134 G. Holm. 



VIII. 



THE ATTITUDE OF THE ANGMAGSALIKS TOWARDS US. — 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 



(OUR FIRST RECEPTION. — HOSPITALITY AND GRATITUDE. — CALUMNY. — 

 CURRYING FAVOUR. - CURIOSITY AND IMPORTUNITY. REGGING. — BARTER- 

 ING WITH EUROPEAN WARES. — MANNERS AND FEELINGS. ~ THEFT. — 

 MURDER. - SUICIDE. — CONCLUDING REMARKS.) 



I presume that the character of the natives will have dis- 

 played itself to the reader in the fragmentary accounts of incidents 

 from their life that we have already given. I shall endeavour to 

 throw still more light upon it by describing their behaviour to us, 

 as well as some little traits in their relations to one another. 



Our first reception. — The Angmagsaliks were at first very 

 frightened and kept at a great distance from us ; but as soon as they 

 had spoken to their fellow-countrj'men who had travelled with us, their 

 alarm passed away at once. They were very unwilling to speak 

 of previous European visits, and they also exhibited great fear, 

 when they heard that it was possible to come to them in ships. 

 They averred the reason of their fear to be that they were afraid 

 the Europeans would take vengeance on them because their ances- 

 tors in olden days had burnt down the house of the old Kavdlunaks. 

 Otherwise they knew nothing about the relation of their ancestors 

 to the old Kavdlunaks; they did not even know 'if it had happened 

 here or further north'. 



The information about their having burnt our ancestors' houses 

 they had probably received from the West coast, for Danell') heard 

 even here accounts of the hostilities between the Greenlanders and 

 the old Northeners. 



From the south the people of Angmagsalik had heard reports 

 that many years before a ship entered the country on the other 

 side of Kangerdlugsuak. The inhabitants fled inland, fearing the 

 vengeance of the Kavdlunaks for the reason given above — especially 

 when they heard the sound of the ship's guns, which was something 

 quite new to them. "When the people from the ship landed, they 

 took some of the Greenlander's articles and laid others in their 

 place". This agrees completely with Frobisher's account of his 

 intercourse with the West Greenlanders. 



It is hardly to be wondered at that they are still afraid of 



') John Erichsen: Extracts from Christian Lund's report to King Frederick III 

 as to the maritime expeditions to Greenland undertalcen in the years 1652 and 

 liuhi under tiie management of Hknrik Moli.kh. Copenliagen 17S7. 



