children for fear he fhould take them a- way and keep them, fo that he could not even inftrudl them i(i their parents houfes as before. They intimat- ed indeed afterwards how forry they were at the fudden departure of the Europeans, and could not compre- hend the reafon given fc it, namely that fo many peo- ple coft more than they could earn or acquire here. They thought that fuch an opulent prince, who had fuch ftore of bread and meat in his country, muft be able to maintain more people than thefe j or that, at all events, they might even live like the Greenlanders. And when one further alledged, as a reafor of their being recalled, that their conftituents had feen how lit- tle the Greenlanders hitherto regarded God and his Word, and would not be converted, then they com- plained heavily that they had been fo traduced and mifreprefented to the king, and declared how willing they were to hear and believe all that the Miflionary told them. They added, that they had given proofs how much they honoured the king, by delivering fo many barrels of blubber, when a contribution waii defired of them. But for all this, Mr. Egede was foon convinced how little their pretended good-will ^nd defire after God's word was to be depended upon j for moft of thofe, whofe children he had baptized^ and who had promifed him before the tranfa£lion to ftay in the neighbourhooc'l, and let their children be edu- cated in a Chriftian manner, wandered fo far away, that there was no coming at them, and confequently the hopes of winning either them pr their children became very remqte. "' :'!'"-'•" ••' Bcfuics^ .■ !■ Ph 2H HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.IV. Befides, fuch a feries of labour, vexation and anxie« ty, had fo harrafTed and worn out the Miflionary, and a diforder on his breaft lay fo heavy upon him, that he could not well travel about among the heathen as he had done, bu( was compelled to refign the inftru£l- ion of them moftly to his fon, to dp it pccafionally when he went about tr^iding for bli^hl?er, which \\^ Ha^ taken upon him, •i/J'> h< j^p^wIk. *•>'• ' j.Oi/n cntfi„V>.'"i^v.»; V, ijfcV'lO uv Although no further aid had been promifed the coloi |iy, yet the king was pleafed to lay to heart the moan- ful rcprefentations of the Miifionary, and fent him the neceflary fupplies in the year 173?, but ftill without aflurance of further fupport. In the mean time his people had been pretty fuccefsful in the blubber- trade, and could fend home a larger cargo than in any of the former years, jn which were fuch great doings. Nay they would this time have defrayed all the charges of one year, if they had not loft'tWQ of their largeft boats in hard weather laft harveft, when the traffic was in its greateft activity ; on which account they could not go abroad iji the fpring, but were obliged to leave the merchandize to foreign fhips. There came a couple of men with the |hip, who were to difcover the paflage to the eaf^-fide from Qoodhope, and to fearch for minerals in the Greenland mountains. Next year they fet out on the voyage, but the qyan> tity of ice prevented their going further than the 6i(l deg. Neither did they meet with any minerals, e;^- cept fome |ea4-ore and fome orange-coloured e^th fqr V. . . r .,.-.- L.i..... ... V.J ^j^ ■:..,..;.^.. ..,...•...•• ■- • Mr. Egede having thus been in fufpenfe between hope and fear for two years, was at lall rejoiced at the fhip's arrival May ^bth ^733, with the intimati- on, that the Greenland trade fhould be begun anew, and the miffion fupported j for which feryice the king was gracioufly pleafed to order a free-gift of Aop /. an- •i.i'i, (xi I'.: ^ phap. 2. Relation of Good-Hope. " ^^S With this (hip arrived the three firft heathen-meflen- gers from Herrnhuth, viz. Chriftian David, Mat- thew Stach, and Chriftian Stach. And now, as my proper bufinefs is to write the hiftory of the Mijfion of the Moravian Brethren^ I fhall here break off from the hiftory of the Danifli trade and miiRon, efpecnlly as I have not the materials for it at hand, and leave it to others to whom it more properly belongs, ai)d who can have acccfs to the neceflary records. However, the incidents that gave occafion to the revival of this miilj,- 6n, which lay as it were at the laft gafp, and the chief eccurrfences which befell Mr. Egede.till his going a- way in 1736, will be intermingled ii> the courfeof die Jiiftory. .hr.' 'r«f^,-?^- -*v^ v|..V-?i/UiV.,iV^^'.tJVr|:|*. otV ^/fi' V hnn B 6 dK ■:^ i; i>} ^j^-f^f^^;!! n? .ifijfjjn,. ■^ ft. ■ • .. , v. - I ■4- vM .-••P [ 316 j ■^^^- \- - :o . .- . 'it • ' ; . .. - ^f BOOK V. ; ^. f *''j "^ y<6^ Jirfi Period of the Miffion of the Bre-* „ thren, viz. from its Beginning in IJIZ* • ; 7fl the firft Vifitation in 1740. . The First Yeai^ 1733. *■.%•/.. § I. TH E entrance which the Proteftant congregate on of the Brethren made upon their Miffion, together with the occafions thereto, was at- tended with fuch fimplicity and lowlincfs, and yet both weighed and confidered To maturely, and executed with fuch faith, that a mind that is attentive to the Hgns of the times, may naturally find in it a very live- ly verification of what our Saviour faid of the king- dom of God, Luke xiii. ig. ^* It is like a grain of ^' muftard-feed, which a man took, and caft into his *' garden, and it grew, and waxed a great tree, and ^' the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it." God had wrought a defire in the heart of the late Count of 'Lin'z.endorf from his childhood, to efpoufe the falvation of his fellow-creatures, as the next con- cern to his own falvation, and to be inflrumental to it with all his power in all circumftances, wherein Provi- dence might hereafter place him. Even in his youth an opportunity prefeflted itfflf, which he di4 not let REtATION or NEW-HERRKHVtH, I733. pj flip. In the firft Supplement to his Natural RiJle£lions^ ftandsthe following account of it : " Between An. 171 3 and 1714, there were five peribns in the P^dagogium at Halle, that ftood in a very peculiar connaftion together. They experi- enced juft what our Saviour fays : JVherettuo or three are gatheredtogither in my name^ there am I in the midji cf them. They had an inward impulfe to the promoting the falvation of many fouls. Two of them made a covenant in 17 15 concerning the converfion of the Heathen, yet only of fuch as no one elfe woul4 trouble themfclvcs with. Their proper prof- pe«St was not to execute this and foch-lilce things themfclves ; for they Were defigned by their relati- ons for the fphere of high life, and had no other notion but that they muft be obedient : but they hoped, that God — would dire£l: people to them, or perhaps would even now prepare himfelf witnef- fes through their fervice among their fellow-ftudents, who (hoi- Id be equal to the work. And therefore the thoughts of thefc young gentlemen were conti- nually aiming at giving the ftudents an impreflion of that God, who laid down his life for us." The above-mentioned young gentlemen afterwards fenarated, and only that one, that had made a cove - nant with the Count, to forward the converfion di the j heathen, was led to him again afterwards by particu- lar turns of Providence. But the impreilion of this undertaking accompanied the Count to the univerfity M. Wittenberg, on his travels, and in the poft he held ■ in the government at Drefden. In all circumftances, particularly during his abode in Holland, he enquired into the condition of the heathen nations, and was , ftudious about ways and mem'i of bringing the Gofpel ^ of Chrift among them. Ytc he did not make much / noife about it, and only hinted his defign to his moft intimate friends. But he told his intended cori^^trt, in J a previous interview with her and her friends in the ^j, very beginning of their contraft, what all his views j^^ in life were, and withal his purpofe of devoting hlm- ^^.^;felf to the fervice of the Lord in general, and parti- ' cirlarly « «c •( <( «( tc (( cc « «< 4( '«( <( t< (( » - Thefe two brethren, ^ter joining in prayer, came V therefore to a refolution to acquaint the congregation i« ' writing, that they found themfelves conflrained out of •love to the Negroes to go to St. Thonaas's, and if there ' was no other way to efFe<£t it, they would fell- thera-. ! (elves for flaves, in order to make their Creator and Redeemer ?»'.i * Mill -:?! . i, f i V * ; i'-i \ j20 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. 6. V. Redeemer known to fome of them, and efpecially toi the poor Ncffro-woman who (o ardently longed for it. Thefe purpolcs of theirs begat great eftecm and joy in feveral brethren, but the greateft part looked upon their intention rs a pretty imagination of young offid'- cus minds, in a matter that would better bear good wifhes than execution. By this means the accomplifh- ment was delayed a confiderable time ; however, dur- ing this interval, th»e thing was put to the teft fo much the more folidly^ and at laft brother Leonard Dober's call to go to St. Thomas's was confirmed, and he began his journey thither With a joyful heart, in company of David Nitfchman, Aug. 21ft 1732. • -" ♦ •• -^ § 2. . . At the fame tim«^ and by the faMC occafion, tf' '•' *< Wheri I heard the firft account of Greenland, it *• excited a defire in me to go thithef ; yet when I rtfleft- ed on my own incapacity and inexperience, (for I had been fcarce two years in I^'rhhuth) I could not venture to difclofe it : but when the written propo- fal of the two brethren to go to St. Thomas's was read pteblicly, it ftirred me up to it afrefh. I was then at woric with Frederic Boehnifli on the new burying-ground called the Hutberg. He was the firtt perfon I acquainted with what paffed in my mind, and I found that he had been a^uatedon the fame occafion with the fame defire to promote the falvation of the heathen. We converfed with fimpli- city about it, and perceived we had the greateft in- clination to go to Greenland, but we knew not whe- ther we ought to look upon the propeflfion that had taken place in us as an impulfe wrought by God, which we fhould give notice of to the congregation, «* or whether we ihould wait till* call was given u8. But g^(i tei>- dency to the Grccnlanders. The letter was vpad in a public meeting, and was heard with joy in' th» ge- neral. Yet fome exprcfTed their fuiprixc*, ^hjjt -it had fuch a great rel^mblance to the writing of the two firft-mentioned brethren, and q few cvo» thpiJiglvt that we had compared notes with theii?,,. or .would mimiclc them. Very like, this was thq rcafon that for a [long time we neithci r;fGe,ived.44i anfwf r^ . noj^^weic fpokc ito about it by the labourers of the c«wigrega»- tion. Only, one of them faidjtasncthing totiye oc- cafionaHy, w^'c^ might havq lef«i;me ^ut kittle Ikijto, Vef WP y^^^c not frighted out pf it by this, , no? by the reprefentation of the difficult ypya^ctoi ^i\4 ^^n*- ncr of liv'iQ£: in Greenland, which w4' heard enour«h I ■.-•'•Of ' ...J 'O of by the bye j but we wait?^ with tranquijlity to fee whether ourofter would bp accepted ofj ^ejected. After a confiderable time, the Count of Zin^cn'^ori" fent for us, find aflced us, if we were Hill , pf the ** fame mind,? and when , we ai^fvyercd him yes, and ** aflured him,_that we Ihould like to go to Grecnlandv *' he advifed u* to confider once iiipre the difficulty of '* our fuWiftence there ; but added at the clofe, thj\t if ** we would venture upon it in confidern^e on our Sa* *' viour, we might make rciviy for the journey w'^l* *' his and the congregation's bleffing. We expe<5tefll *' the time of our bein^ difpatched with longings " and kept working on in our outward calling. But " another year pafTed, before we were difpatched,, la *' the mean time, as Frederic Boehnifti was gone ano-i *' ther long journey, Chrijlian David got a_, defire to *' go with mc to Greenland. Our difmifllon did not Vol. I, y la.t *t -T..-.., 'T ."/' Relation of New-Herrnhuth, 1733. 323 **• Greenlanders, Mr. Egede, whohad been raifed up •*' by God in fuch a remarkable manner, and had been approved through fo many trials, in cafe h^'vvou.d and could make ufe of us { but if he did not want •' ouraffiftance, then not to intferrupt him in the leaft. ^* As to the reft, wc were to live alone by ourfclves, and **'to regulate otir domeftic affairs fo» as became a '* godly life and coriVerfationi; Further than this, ** nobody knew any thing to tell us. The fubfequent " advances, till things arrived to their prefent pitch, are ** to be afcribed to the fuperintendency and leading of that only wife Lord, who has guided and a/lifted us from ti'mt to time. Wc neither knew nor irnagined previoufly, ho^i^ it was to be. ^' A little before our fetting out, we were. blefTed to our undertaking by Auguftine, the then elder of the congregation, with impolition of hands and prayer i and thus we departed Jan. 19th, 1733, ac- companied with innumerable wiihes of blcifing by the congregation, and went by way of Halle and Hambui-^to Ekrenfcerde in Holfatia, from whence wc travened by water ta C Jjpchh agen . ** \ So far the miiEpnary's oWii account.' v^j^ix. ,,;,,, «< cc « cc cc ^ti.- ■T §3. K> t Here tbey'werc received with much love by the friends they were recommended to, particularly by profefTpr Ewald, a member of the worthy college of miffions^ and the king's chaplain Reufs. But their propofal ,of going to Greenland, appeared very romantic and ill- Uimed to many, becaufe no one could yet tell whether "the? former miflion and trade to Greenland, which • was reduced as it were to the laft extremity, would be anew encouraged, or at laft totally abandoned ; which latter was the moft probable. Again, how ihould the ^brethren get there? and, fuppofirg they could be. • conveyed thither by the (hip that might be fcnt to 'jbring back the few people ftiU engaged in the tniffion 'and traffic (though even this was uncertain), ftill how fliouldthey fubfxft when they were there? They would CKftainly be n";rdcrcd bv the faVftgcs, or perifli with . , .. V 2 hunger. j24 HISTORY OF. GRI.:ENLANt>.i.B. V. hu^ig^ei^,- <)r die by i'ome contagioud4iiL-afe,rias.niQft;' cfP the coloiliib ditf three years before. - i' ,:>[ m > . r j .j "In truth, this vvais nt) tavoiiriiblqijirDfpcfjfibr I'^hey were^ However, Hill and! quiet, look.iTig.witH>Ileady.;c©rf.» fiiJence io hi m whQ had incited them to this fcjftcrprtK^,* ^«d e?kpe6ting his aid to cxetute' it* , After i&meetiiiitt #hoy hi^'ard, that, nonvithftdndi4i.g all obftru the king had 'confeiiteJ that one fhip more fhoiuld go M GGbd-h6pe ; ahd that hlfbat thcfanric time the firlV lorlJ cf the bedchamber, Plefe, had perfwaded amerchanti,on* Mr". Scv^nri, to fend a trading veflcl oh a trial t6 Oif-' ko-bay*' tThe' latter, was foon rcadyV and was to fail by the firft opportunity. » Some friends advifed them td go in her, partly becaufii it was ftill nbt certain yrht' ther the king's fhip-would goat laft, arid if- J t did^ whe- ther it would not briilg back the miffionary and hispeb* pie now there ; and partly^ bccaufc it would not be fo well to build, as, tme nrjay fay, on another man's ground, but better to begin a miffion 6f their own', where tbey would be ilinobddy's way^ nor themfelves liinHefcd by aey. Ai I firft:£hey . inclined ; a little t6 the fame opinion ; but,i iafter confidering all circumftanccs maturely, they came to: a. refolution to let the mer- chant- fhip fail, and to wai( for the king's fhip *. Being thus come to a determination concerning the mtafureS they would take, they made their application to lord Plefs.' Their, firft opening of the matteij 4;ijd * At firll'fight, enc might Imagine it had been bitter, if the brethren had 'fettled in a quite new place. But the \Aifdom of Providence feems herein to have adapted itftlf to the wtaknefs of its children. For r. If wouui hive been alnioft iitipoffiMe for them to have Icamt the Gtrecnhni langiiare in a ftrange place alone by themfelves, iince it proved verj' difficult to them to Icurn it when aided by the faitliful inftrudtions of Mr. EgeJe ' and his children, whohsd gi-own up amonf the Greenland faithful »p4. hojieft .|)g^iJe,^gL^' c^e^ed amo|ig^ the. infideHs, riiat .yfmnc; illiiera^> pfjr^j f(S«i?-^ouldexp4;^aijy ifucccls, ef^9ci;^[hr j^ ,t[h^*mod£r^ w§^d had ivot yet (pen any in^auce| df.lay.-miinouaaps.» ?,m, ^otwi^bK^^n'ijingjj ;wl^9p ^l^^i :>yas^- ^jjp ,l4«cQnjman low^ ,^^i^ <»pfidenc? taw^r4*,thfini, prefen^^^^^thejr ..YTfi^feji .^.R^-) titjon with ple;^lur*j to thet W^V^-i , .and ■ ^4'9"'^l!f „ i^ ^ th^,utmo(tpOifr(l^s l?5)W,^. - ^^:i^ ^^'^J9 ^y-^l^HrS^^^. tni^; motive • ftgjv^S ^PJ^^^jP^^ jQ^./^^ *^ ^^ .^gcii n»a4?. H^e of ^9,i^^eft,- mc^iVim^icgtolfi;. n^j^^ dclpi,^ c^^^e inftfiiiyfiQrits ifi,.fthe eye a^|he,w^/d, for accbmr plifliing t\if jgrawdf^^^aof ,^i^J5inttdom ih,^w thatr, the honour appertains' ?olely to mm, and to Inure' mankind not to rely on.tfcifeir own penetration or P«fy^F»if^\^he^^di.^Viv« Ij^nt^j t^s ,majelty,\iras p}fjiS^iiiP9'.o^^m'^^.(pLm^^^ m¥^^ 9f .^-s mi-- i^jl^er, ,?iccf5j^e^ the [^^^upjtary, oyer^ur/i . ^ w|jtih,4;l^ gnqjj graci/i^j^s. expreffion§, farw after t||e.difnl H^.>Sf ies iia^,,lj?ep,/^9*ic^' ' mprc ' weijgl>g|",ui^d^ rc'^ov.ed^ h^ji^fpic to.a.r^^o^^i^tipii^to .prpmpte anq\^ the culfivatiort- o^-pj^e|5n(ffv^,a^4)'^^rC°9VeriiQn,pf the heathe:tv |le i^c^ipnty permitt^^.^b^fe three brethren to gp thi,tner. as^ ip^il^onjjrie&jj^^^^ut ajlfo ; d^'iired tlji^t, more might Ibo^ fftl^w tjbem, il'j:^f>4;,vyas .'gruciou^ ^W"^^; ^ ^^ite , witii^ hjj ^own k^'^ .f9 /Mf* iigede, !]^\at he. mpuld receiv*^ tHJ8,.^^e^hi;qn^.i^- ?f^^d and i>ifndly,^mer,, andtak^ cjiitf .thftt.it;U?y,,W£;f?, forwardccj^ i;^-^h/2i^^^init^ntIon,v,;jn4 nQpWays • hindered >» their lajjpur, Wong- the ixcathen^ j,ThiajiU)|U^ef pC/)atc made, t^e^n knqwn to levera\ l^jofji^ perto^Js of ,<|y^a|ity, whp con vprte'd with' them ,tQ rnvVjit^il, ctl^c^iqn, ^nd made them a prelent towa^rds the expcnce pt ,the|r voyage and fettlcment in Gi=ee|iT land, without their foliqitation. Among other tjiings^ T^^,ih-yrv--i * Y 3 " 'lord ^ \' ...■!,.'.. 326 tflSTOyRY OF GREENLAND, g. V. lord Plefs aflced them, bow they prppofed to find thcrtt^ fclves food in Greenland ? They anlwered ; By the labour of their hands and God's bleffihg; that th<^y would build theni a houfe and cultivate the land, that they might not be Wardcnfome to ar>y (for they did' -not know then, tbat' the land confifted almoft df nothing but bdrcirficks). He olneflted, that thei*^ was no wood there to build 'with. The' brethren repli^dj that th'iy would theui' dig irito the earth, and'lod^e djere,' '** No, feys he, you Ihall not be driven tb tHict *• ihfft, take wobd wrtn yoii and build a houfej ac- *" ^ •it.) tiobiiii'j'it'dq tVHo :; § 4» • xloj oi ioii bfidnam ' At laft, on tii lOth of April, tfi^,yt/i^i on boarcf tHd fcing*s (hip CaritiiS, ' id^ptain HfiJdHirAnd commandek^il ;itcififidertcc>tK^^^ nor did they fuffer themfelves to ie corifoui'tded hfiny of the unfpeakable difficultjes of the following years, till they and we at laft beheld with our eyes the comole- tiondf wiia« they hopM fdriw f^itliJ ' - f'"' '^ « 'Thty had sl^fpfcedyi b^iil,'«kc^tihg fpnli ftortft^ coitfmodibus voyage Vthe^^ felted ftf S^heditnd, Aptil l2d; paffing thertout of t!fe hbrth iWtt-ft e Weft^a, Eg<;<;J«n» i «i,s^i ,4eliY.ef^i> >rl>c ilfittcf^ |,9f, , f epqsagie/i^lion tb^7 ih?4/er,PAV?y j&j:.ithfi prayer, Ti^f y,fplrjt9 wxMik d||:5^iy, to,Tun up a Qreeijiind houf« VVri^h^ftopej.^nifUrf l?^^:?^^^*!^ .'» which jfeey coul4 fh^jCer th^n>/elv.?j^ ,aj|4- tJ»^r4hings frprn.^io ;f/r#ow.j»n4 yaiiTjjiU ^tlaisy hadi^imf^M their wqodei^ ,hp)if^. ; T^ey l^Q,tjght,arij,ftW bpat; 9^ vW captain, that thj8yi.niigh.^,gp Wif«;\t#cir fuftenanq^a^vvlt. was; a fofwarji ,;i^ai;;>p,,^nd th^, %pw\Yas melted. las^fla^i^h. as it ^fedjip bg.i^ajujjpi 9,n4-,y9t lit Wfis fpjpoldj^^t the ^urf pfte^ ^oae in theip baiid?.' Qn jthe 6t^ 5^. June they had jfiuiifhed tjieir Gf0^1aJiJ[d,jh^t i^^ferjrjjhatthey could fnffir.j^; with ^i^^yiDS^a^^. P^i(p..} M4 then they, pa.il?ii 4owa tne Itent of bqafiJSA. iff .J»y:h"sh(!the)^hada,ti9n.,pfjthdr proper d\yelJ,iqg;4>o^f:i for »i?;.?Ye[..\}^'^S ?h^y .#y?9Pei^ /"ft f^»^> ?? to \i?,vp fifte ropni hr tpihfi ifl^1;iit^4. , TheyTal^o-^egaii .tp,h»#jl4>% Grecrir^ lanj^.-jgou^jjlbr f«ch [he^h^/Bs. j^s/iijighf^ aes^^^Vj^i^t^rc 4rap p}/of; inftr^^ftion.j,- h^ ^Jas .! no pn^ ^^ j^y, i^i^ clin^ipj^j fpr "it thif yi^^r^ npr. in Ipme y«ar«>ftp:t , fyU. ♦9>YA"gr)ifi«' £n-5i;..;^,-|74 exhibit their own heart's iltua^ioB, and :. V Relat'ion oyKEi?.r^-Hi:ft'RNii^iiTiO r^]j. 329^. their tifiright mind' and ardourfor,thei;ofti];iife>n'of>'th^ heathen. "! hiuii^pdi hUiUiti r.iiii •wHo'^ -rripir" '* ;; In a letter to the '.whcde ; congregatfony ^iiaving..l?r ft given a- .brief defcrijnion of ithe, country anld iits"hihkbif3 tant^,' riieyi fay: J^* Youi may noyv vepyl wi;!!' addrefirt •''(flh^: fayiiig.tof us^o5A thofe whq hav&.been long' inivthis coun*' tr^',) and'lcnoW thispeopieh but ftill we r<^oice, and chinks where th6fir«llceh is come up before us, there **■ muft be room to tVeiwd rarftl follow, i though the ap- " pearanoe mayi be ever lb adverfe. We hope) to f e- ^'..itiaim ainfayBin- this^mind: And evenuf we fhould *' effcft nothing in Greenland, we will render him the *f.tihoiioiisTdiie:nhtoc!hismame, though it (hould be for *fl\nothyiigeMe but th^twiare humbled and madfe low in 'f. our own:'«yes. Bat- Jefusi wholb heart UbI replete *f.;with.,£atthfullbve''tQwards-us and the fMMc l^Sithen, *c* Icnowis all /bur wayfe, :a!ndilQneW thsni bafore-vnic were barn. M. Can any honour ^redound frorii xxs to hini f Our. ' (Ubiftance, life and blood are at his fervice.' Througk his death hr has reftored; life to us, has^ *• abrolv:?d iis from our fins, reconciled us with himfelf, 't and has gathered a people that is his property, to *f Ihew forth his praifes. . O that the death of our Lord ,b-to I " *' Jefus a (( (( i€ '>> «( •. i !■ ;;t i yt i m * !' «( (( 536 HISTORVoFGREETSfLAND. «. V.^ *' Jefus liiight bring all men to lifcy and tl|at alh •' might follow this faithful (hepherd !** .ir><^h.', •(! Matthew Stach alfo wrote the /following animatUig efhftle to his former compahi6ns tii the houfe where his- had lived. *' I call upon you my Brethren, fromalandt where the raune of JeAis fenpt yet knownv^and' where the fun 0( righteouiiiefs is itot yet arifeil. '.Yoil' live in the bright noon- day, i^dkc fun is n&nJupon' you. Has h6 now warmed your heartsf (^yikr6' fome of you.ftiH frozen I: The light is vfprutig'Tup* '< around you all,} but hethati&vnot yetarifeniom^lk ** in the light;» better were it fo£ him if he livqd^iil' *' Greenland^ and had never heard of Jeftis* 'Roritd' " know what is good, and not a£l accordingly^ lis a ** reproachto the truth. The heart of Jefu^ bunns/fo^' '* love after the falvatlon of men ; and caa.he kt d' *• foul that is heartily contwrned to. enjoy hioi, '^omi^' ••i and down for four, five or fix years,' and ndt^fev^al' *• himfelf toit? I cannot bielieve it,' for I have epcpi-ri-^ *' enced the; cphtraty. When I fought hin^cwith'all' ** my pow*r,'and when my power wasinfuflicidnt-and ** could exert itfelf no longer, then. my* eyes. fti|l (warn *f in tears, and my heart pal pjlf^ted. with d^r^.; And" *^ when even the. foiintains jof riiy eyes a^rded :iio qiord *f tears, and my heart had .110 ipoce flren^.to,^e&t^ 'f in this helj^efs mifery thie friend of {inner^'^ricirle, ^' kifled Q^e in fpirit, and .hdaied. the wounds 'in' my". *' confcience. Nor is filch a tranfa£lion a mereiinqia- ' *' gination of the mind, butit i&ia divin«;^tiwarii>^aC' ** fills the whole heart. >nj:ina3ii> iiojiti^don ii3^iii><'** !>' But ye, that have known. i the Lord.ijefiia, .alnd' ** have b«en wafhed i.ihisbbod, let grace ^rcplenifh ** you fully 9- and as yoajTiave^tafted that. the Lord '^ is gracious^ go in the ftrength of thatmeat, and " conquer in the name £f the Lord. My .heart- is* ** linked and lifted with yours, under the .crofs*s ban-' ** n^rofthe taithful Saviour. To him will il livie, to ** him will I diej for nothing can give me joy any •* more tmt the name of my Saviour, who has racued my foul from death. Now, my brethren, grow on and fiourifh in the blelTed congregation of the .\ * ^ '« Lord, ■m' cv.ii" "i*-,''».''«»< 'SJ»»» 2 fi ••*-.<■ (( u ■«• ** L6rd, which he hath planted for himfelf, ttiA hath Tet up as a Agn among the nations, as a- candle on tt candleftick, manifeft before the eyes of the whole world in thefe laft days. The falvaeiont is great, sind ** the harvcft will be glorious, when l^e haVe fowed *' fhuch feed, and watered it with many tears. O ** may one fpur ort the other to follow the bleeding •* loving Lamb without the camp; Spend not yot^i" •* joy on Having trahipled the old fetpent beneath ytoui* •' ietty but rejoice that ydu are hid inthe rdck-cl^¥ ** ' of everlafting loVe. Be vigilant, Hkel the lion, th2t •* cried out: IJiandittm the watch. Let'your roin8bs burning, and' ** keep the chai-jgeoftl^ Lord j Which wc'wil^alfo do '^'lii UrecnlarW-j'foi^ "Which reafoH we-hare called our ** pizce Ntw-Heri'tthM *. Rclmi^tobeT your ' niea^efl? *f brother always' ihi your prayers.*^ 'iu- ' '' ^ 'i^fer they liad cortijleted thdir dWclHn^-houfe, th(^ ftegari to lei about thofe forts of labour which wejfV:» fteccffary for their bodily maintenance, and alfo to learnt ^h0 language, frt order to a fruitftil intercourfe With the lu^thens. In the b ginning, all thefe things were at^ tended with gr^t difficulties. They got Kttle or ndl' thing by fifhing and hunting; for they had not been' trained uptothcfeocciijiaVions ; neither could they follow the ttiethod of the Qreenlanders herein, becatife they Cotiid not manage a kajak. When they went out the firft time to fearen for wood driven' among the iflahd^, they were foon overtaken by a ftormj and though they r^siched home \vith much difficulty,' yet in the night the Wind carried off their boat with wood and all ; how^ ever the Greenlandcra tuought it again- fome days aftet, though much damaged. They believed, that there Was a hand of God initv >nd that he would teach them, by all forts of adverfitres, not to enter too far into tem^ potai cares; therefore they came to a refolution to fol- low the example gf the 3ilefians and Luifltians, koOi .**' • H'rrt>tutbB%a\fie9, the Lord's watch, cnthlW^jia; '^.w-iuiic^ ^V^hence ^,-«.-- f-'-tt. J." k fe i M I r< 3;i I ' I '« > . I ' K . " i !'*' 33Z HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. whence they came, ^nd when other work failed, to earn ^ii>c neceflaries by fpinning. _Mr> £gcie,wa5 kind enough to ofier them his help,. ^9^ much as pofiiblc, in l^rarning the Grcculand laii'* gui^^} he gave them his written remarks to cppyy ^nd Qrderpd his <;hildren to explain it. But let any one only imagine*, what incredible diflkuitjes mud befct the(e unlearned men } |ir(l, they bad to .learn thciDa^^ i)iih language, before, they could un,derAun4i their in^* ijbrvK^rs J next, th^fsi who had never (ccn , a Gtai'i^'' mar, mud form 4 cjlear idea of the meaning of ^ the grammatical terms of art, as nQUjnv^^^^^i verbs, ir^dir^ catiye or conjunctive mood, pe.iffons^ ^c. Then jfney, had to qttain a<:|eaii.cDmprehenfion of fuch a vf rietv of dedenfipns and coi)jugatiQi^$ i^ the^ifncouth Gree^nj^ml fp^j/ch,,,divcrfified. inj^ jquitc unufiuj.^^oods, andj(lill more entangled with fuffixes- pf pronouns active ,^nxi paffive, and to charge their memory with thefe, as well as with a large vocabulary of words, the Grcenlanders having often ten different words for one thing. Tb^e- ipre it was very natural for then^to be ofti^n i^ir^d, :^^ fifft with this fchplarfhipi ?fpcci?lW as tl\e Greei)-j Ijinders yvquld not then enter i|ito the If^ftconver^m^i^ vi^th them, yea. even aggravated theifj hard caiib^J^ ile^ log away the books they had v^rote. with fo\ni|i^k pftjjis ; fo that it was jwft as iif t^ey had bee^i madcjufc Qf by the wicked one, to deprive the brethren of; fH^ i^oft neceiTary means they could hereafter, ^pn^Xo^ j^tfi yidjuce the fouls to defert his vaflalage,, But theifj^ve tQ;thefq poor pc;pple, and their invariable defire to/^pe tneir fouls refcued^ always animated thern^anewtoiheiitij duefaithfulnefs in this talk alfo, ,^t, the f^me tiniQ th.ey >vi(ely refolveJ, nottofpeak with the favages about Spiritual things in the beginning, or merely for the Tak^ 9f-.«xercifing themfelves in the language, that thejr Sf^ght nptimb^bp. erroneous conceptions ^ of the Chriftiari religion; by fhe ignorant of equivocal expreflions of the b(Alhren j fpr i^.n^ig^t ,^|£e;hiye^,99(^^^^j>ped^^^^^^ m^*^y of ideals. {..;. ,'.a^,:; ,m, v •V^-.'-< i.>^;i ^'o. But in the begmning they had mdeed very little op- portunity of converfing 3vith the Grcenlanders, or ef feasting \' '^ Relation OF New-Herrnhuth, 1733. 3^3 'ft(n!ihg'ftny thing amohg thctrt. It is true, thwe wWc at that time at Ball's-rivcr about 200 families, which lYiight confift of near iOOo fouls : But they were d?f- perfed imong the iflands and the hills tp fifh, cat<^ ftals, and hunt deer ; and towards wintei^ they ww'e .iffed to goibme 60, nay fonie 200 leagues north Or ft)uth, to their acquaintance. Therefore the breth^eii foon faw, there would be JfcarCe any coming at them in Ihis continual wandering way^ and even if lome whole- fome refleftion (hould be railed in them by an acciden- tal difcourfe, it would foon bte diflipated again out Of their regardlcfs volatile minds. Neither could they hitherto be perfuaded or tempted by any advantages to ftay at the colony, or at leaft not long • for of thofe \Who had been baptized, only two boys and two girls could be kept there. Some indeed called upon the brethren as they pafled by fometimes, but only out of curiofity, to fee their buildings, or to beg nails, fifn- hooks, knives and fuch things from them, if not to fteal. If the brethren went to them on the iilandi, thCy feldom found any one whfo would entertain tht'm, even if they off-ercd to pay them for it j and iiilttad of entering into difcoirrfc with them, thoy were continu- ally afking, whether they would not foon go away a- gain? ' . ; ^ Yet ill thcfevi^ere comparatively but fmall obftacfes, • Which exercifed their courage, but could not deprefs it. But foon after, in the firfk year, fuch a heavy trial be- fel them as they could not have borne up agairift, if there had not been given them from above a ftedfiftnefs in hope, where there was nothing more tO hope for. This was, a terribfe morfMity that threatened the de- flru^lion of the whole nation like a plague. It hap- pened thus : Two of the fix Greenlandirs that had been taken to Denmark two years before, were ftill alive, a boy and a girl, and as they alfo were unhealthy, ' they were fent back to their native country by this - year's veffel. The girl died at fea, the boy came, in all appearance, wdl home : but-^on after , a Tick- nefe ii: - 'I, I' Hiii't I ftiiii ii* ill 334 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.V. Dtti broke out on him, which wm looked upon to bfr only an eruption, but after going up and down among his country-folks and infecting them, he died of it i^ Septcmbei-. Thq next that followed him, was tbp Greenland boy,Frcdcric,Chxi(li9n»a particular favour- ite of Mr. Egede, whom, after nine years inftru^liont be had brotighp fo far as to be able to ufe him as cate^ chiil among the children* He could ^Ifo fpeak Dajoiftt, and had Iqarnt tp read, and was of great fervice tp him in compofing his Greenlaiid grammar, and tran>* Dating the Sunday-leflbns out of the gofpels. In the beginning, no body knew what diforder it was, nor a^iy remedy for it, till it was evident in a boy at the colo- ny, whom they could duly attend, that it was tlye fmall-pox. Mr. Eg^de dUpatchedi an exprefs evejcy where round the country, to warn the Greenlandecs and defire them to ftay in their own places, as the^ that were already infected could not efcape } he alip advifed thofe in uninfeded places not to let any fugi- tives come upon their land, left they might be infe^- ed too. But alas, all his admonitions were m va«jn. Thofe who had caught the diftemper, but did not yet lie down, fled, and the country was every where open before them, the Greenlaqders not being ufed to refufe ilrange guefts. Confequehtly the diftemper /pread more and more. It was a lamentable circumftance to thefe poor peo- ple, that were not ufed to this diCeafe. As the fmall- pox would not rife, they endured excruciating pain,, heatand thirft ; for the Greenlanders (ionftitutions ari? naturally very hot ; they would allay this h^k with large draughts of ice- water, though they were .warned againft it j by this they were difpatched foh^ily that few out-lived the third day. 3pme ftabbed themlelves, or plunged into the fea, to put a fpeedy end, to their torment. One inan, whofe fon bad died, ft^bed. his wife's fifter, in th? mad prefumption that iftic had be- witched him to death. Nay .the Europeans had reafon to fear an aflault (efpeciallry as a fttallop gone abroad to trade ftayed out beyond thcf time), becaufe the Green- ]jil|iders accufcd them a$ the iCaui pie continued in their ufual way of inattention and ob- duracy. No rd)e6tion and no caution was to be thought of, much lefs any concern about the prefent or future condition of their f6uls. 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 wdl as they knew how; but when ndtwithflandrng it ^r^W worfe, they uttered impatient, defponding, nay i .afpfaemous fpeeches, would hear of no patience nor relignation to the will of God, nor accept of any admonition to commit their fouls to the faithM Shepherd, but died away in their un- belic£, • *H>i »"■ ■-'■:-.'.' . ' •• .•...•>■- i. One may eafily Imagine how Mr. Egede felt in thi-* ^woeful cafe. He did not fit ftill, but went continually about every where, fometimes alone and foinetimes m the^ company of pur bvethren, or fent his fon to inftrudt and comfort the poor people, and to prepare them f6r death. They found in moft places nothing but empty depopulated houfes, and iinburied corpfes^ fomc with- in, and fome without the hoqfes lying in the fnow, whkh they covered with ftones. In one ifland they fottnd only one girl With the fmall-pox upon her, and fier 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 ftoiie, and or- dered the girl to cover him with fkins and ftones, that he might not bede/oui'ed by the foxes and ravens ; then file and die reft of the children were to live on a couple of feals and fome dried herrings thAt were left, till they Could get to the Europeans. Accordingly Mr. Egede .0 fent 1 t ' -ri '1 .'''■ i'" i'4t I'M i;j :'l 1 C( cc C( C( tc 336 HISTORVOF GRZENLANiD. B. V/ I fen^ for th^jriJ to the colony. He lodged all thevfick that fledtoJbifn, and our brethren' followed his: extanr- ple. They laidS as many in their ^wn room» and iieeph- ing-chambprs as they would' contaiiv, and attended. atid Jiurfed then^. as well a,s they cou^ ; [although- thfijitfai' ferable ftei.ch of the fick and dying afFafted diefr; ovm health > I i!y niilcb. Many a one iji^^as touched with a -grateful impreffion by fuch evident proofs bfi Itfw, which wecenftc^re than they evtr expected even from their own cpuntry-pe^jple 5 ■ zn6 ond man, who had always derided them in hitlhbalthy days, faidtoi the minifter before his end : *^''Thoa haft ddnc for us what our own people would inot do j ./or tbcor-hait: fed ys when we had nothingitd eat, thou haft:^- ried our dead, who wpuid'elfe have been confumed by the dogs, foxes a^wl ravehs, ; ; thou h aftr. alfo . ini- Ilifui^ed us JiB Ijhe kriow^«d^o£ God, andrhkft t^^d us of 'a. bettfep life;" It miift adfo. have Seen a. joy to him to perceive in fome^ chiidren, whoiiiitrr;hie'^ad baptized j , a jrefigned expecbitton , !of death , «id a> cpm- fortable hpptf ofr a i^elurreetion to'thatbcttCTlifev Our brethren itiade ufe of this oppbrttmfty to fpeakto the hearts of fM<:h poor creatures Ja^ fled' to them, or whom they brought from the iflands, as well as fuch novices m the tongue could n^ake theni underAand bywords^nd 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. , ao 'nr; In this manner did this virulent contagion rage frotn September I733t6juiie 1734, -and perhaps loi^r ftiM, It fpread, as far as they could learn, 40 leagues norths and almoft as far foutb. Wheii the Agents went atffer- ward» to trade^ they found all the dwelling lioaies empty for 30' leagues North. In the diftri^ for B leagues round' the colony, thirmimber of the dead- a- mounted in January 1 734. to 500, though many Green- landers took flight in the very beginning : from hence we may form fome judgfnerft'<3f the numbers that were carried oiF in ail other places till June i Mr. £gedc computed them at two or three tbouiand. In the diftrid of Ball's-river, only eight recoivered from the difeafc. difeafe, and one boy who bad a hole in his fide, through which the deadly matter found vent, efcaped free from it. U' As the nation now feemed to be entirely extirpated, the country about New-Herrnhuth forfaken, and de- famed at a diftance as a place of peftilenoe ; the poor brethren might well be damped in their courage. But yet they did not flray 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 accomplifhment 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 yefterday, 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 wade 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 aiccompliih ^ his aim ** by us." ;, Their reafon would not allow them to think that this contagion was a fortuitous event, becaulfi^ no fpar^ row falls on the ground without God's will. Neithec was it clear to them, that God had chaftifed this poor nation fo feverely for their infidelitv, becaufe his long- fufFering and mercy difplayed itfelf in fit^h an unde^ niable manner towards them themfely^js^ and all Chrif- tendom, who lived under the bed inftrudion and knowledge. " The.matfi is a myftery toi us, (they ** write) we knownot what is beft to pray to the Lord " for, whether that he ibould kt them! live or die. It ** may be that God would pref^rve a holy, fe^d in fome * Somebody got tli«f« w«rii,e{ifr»yfd oy• 1 ■ I s i ■ '■■U: CI ct 538 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. * height, as he did at the deluge. May the Lord tf^ach u$ oniyco -believe^ and to venerate his fecret wayfe." ... ! . • But to proceed, they all three fell fick themfelves too, one after the other.' As Toon as they had put rfteii* habitation in order; thcyiiwere infefted viritb an efupt4oiS • tiubich fo encreafed in the winter, /that they: cfoirid fcarce njove their limbs, and often were obHgtid to keep their bed. Very probably it was the fc'urvyy fo common in the northern countries, which might' the fooner condenfe and corrupt their blood, as ± Ifedenbry life fuddenly folloWrd very hard' labour ; for they were obliged to go out of their common road, ilnd fit writing continually in a damp cold houfe : or poflibly they might have been afFe 340 HISTORY OFGRt:i£NLAND. B. V. was to enquire into the circumftances of the country, to fee if the contagion ftill prevailed, and where molt of the Greenlandcrs rcfided both winter and fummer j to declare to them, as much as poflible, the joyful mef- fage concrnlng Jefus, and to invite thetn to vifit us. For many leagues at Aril they found no people, but fallen houfes, and many unburied bodies, with new cloaths and tools lying by them. The fecond day a high wind brought 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 fpend- 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 illand inhabited by. Green- landers, but the ice forbad their approach to land j therefore they- were obliged to forfake their boat, and to walk full two leagues over the ice to another illand, where they found five-inhabited Greenland houfes, and there Chriftian David and the boatmen were forced to flay ten days. Thie Greenlandcrs behaved friendly to him, defired to learn his name and its fignification, looked at his book (the Bible), wondered howhecouljj underfland God's will by that, and would be glad to know fome^^^'ng about it. But he could.be of little fervice t., them, for want of knowing theh* 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 fo jhe following purport : ** According to outward ajjpear- ance, the life they lead is angelic, in compafifdnof our European Chrillians. 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 lik^'a chip td them. It is all one to them, whether on^'fpeaks of him or lets it alone, or v'hether we fing ^ hymn orthcyafong. I could not perceive the leaf! flir- ringih them. The'it irttelle^ual .faculties are To weak anddull^ and fo indifpcfed to r^flidn, that ** they cannot form the leaft idea of a Divine Being, '* and coiiftjguently have no r6ligi6h. Scfifitive as " they are, yet they feem to be almofl deflitute of ^......i^u: .--^.-f::-n; -♦■^vj,..7,'.« pafficJn .. t( . il( veiy friendly countenance and were full of fiatteriiig fpoech- cs, by which they ei^d«avour to footh the Euh>peans to liberality, becaufe^tis a fhame to them ^61seg any thing. As long as you tajlc with them about ifeal-catch* ing, lor fatisfy thdr-cnquiries about th^ ftatS'^^- other countries, they will hear yoU with p^afu^., ^t Wheii the brethren began about converfiori,"thfe^rfe^ *dwi fy, or fet up a fliout and ran 4'«vay: 'If^hfe brettineh went in comjiany witli the; minifter, th'^-'ifo^W'indieed perceive mo<:e refpetft towards his perfi^n, * and they frc* i Ml I'i* m :| '%A 342 HISTORY OF GREENLAND B. V. qucntly faid to the truths he propounded j *' O yes, we *' believe it all ;" nay they d^fired niore vifiting and inl^ruit .ig. J l^utone coula djfcern from many circum- Itjuice^, viat-it was, if not dlfllmulation, however, ho. more thar^ r.jjerfonal veneration for, him j the follow- ing pLaipl^Jniews it. When oh«? of the other Daniflj, ^ffiona^i«|? (for Mr. Egede got three helpers thisi, 5f "■■ '■' relate the infipid fables and ma' vellous exploits of their angekoks, and afked the MifTipnary whether he believed that / Upoq,^is,Jiqfwerine no, and alledging as a rea- lon, that fit w^a^. Jhconriftentwith common fenfe an<^ probfibility,' the^ they replied : " If thou yirilt not be- lieve us uppii dur word, thou muft not d^fire us, to believe yfliai we cahijqt coipprchend i^jon thy, it tlis: rpyaJpjajefty ha.d been gr9,ciovi^y pleated to^d^- fire, thiit mftj^e brethren migi)t pe fent to Greenland '> ii^ cpnforniiity to this, and ij^iulAj the promijejpade ^^^ tj^?, Jfirft ifi^^iqparjes ^^ t|iF'i- fcif¥!^M^^> >^FP/ ^?^P^^^^ were fcnt to th^m thi^ yeai;. ' Jpne oif' th^^ J^^^ M^tthcyf S^9^ \t\ 173^ tpigo" tp (J^ee^Iahd,^.a^^^^^^^^^ i2)a.de ^ipijij^^ h's inclinatipi^ in wri^iipg. But as t!^e brethren coufd come to no certainty aboUt ](his^nili|fioa at xhft ts^y lie went on another yp^m^Y >n \i^\ J>ut <^n his 4^%y l>fck received a letjt^r fTC|m 0eirnhu^]lii de- irinj5 ^m, to haften home,, be^ujf^^ , ,tlvcy.' thpu^^t to give-hwTk a call to goto the JPjTe^rocis i^ St. lrhomas*s, ^\^X he,i??pie i^pp late to go ^withjtHe conipany tha,t then went to ^^;\ydl-Indies. Kkxwevec, lie was aflced, if ^V^ih^diiiff^aitmind to g^ by l;hc firft opportuntty *o St* xThoiniia'i ? '^? ■answered/ tliatjheihould iathqr Ukp'to follow hi» fim.propofai tc^ go to Greenland. Accord- ingijff* afte^i|n^^ ,ailkgp i^ith«Ut'*^y ftirth^M/AoMtife, and ^tir^e-cbft. ' * ,, ' Tftr^'flifp's wciit^AVyi^ar ^to GrfceilWdV'on^ 0/ cbrtfereacfe or elderj iter dtily, jJrtd'fJWn* yiholb body ofSmett thaiiv'wcM k^oiAmvni^nKjc t<^,git}f(^ tkcii- fb^ihl^ aboj^t itjiaod if ,th,ev»; vas an unanOTDy««or,f?ntrto.nioly'c-,vpon m or ..jol :h5n ndoV -".i n^ ^/^i\?, l:\:\uil iuv-.nj!>r>1 woju m , i 1 1 i- 1 1 1 iiii i \ 1 •■ 1 iiii ;■' li '' ; \^ II 344 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.V. went from Greenland to Copenhagen in 1731, to profe- cute his ftudics, and now returned as Miilionary of the colony to be crcfted at Difko. The third was loaded with the building-materials for this colony ; and our brethren went on board her,. , They had a voyage far from agreeable, for, befides h?ird ufage, they were obliged to put up with a great deal of mockery and abufive language i whicl> I cannot omit briefly men- tioning in thif view, th^t ptfr brethren, who crofs the ifeas to the heat;hcj» in thefe prefent days, may be th^ more warpilv tf^^cited both to praife the Lord, and to due acknowl^cfgqment towards the people they have to do with, yfhen they not only can fit in their cor^ ner unmoleded, but enjoy many tokens of love and friendfhip from a clafs of men,, that formerly took all imaginable pains to teize and torment t)ieir predecelTors on fuch voyagts. May 17th they fet fail; from Copenhagen j June 2d they paQe;^ S,h^tland, and from thenceforward; had moftly fogs. .When the fogcleared up on the'l7th of June, they (^w themfelves in the greateft danger of their lives in !^^f: mi^il of t^e ice, and the wind )>»gh> Very happjly the wind /ell foon after^ and they tjad |uft timeenpug)^ to tack ai>put;:and to iaii into, the open The word ojT the day w;^ very renjarkaWe (9 our juft lea. brethren, P/i 'x.viiu 19^ ♦,* H^. delivered me, bccauf? ** he delighted in ];xie/* a& \ypJ4 ^ that of the n^xt ^ay, jfy v. i. *♦ B4a|Le thy.jiviy^ firaight ^iioropvy " facej** whr^rjitowasaddiB^/^^^JUord, open tl^pg^ let ** nought impede, yrhere iMecitthy command^'^u'v^ ** tre^d' ) t^iQu oaaft make rooaaand Aeps to p^&, even •* -th^o' rough and patbleik ways." July id thcjTifaw the firft land, the 5th ttiey^^psi%dtheU^itui|eof Qood- >)6pe, but the 6th and 7th they had a violent ftorm. At Diiko-iflftnd Chriftian Baviil came to them. with the vefTdx^'om Good'^hope-; he was going to'affift as carpenter in erefling the new colony. Having wel- comed one another in the moft cordial manner, and related What the Lord had done for them feicb they faw; each other, they entered the haven Jujy t5tji, lent ibme help towards building the colony Chriftians-hope, . \ . and f' Kelatiom of New-Hekkkhuth, 1734* 345 jind returned (he 25th with Capt. Jacob Bfinzeo to Good- hope* where they ^rived Aug^ Bth. ir, i;;.:,^, ! Before pur three brethren in Greenland could bo ifl* formed of the difp^tcb of tbefe two helpers^ Ghriftian David and Chriftt^n Staqb began^ to thinly of ret^ming^ by tbe./ip^f^ )flup, bocaufe they ,J«new not what tbey could ^,ffia,.ldnd th^t feemed entirely to be/depopii- l^tedy,, and nwV^e tbeJiin^Mf^Qv^^ ^^^ didnotih^w the lea|l |6li^q of ^ny incHnatioft 4)r mcetfiefs for the ^ingdgt^ 9f ,God. B^t Mi^tthew Stach fould .not re- r<4vf tag^away. tip oftcp: thought of a,text| that had fn^e f 4^pnifnprei£Qn ujpon him when he perceived the fif(^ jmpuire to go to.GreeiiUnd, vix. Jl.the.tve- T'i'fg *t Jkf., light r (Zach* ;civ. 7.) . THerefpcp he had det^rmini^d even to flay alone, and Mr. Egedc had offered, tp,. (mice care of him as long as he h^mlTelf ihould ilay t^ierp., But when the firft ihip brougbt tliem the aqcoiMQct that t^o affiftants vfere coming, and ^hey were afcercain^,;both of ;he congregation's . intei^tioiv to luppprf: the ni^M«gn to Greenland, and repeatedly aifur- cdof thjB kinf's good* pleafure towards tbem^, they took ^9usagf .^i;e2ii, expeded thiSir companions wi^long- ^i)g,' aii^i engaged, themfelves with them, to await the glory ofMthg.Lorxi in this rough poft with patient hope. After tfiaTr^'t^cy applied to their bixTmefs, • and particu- larly to Icagiiii. the, language with united forties. X^ey thought t>ncelG»fbuildnlg^ houfe on.one of the moll infaabitedrt^nd^^' and that ^couple of them- by ttrrns ihould dwell theiie with the G:i'\i >?. ifr- ?|Kl.Egc4ft alfq wcf^ v(ith thU^ip to GfxAAfi^ tf nfil^" P«- reh^, and ft?gr«l vnth ^hem ^ill 1736. . Then he we»t to Chriftians-hope «galt(,:jiDd'{i&fis rtiucjj 4s poffible^ In the' Qj-ccnlan^ mode, ahd'to leflen the l\i^lie9 wanted fidrn- a^)roadj And Gqd imparted His bjieffing to it, fo that they im» proved jn the art pf fifliinghiore and more.' -Clo^wiW air© plc'afed' to avert an impending misfortune 'ftorti thiHi' habitation, in that only* twp hretftren 'being once 'at home, ppe of them thpugj^t he heard' a knocking yrithouj:, and when he went out, he perceived- that the chi'iiiney Was on nre; 'which they happily quciiched^ though with a great deal'oftrpuble, being QbH|ed to fetch thp water amufkqt-fliot; from th,c houfe but' ii^'the fea. '.''nrheynow^lfo regulate^ th^ir daily. m^eetings for edij fication, jn'a rnore * orfherly planner ; aiVd btftde the? hour fof phiyer apdTfh^injr, hppdintcd an' h6Ur every* aj6rtg with his daily woi-k and tl^e meeting, cnofefo'ine particular time, as well by day as nighty ^Vhiprein'to l«r hejfofc. th^ Lord jn'f^cret prayer and'coftVe^nTeSriM Gbd> his defires f*<)r himfelf, his bretltrefiji - ;and i^l children: pf God all over the earth, and-^tb' fuj^Uc^liji hi.s.blefling alfo towards Jiheir learning c^f4hec^)^g?iagq« sMid t^eif fuccefsful laboui-'ahibng the'Htaffi^i -" ^^?^' I . I I t ■ » ) r^ ri ; ,^.n-' 'f.l-- ^V i t J^inkhS^i^ii i l rrr The third Year, i735f^i'. IN this manner thejr bfe^an the third y^^' in Gi'eeiti Md. They had'asyit-bdt lilftle bjiportiinrty tq labour 0n jhe heathen, therefore their chief t\vinte)r-oc- cuparijcjrf'wasthe learning the language ; ib^trthe^ot^ thejr ■ underftood of its riatur?, tHC greater dffftculties they .fotirid, efpecially afi they would be no 'longer 'far 5i^,%l^ >^'5^. fl^^ ^on^'P^^phrafes which migjif b^e [e^rnt W.9P^Yf r?a^m )vit,h the Greeiilander^, , b^^t ^^\y.|)e£a^> tQ tranj'ite Scriptural and diredl words abmifconveji^ ' fiwi^ Cb (jod, andthe-ftate of a heart that hath received Relation of New-Herrnhuth, 1735. 347 grace. They were unlearned people, and were pofn^ lively told by the grammarians, that it would not bq ^oflible to tranflate any but.hiilorical pieces, aii th^ Greenlanders had no exprcflions for mofl of the topics of the holy Scripture, aqd could not form the leaft idea of Spiritual things. Yet they were not frighted at this difcouraging account, but in a few years by Cod's help, aflid by frequent enquiries of the Green- landers, tliey proceeded further in this tongue thai) they themfelves could imagine in the beginning ; efpe- cially after fome of the natives laid hold of the truth, and found wprds, tl^cinfelves, to utter fuch co^cttflis of their hearts as were before unknown to them, r •',,,', »^ They had propofed to have changed their dwelling tlus year from its prefent place, Avhere very few Green- landers had appeared, to a place where they ufed moftly to ^cfide in fuipmer as w^ll sis winter. But upon clofer enquiry they found, that the Greenlanders felr dom remain longer thap a couple of years in the befl places, becaufe their variable difpoittion leads then) from South to Nortlf , and back again ; ^nd that Ball's- river was not only the centjre of the country, but alfo. though deftitute of fome thii?gs> yet was provided with the mofl, and the moft neceffary requiutes for ' Oreeiilanders, and therefore would be always the beft place of general refort for the natiyes. Therefore they concliided to abidie there, and to apply to the conV gregation in^erriihuth for a couple of married people to take the charge qf^heir houfhold affairs, that they might be the leTs hindered in doing their work abroad, in learning the laiiguage, and viuting the heathen, _ ' - In the mean time Chrifliah David undertook the hoiifliold buiinef^ for the mofl part, becaufe he was too 0I4 for learr^ing the language and making voyages^ and was alfo flill troubled with the fcurvy, and beudes he had refolved to go back*with the firfl: fliiji, to do his befl in Europe in favour of the Greenland bre*- thren; a? accordingly he did this year. The other four brethren divided themfelves in their vifiting-voyages. I find nine fuch excurfioiis noted down this year j fo that 'w' Wi\ !5!!]! rr." I m 348 HISTORY OF GREENLANli. B. V. that each of them got an opportunity of learning the circumftanccs of the country, the internal anJ external' condition, morals, cufloms 'and language of the inha- bitants, pnd, as much ss pofTillc, of fowing a feed here and there in hope. But as they were making prepa- ration to execute (uth a dcfigti in March, and were re- joicing in the profp».v.t of their vifiting-voyagcs, the ©nly women's-boat they had left, was lifted up from the ground by a violent tempcft, wasC caVrlcd fome hundred paces in the air, and da(hed to pieces againft a rock. This brought Miem into a fad dilempia} but they were comforted from the Bible with that text 5 •* Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." And he helped them ftill further; f i r Mr. Egede was kind enough to give them an old European boat, and materials to re** pair it, and in cafe they fhould not have hands enough to man it fometimes, he lent them a little boat to JTolloW ' their callinc; in the neighbourhood, and took them frequently with him to vifit the heathen. Matthew Stach and Chriftian Stach, undertook the furtheft vpy^^es this year ; the firft went, in March, 40 l<^g;«es towards thp South, and the laft the fame ^iftantif towards the North, both of tHem in company of riic traders, to whom their afliflance was not un- jBirclcome in their di£Rcif ^alMiig the fitKier «f reckon the reft as his fcrvants, and .k9>ll f ni-S vt.i; -2U5j:<5-Ji:Q .ms/ii a'^".vil' Matthcw n m. .' t i 350 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. l^atthew Staeh read a (hort prayer to them, and afked them if it was goocl Greenlandiih ? they anfwered, yes I but added, that the words, Jefus Chri/l, the being redeemed by the /hedain^ of his bloody and the knowings iovingy and receiving him. Were things they did not un- dei;ftand} that it was aftrange and too fublime Ir.nguage^ which their ears were not qualified to admit and tt- tain, Befides the exprefs vifiting-voy^fges, the brethren made feveral little trips to the Grreenlanders 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 ihelter from bad weather j they would fpend a night or two with the brethren. It is true, the felfifh vidV of their vi/lts was ob\aous; fometimes they wanted har- bour and victuals, at other times only to haVe a coUpIe of needles and fuch trifles given them ; nay they bluntly declared^ that if the brethren would give them no more ilocJc-fifh, they would hear no more what they had to iay, for dhey imagined they did them the greateft fa- your* which the brethren were in duty bound to pay them -for^ if they only came and vouchfafed to hear and Jbeiieve. 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 fumcient maintenance on s^cppuntofthecold (which was fo intenfe, that theinic froze in the warm room)> and many a Greenlander had not a ^orfel to eat tor three or four days together. Af- terward, in fiimmer, when they had taken plenty of game, and had danced themfelves tired all the night at » revel) they ftill came now and then on a vifit; hut then^tb^y^ere ib fleepy, that there wa& no keeping up any 4ifcourfe with them, cr they werb only curious to h^ar^ome new3,.rto fee whatever was ihange to them, or even to have what they liked given them, and if the brethrdi)iopjeof better .timei, which now and then they had a little gUmpfe of, when theyobferved that fome of the natives fhewed an inclination to their evening-^ meeting for prayer, and .w:er&; ferious 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 ii>to his hand^ which he opening, k proved to be at that text, £z^i' xxxvi. 36. "Then the heathen that *Vare left round about you, (hall know that I the *' Lord bviild the ruined places, and plant that that M was defolate : I the Lord have fpoken it, and I will ** doit»', This glorious promife, efpeciaUy after the defolajtion 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* ■:•.>; r. <: i ' ';.: . .".,■. '-'■:■ •■•■■'*■• \^n,To the 4Dvigpratlng and confirming therr faith? in their call, jtheir hour of e^amimtitn^ as they then called it, adminiftered in a peculiar manner *, therefore I can^ notp^fs it ovpr in filence* .At that time (they them- felves write) ^ they were deiUtute of more agreeable accounts to fend concerning, the heathen, on vAkom they could 9s yet labour but litdo» they found it need- ful totranfn;)it to theelders of the congregation an up** right account of their own internal circumftaitces, that fo the i^ongrqgation might know what they had to fupplicateoftieLordtbrJ&em. . They fay further, that tho' it was certain they had enjoyed many a bleifing in |heir i^^ingjB J»itherto for edification and prayikr, and had gained ^(^tifUight into many truths before Unknown to tbeini «^ Jbud/ormed uieful conclufions concerning them; yet', as they had not hitherto ftobd in the clofeft f(^owi)up witjh each others nor been quite yoked to- ^$:^er^ j^f: eyiery put had endeavoured to be^r his own jjUOt "~^ ' : uncom- Mifl !i:^^ 'm 1 I ■ '1! li f m- i \ 11 352 HISTORY OF GREENLAND, kv. uncommunicated burden^ theirfore they co^ld Hot aU ways attain to the right execution of their good intent tions, yea at .times the enemy had gained his point of fiftingthem. Hence alfo, for fome time, they hid not been able to approach to the Lord's table, efpecia )y as they difcovered, at confidering i Cor, i. that they had notiyetburied all that was their own in the death of Chrift. Forthefe reafons they refolved to keep, every evening after the fthging'hour between feven and eight o'clock, an hour of examination, when each of them ihould, 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 paiTed in his foul thr6ughout the day, what had come into his mind to afk in prayer for himfelf, for his brethren, for all the childrerl of God in Chriftendom, and f6r 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, adIiloniCh and reprove one another ; would take this from each other in love, and amend, and then would corhmit their wants ' to the Lord in fellowfliip, and thus help to bear one another's burdensp They came to this'cxniclunon the loth of October, laft year, and dire<5tly began their daily communica- tion^ at which they sdwft^ fpdkt atfo particularly, if any thing in th •f- ,V Relation OF Nbw-Herrnhuth, 1735. 353 don it till they were fully convinced in their confci- ence, that they had done all in their powtr 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- fiance, the learning of the language with prayer and faith> &c, ' After fome time, they opened their mind as fojlows^ Chriftian David faid : He had received no other call to Greenland, but to accompany die brethren thither, and when he faw them lettled, to return again, which call home he had now received, and would a6t 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 deed. 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 ihould fee no fruit ariftng in ten years } he rather undertook this voyage upon trjal, where, if nothing is to be done, one returns again ; yet he would I'emain in his prefent csAi till God took him out of it, or till the brethren called |iim away. The other three, Matthew Stach, Frederic Boch* ni(h and John Beck would bind themfelyes in the ftri^ft- eft manner to this work, come life, come death ; to believe where there was nothing to be feen, and to hope where ther^ feemed nothing that . could be expected ; nor would they in any wife be induced to defer t it, till they could appeal to God with the teftimony of their confcience, that they had done all that xnan could do and venture in concurrence with God's help . Upon further confideration, they found themielves. bound, not to leave the country without a Divine convi£lion, even though they &ould be defw^ to do it, but to give up their lives to the heathen. They would not previoufly hear, Tee or know, how and in what man- ner God would glorify himfelf in this work, neither Vol. I. A a would [. l!j!H'« i m J I p.. a! I M 354 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. . would they look at the inability of their bodily or men- tal focuirlcs, »but, in the ftrength of the Lord, perfevere in the prayer of faith and fidelity, even though they fhoold lee no fruit come out of it in many years. Ac- cording to 2 Cor. xi. they would by God's grace not letany man ftop them of this boafting, to be chargeable ro no one who did nof count it a real pleafure to lend his Ihare of afnftance, 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. Thoy would make it their cordial concern anew, to fmbrace all means conducive to winning the heathen, and would efpecially employ two hours every day in acquiring the language, i^c. The feveral tokens each of thefe had to avouch their call divine, they alfo mentioned, and particularly added this, that in profecuting their voyage they had encountered mere difficulties than they had before expcded, and that, though God had helped them hi- ther, yet they had never wanted for prejjiiresy mockery and fcQ^n, a.s is ufual in the kingdom of the crofs. V ' ' ^ 6. Accordingly thefe three brethren bound themfelves on the 1 6th of March to the following points ; 1. We will never forgci, that in a confidence refting upon God our Saviour, in whom all the nations of the earth (hall be bluffed, we came hither, not on the prin- ciple of feeing, but believing, ff 2. The knowledge of Chrift, how he effected on the crofs the purification of our fins through his blood, 'and is the caufe and fource of eternal faly;atton to all ' therh that believe, ihall be the princtpal doctrine 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. We 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 another, and be fubjeft to each other in the fear of the Lord. {.'t>; We Relation of NEw-HERRNHurri, 1735. 355 ^. We will ftedfaftly maintain brotherly difcipline^ admonition and corre6tioii, according to the rule of* Chrift, and will withdraw from any one who doth not walk according to the purity of the Gofpel, and will, exclude him fo long frofn the Icifs of love and peace (which we do now introduce as a token of our true fellowihlp) till he humbles himfelf b^ifore God and the brethren. 6. We will do our outward labour in the name of Che Lord, and if any one is negligent therein, we will admonifti him. . * , 7. Yet we will not be anxious and fay : •* What •' (hall we eat, and what (b-'M we drink, and where- *' withal fhall we be clothedg?" but caft our care upo!> him, who feeds the fparrows, and clothes the flowers of the field. Neverthelefs we will at the fame time take notice of the word of the Lord ; " In the fweat of thy *' face (halt thou eat bread j" and that of the apoftle, Jjfs XX. 34. " Vou yourfelves know that thefe hands have ** miniftered unto my neceilities, and to them that *' were with me." And again: " I have fliewed 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 al',^ays, at ieaftnot this yef-, be fupplied with the nccellarics of lif(5 from Europe, they fupcradded fome obligatory points befides, in order to prevent any felicitous cares about their fubfiftcnce, any fretfulnefs in cafe of want^ and hard labour, or any difunion in fixing on the means requifite to provide a livelihood j and efpccially to pre- vent any one, out of a good defign to ferve the reft, particularly' by a forced acceptance of favours, from felling himfelf and his brethren to the controul of others, and fo tying their hands in the labour among the heathen. Neither were they fparcd this hard trial, which al fa lafted longer than any of the former difficulties. The »„-,,„,. Aa2 foregoing 1 • ■ il Hi':- ■•Ut 13 ^rJ: m a 356 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. foregoing year they were provided with the means of life by an eminent bcnefador at court, but this tinte 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 affiftance, 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 br any other friends, except a couple of encouraging ones from Pro- feflbr Steenbuch a member of the Miflioiis-coftege, and from the king's cup-bearer Mr. Martens:. This cir- cumftance occafioned them various heavy furmifes* We may well imagine, fi:ch a fituation involved them in the deepeft diftrefs. Their total amount of provifi- ons for the whole year confifted only of a barrel and half of oatmeal, moft of which they bartered at the colony for malt, half a barrel of peafe, and a fmall quantity of ftiip-bifcuits. And out of this pittance they were to fit out Chriilian David for his voyage to Co- penhagen, becaufe the captain faid he could not board him, though afterwards he meflfed with the failors. The three miilionaries at Good-hope compaflionated indeed their cafe, and afliftcd them with their counfel and good deeds to the beft of their knowledge and power. But becaufe the Miffionary 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 fuccefsful in hunting and fifhing, yet now they could get little or nothing ; for juft this year there was a great fcarcenefs both of beafts, fiihes dnd 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 fbon got to know that they were in want, they rated their wares fo much the dearer ; and not only fo, but moft of them, and efpecially tJiofe with whom they were bell: pcquainted, and to whom they had (hewn inuch klndnefs before, would fell them nothijig at all. Z '5 ^ Oftentimes, Relation of New-Herunhuth, 1735. 357 Oftentimes, when they had been rowing round amon^ them two or three days, their utmofl entreaties could procure no more than half a feal or lefs ; and when that was confumed, they were obliged to pacify their hunger with fhell-fifli and raw fea-wecd, for that could not be eaten boiled. At length God, who ordered a raven ta feed Elijah, difpofed a ftrange Greenlander^ called Ippcgau, 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 Greeplander. He received them with much kind^* nefs, took notice of their words and ways, and en- tered into a ferious difcourfe with them. They thougd^ 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 viflt. This heathen was the inftrument God was pleafed principally to employ to preferve the bre- thren's lives for fome time. Thus they inured thcm- felves to eat feal's flefh, anddi(hed up the little oatmeal they had left, or that they earned from time to time at the colony, with the train the feal afforded. Xhorp that know what the train of feals in, will be ^ble to form fome idea of what the brethren went through. Yet this was a delicacy for tafte and digefti- pn, in comparifon to the old tallow candles they were obliged to ufe when they had no train. This penury alfo augmented very much their toils ^nd perils, for now they could not always wait for fettled weather to embark on the ocean j but the cravings of hunger conftrained them to throw theipfelves on the mercy of the raging billows in uncertain weather, in an old decayed hulk of a boat, and that for the fpace 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 ^he breakers, and in thefc wet clothes they were oblig- ed to ftay in the cold upon an ifland till the fourth flay. Another tjipe in Novembej, having quite tired . .. .> Aa 3 tliem- ! ;5 I*. '; ;|: .' f'l i 'V h ,„.,;; m ».>.. 35? HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.V. themfelves at their oars, they flayed all the night at an uninhabited place, and fatisficd themfelves with a lit- tle feals-flelh, which they had procured from a Green- Jander at a feaft, though indeed they could eat but little ior 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 fnow, they -vvere obliged to rife apd warm themfelves by rynning. § 8. Be ' 'b departure of the (hip, they were urged and prefled v... ; body to go by all means to Europe, and come again next year, oecaufe they could not fee ary way how they could fubfifl. When they anfwered : *' The Lord our God can preferve us, and if he is not '''pleafed to do it, we fhall fall into his hands j" this was taken for felf-will and temerity, nay as tempting lof God. The Qreenlanders alfo, who are fo little uf d to refleiftion, pondered very much upon this cir-r cumftance, and could not comprehend what induce- ment the breth''cn could have to tarry here in the want of all ncceflli' les, nay in anxiety, diftrcfs and con-r tempt ; although the proper aim of their being here, had been often explained t6 them. This ftedfaft per-r feverance might have excited eftcem in other people, but it produced difdain in the Greenlanders, who know no other eftimate of a perfon's worth, but his having much and his being able to give much. " Your ** countrymen (faid they) are good-for-nothing peor '* pie, bccaufe they have fent you nothing ; and you ^' will not a6t wifely if* you do not go back again.'* Above ai', the brethren were fometimes feized with an imcommon gloomy apprchenfion when they were among the infidels, and felt, beiides the feeming impoHibility of reaching their hearts, a great power of darknefs. Therefore it would have been no wonder if they had been tired out, nor could any one have much blam- ed them if they had defcrted their poft. But they ad- hered to the word of promife, and believed that their Heavenly Father would not fufPer his feryants to perifli for hunger. At that time they wroce as follows : " We *' commit our ways to the Lord. We know not what *' he intends to do with us, and as little do we under- fland Ri:latiov of New-Herrnhuth, 173^. 751^ ** ftand what his fecret hand has been doing among the *' heathen. So much we obferve, that metre trial* " await us ; yet we believe that the iflue will be truly " glorious, and when he has exercifed us enough, and *' found us faithful to him and the call he has givea us, he will not fail to let us fee his glory. \^ ar Bible-hour is a particular bleffing to our hearts in thefe circumftances, and he grants us many a folution in ourall^air. We feel that he is with us ^nd anions us ; and although people that look at things preii^iu-, and are infenfible to future things, can neither fee nor comprehend matters in the beginning, au4 look upon us fimpie fervants either as tools, or conceited men, who only want to begin fomethir acv and crc(ft ourfelves a name, yet we firmly bciic that l( (C (( cc (C <( (( he v/ill in due time profper the worlc r. <^>ur .: nd 1.: *' which is his work, and make it ma' " *ll that he *' hath chofen and called us to this labo.u. vliy only Jefus Chrift, who is yefterday and u day the fame, never withhbid his grace from his pt . aui h iplcfs creatures, but keep us thro' his ftrength vvilld.^. to ferve the heathen at his beck, and then in time all will ifllie to his praife.' ,.i-H :,,iiiW* ThjK FyuRTH Year, 1736. IN this light^ the breturen beheld their circum- ftances at that time, and put themfolves in a pol- ture to meet more and harder trials, with their confi- dence fixed upon the help of God, yet (o^ that ...cy could not fee the ways and means how ho wouKi pre- ferve them, and accomplifh his own aim, i.il the mo raent they took place. 'rh':'ir external need cnc'r???,' ..t as the winter advanced. However the boatmen' wHef hythbifli- bour, in writing, L^c. Bt- rhVfe r^nVFenv^n e?/mfc-jir'KUl- themfclves into ftraits, and-ivey?^"t>D!i2;<^dH-i:> feM,,:: Aa 4 .. .V. ...: .. A'tcr . > ir^ll j;.^: m w /^ >fl 03 "Hi) i , /■^, 56o HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. After all, the poor brethren had no better way to. procure Tuftenance, than to travel about among the Greenlanders to buy it. But moft times they came empty back, becaufe their good friend Ippegau before- mentioned had frequently nothing himfelf, and not long after removed further from this place. As for . the reft of the Greenlanders, they would not curtail the luxury of their dancing-feafts ; and at one fucH banquet, which lafted the whole night, the brethren faw eleven feats devoured, whilft all their entreaties could not move the gluttons to fell them one bit. As long as they could procure any of this food, though veiy unreliHirng, they retained pretty well their health and ftrength, which they acknowledged the more thankfully as a divine benefit, becaufe many of the co- leny were fick of the fcurvy. But in the ipring, when the Greenlanders themfelves had no more, and came a begging to them, they were obliged tokeep thren a couple of meals of it. Another time a Green- lander left them a porpoife taken out of the belly of the dam, which was enough for a meal, after having «:aten nothing but ftiell-fifli for five days. \Vhen they were once coming home empty, a contrary windforced them upon a defplate ifland, where -they were ©.blig^^d -"'■ ■«..-!■'* riJi.vx? t>itJ ni -r-j^^l-ai'jitfi^^- '■' - -^-'.y to b'y\i^ TJC.'I'^-— -- i'^„:*'.''**'.1 en, 5 (C n Ci C( • . HiiATXON Of New-Herrnhuth, 1736. 361 to (h|y all night ; there they fpied an eagle upon her ncfl: and inot her, they were indeed obliged to climb up a dangerous place tp get at the neft, but at laft they got two large eggs ; and the creature itfelf, which weigh- ed twelve pound, furni(hcd them alfo with 8$ quills for waiting, which was an article much wanted by fhem. In their diary of April they write : " In our Bible- hour the examples of Elijah and Eliiba were pecu- liarly emphatical to us, how (he hani fuflained them in hungfsr and dearth. We can teftify by ex- perience ||:hat the fame God lives dill, and lets us ei|joy his faithful nurfrng care in this Greenland de- fart) where it feems as if we were forfaken of all men, nay even by oui' brethren, and yet we certain- ly know that they can as little forget us before th« LfOfd as we can forget them.'' ' r^;V. ^'. ' '*> p' •'■ \ " ■■■-■; V--.V. .■ .^44j<(^in-;-{:':i4te- ";iii ''*'■■■■■' They were very much ftrcngthened in this confl- • dence all at once, though but little profited for this * year. It was thus : A Greenlander brought word to the Miflionaries at the colony, from a Dutch ftiip ly- ing 30 leagues fouth, that the captain had letters for them, which he muft deliver into their own hands. Mr. Egede fent his fon thither direftly, though the brethren fuppofed that the captain meant thftrty. and fo it turned out. For the floop brought them a cafk with feveral forts of providons, and a- letter from a friend in Anr^fterdam. On fhis occafion they write as fol- lows : *' We were juft then returned from a toilibme *f, excurfion, in which we could get nothing, and *• therefore were the more put to the blulh through the *' vifible help and wonderful hand of God. And as ^* we had received no account from our brethren in Eu- • *' rope for two years, we were particularly invigorated f* and enlivened in our fpirit, when we underftood *' what grace and mercy the Lord had fliewn to his" ** people. We were told at the fame time, that the **< captain would fain fpeak with us, and therefore-' '* would wait a fortni^t longer in the fouth. Now " fincc the brethren in Amfterdam defired that we would 1 mh \ . in if '.. >i m '-ItK 362 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. •* would fend them fome account of our circumftanr *' ces, and would inform them at the fame time whe- •* ther we had received this caflc, which they had fcnt ** as atrial, and whether they could ferve us by this ** channel, and if they could, that we fhould mention •• what we wanted ; on thefe accounts we were very ** defirous of getting to the fhip ; but were at ^ lols ** how our old lealcy boat (hould be able to carry us *' fafe through ttie prodigious furgcs that in many pla- ■*f ces roU'/rqm the ocean into ,thp inlets, as well as ♦* to makOfits way to the (hip bptwixt the many iflands ** and bUi'>d rocks^ But as we had already feei;t a kind ** dirc^ion of our Lord even .in the Grcenlandcr's ** miflake, and not bringing the mclTage to us,, but.to .** the colpijiy ; becaufe in confequence of that, tiiofe r*' gentlemen firft fought out the veffel (which we then *' would no-ways have been able to do) and brought *' us juft fo much provifion as would carry us thither : " therefore, we were induced to venture it in the .•*' name of the Lord, and May 20th we fet out onour ,' *' voyage, We took up our night's lodging in a rui- ' *' nous Greenland houfe eight leagues from our place. *'' The 2ifli we put from ^fnd in a hard rain and wind, ~ '* but happily it was in o^^ backs, and by its allijdance ** we failed 12 ^aguesy but were obliged to take up ** our quarters at night upon a folitary ifland with • *• the heavens for our curtain. The 22d, having rowed ' <* a while, wc hired two Greenlanders to conduct us ; ** four league^, and then another as our pilot for the •< remaining fix leagues of the way to the (hip. We "" fpent one day with the captain, gave him the delired <* certificate, and fet out thie 24th on our return. On ' ** the way back wc bcmght fome fears-flefh, and came *' home the 27th unhurt, though heartily tired with ** plying at the oar. The angel of the Lord had " guarded our lonely houfe in our abfencc, for we found ^' that fome plunderers had attempted to open the dooj*, . *• but had done no damage. On this voyage we be- " held the faithful leading of ojur Saviour, and thank- *' ed ard praifed the Lord.f , jj,.^ The brethren could not ^pafs over with inattention this chcinnel of procuring the neccflaries of life, aud the the G( it in .' Relation of New-Herrnhuth, 1736. 363 the rather, as it feemcd then the only way of prcfer- ving their lives. Neither they nor any oneelfc had inti- mated or defired any fuch thing of thofe friends in Hol- land J but God h.;>i put it into the heart of Mr. Le-r lon^, who is well Imovn as an author, to make an ex- periment, whether he could not tranfmit foine ftorcs by the Dutch fliips to the brethren in Greenland. To this end he gave the captain a letter with a cafk of feveral forts of pro\ ifjons, with an intention, that if they duly received thofe things, he would follicit the aid of other good friends, and fend as much as would fup- ply their wants next year. They accepted this gener-» ous offer, and chiefly dcfired, that in cafe they could fend them nothing elfe, they would convey to them a good durable boat, which was an article they ftood molt in need of for their fubfiftence, and towards rendering lefs help from abroad neceffary. •!.$ ' 1 §3- .'/ ,": >f>X yc:Ui ?:J Now they waited with ardent longing for the arrival of the (hips, and at length three came. The ftrft ran in the 13th of June. But by this they lect ivad nei- ther letters nor provifions. The captain, an honeft pious man, expreflled hearty compafBon at their Araits, and his concern that he could leave them nothing but q little fait, becaufe he was or(l<;rcd to the northern colony, whither he took young Mr. Egede as miffio- nary. The laft fhip arrived the 7th of JuJy ; they did not receive half of what they wanted by i-t, and be- fides, their labour and confumption was greatly aug- mented by the increafe of their family with four perfons. But notwithftanding this, they were not a little revived an ' ftrcngthened by the receipt of many letters and ac- counts, and by the additional force of new auxiliaries. Thefe were, Matthew Stach's mother, a widow forty- five years of age, and her two daughters both fingle, Rofina twenty-two years old, and Anna twelve, and thefe three were to take the houfe-keeping upon them. George Wiefner was fent to condu(Sl: them hither- and it was left to his own option whether he wo d ftay in Greenland or go back ; he chofe to go back the year following. .^- .*,. -,i §4. i ■|(j| m p i 364 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. §4- ^■U^f^' /ly.. :£ The venerable Mr. Egede returned to Denmark with this (hip. So much has been already related of this truly wonderful mar. in all refpcfts, whom God made ufefofas his fignal inftrumentin beginning the miffion in Gfccnland, that nothing remains for me but to men* tion the reafons of his departure, and the enfuing in* cidents of his life. He came to Greenland with the in-. tcHtion to offer up his life to the fervic€ of the heathen,- and it is manifeft how unmoveably he adhered to it) by his remaining there, When the people were in genera) carried away, and nobody was left but he, his family, and a few failors, without any aiTurance of future fup- plies. His joy was extraordinary great when he re- <;eived in 1733 the royal promife, that the Greenland miflion fhould be promoted with frg^ vigour. But it) the very fame year, when the Greehlanders were al- moft Extirpated all over the country, and all the little children he had before baptized and inftrudied, either fell with the reft, or were carried to a great di^ance \ their parents, his hope, of efFef^i^g fome^ing dura- ble received a great (hock. Now he no lopger (aw what end his being here could anfwer, ai^d he panted with as ardent a defire to go out of thp, country, as he once did to get into it. His children grew up, an4 he could not give them the education in Greenland which they fhould havp. He himfelf was very iicklyj,. and much enfeebled in body and mind by the great labour, an4 many c^res and vex^tiqns he had met with ; he could no more difcharge his office with (jue alacrity, and waited for afliftance adequate to the incumbencies. But when only three miffionaries were fept jn the year 1734, which be thought infufficient for fo extenfive; a field, he determined to fue for his difmiffion and to go to Copenhagen, that he might reprefen^ the ftate of the million in perfon at the fountain-head, and pro- cure a competent reinforcement for its fuccefsful pro- fecution. In the_year 1735, he received his difcharge in the moft gracious terms, but could not refolve to take his wife acfof? the ocean, who was fallen danger- •ufly fick in the mean time, and therefore he ^aid ano>: ther b. RfiLAtlON OF NEW-HEf(RNHUtH, I736. 365 thcr year in the country. It pleafed the Lord to take her to himfelf on the 21ft of December, Mr. Egedc himfelf drew her character in the following terms : ** All the praife and panegyric with which I can ** crown her name, falls far fliort of what her piety *' and Chriftian virtues deferve. 1 will not expatiate ** on her excellencies in domeftic life, nor defcribe *' what a faithful helpmate fhe was to me, and what a *' tender mother to her children j let it fuffice to men- *' tion, how filling and compliable fhe was to fubmit to my will, as foon as fhe got an iniight into the refolution I had formed of forfaking my people and native country to repair to Greenland, that I might inftru«£l the ignorant inhabitants in the dodlrines of Chriftianity. For though friends and relations ve- hemently importuned her, that if (he had any re- gard for her own, for mine, or for our fmall chil- dren's temporal welfare, fhe fhould diiTuade and withfland me in this projedl fo abfurd and frantic in the eyes of all men; yet, out of love to God and me^ '' fhe was induced to join heart and hand with me in ** my undertaking, and like a faithful Sarah to go with " her Abraham from her own people and from her *' father's houfe, not to fome paradife, but to a *' flrange and difagreeable heathen land. And it is " known to many, with what patience, nay with *' what alacrity, me put her fhoulder with mine, to ** be7.r her part of the labours and adverfitles we had *' to endure ;. nay how often fhe comforted and cheatred ** up my mind, when it was difheartened and deprefled *' by fuch reiterated obilades and repulfes." So far Mr. Egede I have had occafion feveral times to men- tion this brave magnanimous woman, whom I may with propriety call a Chrlflian Heroine ; I will only add, that I have never heard her name mentioned bv the brethren but with the moft refpe£lful and tender im- preflion, as indeed fhe treated them upon all occaftons as if they had been her children. , i;.. J Mr. Egede*s grief for this lofs, conlumed morft and more his bodily and mental vigour, and at laft he was attacked with a painful and troublefome fcurvy. At length came (he ihip» by which he ^m to be carried ' ■•■"•■^' ••■ *" •"'■ from « <( (C (C {( li ' ll' .1. :? 3 I -«< <« 366 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. from Greenland, after fifteen hard and reemino;ly friiitlefs years labour. He preacl.eJ his farewel fermon ton If. xlix, 44 *' I faid, I have laboured in vain, I *• havefpent my ftrengtli for nought and in vain ; yet furely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God," After the fermon, he baptized a little Greenland boy, which was the firft baptifm the brethren had feei in Greenland. His farewel with them .was afFe(3:ing. They begged him to forgive all failings, and he aflured them of l^is finfere love, which Would make it a pleafurc to him to charge himfelf with their concerns in Copenhagen as zcaloufly as he had done here; he wiflied them the divine bleffing and afHilance in their call and office, and expreficd a lively hope that God would ftill bring the affair in Greenland, which he muft now leave full of heavinefs, to a glorious iJTue. Auguft 9th he fet fail from Greenland with his youngeft fon and twt) daughters. The brethren fent Chriftian Stach with him as their deputy toHerrnhuth, to give a \re»bal account of their internal and exter- nal circumftances, as alfo of the ftate of their labour among the heathen, and to bring back an anfwer, becaufe hitherto their letters could not always be pro- J^etly conveyed. They arrived in Copenhagen Sep- tember 24th. Mr. Egede had taken the remains of hii wife with hirfl> and they were interred in St. Nicho- ls's churCh-yard. Soon after he had the honour of Ait audi6AGfe of tht Jcing. There he delivered in his r<^htimeAt<^ ki>"* the miffion might be profecuted to ad- vantage, and loon after he was made faperintendent of the miilion in Greetiiand, with a falary of 100/. per mn. and was ordet*ed to found a feminary of ftudents and orphans, wh>.;>.€ ;■ hat the other Europeans would not th'iiik it wt>^rh wtieir while to revenge the death of fuch poor defpifed people. And as they alfo underftood by the Greenlanders, that they were in- ftigated and fet on by fome malicious perfons, they delivered in an emphatical remonftrance to the Danifh mifHonaries and the factor, that they fhould look that none of their fervants behaved fo contrary to huma- nity. They promifed they would, and they kept their promlfe with a good elFeiSt. §6. In the mean time the brethren did not give up their hope, and < ejoiced if but one of the natives heard with. '^•!?afure, Specially if he came of his own accord to hGar. This year affprded them the firft inftance of the latter . /. RfitATlON OF NEW*HERRNiwliH4 I736. 369 litter cafe, and it was in a quite ftrange heathen man. I will cite their own words. *' May 4th we went ** to the Sound to pierce cat-fifti with a prcng, and, pitched our tent adjoining to four Greenland tents.I But they foon decamped and fled further, becaufe they did not like our being there. While we wffc fifhing on the 7th, a perfectly ftrange heathert, who arrived this fpring 50 leagues off from the South, cdme to us, and defired to fee our things. We ftieWed him what things we hadj fuppofing that he wanted to barter feme Greenland food for our iron- wars. But he remained quite ftill for a while; at laft he faid, he had been with the Pelleffe (whicii is their way of pronouncing the Danifh word Praejl or minifter), who had told him wonderful things of one that they faid had ttiadfe heavert and earth, and was called Gud. Did we know any thing about it ? If we did, we fhould tell him fomething more, be- caufe he had forgot a good deal fince. This made a deep impreffion on us, and we told him, as well as we could, of the Creation of man and the iment hereof, of the fall and corruption of nature, of the Redemption efFe where his of- lands of )m Am- nd, with ail May ties they he colo- •ove the e hours fee the keel Relation of New-Herrnhuth, 1737. 373 keel of the fhip at low water ; yet they got her off without any damage. The next day they were received and condu6led to their habitation by the brethren, with mutual joy and thankfulnefs, and afterwards each was introduced into his proper employ. By thefe brethren they received an account, that their friends in Holland would fend them a new boat by the whale-fifhers, which they Ihould receive at the outermoft iflands. Accordingly they waited twice for feveral days together, but all in vain ; therefore, they could think no other but that the fhip and boat were (hipwrecked. This fuppofed lofs was lo much the more painful to them, as they could fcarce venture al>road ' any more in their old leaky boat. They write con- c«rning it as follows ; When we look at our boat, it makes us (hudder j it was given us when its owners were afraid to ufe it any longer ; and when wo had fpent great labour in fitting it up, it was damaged again, and again repaired ; but now 'tis grown fo \f(-ry rotten and leaky, that we can run our knives through it, therefore we are at a lofs how to get to the hea- then, and we wonder every time we get home alive. But we commit our circumftanccs to him who bell knows our call, our mind and our diftrefs ; and often fmg : "A man may wholly lofe his road, — • — Yet ** ne'er muft lofe his faith in God." They had reai'on enough to fear the lofs of the (hip and boat, for there was this year an unufual cold fea- fon, when flrong drink froze in the warm rooms, and people's faces froze even in May, and there were alfo frequent ftornis, in one of which the captain that brought the brethren the cafk from Holland laft year, loft his fhip in a haven 120 leagues fouth of Good- hope. The crew faved themfelves and fome provifions in two boats, but they were obliged to go above 200 leagues to fearch for a Dutch (hip. The boatmen at the colony met with feveral misfor- tunes too ; once when a fudden tempeft arofc, and they were making for a place of fafety, they with their B b 3 boat ! 1, '^'.i s ■>''9 374 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. boat were forced away, and the brethren were obliged to go to feelc for them, who after thre'- days foiind them unhurt indeed, but almoft frozen and llarvcd to death. But the grcateft fatality thefe boatmen had to ftrugglc with was in December, when, as they were returning from a trading voyage, and were got within four leagues of home, a violent wind drove them among ice, and there they were impounded and tofled about in the fea by mountainous waves for the fpace of four days. At length they recovered land, but it was 28 leagues back ; when they were all landed, the wind tore their boats loofe and drove them away to fea. Hap- py for them, they got to a Greenlander who lodged them feveral days, and conveyed them half the way home by water. Then they were obliged to fet out on foot in violent cold weather over this rough hilly country, and after two days march they came to fomc favages who directed them home the rell of the way. •■ .i-.;'- . . i >: ' ■■ • : ,:. .1 _ - , § 4- But to return to the brethren ; as opportunities failed them to addrefs themfelves to the hearts of the hea- thens, they were obliged to confine themfelves to learn- ing the language and to their own edification. In their Bible-hour, they read the pfalms through, and begun once more the epiftles of the Apoftles. They made remarks here and there, which 1 fhall pafs over, as it is not a branch of their hiftory, though they arc more fyftematical than one could have expedled of them. However, I will cite one meditation, as appli- cable to their external poverty hitherto, and the feem- ing fruitlefsnefs of their labours. They write, " In the beginning of the year, on reading 2 Cor. viii and ix, where the Apoftle writes concerning the contribution for the faints at Jerufalem, we called to mind that we are obliged to live here in Green- land on fuch contributions. Now, though we fee that we fhall fcarce be able to maintain ourfelves by the labour of our own hands, yet we can't help wilbing, if it was poffible, that we could fubfilt .J ^' withoi^t it «( (( « cc Relation of New-Herrnhuth, 1737. 375 *' without help and bcnefadlions from without. Not *' becaufe we fhould regret being indebted to our ** friends (though on account of urangersand fuchas ** are fond of every occafion of reproach, we (hall ** always be fcrupulous even of this, that we may not ** fall under the cenfure of fcorners), but becaufe is ** very natural, even for children of God, to be tired *' out if they do not foon fee the fruit of our labour. *' Now we ourfelves do not yet fee, when and how ** it may arrive fo far, that we fhall be able to re- joice in any blefting fpringing up among this peo- ple, efpecially as we have yet no fufficieut oppor- tunity to learn their language perfectly, in order to exprefs what our hearts think about them. But *' we (hall and will (hew all the faithfulnefs that is in our power in the part committed to us, and be- lieving in him whom we do not fee as if we faw him, we fully hope, that he will difclofe to us one of the many thoufand ways and means, that are as yet in the fecrets of his cabinet, how we are to exe- ** cute his commiffion to his honour. And we hope ** alfo in fimplicity that our brethren and friends in *' Europe, who endeavour to promote the falvation ** of thefe infidels by their adjutory benefavStions, may " be of the fame mind. In the meantime, it is ctr- ** tain, we enjoy every morfel with thankfulnefs and *' gratitude towards our benefacSlors, nor do we forget ** them in our prayers." cc C( (( Photographic Sdraices Coiporaition 23 WIST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14SS0 (716) 872-4903 ^>^ '4^ 376 HISTORY OF GREENLAND, B. V. labours were derided in many places *? But they com- forted (hemfelvcs under this reproach, and extrafled hope out of it from the example of our Saviour, who alfo met with this taunt : '* Phyfician, heal thy- « felf." A pcrfon that had known the heathen, that had fe«n the little benefit from the great pains hitherto taken with them, and confidcred that one after another had abandoned all hopes of the converfton of thefe infidels, and fomc thought they would never be converted till they faw miracles wrought, as in the Apoftles days, (and this the Greenlanders expe(Eled and demanded of their inftrudlors); one that considered this, I fay, would not fomuch wonder at the patt unfruitfulnefs of thefe young i eginners, as at their ftedfaft perfeverance in the midd of nothing but diilrefs, difficulties and impediments internally and externally, and that they never de- fponded of the converfion of thefe poor creatures a- midil all feeming impoffibilities. Hitherto they had not Teen the leaft trace of an abiding bleffing and impreffion from the truths that had been held forth unto them. The Greenlanders that came from a diftance, were ftupid, ignorant and void of refle^lion, and the little they could tell them at a Ihort vifit, even if it was heard with fome impreffion, died away pifefently in their perpetual wanderings. Thofe that lived conftiutly at Ball's-river, and had been inftrucled fo many years, were not grown better, but moil of them worfe ; they wcre'difgufted, tired, and hardened againft the truth. They rclbived to hear 110 more without a prefent, for they would be paid even for lending their ears. As long as they were told any kind of news, they hearkened with pleafure ; they could alfo bear to hear fome little hiftories out of the • A certain writer applied in mocker)' the land brethren ; Act nuntirus j'umus, et fruga was communiciited to the Count, Jic fprtad it rowful heart as Hczckiah did, and ceafed not take a\s.iy this reproach I'rom his fervants tor in^s of JcUis, and foon after }ie Jcrlarcd his not far oft". And behold, in the very fame yc account of the fijft convcrred Creenlunder. 3 poet's words to the Crcen- c'jnfumere nati. When this before the Lord with a for- to pray him that he wouW the fake of the bitter fuflcr- hopf, that the anfwcr wai ar, he was rejoiced with the Biblc» Relation of New-Herrnhuth, 17^. 377 Bible, and the Miracles of our Saviour and his Apof- tles. But if the miillonaries would teach them the right notions of the nature and attributes of God, of the fall and the corruption of the foul, of God's wrath againft fin, of the neceflity of an atonement, of faith in Jefus, of the means of grace, of the cure and fantStification of the ruined difordered foul and bo- dy, of the example of Chrift, and of eternal happi- nefs or mifery ; they were fleepy, faid yes, to all, but flunk away prefently. Or elfe they fhewed their dif- like openly, and began to talk of their fcal-catching ; or they excufed themfelves, that they could not underftand and- comprehend it. *' Shew us the God ** you defcribe (faid they), then we will believe in him and ferve him. You reprefent him too fublime and incomprehenfible, how ihall we come at him ? Nei- ther will he trouble himfelf about us. We have invoked him when we had nothing to eat, or when we have been Tick, but it is as if he would not hear us. We think, what you fay of him Is not true. Or, if you know him better than we, then do you by your prayers obtain for us fufficient food, a healthy body, and dry houfe, and that is all we defire or want. Our foul is healthy al'' >ady, and nothing is wanting, if we have but a found body and enough to eat. You areanother fort of folk than we; in your country, people may perhaps have difeafed fouls, and indeed we fee inftances enough in thofe that come here, that they are good for nothing ; they mayftaiid in need of a Saviour and of a phyfi- cian for the foul. Your heaven and your fpiritiial joys and felicities may be good enough for you, but this would be too tedious for us. We muft have feals, fiflies and birds. Our foul can no more fub- fift without them, than our bodies. We (hall not find thefe in your heaven, therefore we will leave your heaven to you and the worthlefs part of the Greenlandcrs ; but as for us, we will go down to Torngarfuk, there we (hall find an exuberance of every thing without any trouble." Thus they endeavoured to ward off, or even to ridi- cule, every thing that might excite a wholefome faving concern (C C( (( (( (« « it tc u ii li ti i( <( «c i( (( «( i( i.i r I 1-1 I!;: i i ! i. ]i '!'■ ffi r 37^ HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. concern in their fouls. I dare not mention their pro- phane mockery at the myftery of the Holy Trinity and the Holy Sacrament, which fome of the favages had heard or feen fomething of. When they were in a hu- mour for it, and had no threats nor impofed filence to check them, there was no truth too facred for them to difplay their wit and banter upon; for the mod ftupid Grcenlander can however mifufe his under- ilanding. In the beginning, people accounted them virtuous, becaufe little or no vice was perceived among them. And they themfelves knew as well how to value them- felvcs, and defpife others, on account of the abfencc of certain vices which break out among others, as ma- ny in Chriftendom do, who endeavour to pacify them- felves with their bare honeft life and their felf-right- coufnefs. But by degrees their admirers found, that their outfide morality only fprung from the fear of an ill name, and their celebrated hofpitality had no other ground but the love that finner. and heathens have to thofe of their crew, according to the defcription our Saviour gives of them, that they " give only to thofe ** from whom they expedl as much again." >d bti § 6. All this was far from yielding any hopeful profpeft of the converfion of the Greenlanders. But this was rot all, they withdrew from the company of the bre- thren, as people that did not fuit their purpofe. In- deed in June many of them fled to the Europeans, be- caufe a report was fpread, that the Southlanders would come and murder the Greenlanders in thefe parts. But when fome boats full of thefe formidable guefts arrived, the Miffionaries got an opportunity to lay the doctrine of Jefus on their hearts as well as on the others, though they yet faw no way how the light of the Gofpel would be able to break through the thick darknefs with which thefe people were benighted. But alas, as foon as thefe ftiangers were packed off, the vifiting was over, and the brethren faw themfelves ne- ceflitated to fcarch after their acquaintance among the iilands I Relation of New-Herrvhuth, 1737. 379 iflaDus in their old leaky boat. I will only fpecify one fuch viftting-voyage, and rcprefent the condition of the heathen at thu time in the Miflionary's own words. • They fct out in November to go to Kangelc, but were driven by contrary winds to the fouthern iflands, where they met with many known and unknown Grecn-r landers, and among the reft found Ippegau, who two years ago under God's particular providence had kept them alive with feal's fleih, and fmce that time had been in the fouth. They were kindly received by thefe people, and though in a couple of days they gave them to underftand that they wanted them to go back, yet they were prevailed on to give one of the brethren leave to live a little while with them for the fake of improving himfelf in their language. Accordingly Matthew Stach ftaid a month with them, and wrote his brethren the following account of them : '* They are very variable in their behaviour, as you know they always are. Sometimes they are crofs, and fometimes kind towards me. In the beginning I could talk a great deal with them, and now and then I read them apaflage outoftheNewTeftamcnt, but now their defire of hearing is over. 1 have ; aid them the reaibn why the Son of God was obliged '* to die, but they have no ears for fuch things, and " defire me to go out with them and call upon God's *' Son to fend them feals, becaufe they are in want. *' I am often fhocked at their woeful ftate. What I " tell them of divine things, is only a fubje6l for their '* chit-chat and laughter. On the other hand, they " extol their forcerers, who can vanifli out of their fight, can glide along an invifible rope to the hea- vens above and to the abyfles beneath, and com- pel the infernail powers to unchain the captive fcals. And when I fhew them the abfurdity of fuch '* romantic fi3 1 'u Now though this firft Greenlander afterwards went away again, notwithftanding the many ftirrings he had felt ; yet he afforded them a little refrefhing taf^e of joy in the beginning. Therefore they write at the end of May : " We have fome little hopes that our *' Redeemer will ftep forth in his bleeding form, and "* difplay the exceeding great power of his blood on •• the hearts even of the benighted Greenlanders. ** But how 4oes it abafe us when we read in the ac- counts received by the (hip, that our brethren's labour is attended with the full bleflfing of the Gof- pel in all places, among chriflians and heathens, efpecially in St, Thomas's, while poor we in a manner go away empty. But courage, dear bre- *' thren ! and believe with us that our Lord will f^ill at lafl do glorious things in Greenland. Mean ' while, we will not intermit our prayers and fuppli- cations for the falvation of thefe poor people, that the power of our Redeemer's blood may be ap- ♦♦. parent on their hearts." «c ct c< cc « <( «< «< " V -;i «* K^L^ t.- Thus In the beginning of October, when the fnow and froft fets in, and the Grecnlanders remove out of their tents into their winter-houfes, above 20 perfons Were lodged together in two houfes, tho' one of them was afterwards deferted again. The brethren b.gan a morning and evening-hour for prayer and catechifati- on with the two remaining families of Kajarnak and his relation SimeJt, and on Sundays a pafl'age out of the Bible was read and explained to them. They took five perfons, whom they could look upon as the neareft Cc 3 candidates ! n >' ii'i V. 'fy It : '1 ':}1 390 HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B.V. candidates for baptifm, into a more clofe tuition, and they began a fchool with five children. Although t]\is fchool gave them a good deal of trouble in the begin- ning, becaufe the Greenland child^'en are not eafily to be kept to one thing, nor are they ^ccuflomed to any kind of education, and the par^i\ts themfelves could not fee the ufe of reading and writing ; yet, after much trouble and talking, they brought it fo f^r that feme be- gan to read. When the Greenlanders were fick, the brethren were obliged to be their do£lors, and though they themfelves were inexperienced, yet the Lord blefled their fey/ me- dicines in various cafes. Concerning this they vy^rlte : '* We have no wonder-working faith, nor do we de- " fire it, but yet w; fee that God blefles the medicine^ ** that our brethren have fent us in kind love, not on- ** ly to bodily cures on the Greenlanders, but to en-^ " creafe their confidence towards us ; fo that they are ♦* more attentive when we point out the human mifery, and difplay the love of God; and can w^be of any fervice to the bodily health of thefe poor people, it will without doubt have a good efFe^ upon their fouls." _..i- J.: .^;. ...... ^i.,4» , j-J ^^; '. '■' / PWo invalids wanted to have a form of praye^c adapted to their circumftances, and we indulged thjsm in it, though we informed them at the fam^ time, that they might always and in all places fpread their com-!^>j< '»^ The Seventh Year, 1739. ««. r-l*****-*' I TH E little awakening that began laft year did not decreafe in this, but though it underwent many viciffitudes, yet it grew in ftrength through the fur- ther publication of the doftrine of Jefus. The Lord ihade ufe of fevera! outward incidents, not always the ih'bd^ ^eafmg in appearance, to bring the heathen to hear die word of God, and to prepare their hearts to en>brace it. In the very beginning of the year there Wa& fuch a rigorous cold, and fo much ice fome miles fbixth of the colony^ that the GreenUnders could not go ahfcad for any thing to eat ; fo that many were fro- zen dr ftatved to death for want of tfain to their lamps and other heccflarie's of life. This diftrcfs urged on many to take their refuge to the Europeans. Some Wtfire obliged tc walk over the ice 6 leagues, and others a whole day*s journey with their kajaks upon their heads, before they could bring them to the water. They eariieftly entreated us to grant theni a dweUing- place, and to fetch their wives and children who ftood Waiting many leagues off upon the ice. The bre- thren fet Out directly upon thi? charitable a£^, and the colony frd thefe poor people, will not be without a blef> ** ilng. It alio gave them a great impreffion when we *' told them, that our brethren and friends were therc- *^ fore fo kind to us, becaufe they had a great defire for the falvation and happinefs of the Greenlan- ders +." _ - . . ..-.v- ^ - . , . ., > Andng ' * This is the term the Greenlanders ufe for thttt !al>our in flAing ::fj 'J^i:\^r Oi §». ' tn the mean time the brethren did not ftay ina£)iive at home, but began their vifits to the Gi;eenlanders as early as February, though they were obliged to carry theip boat over a great extent of ice. Scarcity of provifion ,. obliged their Greenlanders to betake themfelvcs to Kan- ■ gek. John Beck accompanied them, to proceed in in- ' Kru£ting them and to tender falvation to the reft ot the heathen. He recites the following among the reft, con- cerning his 12 days abode there. ** We found five houfes ^' upon an ifland, and were all lodged in the largeft. In ** theevenihg I had a meeting for prayer with our peo- . •* pie, at which the favages wondered. The 3d of •* February, after finging a hymn and praying, I fpoke ** of the lo/e of God to man, that he would haye all " men to be faved and to come to tl^e knowledge of ^ the truth. I fpoka with every one of ours apart, ** and exhorted Mangek in particular to lead an exem- plary life among the others, as he was the firft that gave himfelf up to our inftru<9:ion. The 4th many ** came to Kangek^from the other iflands to dance. yhce, toVtibe them to turn Chriftians, or to keep them together. Ko, . the people here fpoken of, went away again : As to the outward fubfift* .CACeof the Greenland congregation^ and the provifion for their poor, j^ will be explained in the fequel of the hHiary. Tis one thing to entice a yierfon by favours to a party, and make him a profelyte ; and another thing, to open the armi of mercy to every one whom bodily diftrefs forces to 9n« " £br 5 *lp, without refpeflk to perfons or fentiments, and to take this oppor-f tu'.xcy to n}ake fuch a poor wretch acquainted with bis Creatar. £lle MdMd wc Aould be worfe than iafiilels. ,*,-,', ;* '« Th? C( ■"-'¥ ' I* .J liii'**' |lix.ATiQN er NBw*HBiiRNHcrTH, J739* 39J <* The houfe was fo full th&t we could not fit down* ?f We withdrew into another little houfe, and let them go on with their nclcet all night. After they had flept themfelvet fober, I told them fomething of the '•^ Creation, the Fall and the Redemption. The Greenlander Megak, who flept next to me, was very much afFe^ed in the evening-prayer. When we laid ourfelves down, he repeated part of th» prayer feveral times, and aiked in what manner our Saviour delivered us from the devil. I was vaiUy pleafed that he was inquifitive about fuch a noble fubjefl, and thereupon talked to him above an hour. On the 6th, as foon as he awoke, he began upon the fame topic. After I had prayed with them, I crof- fed the ice to another ifland to inftru£l the favages. Their blindnefs excited my pity, b^t fo much the more could I prize the grace that the Lord has be* flowed on ICajarnak and his houfe, when the difier- ence fo Qbvioufly ftruck my eye. He longed very much to rctu n to New-Herrnhuth, becaufe the din of th.?; favtges ihocked him. In the evening, as three men chat had been at fea ftaid abroad longer than the expe£):ed time, the people were in great concern ; I comforted them with the hope that probably they tarried fo long, becaufe they had caught fomething that was difficult to bring home. And when they re- turned at midnight with two feals $ they imagined I could prophefy, and therefore they would hence- forth believe all my words. On the 7th they were very attentive to a difcourfe about the love of the Lordjefus, in coming into the wo Id to redeem us by fufFering and dying. Yet in the evening they fell a dancing again ; however, fome of them flaid with me and hearkened diligently to what I faid. Thus it went till the nth. Sometimes they were greedy to hear fomething, and fometimes they were carried away by the flream of vanity again. In the mean time I fpoke frequently with our people, and efpecially the children, who are very eager, about the incarnation, fufferings and death of Jefus. They all longed very much to be at home again. At I-; 5 . . 4. taking (C new impreffive and important to me. ff^e have found mercy. We alfo were once ftrangers, we were not his people, but he has brought us nigh, fo that we now know what a Saviour we have, and may draw near to him every moment by faith. O was it but in our power to requite his generous love and free grace ! But we can give nothing to him ; yet one thing there is that will be acceptable to him, and that is, our heart. If we prefent that to him, happy arc we, and all the efforts of the enemy cannot hurt us, for we are (heltered in his wounds. Yet watching and praying will behove us much, if we would mamtain the vi^ory. For the enemy has ereat wrath againft thofe that are\ now refcued from his dominion : how much more then againft us who Endeavour to make inroads into his king- dom I I perceive here his devices and attempts in rarious ways j but the Lord gives us vidlory over The brethren fet out on more fuch villting-voyagcy. And as the Daniih Miffionaries could not ahways go a/biroad when they would, for wailt of a boat and boat- men of their own, the brethren took them intotheirsy aiid thus requited the love and ajQtftance that had been for- merly rendered to them in the like cafe by Mr. £ged6 and his people. Though they found the heathen here and there unwilling to be inftru<^ed, yet there were many dof ciblc peopfe who thanked them for their information : they added, that it was now more agreeable to them, bc- l' 4 < <^*"^^ €i (C i< CC « « C( CC rofound revrcnce for him ; not only » joy that the «tead fhall rile again, that the Lord Jefus will onc« rcvifit the earth, and that believers will bt happy in the other world; but principally, a real fenf* of their mifery, a joy at the love of God manifefted to the fallen human race in the atonement of Chrift, and a growing dcfire after the word of life. It was alfo plainly to be feen that the work of grace had taken deep foot in their hearts, by a change of life, by a volun* tary abilincncc from the heathenifh vanities, and by a chearful enduring the reproach of the inftdeli, by whoia they were forfaken, hated an ' derided. Kajarnak particularly was much afFedled, and fome-. times, after the Catechifation, he would fubjoin an ex- hortation to his country-people, that having been fo long ignorant, they fhould now embrace the truth with a willing and thankful heart, and let it operate and bring about a true change; orelfehe comprifed the fubjedt in a (hort but fervent prayer. And here let it be obferved, that this was not a thing he was ordered or led to, but hh own free impulfe. He had at the fame time a clear . ;ad, helped his teachers to the words they wanted, and often corre^ed them, becaufe he pretty well underftood their meaning. Then they faw, how well it was that they refolved in the Brft years not to fpeak with the heathens about divine things by way of beginning, or merely fqj: exercifing them* fclves in the language; becaufe fuch equivocal expreilions had even .now been pointed out to them by an upright mind, which the knavifh crafty Greenlanders, through fatan's deluftons, might have taken occafion to pervert to many improper and idola- trous, notions. The moft agreeable thing in teaching him was, that he did not wait till he was afked, or had learnt an anfwer by heaj-t, but he himfelf made enquiry, and let his teachers give him anfwen and ex- planations. And it might be feen on feveral occ^ons, that he did not reft in a [bare knowledge of the truth, but that it was living and a6live in his foul. Accord- ingly, when they were once talking with him about fpi- ritual fecunty, he declared, that if a bad thought dropped 1 1 r J h 400 HISTORY OF GREENLAND B. V. dropped into his mind, or he felt the lead propenftty; to any thing that was evil, let him be where he would, h^ cried to Jefus to deliver him from it through his blood. J • r-^ / .'*»>r • •"»'w ' t^ .,»..t' | • '.J. ■ »J • ^ 5. ' yi M • I As now the midionaries perceived in the Catechu- mens not only a powerful and real work of grace, but alfo an ardent defire after baptifm, which (hewed itfelf in a particular manner when they once kept a difcourfe •n Exod. xii. about the Pafchal Lamb, and the tffeAs of Chrift's Blood prefigu-ed in ♦hat type ; therefore they could no longer demurr about making them partakers of this grace, and opening a way for them to the enjoy-* ment of all the treafures of Salvation purchafed by the blood of Jefus. Yet they proceeded very cautioufly in this weighty affair ; therefore they acquainted Man- gek, though he was the Rrft that came, and had been under their tuition above a year, that they did not yet find him in a proper ftate for the participation of this ordinance, becaufe, though they had obferved many ^nnotions, yet they ftill found no abiding grace in him } and this he himfelf owned with fliame. Perhaps, in-? deed, they went too far in their fcrupulofity, and re- quired more external evidences from a beginner, in whom they had however traced a work of the Spirit of God, than were to be expeded from one unbaptized. Poffibly the pain and difguflr at his being left behind, was the occafion of his going away after feme time ; indeed he came again feveral times, but never could re- cover his ground any more, till at laft he loft himfelf entirely among the heathen* Yet no one can blame, the mi/Iionaries for their i^ri£t procedure with the £irft- lings, whom they took into confideratibn for baptifn) } becaufe they knew this tranfac^ion wouid make a good deal of noife, and attra^ the attention of the hea^iOM, to the lives and converfation of t^e new Chriiljlans.' Therefore they took none but Kajarriak and Kfs family into a more exprefs preparation for baptifm, and fpent fome time every day in inftruAing them in the moft neceflary articles of the Chriilian faith, fuch as they could eafily comprehend and retain. March 29th» being T ■ ■.II 0*. <- .« >d .u .. . I ■ ill / RlLATlOH OF NiW-HbRRNHUTH, I739. 4OI being £a(ler-day, they proceeded tothis (iicrcd iratif- adtion *. The ipiflionary firft aiked thjcm before the whole afTcmbly tb« grpuad of the hppe tha^ was iti them, which they g^ve a fimple accoutit of, and pro- mifed with their heart ^pd tongue to renounce all hef themOn, to abide v^^ith thcjr teacher^, a^d to walk worthy of the Gofpd. Then t)>efe four firft-fruil^ of the Greenland nation were declared frpe from the powers of darknefs, and devoted to their lawful pro- }xr Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift, during a powerful prayer and impofttion of hands, and thereupon wcic embodied into the Chriilian church \^y baDtllm fin the name of the Father, and of the Son, ana of th^Jioty Qhofl. Kajarnal^ receiyed Uie name; S^i/tiutl, hi9i,yrifc jfnnat h'i^ ion Matth/'iu, and his 4^ughter //;»». An amazing grace prevailed during tl^e tranfadtion, not only in the hearts of thof<^ then baptized, whofc tears droppe4 like tl^e rain, but alfo (^ thp beholder -, who wifhed to be in like manner partakers of fhc fatfift blefltng ; which, after being exhorted to iMrrciider up their hearts to the ipirit of G^>d, they vyexc comforted with the hopes of. .1 fiUti ,1 «^«» 5 6. ri : i \y But alts, the joy of fecipg a little floct pf firftllngsj and the h0fH: of increaiing their i^umbrr, fccmed to vanifll entirely all at qnce^ Scarce was a t> onth pafTcd Over after the baptifm, before a band of mur- derer* from the.North killed Samuel Kajarnnk's bro~ t&er-in-law, who alfo lived wjth the bretliren, under thp pretence (hat he/oirnierly conjured the ringleader's ion. to death. Th^X dec9yej him ^utto fea near Kan- gyik, analf ht an etHrbJiing ivomani ■:vi:h V^m, and J vj'til place thtitty uhH multlfly (htm^ and HISTORY OF GREENLAND. B. V. fidious manner j he pulled it out again and fled to landi but there they caught him, ftabbed him in thirteen places, and threw him down oyer the rocks, where, af« ^ci grtat fearch, he was found in a [iit, and buried* New as t|ic murderers bad threatened to kill Samuel atid his fecoiid brothet- in-law alfo, and faid, that they were afraid peither of the Europeans nor the Southlanders i oui" people were ex^effively frightened and all thought of taking flight. Wc comfofte4 them out of the Word of Qod. The gentlemen of the colony alfo interefted themfelves in the affair, and took what naeafures they could t6 bring the mur^ derers to Condign punifhment; an4 they were fo for* tunate as to take the ringleader arid feveral of the gang f'>riforters iiji the prefence of more than lOO Greenl- and men. At his examination' he confeffed, that h« himfelf had committed three murders befides this, and Jiad been acceflbry to three others. But as he wa* fubjeft to no hurnan judicature, and was ignorant of the divine laws, therefore they only re^d th6 cen com-p 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 inftrudted in the word (k Qod, were puniflied with whipping. But this did 4iot difpfel Samuel's fears, but rather' doubled them, and therefore after going up artd dowb Jn dif- quietiide and.infeturity a while, atliafl he faid, tHkt he thought himfcU" obliged to condiift Okkoniiakj thi brother of the dcccafed, whofe life the rufHans chie(Iy conipired againft, to a place of fafety in the Couth. He himfelf, would take up his refidence with his elder brother there," and endeavour "to bring him hftbci^ once with him. The brethren made al} poMble re- monrt ranees againft it, aijd exprefTcd their fears, tha^ fuch a new beginner, and erppciaHy his two children, would foon grow wild again. They put him in mind of what he had promifed athis baptifm. They promiled to maintain him and his, tuat they might have no occafion to go abroad^ as long as the mur- derers were in thofe parts. Thefe reprefentitions and arguments went' to his heart, he wept with'thcifrt ■7 • ■ ■ ' "" • . ■ ■ ' . ■ ' ' ■ 'J • ' at RbLATION of KfiW-lllRRNHOTH, 1739*^ 4©^ at their grief, but yet could not refolve to ftay. Therdbre they were obliged to let him go, though with a heavy heart ; but firftj they once more exhorte'c! him to faithfulnefs and a guod cbnduft among the hea- then, and recommended him to the preferiation of the faithful Sjiepherd in a prayer upon their knees, which was bedewed with many tears. Thus, in a couple t>f weeks, the brethren fawthe tountry ftripped again of all the Gireenlanders except two tents, and were: forced to bear that additional reproach, that they coulJ indeed baptize heathens, but could not make them tru^ Chriftians^ wean them from their roving life; nOr keeji them together. All hopes of getting their firftlingtf a^ain, feemed to be vanifhed; and little did they think what abundant blelling this flight and imaginary lofs would ere long prdducd ; 1 ! luil .V^:^ yr*i ■»" •••ir -♦-f-windows with their knives, thinking they were made of feals-entrails like d^e*R« But their knives I't^erting nothing, and providentially not having a thought that the windows fEW-HBRRNHu4'H,^ tjl^. 4O5 their way than renounce the vain converfation receiv- ed by tradition from their fathers. '" " -'••'- Thus it underwent much vicilfitude and ihcohftan^ ty. Sohietimes they were drowfy, lukewarm, hard And infenfible iii hearing the word j nay feme of theiii were perceived to have an averflon to it, and fuch Sa- tan endeavoured to make tiU tools in oppofing the truth. At another tinie they were very attentive, aiFed^ed an4 defirous, would be religious all at once, and would know ahd believe all upon the fpot, that they fuppof- ed was conducive to it, without beftowing due reflec- tion upon \u At fuch times the brethren had enough to do to bridle this fuperficial believing, and to (hew them the true grounds, fruits and tokens of faith, in oppo* fition to a mere TnefFeflual aflent. But notwithilanding all this, there was much more reafon to rejoice at their williiignefs^ and to hope for a rich harveft anon, than to grieve themfelves at their unfteadinefs. But the young people and children, fix of whom already came to therr fchool, aiFolrded the moft hopes of better times here- after. Here I cannot pafs over one thing in filence^ that the awakening of the Greenlanders had a good effe& abroad, and not only encouraged the Daniih Mifli- onaries to carry on the work begun harmonioufly, with prayers and arduous endeavours, but gave occadoo to a wholefome reflct^ion in other Europeans there. ,Kjv«v.n=ri!rXND OF THE FiRST VfifLUME. lift «6 wii ^M- V .•!!•; M? OJ riJG&ho* ^.^ir^lwf t- '^"'•^^ ■ '''-' •-•'■'••' ' "^f'"^ 0«'st inTtU^ Srit ,h'u-.i -f'.iU 7£(tW ius S^Ct-pnti ^hi' 0';:''-^^if J'l * v.f:> ■i'i UnrA -i'n'.* jH .s-'-iJ"*' ?jil *n«i»iViU'-> to n..--) ::^'/ '?'?' •\^'>'i"i- .4,i!4< r.W.i'"- vwi> ' '^f :v'i*'>'»^''«'i^ vi;v/r J». A f'i'l?-!!