POLAR REGIONS. 



397 



ence, showed the deepest feeling when licr husband was ill. " Nothing could >=!xceed the 

 attention she paid to him ; she kept her ej-es almost constantly upon him, and seemed anxious 

 to anticipate every wish." 



The burials have as ''tile ceremony as ihe marriages ; the bodies are buried benealh stones 

 or ice, yet so carelessly, that the wolves often prey upon them, and skulls are to be seen about 

 some of the huts. The canoe and some implements are placed near the grave, and a friend 

 sometimes walks several times around it. At deaths, and on other occasions of misfortune, 

 the friends sometimes assemble to cry and howl with the afflicted ; this is the ceremony of 

 condolence, begun generally by the person who sustained the loss ; the others, when he has 

 begun to express sorrow, join him with groans and expressions of grief. 



CHAPTER LI. POLAR REGIONS. 



fllnte Bear, feeding on a IVhah amid ihe ice. 



1. Greenland. There are no means of ascertaining whether Greenland is joined with 

 America, or is an island, or a part of a polar continent. It is an extensive country in the 

 most northern region of the globe, bounded on the E. and S. by the jXorth Atlantic Ocean. 

 The shore on the western side has been explored about 1,000 miles. It is high, rugged, and 

 barren, rising from the water's edge into precipices and mountains, which are crowned with 

 perpetual snow. The eastern coast, beyond the promontory of Herjolf 's Ness, is absolutely 

 unexplored. An everlasting barrier of ice precludes the attempt. 



This country belongs to the crown of Denmark. The Danish establishments consist of 

 about 20 factories, scattered along the coast, and divided into 2 departments, over each of 

 which an inspector presides. Besides those for the fishing trade, there are several settlements 

 of the Moravian Missionaries. Cape Farewell, the southern extremity of Greenland, is situat- 

 ed in 59° N. latitude. Coasting to the northwest from this place, the first settlement is JtiUans- 

 haab., and then Fredericksliactb, upon a projecting point of land. The latter was founded in 

 1742, has a good harbor, and is an eligible place of trade. 



Nine leagues from this colony is the well-known Ice Blink. This is a vast, elevated sheet of 

 ice, reflecting a brightness over the sky which resembles the Northern Lights. The mouth of the 

 adjoining bay is blocked by ice driven out by the efflux of the tide, and so wonderfully heaped 

 by the waves, that the spaces between the islands are completely vaulted over, and present the 

 sublime spectacle of an enormous bridge of ice, IS miles long and nearly 5 broad. Boats may 

 enter the harbor under the arches, which are from 60 to 180 feet high. The mouth of the bay 

 is closed, but therf; is a sheet of open water within. 



