A Description of Greenland/Chapter 3

by Hans Egede

CHAP. III.

Treats of the Nature of the Soil, Plants and Minerals of Greenland.

As to the Nature of the Soil, we are informed by ancient Histories, that the Greenland Colonies bred a Number of Cattle which afforded them The Products of Greenland for their Goodness appropriated to the King's Service.Milk, Butter and Cheese in such abundance, that a great Quanity thereof was brought over to Norway, and for its prime and particular Goodness was set apart for the King's Kitchin, which was practised until the Reign of Queen Margaret. We also read in these Histories, that some Parts of the Country yielded the choicest Wheat-Corn, and in the Dales or Valleys the Oak-Trees brought forth Acorns, of the Bigness of an Apple, very good to eat^[1]. The Woods afforded Plenty of Game of Rein Deer, Hares, &c. for the Sport of Huntsmen. The Rivers, Bays, and the Seas furnished an infinite Number of Fishes, Seals, Morses and Whales; of which all the Inhabitants made a considerable Trade and Commerce. And, though the Country at present cannot boast of the same Plenty and Richness, as it lies destitute of Colonies, Cattle, and uncultivated; May be again restored to its former Fruitfulness.yet I do not doubt, but the old dwelling Places, formerly inhabited might recover their former Fertility, if they were again peopled with Men and Cattle; in as much as about those Places there grows fine Grass, From 60 to 65 Degrees there is fine Meadow-Ground.especially from 60 to 65 Degrees. In the great Bay, which in the Sea Carts goes under the Name of Baal's River, and at present is called the Bay of Good Hope (from the Danish Colony settled near the Entrance of this Inlet) there are on both Sides of the Colony many good Pieces of Meadow-Ground, for the grazing and pasturing Numbers of Cattle, besides Plenty of Provision, which the Sea as well as the Land yields. But no Trees or Woods, only some Underwood.Trees or Woods of any Consideration are rarely met with; yet I have found in most of the Bays Underwoods and Shrubs in great Quantity, especially of Birch, Elm, and Willows, which afford sufficient Fuel for the Use of the Inhabitants. The largest Wood I have seen is in the Latitude of 60 and 61 Degrees; where I found Birch-Trees two or three Fathom high, somewhat thicker than a Man's Leg or Arm: small Juniper-Trees grow also here in abundance, the Berries of which are of the Bigness of Grey-pease. There grow several Kinds of Herbs and Plants.The Herb called Quaun, which is our Angelica, is very obvious and common, as well as wild Rosemary, which has the Taste and Smell of Turpentine; of which by Distillation is extracted a fine Oil and Spirit, of great Use in Medicine. That precious Herb Scurvy-Grass, the most excellent Remedy for the Cure of the Distemper, which gives it Name, grows every where on the Sea-Side; and has not so bitter a Taste as that of softer Climates; I have seen wonderful Effects of its Cure. The Century also produces a Grass with yellow Flowers, An Herb, whose Root smells of Roses.whose Root smells in the Spring like Roses: the Inhabitants feed thereupon, and find Benefit by it. In the Bays and Inlets you have wild Thyme at the Side of the Mountains, which after Sun-set yield a fragrant Smell. Here also you meet with the Herb Tormentil, or Set-soil, and a great many other Herbs, Plants and Vegetables, which I can't call to Mind, and whose Names indeed are altogether unknown to me. Some of them are represented in the following Cuts. Their most common Berries are those called Blew-Berries, Tittle-Berries, and Bramble-Berries. Multe-Berries, which are common in Norway, do not arrive here to any Perfection, on account of the thick Fogs that hang upon the Islands, when these Plants bud. This Country affords the most pleasant Prospect about the Latitude of 60 to 64 Degrees; and seems fit to be manured for the Produce of all Sorts of Grain; The Soil seems fit to produce all Sorts of Grain.and there is to this Day, Marks of Acres and arable Land to be observed. I myself once made a There has been a Trial made to sow Barley, which did not come to Maturity.Trial of sowing Barley in the Bay joining to our new Colony, which sprung up so fast, that it stood in its full Ears towards the latter End of July; but did not come to Ripeness, on account of the Night-Frost, which nip'd it, and hindered its Growth. But as this Grain was brought over from Begen in Norway, no Doubt it wanted a longer Summer and more Heat for to ripen. But I am of Opinion that Corn which grows in the more Northern Parts of Norway would thrive better in Greenland, in as much as those Climates agree better together. Turnips and Cole are very good here, and of a sweet Taste, especially the Turnips, which are pretty large. I must observe to you, that all that has been said of the Fruitfulness of the Greenland Soil, is to be understood of the Latitude of 60 to 65; and differs according to the different Degrees of Latitude. In the Northern Parts they have no Grass.For in the most Northern Parts you find neither Herbs nor Plants; so that the Inhabitants cannot gather Grass enough to put in their Shoes, to keep their Feet warm, but are obliged to buy it from the Southern Parts.

Minerals and Metals are rare in Greenland.Of Greenland Metals or Minerals I have little or nothign to say. 'Tis true, that about two Norway Miles to the South of the Colony of Good Hope, on a Promontory, there are here and there green Spots to be seen, like Verdigrease, which shews there must be some Copper-Ore. And a certain Greenlander, once brought me some Pieces not unlike Lead-Ore. There is likewise a sort of Calamine, which has the Colour of yellow Brass. There are Quantities of yellow and red Paint.In my Expedition upon Discoveries I found on a little Island, where we touched, some yellow Sand, mixed with Sinople red, or Vermilion Strokes, of which I sent a Quantity over to the Directors of the Greenland Company at Bergen, to make a Trial of it; upon which they wrote me an Answer, that I should endeavour to get as much as I could of the same Same; but to theirs, as well as my own Disappointment, I never was able to find the said Island again, where I had got this Sand, as it was but a very small and insignificant one, situated among a great many others; and the Mark I had taken Care to put up, was by the Wind blown down. Nevertheless there has been enough of the same Stuff found up and down in the Country, which when it is burnt, changes its former Colour for a reddish Hue, which it likewise does, if you keep it a while shut up close. Whether this be of the same Sand that formerly was brought from thence, is uncertain.Whether or no this be of the same sort of Sand, as that which Sir Martin Forbisher is said to have brought some Hundred Tuns to England, and was pretended to contain a great deal of Gold; and again, (as we have above taken Notice of) of which some of the Danish Greenland Company's Ships returned freighted to Copenhagen in the Year 1636, is a Question, which I have no Mind to decide. However thus much I can say, that by the small Experience I have acquired in the Art of Chymistry, I have tried both by Extraction and Precipitation, if it would yield and thing, but always lost my Labour. After all I declare, I never could find any other Sort of Sand, that contained either Gold or Silver. Greenland Crystal and Rubies.But as for Rock-Crystal, bothred and white, you find it here; the red contains some particular Solis, which can only be produced by the spagyrick Art. Stone-Flax, or what they call Asbestus.Asbestus, is so common here, that you may see whole Mountains of it; it has the Appearance of a common Stone, but can be split or cloven like a Piece of Wood: it contains long Filaments, which when beaten and separated from the Dross, you may twist and spin into a Thread. As long as it has its oily Moisture, it will burn, without being consumed to Ashes. Round about our Colony of Good Hope there is a Sort of coarse bastard Marble.Marble of different Colours, blue, green, red, and some quite white, and again some white with black Spots, which the Natives form into all Sorts of Vessels and Utensils; as Lamps, Pots to boil in, and even Crucibles to melt Metals in, this Marble standing Proof against the Fire^[2].Which abides the Fire. Of this Marble there was brought a Quantity over to Drontheim in Norway, which they made Use of in the adorning of the Cathedral of that City, as we have it from Peter Claudius Undalin^[3]. Amongst the Produce of the Sea, besides different Shells, Muscles, and Periwinkles, there are also Coral Trees, of which I have seen one, of a fine Form and Size.

 

1. A Greenlander, who came from the most Southern Part of the Country near the States Promontory, told my Son, when he saw some Lemons in his Room, that he had seen Fruits much like those growing upon Trees in his Country, though they were four times less; which I take to have been some of those Acorns, which I above took Notice of, treating of the Nature of the Soil.
2. The Lamps and Pots, which the Southern Greenlanders make of this Marble, and sold at a very high Price; so that the Natives of the Northern Parts, where such Marble is not to be had, buy them at the Rate of eight or ten Rain-Deer Skins a large Pot, and a Lamp at two or three Skins.
3. According to what the Natives tell, there is in the Southern Parts a Hot-Well, of a Mineral Quality; which, if you wash therein, cures the Itch: they wash their Skins in them, and it takes away all Dirt and Foulness, and makes them look like new.

 

 

Illustration of native Greenland plants, 1745.