THE KING'S MIRROR 143 



but I believe that few know the size of the land, though 

 all believe that it is continental and connected with some 

 mainland, inasmuch as it evidently contains a number 

 of such animals as are known to live on the mainland 

 but rarely on islands. Hares and wolves are very plenti- 

 ful and there are multitudes of reindeer. It seems to be 

 generally held, however, that these animals do not in- 

 habit islands, except where men have brought them 

 in; and everybody seems to feel sure that no one has 

 brought them to Greenland, but that they must have 

 run thither from other mainlands. There are bears, too, 

 in that region; they are white, and people think they 

 are native to the country, for they differ very much in 

 their habits from the black bears that roam the forests. 

 These kill horses, cattle, and other beasts to feed upon; 

 but the white bear of Greenland wanders most of the 

 time about on the ice in the sea, hunting seals and 

 whales and feeding upon them. It is also as skillful a 

 swimmer as any seal or whale. 



In reply to your question whether the land thaws out 

 or remains icebound like the sea, I can state definitely 

 that only a small part of the land thaws out, while all 

 the rest remains under the ice. But nobody knows 

 whether the land is large or small, because all the moun- 

 tain ranges and all the valleys are covered with ice, and 

 no opening has been found anywhere. But it is quite 

 evident that there are such openings, either along the 

 shore or in the valleys that lie between the mountains, 

 through which beasts can find a way; for they could not 

 run thither from other lands, unless they should find 

 open roads through the ice and the soil thawed out. 



