Of the Inhabitants, their Houses, and House Furniture.

IT is undoubted, that the modern inhabitants of Greenland are the offspring of the Schrellings, especially those that live on the Western coast; and there may be some mixture, for aught we know, of the ancient Norway colonies that formerly dwelled in the country, who in length of time were blended and naturalized among the natives, which is made probable by several Norway words found in their language. For, although the Norway colonies were destroyed, yet there were, no doubt, some remains of them, which joined with the natives and became all one nation. With these inhabitants all the sea coasts are peopled, some more and some less.

The coast is pretty populous in the Southern parts, and on the North in 68° and 69°; though, compared to other countries, it is in the main but thinly inhabited. In the inner parts of the country nobody lives, except at certain times in the summer season, when they go rein deer hunting. The reason of this is, that (as has been said above) the whole upland country is perpetually covered with ice and snow.

As to their houses or dwelling places, they have one for the winter season and another for the summer. Their winter habitation is a low hut built with stone and turf, two or three yards high, with a flat roof. In this hut the windows are on one side, made of the bowels of seals dressed and sewed together, or of the maws of halibut, and are white and transparent. On the other side their beds are placed, which consist in shelves or benches made up of deal boards raised half a yard from the ground; their bedding is made of seal and rein deer skins.

Several families live together in one of these houses or huts; each family occupying a room by itself, separated from the rest by a wooden post, by which also the roof is supported; before which there is a hearth or fireplace, in which is placed a great lamp in the form of a half moon seated on a trevet; over this are hung their kettles of brass, copper, or marble, in which they boil their victuals: under the roof, just above the lamp, they have a sort of rack or shelf, to put their wet clothes upon to dry. The fore door or entry of the house is very low, so that they must stoop, and most creep in upon all fours, to get in at it; which is so contrived to keep the cold air out as much as possible. The inside of the houses is covered or lined with old skins, which before have served for the covering of their boats. Some of these houses are so large, that they can harbour seven or eight families.

Upon the benches or shelves, where their beds are placed, is the ordinary seat of the women, attending their work of sewing and making up the clothing. The men with their sons occupy the foremost parts of the benches, turning their back to the women: on the opposite side, under the windows, the men belonging to the family, or strangers, take their seats upon the benches there placed.

I cannot forbear taking notice, that though in one of these houses there be ten or twenty train lamps, one does not perceive the steam or smoke thereof to fill these small cottages: the reason, I imagine, is, the care they take in trimming those lamps, viz. they take dry moss, rubbed very small, which they lay on one side of the lamp, which, being lighted, burns softly and does not cause any smoke, if they do not lay it on too thick, or in lumps. This fire gives such a heat, that it not only serves to boil their victuals, but also heats the room to that degree, that it is as hot as a bagnio. But for those who are not used to this way of firing, the smell is very disagreeable, as well by the number of burning lamps, all fed with train oil, as on account of divers sorts of raw meat, fishes, and fat, which they heap up in their habitations; but especially their urine tubs smell most insufferably, and strike one, that is not accustomed to it, to the very heart.

These winter habitations they begin to dwell in immediately after Michaelmas, and leave them again at the approach of the spring, which commonly is at the latter end of March; and then for the summer season lodge in tents, which are their summer habitations. These tents are made of rafts or long poles, set in a circular form, bending at the top, and resembling a sugar loaf, and covered with a double cover, of which the innermost is of seal or rein deer skins with the hairy side inward (if they be rich), and the outermost also of the same sort of skins, without hair, dressed with fat, that the rain may not pierce them. In these tents they have their beds, and lamps to dress their meat with; also a curtain made of the guts or bowels of seals sewed together, through which they receive the day light instead of windows. Every master of a family has got such a tent, and a great woman’s boat, to transport their tents and luggage from place to place, where their business calls them.