4 A SUMMER IN GREENLAND 



'his greatest happiness and joy' to be allowed to 

 preach Christianity to his neglected and demoral- 

 ised countrymen. On July 3 the 'Hope' anchored 

 off an island near the flourishing Settlement of 

 Godthaab (Map A, Gb; lat. 64 N. 1 ). His hope of 

 finding survivors was not realised; he found only 

 ruins of their houses and churches. Many relics 

 of the Norse civilisation have been discovered in 

 different parts of South Greenland and archaeo- 

 logical research is still in progress. I learnt from 

 the Inspector for South Greenland that some im- 

 portant new discoveries had been made last summer 

 (1921) by Danish archaeologists, notably the re- 

 mains of Norse skeletons with complete and well- 

 preserved clothing. The following extract from an 

 American source, quoted by Mr Erling Porsild in 

 an article recently published in a Danish news- 

 paper, gives a more picturesque account of the 

 recent discoveries in South Greenland: ' Entombed 

 in an Iceberg for a Thousand Years. The startling 

 discovery which came when the Grand Floe drifted 

 ashore and revealed a picturesque Viking, perfectly 

 preserved, even to his winged helmet, armor and red 

 hair.' The Viking was presumably Eric the Red! 

 Though disappointed in his main objective, 

 Hans Egede determined to devote himself to the 

 education and conversion of the natives while he 

 also engaged in trade. This he did for fifteen years 

 when he returned to Europe, leaving his son Paul 

 to continue the good work. 



1 The degrees of latitude are stated only with approximate 

 accuracy to facilitate reference to the sketch-map. 



