MUSQUITOES. 



53 



One of these latter gets six dollars, and teaches his two chil- 

 dren — the only two children of his district — to read and write ! 



Four women, who teach the children "A, B, C's," get each one 

 dollar per year. 



The men, sixteen in number, in the employ of government, get 

 each forty to ninety dollars per year, besides provisions for them- 

 selves and families. Every fourteen days bread is baked for 

 them. 



In the town there are twenty-four stoves — only one to each 

 house ; and these stoves require 100 barrels of coal and five fath- 

 oms of wood. 



There are reckoned to be 1700 Esquimaux sealers in Green- 

 land, 400 fishers, and one Esquimaux officer (a clerk), whose fa- 

 ther was a Dane and the Governor of Lievely — Goodhavn. In 

 addition, there are of Esquimaux 17 foremen and boatsmen ; 22 

 coopers and blacksmiths ; 87 sailors ; 15 pensioners, whose busi- 

 ness is to look after goats, and who get half rations of beer, pork, 

 meat, and butter, etc., but full rations of pease, barley, etc. 



There are also 20 native catechists or missionaries. 



The European missionaries and priests number 13 German and 

 11 Danish. . 



Of first and second governors there are 31. 



Three doctors visit each place once a year. There are 36 Eu- 

 ropean clerks ; 7 boat-steerers ; 28 coopers, carpenters, and black- 

 smiths ; 19 sailors and cooks ; and 8 pensioners. 



The whole body of missionaries are paid per annum, in Dan- 

 ish money, $16,360 ; of which amount Government House gives 

 $14,650, and the East India Missions, at the outside, $2000. For 

 schools and school-books the sum of $6500 is appropriated. 



I now proceed with my personal narrative. 



Among the numerous visitors that greeted us on our arrival, 

 I was astonished to find myriads of musquitoes. Little did we 

 expect so warm a reception in the arctic regions. Talk about mus- 

 quitoes in the States as being numerous and troublesome ! Why, 

 no man who has not visited the arctic shores in the months of 

 July and August can have a good idea of these Liliputian ele- 

 phants. In the States the very hum of a musquito is enough to 

 set any one upon his guard. How many a poor soul there has 

 been kept in a state of torment all night by the presence of only 

 two or three musquitoes! But here, in the North, it is a com- 

 mon, every-hour affair to have thousands at one time around you, 



