A few days later the first stop in Greenland was made at Godhavn, the capital of the country. Just outside the harbour the pilot, an Eskimo in his tiny skin canoe or kayak, met the ship and was hoisted on board, canoe and all. Here Captain Sam expected to get some seal-skin clothing which had been ordered for AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S father.

The sun now shone throughout the twenty-four hours, so there was no night at all.

When AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S mother told her Godhavn is the capital of Danish Greenland, AH-NI-GHI´-TO said, “Just as Washington is the capital of the United States? Oh, mother, how funny it is to look over there and see only a few frame houses one and a half stories high, a tiny frame church with a school-bell on top, and then only mounds of turf with a window stuck in the end of each and a chimney put on one side, —— and to think this is a capital city!”

But it is true. The Inspector of Danish Greenland, the Governor of Godhavn, and an assistant with their families are the only white people in the “city.”

“The mounds of turf” as AH-NI-GHI´-TO calls them, are the native huts. They are only one story high and built of stone and turf half in and half above the ground. The turf with which the stones are chinked is allowed to grow until the stones can hardly be seen for grass. Some of the dogs belonging to the household are nearly always asleep on top of the huts, and this makes the huts look still more like mounds of grass. The Danish Governor requires the children of these natives to go to school and to church. The schoolmaster is also the preacher, and he is usually a native Greenlander who was taught in this same school when he was a boy.

AH-NI-GHI´-TO was disappointed because it was two o’clock in the morning when the anchor went down and every one on shore was asleep.

The Captain said we had no time to spare, and he would go ashore at once without waiting for rising-time, and see if the Governor would receive him. While he was gone a few of the natives, who had been roused by the tooting of the “Windward’s” whistle, came on board to find out whose ship it was and whether there was any chance for them to trade their toy kayaks (boats) and sledges for coffee, sugar, and biscuit.

Among them was an old native, named Broberg, who had seen AH-NI-GHI´-TO when she was a baby, and again when she was four years old. He first knew her father in 1886, and asked about him in his broken English. AH-NI-GHI´-TO was much amused, and later wrote in her diary:

“August 10.—Came to Godhavn at two o’clock this morning. Could not go ashore. Saw some old Eskimos I had seen before. One old man was very funny. His name is Broberg. He came toward us and shook hands with mother and me and said, ‘Me very glad see you. You plenty big now. All you look plenty well. Me hope you find Peary all same well. Me go my house catch you kamiks. You pickaninny feet keep plenty warm in good kamiks. No cold, you wait, me see.’

“Mother teases me by saying that he said, ‘You plenty bad now,’ and not ‘plenty big,’ but I know he did not because he doesn’t know me well enough.”

While old Broberg had gone to see if he could “catch” a pair of warm kamiks (fur-lined boots) for AH-NI-GHI´-TO, she saw a few of her old friends, who as soon as they heard it was Peary’s ship, and that AH-NI-GHI´-TO was on board, showed their delight by bringing her the best they had, and they wanted her to come ashore and visit their pickaninnies.

One man brought his family close to where the ship lay, that AH-NI-GHI´-TO might see what fine children he had. The little girl, a child of three years, had on short, white leather kamiks (boots) with long seal-skin stockings coming to the thigh, but the tops of the stockings above the boots were covered with snow-white, lace-trimmed pantalettes made of muslin. Her little seal-skin trousers had bands of white leather embroidered in red, down the front of each leg, and her top garment made like a sweater, was of red and white figured calico, trimmed about the neck and wrists with black fur and lined with the soft, warm breasts of the eider duck. The baby was dressed very much like the babies at home, only the feet and legs were put into a fur bag covered with bright calico.

AH-NI-GHI´-TO pleased them by taking their pictures as they stood there hand in hand.

Nearly all the natives of Danish Greenland wear clothing made of woven material, for which they trade their furs and blubber with the Danish people who govern them and teach them.

In a short while Captain Sam returned. With him came the Inspector and the Governor. AH-NI-GHI´-TO heard that the Danish children whom she met here on her last visit were now living somewhere else, and of the two Danish families in Godhavn now only one had children. To these she sent fruit and sweets and said she hoped to see them on her return, for now the Captain was in a hurry to be off while the good weather lasted, and there was no time for visiting.

Old Broberg returned, but had not been able to “catch” a pair of kamiks to fit AH-NI-GHI´-TO. He felt sorry about it and wished the Captain to wait until his daughters could make a pair, as he said “they plenty quick sew.” But of course this was not to be thought of.

Just as the “Windward” was ready to leave and had blown her “good-bye” whistle a messenger from the Governor’s wife climbed over the ship’s side and handed AH-NI-GHI´-TO a beautiful ivory necklace as a keepsake.