*^5 
I S T 0 R Y of the C o U N T R I E S 
Ship paffeci the Winter near the new If mijh Colonj in great Quantity was brought over to Norway, and, for 
“ Greenland y mid in his Voyage back to made its particular Goodnefs, was fet apart for the King’s 
all the Endeavours he could, to comeat the afore=- Kitchin, which was praftifed until the Reign of Queen 
faid Shore oppofite to Iceland, but to no PUrpofe, be- Margarets We alfo read that fome Parts of the Country 
ing herein difappointed like the reft before him. yielded the choiceft Wheat •, and in the Valleys the Oak 
“ All thefe Difficulties and continual Difappointments Trees produced Acorns of the Bignefs of an Apple, very 
“ have made moft People lofe all Hopes of fucceeding in good to eat. The Woods afforded plenty of Game, fuck 
“ this Attempt ; neverthelefs I flatter myfelf to have hit as Rain-Deers, iSc. The Rivers, Bays, and Seas, fur- 
“ luckily on an Expedient, which to me feems not im- niflied an infinite Number of Fiflies, Seals, Morfes, and 
“ praftiiable, though hitherto not tried, or at leaft but Whales^ of which the Inhabitants made a confiderable 
* ‘ flightly executed, wz. To endeavour to leave the Land, Trade. And though the Country, at prefent, cannot 
“ from t\\tStatesPromontory, (or as we call it) Cafe Prince boaft of the fame Plenty, as it lies deftitute and unculti- 
Chrijiian, northwards. The Information I have had vated, yet, no doubt, but the old dwelling Places, for- 
from ioiw^-Groenlanders^ who in their Boats have coafted merly inhabited and manured by the ancient Norway Co- 
a great Part of the Eaft-fide, confirms me in my Opi- 
“ nion •, for although an incredible Quantity of driven 
Ice, yearly comes from Spitzbergen, or New Greenland, 
along this Coaft, and paffes by the States Promontory, 
which hinders the approaching of Ships, as far as the 
“ Ice ftretches, where about the beft Part of the Nor- 
“ wegian Colonies were fettled, yet there have been found 
Breaks j and open Sea, near the Shore, through 
“ which Boats and fmall Veffels might pafs accord- 
“ ing to the Relation of the Greenlanders, as well 
as agreeable to my own Experience, the Current 
“ that comes out of the Bays and Inlets, always 
running along the Shore South-weftwards, hinders the 
“ Ice from adhering to the Land, and keeps it a 
Diftance from the Shore. By which Means the Green- 
“ landers at certain Times, without any Plindrance, have 
“ paffed and re-paffed part of this Coaft in their Cone- 
‘‘ boats (fo they call their large Boats) though they 
“ have not been fo far as where the old Norway Colonies 
“ had their Settlements, of which, no doubt, there are 
“ ftili fome Ruins to be feen on the Eaftern Shore. 
“ Furthermore : I have been credibly informed by 
“ Seamen that Frequent thofe Seas, That feveral 
“ of their Ships have at times found the Eaft-fide of 
“ Greenland cleared of the Ice as far as the 62d Degree; 
and they had tarried fome time among the Out-rocks 
“ on that Coaft, vFiere they carried on a profitable Trade 
“ with the Savages ; and I myfelf, in my Return from 
“ homewards, in the Year 1736, found it to 
“ be fo when we paffed the States Promontory and Cape 
“ Farewell, and flood in for the Shore, where at that 
“ time there was no Ice to be feen, which at other Times 
‘‘ is very uncommon ; but as this happens fo feldom, it 
is very uncertain, and unfafe for any Ship to venture 
“ fo far up under the Eaftern Shore. 
“ But, as I obferved a little before, it is more fafe and 
“ pradbicable to coaft it from the Promontory along , the 
‘‘ Shore in fmall Veffels, efpecially if there was a Lodge 
“ erefled in the Latitude of between 6q and 61 Degrees ; 
‘‘ and it would be ftill more convenient, if there could 
“ be Ways and Means found likewife to place a Lodge 
“ on the eaftern Shore, in the fame Latitude ; for accord- 
“ ing to the Account the Ancients have left us of Groen- 
“ land, the Diftance of Ground that lies uncultivated, 
“ between the Weft and Eaft-fide is but twelve Norway 
“'Miles, by Water; or, according to a later Compu- 
“ ration, it is a Journey of fix Days in a Boat ; and as 
“ the Ruins of old Flabitations, which I have difeovered 
“ between 60 and 6 1 Degrees, are without doubt in 
“ the moft foutherly Part of the Weft-fide, it of Necef- 
“ fity follows that the Diftance cannot be very great from 
“ thence to the moft foutherly Part of the eaftern Side. 
“ Now, if it fhould be found pradlicable at certain 
“ Times to pafs along the Shore with Boats or fmall 
“ Ships to the Eaft-fide, to the Latitude of 63 and 64 
“ Degrees, little Lodges might be made, though larger 
“ Ships could not yearly vifit one of them, but only 
“ touch at the moft fouthern ones, I am alfo perfuaded 
that the Thing is poffible, if it fhould pleafe God in 
“ his Mercy' to forward this Affair, Colonies might be 
eftablifhed here, which without great Trouble might 
be fupplied yearly with all Neceffaries. 
4. As to the Soil, we are informed by ancient Hifto- 
ries that the Greenland Colonies bred Cattle, which afford- 
ed Milk, Butter, and Cheefe, in fuch abundance, that a 
lonies, might recover their former Fertility, if again 
peopled, as about thefe Places there grows fine Grafs, 
efpecially from the Latitude of 60 to 65 Degrees. 
In the great Bay, which at prefent is called the Bay 
of Good Hope (from the Danifo Colony fettled near the 
Entrance of this Inlet) there are on both Sides of the Co- 
lony many good Pieces of Meadow Ground, for the 
grafing of Numbers of Cattle ; befides plenty of Pro- 
vifions, which the Sea, as well as the Land, yields. 
Woods of any Confideration are rarely to be met with, 
yet there are Underwoods and Shrubs in great Quantity,, 
efpecially of Birch, Elm, and Willows, which afford fuf- 
ficient Fuel for the Ufe of the Inhabitants. The largeft 
Wood is in the Latitude of 60 and 61 Degrees, where 
the Birch Trees are two or three Fathom high, fome- 
v/hat thicker than a Man’s Arm. Small Juniper Trees 
grow here in abundanen^ the Berries of which are of 
the Bignefs of Grey-peafe. , 
The Herb cdlltd -^aun, which is our Angelica, is 
very common, as well as wild Rofemary, which has the 
Tafte and Smell of Turpentine, from which is extrabl- 
ed a fine Oil and Spirit, of great Ufe in Medicine. That 
precious Herb Scurvy-grafs, . the moft excellent Remedy 
for the Cure of the Diftemper which gives its Name, 
grows every where on the Sea-fide, and has not fo bitter 
a Tafte as in fofter Climates. The Country alfo produces 
a Grafs with yellow Flowers, the Roots of which fmell 
in the Spring like Rofes, and are very wholefome. In 
the Bays and Inlets yoU have wild Time, on the Side 
of the Mountains, which, after Sun-fet, yields a fra- 
grant Smell. Here alfo you meet with the Herb Tor- 
mentil, and a great many other Herbs. Their moft 
common Berries, are thofe called Blew-Berries, Tittle- 
Berries, and Bramble-Berries ; Mult-Berries, which are 
common in Norway, do not come here to any Perfedtion, 
on Account of the Fogs that hang upon the Ifiand at 
the Time thefe Plants bud. 
This Country yields the pleafanteft Profpedt about the 
Latitude 60 to 64 Degrees, and feems fit to be manured 
for the Produce of ail Sorts of Grain, and there is to this 
Day Marks of arable Land to be obferved. The Au- 
thor, himfelf, made aTryal of fowing Barley in the Bay 
joining to their new Colony, which fprung up fo faft, 
that it flood in its full Ear towards the latter End of July 
but did not ripen on Account of the Night Frofts which 
nipped it, and hindered its Growth. But as this Grain 
was brought over from Bergen in Norway, no doubt it 
wanted a longer Summer, and more Heat to ripen. 
Turnips and Cole are very good here, and of a fweet 
Tafte, efpecially the Turnips, which are very large. It is 
to be obferved, that all that has been faid of the fruitful-' 
nefs of the Greenland Soil, is to be underftood of the La- 
titude from 60 Degrees to 65 Degrees, and differs accord- 
ing to the different Degrees of Latitude ; for in the moft 
Northern Parts, you find neither Herbs nor Plants ; fo 
that the Inhabitants cannot gather Grafs enough to put in 
their Shoes to keep their Feet warm, but are obliged to 
buy it from the Southern Parts. 
5. The Natives of Groenlaftd have no Reafon to corn- 
plain of Storms or Rain, which feldom trouble them, ef- 
pecially in the Bay of Difeo, in the 69th Degree of Lati- 
tude, where they commonly have clear and fettled Wea- 
ther during the whole Summer Seafon. But when foul 
Weather falls in, it rages with an incredible Violence, 
chiefly when the Wind comes about Southerly, or South- 
