xl 
INTRODUCTION. 
tions lie suffered, could not have been sustain¬ 
ed, excepting by a person like Egede, who was 
zealously devoted to the duty to which he be¬ 
lieved himself, in the dispensation of Providence, 
to be called. 
In 1733, three Moravian missionaries proceed¬ 
ed to the colony, to whom Egede, three years af¬ 
terwards, relinquished the arduous office that he 
had sustained so long, almost alone, and returned 
to Denmark, with part of his family. This co¬ 
lony, which subsequently increased to a num¬ 
ber of stations, has been continued, partly by the 
Danish government, and partly by the aid of tra¬ 
ding companies, down to the present day; and 
the hardy and indefatigable Moravians, among 
whom was the celebrated Crantz, have continued 
to labour among the Esquimaux with undimi¬ 
nished zeal. 
Egedf*, and other missionaries, have made at¬ 
tempts, at different times, for the recovery of the 
lost colonies ; but although ruins of churches, and 
other buildings, were discovered on the west side 
