198 ON ALLUVIAL FORMATIONS. 



North Sea, and even a considerable way up the borders 

 of the Weser and the Elbe ; according to documents 

 which I have mentioned in my Lettres sur VHistoire de la 

 Terre et de PHomme. These new settlers found large 

 marches, formed, as well in the wide mouths of those ri- 

 vers as along the coasts, and around the original islands 

 ofgeest; especially that of Heiligeland, the most distant 

 from the coast, and opposite the mouth of the Eyder. Of 

 this island, which is steep towards the south, the original 

 mass consists of strata of sandstone ; and at that time its 

 marsch extended almost to Eyderstede: there were marsches 

 likewise around all the other original islands ; besides 

 very large islands of pure marsch in the intervals of the 

 former. 



AH these lands were desert at the arrival of the Fri- 

 sians ; and the parts on which they established their first 

 habitations, to take care of their breeds of horses and 

 cattle feeding on the marsches,were the original eminences 

 of the islands; on that of Heiligeland they built a temple 

 to their great goddess Phoseta, or Fosta. When they 

 became too numerous to confine themselves to the heights, 

 their herds being also greatly multiplied, they ventured 

 to begin inhabiting the marsches ; but afterwards, some 

 great inundations having shown them the dangers of that 

 situation, they adopted the practice followed by those 

 who had settled on the marsches of the province of Gro- 

 ningen, and still continued on the Haligs ; that of raising 

 artificial mounts called werfs, on which they built their 

 houses, and whither they could, upon occasion, withdraw 

 their herds; and it likewise appears that, in the winter, they 

 assembled in greater numbers on the spots originally the 

 highest, in the islands, as well as OB some parts of the 

 coasts. 



