16 NEW LAND. 



became old, or any one was expected to die, they, without more ado, 

 sank them alive in the sea. The ceremony was a simple one ; a 

 rope was fastened round the person in question, and he was dragged, 

 with his clothes on, out of the house and down to the shore, where 

 stones were attached to his head and feet, and he was quietly sent 

 to the bottom. The whole proceeding was practical and straight- 

 forward. 



It may, perhaps, be thought that a little more politeness might 

 be shown in such circumstances. The old or dying person might 

 have been carried out of the house, before he was abandoned. 

 This, however, would be attended with difficulty. The entrance to 

 a Greenlander's house is very low, being about three feet, or less, in 

 height, and, in order to keep in the warmth, it is often about forty 

 feet long. This necessitates crawling in and out ; and as old and 

 dying people are not able to crawl, there was nothing for it but to 

 drag them out. This reasoning, too, is as straightforward as it is 

 heathenish. 



For all that, the Greenlanders are a good-natured and peace- 

 able people, who would not willingly hurt a fly. They settled 

 their differences by the so-called drum-dance, in which the strongest 

 expression of dispute was abuse, and he who heaped the worst abuse 

 upon his adversary was considered the victor. Murder is extremely 

 rare. During the whole time of the Danish possession, as far as I 

 know, there have not been more than a couple of murders in Danish 

 Greenland. The case is otherwise on the east coast, near Angmak- 

 salik, where the people are far more quarrelsome. It is related of 

 a man from Angmaksalik, who went on a voyage to Danish 

 Greenland for tobacco, that he made up his mind to kill one man 

 in every settlement he came to on his way south ; and did so 

 with great accuracy. But when he and his men were approaching 

 Danish Greenland, his comrades, who had been there before, felt 

 that this would not do on Danish soil. They therefore determined 

 to kill him, in order to prevent further unpleasantness, and 

 immediately carried out their intention. 



Notwithstanding the unfavourable natural conditions in which 

 he lives, the Greenlander is well developed. He is short, broadly 

 built, and well proportioned. He subsists chiefly on meat and 



