IX THE DRIFT-ICE OFF THE COAST OF GREENLAND. 17 



blubber. Vegetables are a rarity, the only things of the kind at 

 his disposal being berries in the summer, and the contents of the 

 paunch of the reindeer, which is his favourite dish. He puts 

 pieces of blubber into a fresh reindeer-paunch, which is full of 

 acid vegetable substances, and leaves it to ferment. This he 

 considers a real treat, and next to tobacco, the best thing in the 

 world. 



It may be true of the Eskimo that he is simple, but he is 

 certainly not stupid. There is a story with regard to this from 

 Egede's time. Hans Egede, who was an imperious man, re- 

 quired of the Greenlanders implicit belief in what he taught 

 them. A whale-catcher, who had come on a visit to the zealous 

 pastor, listened with patience to what Egede said, and did not move 

 a muscle all through his long harangue. But when Egede had 

 finished, he rose and said : ' Xow I have something to relate. 

 I was in the ice far north, and came to a large fjord, where I met 

 a bear that was so enormous that ice lay perpetually upon its 

 back/ Hans Egede, who did not see his drift, grew angry, and 

 rebuked the man ; whereupon the latter said : ' If you require me 

 to believe you, you must also believe me,' and left him. 



The country round Egedesminde is somewhat flat, with rounded 

 hills and slopes, and among them a number of small tarns. 

 Wherever one turns, there is nothing but rock, with thin grass 

 here and there, and occasionally some diminutive creeping willow 

 and dwarf-birch. But among the stones were flowers in such 

 abundance that you might imagine yourself in Norway. It 

 warmed one's heart to come across all these old friends here in 

 a strange country, and our botanist had his time fully occupied in 

 greeting them and making new acquaintances. 



The following day we took the dogs on board, thirty-one in all, 

 most of them strong animals in their prime. I ought really to 

 have had thirty-six, but three of them had been killed and eaten 

 by their companions, while they were living loose on an uninhabited 

 island, and two had run away. The Superintendent of the settle- 

 ment, however, most kindly made good this loss by presenting me 

 with his own capital kennel, consisting of six strong, handsome 

 animals. 



VOL. I. C 



