94 H. P. STEENSBY. 
The hunting of birds did not have, and could not have had the same 
importance for the West Greenland Eskimo as for the Polar Eskimo. Sea- 
fowl cliffs so rich in birds and so easily accessible as those up there 
are not found along the southern part of the west coast. Just as in 
Subaretic Alaska, so in Subarctic West Greenland, is the Auk hunted 
for preference from a kayak, with the aid of a throwing missile, the so-called 
bird-dart. 
The principal features of the economic culture in West Greenland have 
now been mentioned, especially as evidenced in the writings of the oldest 
authors from the first days of the Danish colonisation in the 18th century. 
Even if we have no real knowledge of the West Greenlanders previous to 
the time when they came into contact with the Europeans, vet we may 
safely conclude as regards their original culture that it has differed from 
that of the Polar Eskimo by becoming more and more Subarctic the 
further we proceed southwards. The summer side of the economic culture 
has steadily increased in importance, while at the same time the winter 
side has decreased. 
Owing to this adaptation, great claims have been made on the develop- 
ment of water-craft in particular, and in this respect the country has 
supplied a sufficient amount of the material which, next to the skins, was 
an indispensable necessity, viz., wood. The conditions pertaining to ocean 
currents permit the fairly even distribution of drift-wood along the whole 
coast, decreasing, however, northwards, as far as the regions near Upernivik, 
where it occurs only sparingly. In Subarctic West Greenland the abundance 
of drift-wood has even rendered possible the coming into existence of the 
large, oblong winter-houses for several families — a form of house which, 
however, in its structure is distinctly reminiscent of the small winter-house 
built of stone and whales’ bones, which is still used, for instance, among 
the Polar Eskimo (Cf. М. о. G., Vol. 34, pp. 31lsqq., where I have shown 
and illustrated how the Subarctic Greenlanders’ large houses with their family 
compartments probably must be imagined to have originated). 
With the landing of Hans EGEDE at Godthaab in 1721 begins the 
Danish colonial rule in Greenland. After some trials the Danes succeeded, 
even as early as in the 18th century, im creating a system of government ~ 
which considered the material as well as the spiritual and the moral welfare 
of a primitive people like the Greenland Eskimo. The system has, on the 
whole, proved to be excellently adapted to the prevailing conditions and has 
stood its test to this day. One fact which provides evidence of the excel- 
lence of the Danish guardianship is that the population has during the last 
century increased greatly in numbers. 
Naturally, the original indigenous Eskimo culture has hereby been 
greatly modified, and the conditions pertaining to economic culture met 
with at the present time in Danish West Greenland can only in a slight 
degree be designated useful scientific material for us, whose object in our 
investigations just is to find the original conditions. 
