GREENLAND. 
a. le word has its dual, ending With the letter 4, the 
wal ends with?; thus, nuna, “land, country ;” nuncek, 
‘© two countries ;” nunet, “ countries.” The articles, pro- 
nouns, and prepositions, are formed by suffixes, changing 
the termination of the noun thus: nalegak, « master, 
lord ;” , my lord;” arnak, « mother ;” arnamut, 
* to the mother.” A great number of augmentatives and 
diminutives are also formed, by varying and adding to 
the a sarelable er eerie erase to 
make the la and expressive. Thus, hik« 
ertak, i 'T;” hikertangoak,-« a small island ;” hikertar- 
soak, “ a large island ;” kékerteitsial:, “ a fine island ;” ké- 
kerlarsoeitsiak, “a large fine island.” Their numerals are 
limited to five. They express numbers from six to twenty 
with the help of addition. Thus; five and one, five and 
' two: twenty is expressed by éunik, man; that is, 10 
and 10 toes; numbers exceeding 20 are gene- 
rally called innumerable. 
’ They have no traditions from their ancestors, except 
an incongruous account of their battles with the old 
Norwegians; the history of the Greenlanders is there- 
fore buried in impenetrable darkness. They have no 
, no one can tell his ; but they are well 
acquainted with the north star. “The angekut call the 
ursa minor asellut in the south, and kultak in north 
‘Greenland, the ursa major tikto, or reindeer. They di- 
vide the day according to the tide, and reckon their 
years by winters. The distance of 32 miles, from one 
place to another, is called one day’s voyage, (made with 
acanoe.) The different seasons are marked by the mi- 
gration of birds, fishes, and other animals which regu- 
visit their coast. 
The angekut are somewhat acquainted with physics, 
9. particularly meteorology ; they observe the weather with 
great attention, and from the state of the atmosphere 
they make very accurate conclusions respecting its 
changes, even at a distance of three or four days; and 
as the natives procure their food from the sea, this habit 
is of importance to them. The. angekut are. also 
the physicians of their countrymen, and prescribe gene- 
rally a certain diet, as most of the diseases result from 
their very irregular mode of living. If diet is ineffectual; 
amulets are applied, presented in -bones of different ani- 
mals, particularly of rein-deers and seals.. The most 
common diseases are eruptions of the skin; one-is a. 
‘sort of small pimple, which in a very short time covers 
the whole body ; the best remedy, is to drinkea decoction 
of ledum icum.. The other is a kind of leprosy, 
which i their whole body with cancerous boils and 
Those who are afflicted with it, are abandoned 
scurf. 
> Sram relations, and die. in the greatest misery. . 
smallpox and measles .were formerly unknown to 
them, but were conveyed from time to: time by European 
vessels to these poor people, and committed dreadful. 
devastations. These diseases are mortal to the Green- 
landers, their skins being so dirty. and oily as to pre+ 
vent the eruption. In the year 1733, the first year 
of the mission, 3000 people.died of ‘the smallpox. Biit 
___—-vaccination is‘now employed by the Danish government - 
_ with great success. All the other diseases which arise, 
where the air is condensed by cold, and perspiration. is. 
obstructed, are very common in Greenland. . A weund- 
edor fractured limb is cured very quickly by themselves, 
but they have no remedies for internal diseases, such as 
consumption, blood-spitting, pleurisy and diarrhoea. Scurvy 
‘is Rot-very common amongst them, as they do not use salt 
487 
meat or fish, The want of food, to which they frequently Greenland. 
are exposed in winter, produces very serious complaints, “vy 
which are particularly perceptible in the following spring, 
It frequently happens in winter, when the frozen sea re- 
fuses the necessary supply to the wretched family, when 
the last thong of leather is swallowed up, and when there 
is no longer oil to burn in their lamps, that the hunter re« 
turns with an animal, and some of these poor creatures de« 
- vour the raw or half-boiled meat, and falling vietims to the 
indulgence of their appetite, instantly die of indigestion. 
They bury their dead generally ona small hill, in a Burying the 
sitting posture, dressed in their best clothes, and covered: dead, 
with seal-skin. The land being a mass of rocks, the in« 
habitants are obliged to build graves of stone, which are 
covered with plates of mica slate, or clay slate, to pres 
vent carnivorous animals from destroying the bodies. 
Their kajaks (canoes), instruments, and utensils, are pla~ 
ced by the side of the grave. They return from the bu-~ 
rial-place to the house of the deceased, to continue the 
lamentation, which consists of a dreadful monotonous 
howling, supported by all the attendants, who sit with 
their faces turned to the ground. When this is over, 
some refreshment is taken, and each returns to his own 
house. 
The whole coast of Greenland, receiving the beams of 
the sun in a very oblique direction, is deprived of that 
general comfort which other parts of the earth enjoy. 
The soil being shallow, is frozen during the greater part 
of the year; and the ice, having taken. possession. of all 
the vallies of this barren and rocky land, the winds which 
blow over these are, even in summer, extremely cold. 
The prevailing winds are those from the east and north« 
east, north-west and north. The cold which the-north- 
eastern wind brings in winter is almost insupportable ; - 
and the thermometer is very often at —35°or 36° of Reau-- 
mur (—48° of Fahrenheit). The winds which blow direct« 
ly from the sea (Davis’ Strait), are moist, and generally 
attended with rains, in winter with snow and sleet; and 
are more boisterous in spring and autumn than in other 
seasons. Winds reflected from the mountains, and stri-- 
king through the vallies with great violence, are extremely: 
dangerous to vessels sailing near the coast. Strong stormy. 
winds from the west or south-west always break the sea+ 
ice, even in the middle of winter. The cold sets in with - 
the month of January, accompanied with: but little snow, 
which generally falls either before or after that time. More 
snow falls in the south than in the north: The sea 
does not freeze before the beginning of January, form- 
ing thus on its surface: clammy spherical concretions, 
which increase rapidly, and as they join together, present 
a crust of the-thickness of an inch-in a very few hours. 
This coagulation only takes place when the sea’ is-calm. 
Previous to that operation-of nature, the-sea smokes, like 
burning turf-land ; -and-a fog or mist arises, called frost= 
smoke. This cutting mist frequently raises blisters on » 
the face and hands, and is very pernicious to the health. . 
It appears to consist of small particles of ice, and produces 
the sensation of: needles pricking the skin, . The same 
icy particles carried up by the wind, cause probably ano~ 
ther phenomenon which is frequently seen in winter round - 
the moon, a ring of light, or-halo, called by the. Green- - 
landers L/luparosek ; this ring appears at a great-distance - 
from the moon, and has a fine pearly lustre. It is seen - 
at a time when-the horizon is-quite clear, and*every star « 
may be distinguished. Mock suns are also very fre~- 
quently seeri.in this country, but only in winter. In. 
Climate. 
