« rature 

 oenlani. 



Chap. V. • <*J '■ M E ^ I C A. 66\ 



Duller, and beyond Eynats fiord, a great ifland denominated ^{cynatfen, from the abun- 

 dance of Rein-Deer which breed there : In the fame Ifland is a Quarry of the 

 Stone Talguefiin, not confumable by Fire, and yet loft enough to be cue into any 

 form, infomuch that Veffels have been made of it, containing twelve Tun. More 

 WefteMy lies the Ifland Langen, and another Royal Houfe call'd Hdkjlad, then Er- 

 r/c/ci^orJ^ another Armof the Sea, and at the Entrance thereof, the Ifland Herrieyen, 

 part whereof belongs to the Dome, or Cathedral, and the other part to the Church 

 of Dunes, the principal Church of Greenland, next to the Cathedral. North-Weft 

 from Erricksfiord is Mtdfiord, and farther Northward, <Bondeford 5 near which arc 

 feveral little Mies and Ports. Between OJlrebug and Wejlrebug is a large Defart, alto- 

 gether uninhabited. 



This Defcription of the Countrey, Extracted from the Ifeland Chronicle, is 

 look'd upon by a late French Writer of note, as the moil particular and faithful- 

 however, the Danifi? Chronicle differs in many things, and amongft others in this, 

 that not the hundredth part oi Groenland is poflefs'd by the Norwegians, but that there 

 inhabit feveral different forts of People* of different Fafliions and Governments, 

 altogether unknown to the Norwegians. 



Groenland, notwithstanding its Northerly Situation, is reported to be a Coun- J f e ™£ 

 trey not unfertile of Corn, and other Productions of the Earth ; and in refpeel: of 

 its verdant Afpccl: at fome Seafons of the Year, above the reft of thofc Septentrional 

 Regions,it is concluded to have merited the Name of Groenland, i. e. Greenland j nay, 

 fo great is the Heat that is faid to be there during the Moneths of June, July, and 

 jfuguft, by rcafon of the reverberation of the Sun-beams from the Rocks, that ma- 

 ny times there is but fix Weeks fpace betwixt Seed-time and Harveft. 



The Beads, which are faid to breed here in great numbers, are Horfes, Deer, what fcrtuf 



i/~r Animals 



Foxes, Hares, Bears*, both black and white, common Wolves, and a fort of Beaft i«eed there. 

 between a Deer and a Wolf, befides great ftare of Beavers and Martins, as the 

 Ifeland Chronicle teftifies, whofe Furr in fincnefs may compare with the Sables of 

 %uRia. There are alfo Gerfalcons in abundance, both whitd and grey, of fo deli- 

 cate a kind, that they were in ancient times fent to the Kings of Denmark as Pre* 

 fents of great rarity. 



The Seas about Greenland abound in very many forts of Fifli, as Sca.Wolves, 

 Sea-Dogs, Sea-Calves, and above all, incredible numbers of Whales of a vaft 



bignels. 



But the moft remarkable Commodity of this Countrey, is a kind of Horn, com- Strang Ymi 



4 i r i . . of Horn 



monly call'd the Licornes, or Unicorns»Horn, which is found there in great quantities, f^uod there. 

 and great ftorc of it is to be feen in Denmark, fome whole, fome in great pieces, 

 fometimes onely the Ends or Stumps ; but fince it appears very differeut from all 

 other kind of Horn, there is great Queftion made amongft Naturalifts, whether it 

 be Horn or Tooth I and if Horn, whether the Horn of a Beaft or Fifli ? but it is 

 difcover'd of late to be the Horn, or rather Tusk of a certain Fifli, which the 

 Iflanders call Narhual, being indeed a kind of Whale, as the Name feems to imply^ 

 fignifying a Whale which feeds upon Carcafes. 



This Countrey is call'd by the Natives, Secanunga ; who was the firft pifcovcrer The chief 

 thereof is not certainly known, but the firft chief Voyagers thither were, of the rfuS!" 

 Dutch, William Barents, or Barentfon, of Jmfterdam, who fet forth towards thofc Parts 

 in the Year 1594. and before him, Dithmar <Blefkens , in the Year 1563. of the Eng» 

 lifb, Mr. James Hall, who fet out from Copenhagen in Denmark, Anno 1605. and in a 

 fecond Voyage was (lain by a Salvage of the Countrey. 



The Coaftings, Courfes, Havens and Creeks of Groenland, according as Barentfon ££g*^ 



° ..«„,»:«,' 4 a»d Creeks 



V 





receiv'd 



of GrotnUtii 



