the regions in the neighbourhood of the north pole have lately become the objects of increased curiosity; and among these regions greenland has attracted a more than usual interest. this country was first peopled by a colony from iceland, which occupied both the western and eastern parts of the island. the first{x} settlers in the west appear to have been destroyed by the natives, who are denominated skrellings; and though a communication was preserved for several centuries between the eastern coast of greenland and some parts of the danish territory, yet it was interrupted about the close of the fourteenth century by accumulated masses of ice, which formed an impenetrable barrier of considerable extent around the shore; and though various attempts have been made, at different times, to explore a passage through this frozen rampart, yet there is no definite account of any attempt of this kind which has hitherto been successful. may we hope that the execution of this project, which is prompted, not only by curiosity but by philanthropy, is reserved for the{xi} present era, and that it will be finally accomplished by the nautical skill and enterprise of this country!
as we possess indubitable evidence that a considerable extent of this coast was formerly occupied by a flourishing colony, and that it contained numerous villages, with a bishop’s see, we cannot but be anxious to know what has been the fate of so many human beings, so long cut off from all intercourse with the more civilized world. were they destroyed by an invasion of the natives, like their countrymen on the western coast? or have they perished by the inclemency of the climate, and the sterility of the soil? or do they still subsist? if they subsist, it must greatly interest our curiosity to learn in what manner they have vanquished the{xii} difficulties with which they have had to contend, both from the climate and the soil, and the total privation of all articles of european manufacture. in the novel circumstances in which they have been placed, have the present race advanced or declined in the degree of culture which their forefathers possessed? what proficiency have they made? or what deterioration have they undergone? have they remained nearly stationary at the point of civilized existence at which their ancestors were placed four centuries ago? or have they entirely degenerated into a savage race, and preserved no memory nor vestige of their original extraction from, and subsequent communication with, the continent of civilized europe? these are certainly points of interesting re{xiii}search; and to which we cannot well be indifferent as christians, or, indeed, as human beings.
in the mean time, though we cannot yet supply any particulars respecting the present state of the eastern coast of greenland, we think that the readers of this new edition of egede will not be displeased with us for furnishing them with all the information which remains, respecting its past state, as well as with some historical details, which will render the present volume more complete than it would otherwise have been.
greenland was first discovered by eric, surnamed rufus, or the red, in the year 981 or 982[1]. this chieftain was of{xiv} norwegian extraction. his father had fled from norway, and taken refuge in iceland, in order to avoid the vengeance which menaced him, on account of a murder which he had perpetrated in his native land. eric appears to have committed in iceland a crime similar to that for which his father had fled from norway. in endeavouring to escape the pursuit of justice, eric accidentally discovered the coast which is the present object of our inquiry. he took his departure from iceland at the port of sn?fellzness, which is situate in a western promontory of that island. he arrived in the vicinity of a mountain called midjokul[2]; or, as it is denominated by others, miklajokul.{xv} peyrere interprets this, “le grand gla?on,” the great mountain of ice. subsequent navigators gave it the name of bloeserken, or blue smock, and others of huidserken, or white smock, according to the variations in the hue of the ice in different aspects and at different periods of the year.
eric passed the first winter after his departure from iceland in an island which he called after his own name, ericscun, and which torf?us places in the midst of the cultivated eastern district. in the following spring he entered one of the bays of eastern greenland, to which he gave the name of ericsfiord; and where he formed his first settlement, which he denominated brattahlis. in the summer of the same year he explored{xvi} parts of the more western district, and gave names to many of the places which he visited[3]. he passed the following winter in the island of ericscun; and in the succeeding summer he passed over to the main land, and proceeded along the northern coast till he reached an immense rock, which he called sneefiell, or the rock of snow. at this point he gave the name of ravensfiord to another bay, on account of the multitudes of that ill-omened bird with which this spot abounds. other parts of the coast derived their appellations from the names of the different adventurers who accompanied eric in this expedition, as, hergulfsness, ketillsfiord, solvadal, einarsfiord, &c[4].{xvii}
in the following summer eric, having conciliated the forgiveness, or purchased the forbearance, of his enemies in iceland, returned to that country to procure an additional supply of inhabitants for his new settlement. in order to render his proposals more attractive, he named the country for which he was endeavouring to provide colonists, greenland, as if, compared with the rugged sterility of their native iceland, it was a region of verdure and delight. he described it as abounding in cattle, and as rich in every species of game and fish. and as such delusive representations, when assisted by the vivid eloquence of enthusiasm, or the unhesitating assurance of effrontery, seldom fail of their effect, eric returned to his recent acquisition{xviii} with numerous ships, and a large body of settlers, from iceland.
in less than twenty years after eric the red had begun to colonize greenland, his son leiff, who had made a voyage into norway, renounced his pagan errors, and received the baptismal rite. his conversion was owing to the example and the admonitions of king olave tryggwine, or trugguerus[5], who had himself recently embraced the same doctrine, and had been very successful in causing it to be diffused throughout his dominions.
leiff, having passed the winter at the court of the king of norway, returned to greenland, in company with a priest and some other missionaries, whom the{xix} king had commissioned to instruct eric, and the other settlers, in the faith which leiff had embraced. on their voyage to greenland they met some mariners, who were floating upon a wreck in the open sea. these they took on board, and conveyed to the new settlement. eric, at first, incensed with his son for having laid open to strangers the route to the new-discovered country, turned a deaf ear to his christian admonitions. but the earnestness of the son, seconded by the instruction of the missionaries, at last prevailed over the insensibility of the father, who submitted to the rite of baptism, when the other greenlanders followed his example.
the christian doctrine, which had been thus introduced, was so much ap{xx}proved, and so generally received, that churches were established in twelve different parts of east greenland, and in four of the western district. torf?us makes the year 1000 the era of the conversion of the greenland colonists to the christian faith. this historian of ancient greenland has also preserved a list of its bishops, from the year 1021 to 1406, after which period no mention is made of any subsequent episcopal appointments; and indeed the intercourse between greenland and the native region of the first settlers appears to have been previously discontinued.
a danish chronicle, which m. peyrere had consulted, refers the discovery of greenland to a much earlier date than that which has been given upon the au{xxi}thority of torf?us; and the earlier date of 770 is more likely to be true, if, as m. peyrere mentions, there is a bull of pope gregory iv, in 835, relative to the propagation of the christian faith in the north of europe, in which iceland and greenland are particularly mentioned.
the danish chronicle, to which peyrere appeals, states, that the kings of denmark, having been converted to christianity during the empire of louis le debonaire, greenland had become an object of general attention at this period.
the danish chronicle relates, that the first settlers in greenland were succeeded by a numerous posterity, who penetrated farther into the country, and discovered, among the rocky heights and icy mountains, some fertile spots, which were more{xxii} auspicious to pasturage and cultivation. they followed the division of greenland which eric had established, and called the two settlements in the east and the west, osterbygdt and westerbygdt.
in the eastern district the greenlanders erected a town, to which they gave the name of garde, where, according to peyrere, who refers to the chronicle, the norwegians established a sort of emporium for the deposit and sale of their merchandize. the town of garde became also the residence of their bishops; and the church of st. nicholas, the patron of sailors, which was built in the same town, became the cathedral church of the greenlanders.
as the temporal jurisdiction in greenland was subject to the kings of norway,{xxiii} so the spiritual power of the bishops was subordinate to that of the archbishops of drontheim; and the bishops of greenland are said frequently to have passed over to norway, in order to consult their ecclesiastical superior.
the danish chronicle, which was one of the early documents upon which peyrere founded his narrative, relates, that an insurrection broke out in greenland, in 1256, when the inhabitants refused any longer to submit to the tributary exactions of magnus, king of norway. on this occasion, eric, king of denmark, at the request of magnus, who had married his niece, equipped a naval armament in order to quell the rebels, and restore the authority of his nephew. the greenland insurgents no sooner beheld the flag{xxiv} of the danish fleet approaching their coast than they were struck with a panic, and sued for peace.
this peace was ratified in the year 1261. angrim jonas, who records the above-mentioned transaction, gives the names of the three principal inhabitants of greenland, who signed the treaty in norway. “declarantes,” says angrim, as quoted by peyrere, “suis factum auspiciis ut groenlandi perpetuum tributum norveguo denuo jurassent.” under their auspices the greenlanders had been again brought to swear to pay a perpetual tribute to the norwegian.
in composing his account of ancient greenland, peyrere derived his principal information from an icelandic and a danish chronicle. the first was the pro{xxv}duction of snorro sturleson, who was a native of iceland, and chief justiciary of that island in 1215. we are also indebted to him for the compilation of the edda.
in the icelandic chronicle above-mentioned, which appears to be a tissue of different narratives, one of the chapters is entitled, a description of greenland, which peyrere has copied into his account as literally as the difference of languages would admit. there is a similar description in torf?us (p. 42, &c.), with particular but unimportant variations. both the accounts are founded on the authority of ivar bert or ivar bevius, who had, for several years, been steward or maitre d’hotel to the bishop of garde, and was one of the persons who had been selected by the governor to expel the skrellings{xxvi} from the western province of greenland or westerbygdt, which they had invaded and depopulated.
perhaps it will be best to insert this description of eastern greenland, which was the most flourishing settlement of the norwegians in this country, as it is found in the narrative of peyrere, and in the history of torf?us. if the skill, the philanthropy, and the enterprize of some english navigators should ever obtain an access to this long lost settlement, and the passage should again become as safe and practicable as it was in ancient times, it will be an interesting research to compare the present state of this district with the early accounts.
the most eastern town in greenland, says ivar bert, as exhibited in the french{xxvii} version of peyrere, is called skagefiord[6], where is an uninhabitable rock, and farther out in the sea is a shoal, which prevents ships from entering the bay, except at high water, and it is at this time, or during a violent storm, that numbers of whales and of other fish enter the bay and are caught in abundance.
as you proceed a little higher towards the east, there is a port called funka{xxviii}badir, from the name of a page or missionary of st. olave, king of norway, who, with several other persons, suffered shipwreck at that spot[7].
in a still higher latitude, and close to the mountains of ice, or, as torf?us says, “propius alpes,” is an island, named roansen or ranseya[8], which, in early times, appears to have been celebrated for the quantity of animals, particularly of white bears, which it furnished for the chace. torf?us says, that these white bears were not to be hunted without leave{xxix} of the bishop. beyond this spot the land and ocean are said to present nothing but an accumulation of snow and ice.
to the west of herjolfsness is kindilfiord, or, as peyrere spells it, hindelfiord, which is described as a cultivated and well peopled bay. upon the right, as you enter the bay, there is a church, called krokskirk or korskirk, with a monastery consecrated to st. olave and to st. augustin, the domain of which extends to petersvic, where there are numerous habitations. it also possesses the territory on the opposite side of the bay.
next to kindilfiord is rumpesinfiord, or rumpeyarfiord[9], in an interior recess of which there is a convent, dedicated to{xxx} st. olave, which is proprietary of the whole district to the shore of the bay. this bay contains many holms or little islands, the property of which the monastery divides with the episcopal see. numerous hot springs are found in these islands, of which both peyrere and torf?us say, that they are so hot as to be inaccessible during the winter, but that in summer the temperature is so much reduced, that they become the resort of many persons in a diversity of maladies.
next to rumpesinfiord, is einarsfiord, and between them is a large mansion, named fos, fit for a king or “regi competens” in the language of torf?us[10]. here is also a large church dedicated to st. ni{xxxi}cholas. as you enter lunesfiord, to the left, there is a little promontory called klining; and beyond it an arm of the sea, denominated grantvich. farther in the interior is a house[11], named daller, which belongs to the bishop’s see. the cathedral is at the end of the bay. here is a large wood, in which cattle are left to browse.
the whole of lunesfiord, with the large island which is called linseya by torf?us, reyatsen by peyrere, is appropriated to the cathedral. this part abounds with rein deer, which are hunted with the consent of the bishop. the island of reyatsen contains a species of stone or marble, out of which they cut bowls, jugs,{xxxii} and different kinds of culinary vessels, which possess the property of resisting the fire.
more to the west is an island named langent, where there are eight farms[12]. in the vicinity is ericsfiord; and at the entrance of this arm of the sea there is an island called herrieven, or the harbour of the lord, half of which belongs to the bishop’s see, and the other half to the church, which is called diurnes, which is seen on entering ericsfiord[13].
the country, says peyrere, copying the icelandic chronicle, is unpeopled and desert between the osterbygdt and westerbygdt; and upon the borders of this desert there is a church, called strosnes, which was{xxxiii} formerly the metropolitan see, and the residence of the bishops of greenland. the westerbygdt is represented as occupied by the skrellings[14]. this part of the country is described as possessing horses, oxen, sheep, goats, and other animals, but no human beings, either christian or pagan.{xxxiv}
such is the account which is given of the ancient state of greenland by ivar bert, the author of the chronicle, which is mentioned above, and in which, if there be some inaccurate representation, there is probably more truth.
peyrere remarks, that the icelandic chronicle is incorrect in describing the church of strosnes as the episcopal see, since that honour always belonged to the town of garde. the danish chronicle, whilst regretting the interruption of the communication with greenland, assures us, that, if the episcopal residence of garde[15] were still standing and accessible, we should find a great number of docu{xxxv}ments for a complete and authentic history of greenland.
the iceland chronicle, according to peyrere, gives a varying and inconsistent account of the fertility of greenland. in one part it says, that the country furnishes the best corn which is to be found in any part of the world; and that the oaks are of such vast bulk, and such stately growth, that they produce acorns as large as apples. but in another passage the same chronicle affirms, that no seed of any kind, which is sown in greenland, will grow on account of the cold; and that the inhabitants are unacquainted with the use of bread. the latter part of this account harmonizes with that of the danish chronicle, which affirms, that when the country was first discovered by{xxxvi} eric the red, the sterility of the soil obliged him to subsist entirely upon fish.
but in the same danish chronicle, which has just been mentioned, we find it asserted, that, after the death of eric, his successors, who penetrated farther into the country, discovered some fertile spots between the mountains, and fit either for pasture or tillage. the icelandic chronicle contradicts itself when it says, that nothing will grow in greenland owing to the intensity of the cold. peyrere also remarks, that that part of greenland, which was peopled by the norwegians, is in the same latitude as upland, which is the most fertile province in sweden, and produces fine crops of grain. and the icelandic chronicle itself says, in another place, that the cold in greenland is not{xxxvii} so great as in norway; and very good corn is grown in that country.
greenland, says peyrere, like other countries, which are composed of plains and mountains, exhibits great diversities of soil, and though the close approximation to the farthest north, in many situations, destroys the process of vegetation, yet there appear to be localities, which are by no means destitute of fertility. there are pastures possessing excellent herbage; and amongst the animals, which contribute to the subsistence of man, or to other uses, we find[16] sheep, oxen, horses, rein deer, stags, and hares; and of the more savage animals, we find wolves, foxes, and an abundance of white and black bears. the{xxxviii} icelandic chronicle mentions beavers and martens.
peyrere adds[17], that grey and white falcons abound more here than in any other part of the world. the superior excellence of these birds caused them to be formerly sent to the kings of denmark, who made presents of them to the kings and princes in the neighbouring countries, when falconry constituted one of the amusements of the great.
the above-mentioned author, who wrote in the middle of the seventeenth century[18], says, that in greenland nature produces a singular phenomenon, which{xxxix} is described as a sort of miracle in the icelandic chronicle. this phenomenon is no other than what is commonly called the northern lights. these lights are mentioned as appearing more particularly about the time of the new moon; and illuminating the whole country, as much as if the moon were at the full. “the light is more bright,” says peyrere, “in proportion as the night is more dark.”
the danish chronicle, which is quoted by peyrere, relates, that in the year 1271 a violent hurricane from the north east drove a vast accumulation of ice upon the coast of iceland, which was covered with so many bears and so much wood that it led to the supposition, that the territory of greenland was extended more to the north east than had been hitherto ima{xl}gined. this circumstance tempted some northern sailors to attempt the discovery, but they found nothing but ice. the kings of norway and denmark had long before this fitted out ships for the same purpose, but without any more success than the icelanders had experienced. the principal incitement to these voyages was a received opinion, or traditionary report, that this country contained numerous veins of gold, of silver, and precious stones.
the danish chronicle pretends, that some adventurous merchants formerly amassed a large treasure by these expeditions. but regions of silver and gold have always been amongst the favourite illusions of mankind; and the imagination has revelled in visionary mines of the pre{xli}cious metals, not only in the south but in the north; and both at the equator and the pole.
in the time of st. olave, king of norway, some sailors from friesland, incited by the thirst of gold, are said to have undertaken a voyage to the north eastern extremity of greenland; but, instead of returning home with mountains of wealth, they were happy to escape the fury of the winds on this rocky coast, in any miserable asylum which they could find.
the danish chronicle, which is a mixture of truth and fable, adds, that the frieslanders, having made a landing upon the coast, discovered some wretched cabins just rising above the earth, around which lay heaps of gold and silver ore. each of the sailors helped himself to{xlii} as much as he could carry away. but, when they were retreating to the shore, in order to re-embark with their treasure, they saw some human forms, as ugly as devils, issuing out of their earthen huts, armed with bows and arrows, and accompanied with dogs of vast size. before all the sailors could reach the shore some of them were seized by these frightful archers, who tore them limb from limb within sight of their companions. the danish chronicle adds, that this region is so rich that it is peopled only by devils.
peyrere tells us, that one of the chapters in the icelandic chronicle describes the ancient route between norway and greenland, before the navigation was rendered impracticable by the{xliii} descent of accumulated mountains of ice from a more remote point of the north. but what is mentioned concerning this route contains nothing very definite or satisfactory.
the above-mentioned icelandic chronicle has another chapter on the affairs of greenland, transcribed from an old book entitled speculum regale. this chapter describes some marine monsters of enormous dimensions, which were formerly seen upon the coast of greenland. the norwegians called the first of these prodigies haffstramb; and speak of it as showing itself breast high above the waves. it resembled the human form in the neck, head, visage, nose, and mouth, except that the head was more than usually elevated, and terminating in{xliv} a point. it had wide shoulders, at the end of which were two stumps of arms, without any hands. the body tapered downwards, but it was never visible below the middle. it had a frozen look. the emersion of this phantasm above the waves was the signal of a hurricane.
the second monster received the appellation of marguguer. it resembled the female form as far as the middle. it had large breasts and dishevelled hair; its stumps of arms were terminated by large hands, the fingers of which were united by a web like the toes of a goose. it has been seen holding fish in its hands, and putting them into its mouth. its appearance always presaged some violent storm. if it turned its eye to the sailors, when it plunged into the water, it was a{xlv} sign, that they would not suffer shipwreck; but, if it turned its back, it was a sure omen, that they would perish in the deep.
the third phenomenon received the name of hafgierdinguer, which was not properly a monster, but consisted of three large bodies or mountains of water, which the tempest impelled into that form; and when, unfortunately, any ships happened to become engaged in the triangular surface, which these three mountains formed, there was but little chance of their escape. this marine monster appears to have been engendered by strong currents conflicting with opposing winds, which suddenly arise and swallow up the vessels which happen to be within the shock of these furious elements.{xlvi}
the danish history relates, that in the year 1348, a great pestilence, which was called the black plague, depopulated a great part of the north. it carried off most of the sailors and merchants of norway and denmark who were engaged in the trade between greenland and those kingdoms. about this period the navigation to greenland became less frequent, and the traffic began to be discontinued. but the learned wormius assured peyrere, that he had read in a danish manuscript, that down to the year 1484 there was a company of more than forty sailors, at bergen, in norway, who went every year to greenland and brought back some valuable products. some german merchants had come to bergen for the purpose of purchasing{xlvii} these products, which the greenlandmen were not willing to dispose of; and it is added, that the germans, resenting this disappointment, invited the greenland traders to a supper, at which they put them treacherously to death. but, as peyrere remarks, this account has not much appearance of truth; nor is it probable, that the navigation between greenland and norway was, at this period, so open as the above details would induce us to suppose. those details are, besides, refuted by the following facts.
the revenue accruing from the province of greenland was, in ancient times, appropriated to the domestic expenses of the norwegian king; and no one could go to greenland without the royal per{xlviii}mission, upon pain of death. in the year 1389, henry, bishop of garde, in greenland, embarked for denmark, and was present at the meeting of the states of that kingdom, which were held at funen in the reign of queen margaret, who united the kingdoms of denmark and of norway under the same crown. at this time some norwegian merchants, who had gone to greenland without leave, were accused of having purloined the revenue which was reserved for the expenditure of the queen. the queen showed no lenity towards these merchants, and would have proceeded to take away their lives, if they had not made oath upon the holy evangelists that their voyage to greenland was unpremeditated, and that they were forced to that destination by{xlix} the violence of a sudden storm. they alleged that they had brought back only commodities which they had purchased, and that they had not in the least interfered with the revenue belonging to the queen. they were accordingly set at liberty; but the danger which they had escaped, and the more rigorous prohibitions which were issued, prevented any other individuals from that time from attempting to carry on any traffic with the interdicted coast.
some time after this the queen herself dispatched some vessels to greenland; but of which no tidings were ever received; and they must consequently have perished. this disastrous expedition contributed to put an end to the intercourse with greenland; and the queen having{l} her attention occupied by her hostilities with sweden, lost sight of this remote colony, or left it to its fate.
the danish chronicle relates, that in the year 1406, eskild, archbishop of drontheim, wishing to exercise the same ecclesiastical authority over greenland, which his predecessors had done, sent a prelate named andrew, in order to succeed henry, in the see of garde, if he were dead, or to convey some intelligence concerning him if he were living. nothing more was ever heard of bishop andrew, after his embarkation for greenland; nor were any farther tidings ever received of henry, bishop of garde. after this, the intercourse between norway or denmark and greenland, suffered an interruption from that period to the present; nor is{li} there much probability that it will ever be renewed.
queen margaret was succeeded, upon the throne of denmark, by erick, of pomerania, who gave himself little trouble about a settlement so remote as that of greenland. his successor, christopher of bavaria, was employed during his whole reign in making war upon the pomeranians.
the house of oldenburg began its reign in denmark in the year 1448. christian, who was the first sovereign of that race, and of that name, neglected his dominions in the north in order to turn his attention to the south. he made a pilgrimage to rome, where he obtained from the pope a grant of the country of{lii} ditmarsh, and permission to establish an academy at copenhagen.
christian i was succeeded by christian ii, who, at the period of his coronation, bound himself by a solemn promise to make every possible exertion to restore the intercourse between denmark and greenland, and to recover that settlement. but this monarch, instead of recovering what his predecessors had lost, himself lost part of what they had possessed. his tyrannical barbarities caused him to be expelled from sweden, which queen margaret had united with the danish and norwegian crown. from sweden christian ii retired into denmark; but the same conduct which had occasioned his expulsion by the swedes, soon led to his{liii} deposition by the danes. it is on this account that he is represented with a shivered sceptre amongst the danish kings.
eric valkandor, who had been chancellor to christian ii, and was a danish gentleman of great and generous sentiments, had been made archbishop of drontheim. after the disgrace of his master, he retired to his archiepiscopal see, where he exerted himself with great zeal and activity in order to renew the communication with greenland, and to discover the fate of that ancient settlement. this learned prelate made it his business to read all the books in which it was mentioned, to examine all the merchants and mariners who had any knowledge of it; and he also caused a chart to{liv} be formed of the route which was supposed to have been observed. he was on the point of putting his projects in execution, when, being suspected of favouring the cause of the deposed monarch, he was deprived of his archbishoprick, and banished from the norwegian territory. the benevolent scheme, which he had formed, was thus disconcerted; and the hopes, which had been excited, vanished in disappointment. the good archbishop valcandor retired to rome, where he ended his days.
frederick i was succeeded by christian iii, who had an expedition fitted out for the discovery of the lost settlement in greenland; but this proved as abortive as similar attempts had previously been. this monarch now repealed{lv} the ordinances which his predecessors had established, by which all communication with greenland had been strictly prohibited, without a special permission from the crown. the intercourse was now rendered free, without any limitations or restraints. but this act of royal grace came too late to be of any use; for the norwegians at this period had degenerated from the enterprizing valour of their ancestors; and they were, at the same time, so impoverished that they did not possess the means of equipping any vessels for such a difficult and hazardous undertaking.
frederick ii entertained the same project as his father, christian iii, and he dispatched magnus heigningsen to attempt the discovery of greenland.{lvi} this magnus heigningsen, if the relation be not fabulous, actually discovered the long lost land, but was prevented by the operation of some mysterious cause from reaching the shore. his ship, without any visible cause, was stopped in its course, though in the midst of deep water and a fresh breeze, without any obstruction from the ice. as this magnus heigningsen could not advance any farther he was happy to be able to retreat; and he accordingly sailed back to denmark. when he got back to that country he published an account of what had happened to his ship; and pretended that its farther progress had been stopped by a great loadstone at the bottom of the sea.
the danish chronicle, of which pey{lvii}rere has made such liberal use, gives the following account of the expedition of sir martin frobisher to greenland in 1576.
frobisher set sail from england in the year just mentioned, and discovered the coast of new greenland, but did not make any landing till he returned with another expedition in the following spring. the inhabitants of that part of the coast where he disembarked, abandoned their dwellings, and fled in different directions at the approach of the english. the alarm of some of these natives appears to have been so great that they clambered up to the tops of some rocky precipices, from which they threw themselves into the sea.
the english, who found it impossible to allay the suspicions, or conciliate the confidence of these savages, took posses{lviii}sion of the huts which they had deserted. they were, in fact, tents formed of sealskins, stretched upon four poles, and sewed together with sinews instead of thread. all these tents had two entrances, one of which fronted the west, and the other the south; but they were closed against the winds from the east and the north, by which they were liable to be the most incommoded.
the english discovered in these cabins only an ancient matron, who appeared a picture of hideous deformity, and a young woman, who was in the family way, and had a little child holding her hand. these two last they carried off, regardless of the opposition of the old beldam, who set up a frightful howl. departing from this point, they steered along the eastern{lix} coast, where they beheld a marine monster as large as an ox, with a horn projecting from the snout of more than two yards in length, which they took for the unicorn. proceeding in a north-east direction, they landed on another part of the coast of greenland, which they discovered to be subject to earthquakes, that threw great rocks down into the plain. here they found some gravel abounding, as they imagined, with particles of gold, of which they carried off a considerable quantity.
they spared no pains to conciliate the natives of this part of the coast, who themselves made a show of a desire to maintain an amicable correspondence. but these demonstrations of friendship appear to have been designed only to put the english off their guard; for, when{lx} frobisher had landed, he was suddenly attacked by a body of savages, who had concealed themselves behind a bank for that purpose. he retreated to the shore and eluded their machinations. the savages, however, still imagined that the strangers might be caught in the snare; and in order to entrap them, they scattered pieces of raw flesh along the shore, as they would have done to allure dogs. finding this attempt fail, they had recourse to another stratagem. they carried a lame man, or at least one who feigned to be lame, down to the sea-side; and, having left him there, they went away and kept themselves entirely out of sight. they supposed that the english would make an attempt to carry off this lame man in order to serve them as an in{lxi}terpreter, or to procure some intelligence by his means. but frobisher, who suspected some deception, ordered a shot to be fired over his head, when he instantly sprung up upon his legs and ran away with precipitate velocity.
the savages now appeared in great numbers, and assailed the english with a shower of arrows and stones; but they were soon repulsed by a discharge of great and small guns.
the native greenlanders are represented as perfidious and cruel, neither to be softened by caresses nor moved by benefits. this, however, is the character of very imperfect knowledge and limited observation. they are described as plump in their appearance, active in their limbs, and with an aspect of olive hue. some of{lxii} them are reported to be as black as negroes. their clothes are made out of the skin of the seal, and sewed with sinews. the women wear their hair loose, but throw it back behind their ears in order to show the face, which they paint blue and yellow. they wear no petticoats, but short trousers made of fish-skin, drawn one over the other; in the pockets of which they carry their knives, little mirrors, and the working materials, which they procure from foreigners or obtain from the wrecks which may happen upon their coasts. the shirts or chemises of both sexes are made from the intestines of fish, and sewed with fine sinews. they wear their clothes loose, and gird them with a belt made of fish-skin. they are disgustingly dirty, and covered with ver{lxiii}min. their criterion of wealth is the number of bows and arrows, of slings, boats, and oars, which an individual may possess. their bows are small, their arrows thin and armed at the end with a sharp point of bone or horn. they are expert in the use of the bow and the sling; and in killing fish with the spear. their little boats are covered with sealskin, and can hold only one man. but they have larger boats formed of wood, covered with the skin of the whale, and which will carry twenty men. their sails are made of the same materials as their shirts; or of the intestines of fish fastened together by fine sinews. and though they make use of no iron in the construction of their canoes or boats, they are put together with so much skill, and so well{lxiv} compacted, that in them they venture out into the wide ocean with perfect security. they have no venomous reptiles or insects; but are sometimes infested with swarms of gnats. they make use of very large dogs for the purpose of drawing their sledges. all the fresh water which they possess they procure from the melted snow.
such are the principal particulars which are detailed in the danish account of frobisher’s voyage. we will now proceed to relate some attempts of the danes to renew their intercourse with greenland, subsequent to those which have been previously mentioned, and which proved abortive.
christian iv resolved, if possible, to signalize his reign by the discovery of{lxv} that lost settlement, which his father and grandfather had sought in vain. for this purpose he sent for an experienced mariner from england, who had the reputation of being well acquainted with the northern ocean, and with the route to greenland. having procured this skilful auxiliary, whose name was john knight, the danish monarch equipped three stout ships, which he put under the orders of godske lindenau, who sailed from the sound on the breaking up of the ice in the year 1605. the englishman, who was appointed to the command of one ship, having reached the latitude he wished, steered his course to the south west in order to avoid the ice and to make the land with less risk. the danish admiral lindenau, thinking that the eng{lxvi}lish captain was deviating from the right track by keeping to the south west, continued his route to the north east, and arrived on the coast of greenland without either of the other ships. admiral lindenau had no sooner come to an anchor, than a number of savages put off their boats from the shore to visit his ship. the admiral gave them a very hospitable reception, and made them a present of some wine, which, however, was not agreeable to their taste; and they manifested signs of their dislike. they saw some whale oil, which they expressed a desire to have; and it was accordingly poured out for them in large mugs, which they drank with avidity and delight.
these savages possessed a number of skins of the fox, the bear, and the seal,{lxvii} with many horns in pieces, ends, and trunks, which they exchanged with the danes for knives, needles, looking-glasses, and trifles of different kinds. they showed no desire for gold or silver money, the offer of which provoked their ridicule or excited their contempt. they manifested on the other hand a passionate eagerness for every article of steel manufacture, which they were willing to purchase by the sacrifice of their greatest valuables, as of their bows and arrows, their boats and oars. when they had nothing more to offer in exchange, they stripped themselves to the skin, and offered to make away with all the clothes they possessed.
godske lindenau remained three days in the road, but it is not said that he once went ashore. he was probably afraid of{lxviii} trusting the lives of the small number of persons he had with him in the midst of such a mass of savages, by whom they were so greatly outnumbered.
he took his departure upon the fourth day; but before he set sail he secured two of the natives on board his ship in order to carry them to denmark; but they made so many violent efforts to escape, that it became necessary to secure them by cords in order to prevent them from plunging into the sea. when the savages upon the beach saw two of their countrymen made prisoners and fastened to the deck of the danish vessel, they discharged a shower of stones and arrows upon the danes, who were obliged to terrify them to a distance by firing off one of their great guns. the admiral returned{lxix} to denmark by himself, without knowing what had befallen the other two ships, with which he had originally embarked.
the danish account of this expedition says, that the english captain with the two danish vessels, which had separated from that under lindenau, reached the coast at the southern extremity of greenland, or cape farewell. it is also certain that the english commander entered davis’s straits, and coasted along the shore to the east. he discovered a number of good harbours, a fine country, and verdant plains. the savages in this part of greenland carried on some traffic with him; as those upon the other side had done with lindenau; but they exhibited more distrust; for they had no sooner received the danish commodities in ex{lxx}change for their own than they took to their boats with as much precipitation as if they were pursued by an enemy.
the danes armed themselves for the purpose of making a landing in one of the bays. the soil, where they went ashore, appeared to be a mixture of sand and rock, like that of norway. some fumes exhaled from the earth made them suppose that there were mines of sulphur in the neighbourhood; and they found many pieces of silver ore, which yielded twenty-six ounces of silver to the hundred weight of ore.
the english captain, who discovered many fine harbours or bays along this coast, gave them danish names, and before his departure made a chart of what he had seen. he also directed four of the{lxxi} best formed savages, whom the danes could seize, to be conveyed on board his ship. one of these four natives became so outrageous, that the danes, not being able to haul him along, knocked him on the head with the but end of their muskets. this intimidated the three others, who followed without farther resistance.
but the natives of the place, who had beheld one of their companions put to death, and three made prisoners, united themselves in a body to avenge the one and to rescue the others. they pursued the danes to the shore in order to execute these resolutions, and to prevent their embarkation. the danes, however, saved themselves and their boats by a timely use of their fire-arms, which diffused great terror among the enemy.{lxxii} they now made good their retreat to their ships, and returned to denmark with the three captured greenlanders, whom they presented to the king, and who were found to be much better made and more civilized than those whom godske lindenau had imported. they also differed in manners, language, and dress.
the danish monarch, who was gratified by the result of this first expedition, dispatched the same admiral lindenau to greenland with five stout vessels in the following year, 1606. he departed from the sound upon the 8th of may; having on board his ship the three savages whom the english captain had conveyed away, in order to serve as interpreters and guides. one of these savages fell sick and died during the voyage; and his body{lxxiii} was thrown overboard. godske lindenau took the same route which the english captain had observed, and passed by cape farewell into davis’s straits. one of his five ships was lost sight of in a fog; but the four others arrived in greenland. the natives showed themselves in great numbers upon the coast, but manifested no inclination to trade, or to trust the danes, who, in their turn, showed the same want of confidence. this obliged the latter to proceed higher up the coast, where they discovered a finer harbour than that which they had left; but they found the natives as suspicious and intractable as at the former station, and indicating a determination to resort to force if the danes attempted to land.
the danes, not willing to hazard a{lxxiv} landing in such inauspicious circumstances, sailed to a greater distance. as they proceeded along the coast, they met some of the natives in their canoes. they surprised six of these at different times, and took them on board along with their canoes and little equipments.
the danes, having afterwards cast anchor in a third bay, one of the attendants of godske lindenau, who was a hardy and enterprising veteran, solicited the permission of his master to proceed alone to the shore, in order to reconnoitre the land, and, if possible, to establish some intercourse with the savages. but this unfortunate valet had no sooner set his foot upon the beach than he was seized, stabbed, and hacked in pieces by the natives; who, after this atrocity,{lxxv} retired out of the reach of the danish guns.
these savages had knives and swords made of the horns or teeth of that fish which they call unicorn, and which they ground to an edge upon a stone; nor were they less sharp than if they had been made of iron or steel.
godske lindenau, not finding it practicable to establish any amicable communication with the people of this district, set sail for denmark; but of the six greenlanders whom he had recently forced on board, one was pierced with such regret at the thought of never more seeing his native home, that he threw himself into the ocean in a paroxysm of despair. upon their return the danes had the pleasure of rejoining the fifth ship,{lxxvi} which had disappeared in a fog; but they had been only five days together when they were all separated by a storm; and a month elapsed before they could re-unite when the tempest had passed away. they arrived at copenhagen upon the 5th of the following october, after having experienced many awful perils and hairbreadth escapes.
the king of denmark, who deserves praise for his perseverance, now determined upon a third expedition to greenland. he accordingly ordered two large ships to be fitted out, which he placed under the command of a captain karsten richkardisen, a native of holstein, whom he furnished with some sailors from norway and iceland that were acquainted with the navigation. these vessels sailed{lxxvii} from the sound on the 12th of may, but the danish chronicle has not stated in what year; nor was it known to peyrere. on the 8th of june richkardisen discovered the high points of the greenland mountains; but he was prevented from landing by the rocks of ice which ran out far into the sea and rendered the coast inaccessible. he was therefore obliged to return without accomplishing the object of his voyage, as he despaired of being able to penetrate the icy barrier which blockaded the shore. no similar attempt has hitherto been successful; and the eastern coast of greenland, though for several centuries well known to, and habitually visited by, the norwegians and danes, is, at present, a terra incognita, notwithstanding the spirit of{lxxviii} european adventure and the zeal of modern discovery.
the king of denmark caused particular attention to be paid to the three savages who had survived the preceding, and the five who had been imported by the last expedition to greenland. they were fed upon milk, butter, and cheese, as well as upon raw flesh and raw fish, to which they had been accustomed at home. they appeared to have an invincible repugnance to our baked bread and dressed meat; nor did they relish any kind of wine so much as the oil and grease of the whale. they often turned a wishful and desponding look to the north; and sighed so anxiously to return to the place of their nativity, that, whenever they were watched with less vigilance than usual, those who had{lxxix} an opportunity seized any boat that was at hand and put to sea, regardless of the dangers they had to encounter. a storm once overtook some of these intrepid adventurers at ten or twelve leagues from the sound, and forced them back to the coast of schonen, where they were made prisoners by the peasantry and conveyed back to copenhagen. this caused them to be guarded with more rigour, and kept under greater restraint. but three of them fell sick and died of grief.
five of these savages were alive and well when a spanish ambassador made his appearance in denmark; and the danish monarch, in order to divert this stranger, caused these native greenlanders to exhibit their man?uvres in their little canoes upon the sea. the spanish am{lxxx}bassador was quite delighted with the address which they displayed, and with the extraordinary celerity with which they glided over the waves. he made a present in money to each of the savages, which they expended in equipping themselves in the danish fashion. they were accordingly seen booted and spurred, with large feathers in their hats; and in these habiliments they proposed to serve in the cavalry of the danish king.
but these high spirits of the greenlanders lasted only for a short time; for they soon relapsed into their usual melancholy. they became entirely absorbed with the idea of returning to their native country; and two of them having obtained possession of their little boats put out to sea. they were pursued, but only{lxxxi} one of them was taken, and the other probably perished in the waves; for it cannot be supposed that he ever returned to the land of his fathers. with respect to one of the savages, it was remarked, that he shed tears whenever he beheld a child at the breast; from which it was supposed, that he had left a wife and children at home.
of these surviving savages two pined away with regret. the two others lived ten or twelve years in denmark after the decease of their companions. no pains were spared to reconcile them to their condition, but without success. one of them died of an illness, brought on by being employed in diving for the pearl muscle, during the depth of winter. his companion, who was inconsolable for his{lxxxii} loss, again seized a boat and made an effort to escape from captivity. he had passed the sound before he could be retaken, but he lived only a short time after this last attempt to recover his liberty.
peyrere says, that an attempt was made to convert these savages to the christian faith, but that they could never be brought to learn the danish language; and he remarks, with much simplicity, that “la foi estant de l’oüye, il fut impossible de leur faire comprendre nos mysteres.” “faith,” says he, “coming from hearing, it was impossible to make them comprehend our mysteries.” he adds, that those who narrowly watched their actions often saw them lift up their eyes to heaven, and worship the sun.
the danish monarch desisted from{lxxxiii} any farther attempt to discover old greenland; but some merchants at copenhagen formed themselves into a greenland company, for the purpose of establishing a traffic with that part of the world. in 1636 this company fitted out two ships, which visited that part of the coast of new greenland which is washed by davis’s straits. when they cast anchor, eight savages came off to them in their little canoes. the danes had displayed their knives, mirrors, and other articles upon the deck, to which the savages had also conveyed their furs, skins, and fish horns; but a gun having been inconsiderately fired, in order to celebrate the drinking of some particular health, these native traders were so frightened that they instantly leaped into the sea, from which{lxxxiv} they did not emerge till they had proceeded to two or three hundred yards from the ship.
the danes at last succeeded in appeasing the apprehensions of the greenlanders, and in alluring them again on board their vessels. the danish commander having remarked an inlet of the coast where there was a bank of sand, which bore a strong resemblance to gold, his cupidity made him imagine, that he had discovered a mine of wealth. he lost no time in filling his ship with this fancied gold dust, and made the best of his way to denmark, exulting in dreams of visionary opulence.
but the master of the greenland company, who was less credulous than the captain of the expedition, having{lxxxv} caused this precious sand to be examined by the goldsmiths at copenhagen, they were not able to extract from the whole mass a single particle of gold. the captain was accordingly ordered, to his great mortification, to throw the whole of this valuable lading into the sea.
in this last expedition to greenland the danes secured and carried off two of the natives before they left the coast. when they had reached the open sea, the danes released these captives from their bonds, when, finding themselves free from restraint, the love of liberty prevailed over every other sentiment, and they plunged into the waves in order to regain their native shore. but that shore was too remote for them to reach,{lxxxvi} and they perished in the vain attempt. it is pleasant to contemplate that sentiment, which attaches us to our native land, operating alike in all regions and climes, and attaching the human being to a country of almost invincible sterility and perpetual frost, as well as to one where there are the richest products and the most genial seasons.
in the year 1654 a ship was sent to greenland, under the command of david nelles, the success of which terminated in carrying off three native women from the open part of the eastern coast. the last voyage, which was not more successful than the preceding, was made in the year 1670. this expedition was fitted out by order of christian v, and was commanded by captain otto axelson;{lxxxvii} but crantz[19] says, “we have no account of its issue;” and, according to torf?us, axelson never returned to tell what he had seen.
none of the expeditions which have sailed from denmark, or other countries, have been successful in recovering the knowledge of that part of the eastern coast which was peopled by settlers from iceland and norway, and is denominated old greenland. in the account which the icelandic chronicle gives of the ancient route, it is stated, that half way between iceland and greenland there was a cluster of little islands, or rocks, called gondebiurne skeer, which were inhabited by bears. the drifting ice has probably collected round these islands, and been so{lxxxviii} petrified by successive accumulations as to become impenetrable to the sun.
peyrere, whose account of greenland has been generally followed in this introduction, tells us, that he was once inclined to believe, that godske lindenau had actually reached the coast of old greenland in his first voyage, and that the savages whom he carried off were descendants of the first norwegian settlers, whose remains have been so anxiously sought. but this impression was effaced by the information of many persons who had seen these savages at copenhagen, and who assured him, that they had not the smallest resemblance to the danes or norwegians in their language and manners, and that the danes and norwegians could not understand a{lxxxix} word that these native greenlanders uttered.
in the expedition to greenland, which was undertaken in the year 1636, the natives upon the western coast, who had some traffic with the danes, were asked, whether there were any inhabitants like themselves beyond the mountains which were seen in the distance. the savages replied by signs, that there were more people beyond the mountains than there were hairs on their heads; and that they were men of large stature, with great bows and arrows, who destroyed every body that came in their way.
the knowledge which the danes have at any period acquired respecting the people or the products of greenland, never extended beyond a narrow slip of{xc} territory along the coast. they knew nothing of the remote interior of the country from actual observation; and their settlements occupied only a very small comparative portion of the whole. much is still left to be explored; but the nature of the country itself opposes such an accumulation of obstacles to the research of the traveller, that they are not soon likely to be overcome. more, however, of the coast will probably soon be discovered than has ever previously been explored; or, if explored, it has at least been concealed for many centuries. when the enterprizing spirit of an english navigator is directed to that quarter of the world, we feel a firm confidence, that nothing will be left untried, which skill or courage can effect, to ex{xci}tend our acquaintance with these northern regions, and to make valuable additions to our present stock of information respecting the countries in the more immediate vicinity of the north pole.