242 DESCRIPTION OF GREENLAND. 



takes place regularly every five hours, and that its tides fol- 

 low the course of the moon . 



Captain Munck arrived on the seventh of September at 

 Munckenes Vinterhaven, where he refreshed himself and his 

 men. He brought in his vessels some days after, and put 

 them under shelter from the shock of the icebergs in a port 

 near the first, and here he repaired them as well as he could. 

 His companions were particular to provide themselves with 

 huts to defend themselves from the bad weather, and from the" 

 winter, which had taken them by surprise. This port was the 

 mouth of a river, which was not frozen in the month of Octo- 

 ber, although the sea was frozen up in many parts. Captain 

 Munck reports, that on the seventh of this month he went 

 on board a sloop to reconnoitre this river, and that he could 

 not go any further than about a league and a half, on account 

 of the stones which blocked it up. Not being able to find a 

 passage by the river, he took some of his soldiers and sailors 

 and walked three or four leagues inland to seek for men ; 

 but they could find none. Returning by another route, 

 they found a rather large stone raised, upon which was 

 painted an image representing the devil, with his claws and 

 horns. Near this picture was a place eight feet sqiiare, closed 

 up with smaller stones. He remarked at one of the sides of 

 this square a heap of little flat stones and tree-moss mixed 

 together. At the other side of this square was a flat stone, 

 put in the form of an altar on two other stones ; and on this 

 altar three little pieces of coal, crossed one over the other. 

 But although Captain Munck saw no one on his road, yet 

 he met in different ])laces Avith similar altars with pieces of 

 coal laid upon them, like the preceding, and everywhere 

 that he saw these altars he also found traces from which he 

 conjectured that the inhabitants of this country assembled to 

 sacrifice at these altars, and that they sacrificed to fire or 

 Avith fire. He also saw that everywhere where these traces 

 of men were seen there were bones, and from that he con- 



