GREENLAND 



2618 



GREENOUGH 



greater part of the surface, where free from 

 ice, is covered with mass and lichens, and here 

 and there alder, juniper and other berries are 

 found. The average temperature in the south 

 of the K-land during summer is 48 F. In no 

 part does the temperature rise above the freez- 

 ing point. 32 F.. for more than 140 days in the 

 year, while in the north the cold is intense all 

 the year round. The climate is very uncertain 

 and liable to swift changes from bright sun- 

 shine to dense fogs or snowstorms. 



Resources. Agriculture is impossible, but in 

 a few favored spots a little gardening is done. 

 The principal occupations are fishing and hunt- 

 ing. Cryolite, used in making aluminum, is 

 mined and exported in quantities varying from 

 6.000 to 12.000 tons annually. The mining 

 rights are held by an American company, under 

 a charter from the Danish government. The 

 whole of the commerce, except in minerals, is 

 a monopoly granted to the Danish Greenland 

 Company, with head offices in Copenhagen. 

 Whale and seal oils, sealskins and eiderdown 

 form the principal exports and constitute the 

 chief form of local currency, all internal trade 

 being conducted by barter. Government stores 

 supply the needs of the natives and the few 

 European inhabitants. 



Government. About one-twentieth of the 

 island is occupied by Danish settlements, and 

 for purposes of administration the colony is 

 divided into North and South Greenland. An 

 inspector, appointed by the king of Denmark, 

 presides over each district. The most impor- 

 tant settlements are Sydproven, the largest in 

 the island; Godhaven. capital of North Green- 

 land; Godthaab, capital of South Greenland, 

 and Upernivik. the most northerly civilized 

 port in the world. 



History. Greenland was first colonized by 

 Norwegians about 983, when Eric the Red led 

 a party of voyagers to the island. Later, 

 probably in the twelfth century, Norsemen are 

 supposed to have made their way from Green- 

 land to the American continent. After having 

 been a separate state for many years, it became 

 incorporated with Norway in 1260. For a time 

 Greenland received no attention, all connec- 

 tion with Europe having ceased, but in 1585 

 it was rediscovered by Davis. Numerous ex- 

 peditions visited the island, but no attempt 

 at colonization was made until the Danes 

 established mission stations on the west coast 

 in 1721. Recent discoveries and explorations in 

 and around the island are described under the 

 heading POLAR EXPLORATIONS. The population 



of Greenland was estimated at only 13.571 in 

 1911, and consisted chiefly of Christian Kski- 

 mos, with about 300 Europeans. For the man- 

 ner of life of the natives, see ESKIMO. K.ST.A. 



Consult Smith's Eski'iio Stories: MikkHsr-n's 

 l^ost in the Arctic; Nansen's In Northern Mints. 



GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS, a name as- 

 sumed by a body of soldiers from Vermont 

 during the Revolutionary War. They cap- 

 tured Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and 

 were responsible for the victory at the Battle 

 of Bennington. They were organized origi- 

 nally by Ethan Allen to oppose the claims <>! 

 New York to the territory of Vermont. The 

 Green Mountain Boys were the first to ask 

 that Vermont be regarded as a state. This 

 was not granted until 1791, when it was ad- 

 mitted as the fourteenth state. See ALLEN, 

 ETHAN. 



GREEN MOUNTAINS, one of the oldest 

 mountain ranges in North America. It belongs 

 to the Appalachian system, beginning in the 

 southern part of Connecticut and . extending 

 northward through the western part of that 

 state and Massachusetts into Vermont and 

 Quebec. The range is known as the Green 

 Mountains in Vermont only; in Massachusetts 

 and Connecticut it takes the name of the 

 Berkshire Hills, Taconic Mountains and Hoo- 

 sac Mountains. Erosion and weathering have 

 worn down their peaks until in some places 

 they are merely low, round hills. The high- 

 est peaks are mounts Killington, Mansfield. 

 Camel's Hump, Lincoln and Jay; the greatest 

 elevation is in Mansfield Peak, Vermont, 4.279 

 feet. The highest point crossed by a railroad 

 is the small village of Summit in Rutland 

 County, Vermont. Some of the best building 

 stone in the country is found in the Green 

 Mountains. The forests of hemlock, fir, pine, 

 spruce and other evergreens have given the 

 name to this range. The Green Mountains 

 are much frequented in summer by tourists, 

 who are attracted by the beautiful scenery 

 and pleasant climate. 



GREENOUGH, green ' o, HORATIO (1805-1852). 

 an American sculptor and art critic, was born 

 at Boston, Mass. He was a Harvard gradu- 

 ate, and during his college days devoted him- 

 self especially to the study of anatomy. The 

 most important works of his early career were 

 a bust of Washington modeled from Stuart's 

 portrait, and the design from which the Bunker 

 Hill Monument was constructed. During the 

 latter part of his life he had his studio in 

 Florence, where he did his best work, includ- 



