or Groenland, a very large island, or, probably, assemblage of islands, lying to the north-east of North America, and for the most part comprehended within the Arctic Circle. In early times it was supposed to form a part of the American continent; but the discoveries of modern navigators have proved, what indeed the very idea of a north-west passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean supposed, its insularity. And the latest discoveries have, moreover, shown, or all but proved, the entire separation of the lands on the west side of Baffin's Bay, or rather, what we would now venture to designate Baffin's Sea, from those of the opposite shores, so as to limit Greenland to the country on the eastern side of that great channel. From Cape Farewell, in lat. 59° 49' N., it stretches on the west side in a north-west-westerly direction through Smith's Sound, and then more easterly into a high northern latitude. On the other side, the Greenland coast runs first north-north-easterly, then north-easterly, and finally (so far as yet traced), in a northerly direction, bending eastward in the 75th and 76th parallels of latitude. It expands from Cape Farewell, the southern point, up to latitude 70°, where it attains a width of about 600 miles, which is pretty evenly maintained to the northern extent of our researches on the eastern side. This side of Greenland has been denominated East or Old Greenland, the other West Greenland.

In general, the discoveries which have been effected in this quarter of the globe have resulted from attempts made to discover a north-west passage to India through the Arctic Sea. The existence of such a communication is a subject which from time to time has occupied the attention of the British government for the last three centuries; and although much valuable information had been obtained by means of these voyages, the great problem remained unsolved until the very recent researches after the fate of our lamented voyager Sir John Franklin, when Capt. McClure, in his researches, and Belring's Strait, eastward, determined the fact of a sea communication between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. This he effected by sailing till within sight of Capt. Parry's discoveries at Melville Island, and thence completing the personal transit by ice-travelling and voyaging to the shores whence he had departed. But beyond the determination of the geographical fact, it was found, as had been confidently predicted, that no practical use could be made of a channel so thickly encumbered with impenetrable, or all but impenetrable ices.

Greenland was first discovered by an Icelander named Gudbrand, who was driven by storm upon this coast, about the beginning of the tenth century, and carried back intelligence of its existence to Iceland. Towards the end of the same century,—according to some writers in 983,—an Icelandic chief named Eric Raude, or Eric the Red, having killed another powerful chief, and being obliged to quit the country, determined to follow up Gudbrand's discovery. After having spent two or three years in exploring the country, he returned to Iceland, giving an exaggerated account of the freshness and verdure of the country, which he called Greenland. In consequence of this, a fleet of twenty-five sail was equipped and sent out, laden with persons of both sexes, cattle, and other necessaries for forming a settlement. Only about the half of the vessels reached their destination; but other adventurers setting out, not only from Iceland, but from Norway, the Orkneys, and other islands, in a few years a considerable colony was formed, and a regular trade established. The real position of these early adventures has been a subject of much learned investigation and no little controversy. But it seems highly probable that the original colony of Greenland began about the southern promontory, near Cape Farewell, and gradually Beyond this first settlement another proceeded farther to the west. The former was called Æstre Bygd, or the eastern settlement, and the latter Vestre Bygd, or the western settlement. Christianity having been introduced about the beginning of the eleventh century, numerous churches and convents were built, and the country was divided into regular parishes, to which monks and other spiritual instructors were attached. The colonists, although compelled to lead a life of severe privation and hardship, continued to increase, and to extend to the north. The zeal with which the early Scandinavians pushed their settlements to the northernmost parts of Greenland is strikingly attested by a curious monument which was discovered in 1824. It consists of a stone carved with Runic characters, which was found standing erect in the ground on the island of Kingiktorsoak, under the parallel of 73°.

For some centuries the commercial intercourse between Greenland and Norway was kept up; but about the beginning of the fifteenth century all intercourse ceased, and the unfortunate colonists were cut off from the rest of mankind. The Esquimaux, the natives of the country, whom in derivation the Norwegians called Scrollingens, or Dwarfs, on account of their diminutive stature, attacked the western colony, which was compelled to seek assistance from that which lay to the south-east. There can be little doubt that the scanty population was reduced by these savage invaders; but it was more effectually thinned by that dreadful pestilence called the black death, which desolated Europe from the year 1402 to 1404, and which extended its ravages even to Greenland. Those who escaped the plague probably soon fell victims to the Esquimaux; at least, nothing is known of them after the commencement of the fifteenth century. The terms eastern and western being used in reference to the original settlements, naturally led to the belief that the eastern as well as the western side of Greenland had been colonized; and a notion very generally prevailed for a long time that the western settlement only had perished, the eastern one having escaped the calamity, but, from the vast accumulation of ice, had been secluded from all communication with the rest of the world. During the last century the court of Denmark repeatedly despatched ships to ascertain if any settlers still remained on that part of the coast which is now called East or Old Greenland, but without success. A more recent boating expedition in 1829-30, under Captain W. A. Graah, of the Danish royal navy, has, however, in extent of research on the eastern side of Cape Farewell, yielded by far the most satisfactory information. He examined the coast as far north as 65° 45' but found nothing to indicate that this coast had ever been colonized; and we are thus led to the conclusion that the notion of any of the Norwegians having settled on the eastern shores must be a mistake; a mistake arising from a misapprehension of the words east and west. In 1721 Hans Egede, a clergyman from Vaagen, in Norway, accompanied by his wife and family, left his native country to settle as a missionary in Greenland. He landed at Baals River in N. Lat. 64°, and called the place Godthåb, or Good Hope. Since that time the Danes have established numerous settlements upon the western coast of Greenland, lying between 60° and 75° N. Lat. The whale fisheries have greatly contributed to the advancement of the colonies; and from the intimate intercourse which is now kept up with Europeans, their condition is at present more flourishing than at any former period.

There are, at present, thirteen Danish colonies in Greenland, besides some smaller establishments termed factories. For administrative purposes they are formed into two inspectorships, called respectively North and South Greenland. South Greenland lies Greenland south of N. lat. 67°, and comprises six colonies, as follows:

| Colony | Founded | Pop. 1845 | Danes | |-------------------------|---------|-----------|-------| | Julianehaab, or Juliana's Hope | 1775 | 2336 | 41 | | Fredericksaab, or Frederick's Hope | 1742 | 650 | 10 | | Fiskerneset, or Fish Point | 1754 | 485 | 20 | | Godthåb, or Good Hope | 1721 | 801 | 25 | | Lukkertoppen | 1775 | 640 | 18 | | Holsteborg | 1759 | 744 | 10 |

Julianehaab is the most southern as well as the most important of these. Its district extends to the most southerly point of Greenland, Statenhus, and beyond it for some distance along the east side. At Piaknamset the Danes carry on an extensive seal fishery by means of nets, &c. In its vicinity is the Moravian station of Lichtenfels, founded in 1758. Godthåb is the residence of the Inspector of South Greenland; and in the vicinity is the Moravian settlement of New Herrnhut. Lukkertoppen takes its name from three pointed hills in the vicinity, resembling sugar loaves, and has one of the best and safest harbours in the country. North Greenland lies north of N. lat. 67°, and comprises seven colonies, as follows:

| Colony | Founded | Pop. 1845 | Danes | |-------------------------|---------|-----------|-------| | Egedesminde, or Egede's Memory | 1759 | 767 | 15 | | Christiansaab, or Christian's Hope | 1734 | 420 | 14 | | Jacobsaab, or Jacob's Haven | 1741 | 275 | 14 | | Rittenbenk | 1725 | 435 | 11 | | Godthåb, or Good Haven | | 240 | 17 | | Omenak | 1758 | 528 | 21 | | Upernivik | | 405 | 18 |

Egedesminde, in Disco Bay, was founded by Captain Egede, and named in memory of his father Hans Egede. It comprises a number of large and small islands, but the proper settlement is on the island of Austæt. Between this and Fox Island (Reveo) there is a very secure harbour. A great many seals are caught here, especially in nets; but the collecting of elder-down forms the most important branch of industry. Godthåb, or Good Haven, in the southern extremity of the island of Disco, N. Lat. 69° 12', is the seat of the Inspector of North Greenland, and has a coal-mine, which supplies the other settlements on Disco Bay with that article. Omensak is noted for its excellent salmon, which is fished for by the Greenlanders in their kaijkae or small boats and upon the ice, and by the Danes with nets which are let down the openings between the ice. There are here coal-mines which supply the colony. Upernivik is the most northern of these colonies, being in about N. Lat. 73°, and though of recent formation, it is already one of the most important in North Greenland. The population of Greenland on 31st December 1845 thus amounted to 8735, being 8501 natives, and 234 Danes; and in 1851 is given as 9400, of whom 250 were Danes. This includes only those subject to the Danish crown; of those that may be scattered over the country, no conjecture can be formed.

We shall now give a brief outline of the discovery of the various sections of the coasts of Greenland, with occasional references to researches about proximate lands with which those on Greenland were more or less mixed up. This will lead us again to notice the enterprises of the sixteenth century in search of a passage by the north-west from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean.

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Frobisher, a distinguished English navigator, made several voyages to this quarter of the globe. In 1577 he discovered the straits which have been called after him. In the year 1585, Davis, another able seaman, came in sight of high land, which he called Mount Raleigh, supposed to lie somewhere on the west of the straits bearing the discoverer's name. In 1610 Hudson discovered the straits and the bay which are called after him, in which he experienced a disastrous termination to his useful career. To certain rocky islands lying about the 64th parallel, he gave the name of Isles of God's Mercy. He also discovered two capes, one of which was called Digge's Cape, and the other Wil-

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1 The following is a translation of the inscription by Dr Rafn, secretary of the Royal Antiquarian Society of Copenhagen—"Erling Sigvatson, and Bjarni Thordarson, and Endride Oddson, erected these memorial stones, and cleared the place, on Saturday before Gagudag (the 25th of April), in the year 1135." Greenland, roughly Cape. In 1616, Baffin, one of the most distinguished of our English navigators, discovered the large expanse northward of the Strait of Davis, now known as Baffin's Bay. Sailing in a little vessel only of about fifty-five tons burthen, he effected one of the most extraordinary voyages on record. Under the imperfect appliances of the age for navigation, Baffin, with one small vessel, circumnavigated to Smith's Sound, on the north of that bay or sea which, northward of "Hope Sanderson, the furthest land Master Davis reached, lying between 72 and 73 degrees," was an utterly unknown region,—thus adding some 1100 miles of discoveries, reckoned by the mere coasting line, to the knowledge of these ice-encumbered shores. His exploration northward reached, it would appear from the brief but graphically told story of his voyage, as given among the Pilgrimages of Purchas, as high as about 77° 47' of latitude, where he obtained a clear view into Sir Thomas Smith's Sound, which he describes as running "to the north of 78 degrees, and being the greatest and largest in all the bay."

For 200 years from the time of Baffin the knowledge of this great inlet (excepting some limited and unpublished information obtained by occasional enterprises of the whalers) had not been advanced. In the year 1818, however, in consequence of information, we believe, communicated by Captain Scoresby to Sir Joseph Banks, the admiralty fitted out two expeditions; one of which, under the command of Captain Ross, was destined for the discovery of the northwest passage; and the other, at the head of which was Captain Buchan, had for its object to attempt a voyage across the pole. On the western side of Greenland, the first-named navigator discovered a high mountainous region to the north of Upernivik, to which, from national predilections, he gave the name of the Arctic Highlands. It is little else than a mass of rocks, intermingled with immense blocks of ice. He then proceeded towards the northern extremity of Baffin's Bay, which he explored as far as the ice would permit, looking from a distance into Smith's Sound. He surveyed the coast generally, ascertained the positions and the appearance of the land, the situation of the islands, and the general configuration of the great inlet, from the 78th down to the 65th parallel. The discoveries of Baffin, which some had disputed, were thus signally confirmed; for whilst the form of the bay, as given mainly from conjectural applications of Baffin's descriptions, was found to be thoroughly erroneous, the several deep inlets and other remarkable features of the coast-line, as noted by this admirable voyager, were not only easily recognised, but the latitudes and more striking particularities were found to be characteristically correct.

But the limited period of a mere summer's voyage having left several points in Ross's course defective and inconclusive, especially as to the supposed closing up of Lancaster Sound by continuous land, another expedition was sent out the year following under Captain Parry, who succeeded not only in passing through this famous inlet of Baffin, but in discovering a navigable channel among islands extending far westward, which was successfully pursued for about thirty degrees of longitude beyond Ross's furthest. But as these researches, with the general body of the discoveries since then made, fall beyond the limits of our present article, we must refer, for an abstract of them, to our general account of the Polar Regions. The chief additions to our knowledge of western Greenland which remain to be noticed consist of certain corrections of the coast-line incidentally made by the westerly exploring expeditions, and more accurate information of Smith's Sound and the coasts immediately beyond, resulting from Captain Inglefield's voyage in the summer of 1852, and from the very successful and interesting American exploration, still further north, under Dr Kane in 1853–5.

Captain Inglefield, in the Isabel, fitted out by Lady Franklin, having the advantage of an auxiliary steam power, made an advance northward of Baffin's furthest of about 50 miles, reaching within Smith's Sound to 78° 28' N. latitude, and obtaining the view of a sea expanding again considerably beyond.

The exploration of this new expanse into the main Arctic Ocean (with which the Greenland sea in the east, and Behring Strait in the west, communicated), by the second American search expedition under Dr Kane, completes our sketch of the progress of discovery on the western side of Greenland. This hardy and intelligent adventurer, in a little solitary vessel, the brig Advance, pushed his way through Smith's Sound in the month of August 1853, and crawled along shore within a cram of dangerous ices which all but filled the passage, to a position higher in latitude (about 78° 40') than had ever before been taken as a wintering station in these western regions by Europeans. In this position the brig was frozen in, early in September, and so remained throughout the succeeding summer, and with so little prospect of release as to occasion her abandonment, after a protracted adherence to her of above twenty months.

From this high position in latitude, explorations (furthered for a time by the effective aid of their Esquimaux dogs) were perseveringly made, and rewarded by results of the most interesting nature in geography, hydrography, and glaciology. The coast of Greenland, forming the eastern boundary of Smith's Sound, was traced northerly and easterly, until the exploration was diverted by a stupendous glacier of a vast extent, with a precipitous face about 500 feet in height abutting the sea. The geographical discoveries were pushed still further towards the pole, and new lands as high in latitude as 82° 30' added to our charts. The lands on the two sides of this channel were found to be connected by apparently perpetual ices, having, at the time of the examination, an open sea beyond entirely free from visible encumbrance, whose waves were dashing with sublime action and force against the face of the icy barrier. Here an area of about 3000 square miles was seen entirely free from ice, the commencement and margin, as has been inferred, of an open unfreezing polar sea. On this question, however, which comes in more fitly for discussion in our article on the Polar Regions, we here only remark cautiously against a premature conclusion, that Captain Scoresby, in his account of the arctic regions, describes an open sea, which he himself once observed and navigated, to the northward of Spitzbergen, running about E.N.E. and W.S.W., for 300 miles within the latitudes of 80° and 81° 30', and having an area of from 15,000 to 20,000 square miles, or from five to six times the extent of that traced by Dr Kane; yet this apparently open polar ocean was found to be but a mid-glacial sea! Besides, the extreme lowness of the temperature in Dr Kane's case—being the lowest, on the mean, ever observed on the face of the globe—afforded sufficient evidence that there could be no such sea remaining open to the pole, beyond an incidental lake.

It does not come within the scope of our present article to dwell on the particular facts, and incidents, and processes of this admirable research by Dr Kane, except to notice the falling in with Esquimaux living in a region further north than any they had before met with. Agreeing as these natives in their general characteristics do with other Greenlanders, they were found to have incidental peculiarities in their habits and modes of living. They employ dog-sledges of great efficiency in speed, but have no boats or kaijaks. They surround themselves in winter with walls of moss, and, at that season, live mainly upon raw walrus flesh—habits of life which, for the season, Dr Kane and his party found it expedient, and, after a little experience, not unpleasant, to imitate and adopt. Under this new dietary education, raw walrus flesh soon became palatable; and Greenland, even tallow candles, when they could be spared for such a purpose, were pronounced by the chief of the expedition to be very good! Useful and friendly as these natives were in their intercourse with Dr Kane and his party, they unfortunately possessed the infirmity (shall we call it?) too characteristic of the Esquimaux, of an insatiable habit of self-appropriation—stealing unscrupulously whatever they could manage to secrete, equally regardless of the damage to the owners, or of any possible use of the articles to themselves.

We may just add that Dr Kane, in the Advance, started on his expedition from New York on the 31st of May 1853, having along with him, in crew and associates, seventeen men. Three of this number, the cook, carpenter, and a seaman, died in the arctic regions, and the remainder returned safe to port on the 11th October 1855. The party left their vessel still fast in the ice on the 20th of May, and travelled over the ice to the navigable waters of Baffin's Sea, whence by means of their boats they proceeded to the settlement of Upernivik. They there took passage in a Danish trader; and when, in their progress southward, they reached Lievely in Disco Island, they met with the expedition of Lieutenant H. J. Hartstein, which had been sent out by Congress in search of them.

As to the eastern side of Greenland, all our accurate knowledge, except a few particulars referring to the coast near Cape Farewell, is of recent attainment. A coast-line, indeed, of the more southern parallels was to be found in our charts of the Arctic Regions, and in maps by Egede and Crantz, traced to a considerable extent, with an elaborateness of flexure that would indicate real and careful examination; but subsequent researches have by no means verified the supposed configurations.

Northward of the 70th parallel of latitude, all the geographical information we had of that coast previous to the voyage of Captain Scoresby (now the Rev. Dr Scoresby) in 1822, consisted of the not very definite notification of certain points of land discovered by the adventurous Hudson in 1607, with a few touches on the coast, and notices of land being seen by whalers, chiefly Dutch, in 1654, 1665, and 1670. In 1822, however, Captain Scoresby, whilst engaged in the Greenland whale fishery, and successfully pursuing the commercial object of his voyage, penetrated the ice westward, as he had previously provided for attempting, to the coast of Eastern Greenland. But the position of the coast, and its line of direction, were found to be widely different from those ascribed to them in the charts, whether English or Dutch; for the real place of the land in latitude 74° was found to be from 8° to 15° of longitude further west, and the line of direction from 69° to 74° 30' N. by E., instead of N.E. or E.N.E. as formerly laid down.

The first land seen by Captain Scoresby, stretching from N.W. by N. to N., extended to about 74° 30' N., the nearest headland being estimated at 50 miles distance. This was on the 7th of June, and so early in the season as to prevent any near approach to the coast, from the intervention of a chain of heavy field ice northward of 73°. But after tracing a proximate outline of the more northern part of the coast, Captain Scoresby was gradually enabled to approach the shore as, with the advance of the season, he proceeded southward; and in the course of the exploration, succeeded in landing on four or five different positions between the 70th and 73rd parallels. The coast from 74° 30' to 69° 10' was generally surveyed, and names were given to the more particular headlands, islands, and inlets. Two very remarkable inlets were observed and partially examined, one in latitude 72° which was named Davy's Sound, and the other in 70° 15', which received the name of Scoresby's Sound, on account of the first examination of it ever known to have been made having just been accomplished by the investigator's father. In this way, single-handed, and without cost to the country, some 600 miles of new Greenland coast line (reckoning its various flexures and inlets) were added to our Greenland charts; and much novel information on the geography, hydrography, and natural history of those regions was communicated to the public in the Journal of the Voyage, which appeared in the succeeding spring. One circumstance of geographical interest, it may be proper more particularly to notice, viz., the conviction conveyed to the mind of Captain Scoresby by his observations on the current setting into Davy's Sound and Scoresby's Sound, that these fine expanses of water, which, in certain westerly directions, were clear of ice or land to the utmost extent of vision, were actual channels of communication between the sea of Greenland on the east, and that of Baffin on the west. Hence the great probability of the supposition already noticed, that Greenland consists of an assemblage of islands.

In the year 1823, Captain Clavering, in command of the Griper sloop-of-war, under admiralty orders for pendulum experiments, advanced on the same coast as that first approached by Captain Scoresby; and, being about a month later in the season, was enabled to get close in shore, and to enter a considerable bay in lat. 74°, supposed to be that originally discovered by Gael Hamkes, a Dutch navigator, in 1654. The line of the more northerly part of the coast, as laid down by Scoresby, was now corrected, and new coastline, including Shannon Island, with dottings of headlands reaching from 74° 30' to 75°, added to our charts. Southward of Gael Hamke's Bay the coast was traced pretty close along to Cape Parry of Scoresby, and then finally left. The general configuration of the coast, excepting some ten or fifteen leagues in the furthest north, seen by Captain Scoresby only in the distant horizon, was singularly verified by Captain Clavering's inshore researches. For though the first explorer was not able to approach the land between 73° 30' and 74° 30' N., nearer than from 40 to 45 geographical miles, the positions ascribed by the two navigators to the headlands of Gael Hamke's Bay, and other leading points (with Jackson's Island, which had been first laid down at about 30 miles distance), proved to be all but identical.

This coast presents many remarkable and interesting features. On the Liverpool coast of Scoresby there is a mountainous chain of 3000 to 4000 feet in height, forming precipitous cliffs, which terminate in numerous peaks, cones, pyramids, or series of perpendicular serrated points. In the interior were seen peaks supposed to be almost twice the elevation of the lofty coast. The coal formation of Jameson's Island, in Scoresby's Sound, was among the most interesting of the geographical particulars observed.

The final researches, which terminate our description of the eastern coast of Greenland, were those made by Captain Graah in the years 1829 and 1830, by order of the king of Denmark. The leading object was to search for the lost colonies, and trace the coast, if practicable, in boats, from Cape Farewell up to latitude 69° N., the southernmost point discovered by Captain Scoresby. The expedition consisted of two seamen's boats of the country, rowed by women, carrying the Danes of the party (Captain Graah and three others), and attended by five men in their kajaks. From the southern island, Cape Farewell, up to latitude 65°, the coast was found to trend about N.N.E.; and from thence, for 60 to 80 miles (as far as they were able to trace it), the line was about N.E. The highest point on Captain Graah's chart extends to 65° 45', leaving the interval of about 340 miles (in a north-easterly direction) yet uncertain and unknown. The pressing of the ice in close contact upon the land prevented the further navigation of these eastern shores.

The aspect of a country subjected during the greater part of the year to an intense degree of cold, and also for several months deprived of the light of the sun, must of course be dreary and desolate in the extreme. A fall of snow in the midst of what is here called summer, only be- Greenland, cause it is not so dismal as the other parts of the year, is by no means uncommon. Towards the end of autumn it begins to descend in a regular succession of showers, which continue until every object is buried beneath a sheet of dazzling whiteness. Ice also begins to form about this time, first upon small streams and lakes, then upon larger ones and inlets of the sea, and finally upon the ocean itself, a vast extent of the surface of which becomes a solid frozen mass.

Ere the frost has reached its highest degree of intensity, the air deposits its moisture in the form of a fog, which freezes into a fine gossamer netting or into spicular icicles. The surface of the ocean also assumes a very remarkable aspect. It steams like a lime kiln, a phenomenon called frost rime, and caused, as in other instances of the production of vapour, by the water being still warmer than the superincumbent atmosphere. As the cold increases both these appearances vanish; the air clears; and the sea, cooled down to the same standard, becomes a solid floor of congealed salt water. Winter now broods over the frozen regions of the higher latitudes in darkness unbroken save by the light of the moon and the stars, which serves to reveal the desolation of the scene. Halos and luminous meteors are also more numerous here than in lower latitudes. But the aurora borealis, in particular, is highly serviceable in breaking the monotonous gloom of an arctic winter. This brilliant meteor plays almost incessantly in fantastic coruscations, which have the appearance of very vivid sheet lightning, and keep up an almost constant illumination. Captain Parry observes, "The sound of voices, which, during the cold weather, could be heard at a much greater distance than usual, served now and then to break the silence which reigned around us; a silence far different from that peaceable composure which characterizes the landscape of a cultivated country; it was the death-like stillness of the most dreary desolation, and the total absence of animated existence." During this cheerless period of the year, the natives, thickly covered with skins, remain generally imurred in their miserable huts; and, crowding around the stove or lamp, contrive, as far as possible, to close away the long and tedious night. The inside of the hut, all openings in the walls of which are carefully stopped to exclude the piercing cold, becomes covered with a crust of ice; and if for an instant an aperture be made so as to admit the external air, the moisture within becomes precipitated in a shower of snow. It may be remarked, however, that the external darkness prevails only during a part of the day. Twilight exists whenever the sun is less depressed than eighteen degrees below the horizon; the limits of total obscuration occur in the latitude of $84^\circ$, at mid-day in the winter solstice. Captain Parry's party, when in latitude $74^\circ$ $40'$, could see to read the smallest print at noon in the middle of winter. After the sun has appeared above the horizon, the half-famished inhabitants venture forth in search of food about the shores of the sea. In June and July the sun is always above the horizon. The heat, thus greatly augmented, gradually dissolves the perennial ice. The icy covering of the ocean breaks, and, separated into vast masses, is driven about, dissevered, and dispersed by the winds and currents. In particular situations the snow and ice of successive years are cast into immense glaciers, the foundations of which being sapped by the sea, break off in prodigious masses, and, floating far into the ocean, present to the mariner a bright but fearful spectacle, reflecting in varied tints the rays of light, yet threatening, if come in contact with, to crush to pieces the stoutest vessel. Not unfrequently they are borne to a great distance into lower latitudes. In these high latitudes, although the summer is short, the temperature is frequently oppressively sultry on land, which causes great humidity in the atmosphere; a characteristic of the arctic regions.

The mineral productions of the arctic regions are of considerable interest. Only the shores of the country, however, have been examined, the interior remaining unexplored, on account of the eternal ice and snow under which it is buried. The rocks, as far as they have been examined, are principally of the primitive formation, consisting of granite, gneiss, mica slate, hornblende slate, syenite, and clay slate. Among the secondary rocks is found the secondary sandstone, or coal formation; similar to that which abounds in the vicinity of Edinburgh, and containing impressions of plants. Specimens of the coal formation, collected by Captain Scoresby, were found by Professor Jameson to contain impressions of tropical plants; a very interesting fact, as connected with the change of temperature which the earth appears to have undergone. The most northern part of the coast of East Greenland examined by Captain Clavering was mountainous, and principally composed of trap rocks; lower down Captain Scoresby found the primitive rocks the prevailing ones among a large and very general range of geological series. The west coast of Greenland is similar to that above described. The elevated parts of the country are for the most part covered with snow or ice; and in summer, although rivers appear, which are fed by the melting of the ice and snow, they are few and inconsiderable in size. There are also lakes, some of which are of considerable magnitude, and supplied from the same source as the rivers. Springs likewise burst forth; and Giesecke mentions a tidal spring (rising and falling with the tide), and a thermal spring, which maintains a temperature of $104^\circ$, and flows uninterruptedly during the whole of the year. The islands upon this coast, the largest of which is called Disco, are similar in formation to the continent, and present the same bleak and wintry sterility. Four formations have been found on the coast of West Greenland; namely, primitive, secondary, tertiary, and alluvial. In the first of these, various curious and rare minerals occur, such as the cryolite, gadolinite, zircon and sodalite, tourmaline, and numerous precious stones, such as garnets, iolite, rock-crystal, and the like; and in the secondary and tertiary rocks, limestone containing fishes, and imbedded amber, have been found. Copper-ore is said to be abundant in various parts; and plumbago, iron-ore, and tin-stone, are found. The lands bordering on Baffin's Bay, and the islands lying at the northern extremity of it, are not much elevated above the level of the sea, the average height being 800 feet, and the highest elevations seldom exceeding 1500 feet.

The vegetation of a soil which for two-thirds of the year is bound together by intense frost, and covered with snow several feet thick, cannot be supposed to present much variety or beauty. Even the hardy race of pine trees, which in North America during severe cold withstand the fury of the northern tempest, if they make their appearance at all within the Arctic Circle, dwindle into stunted shrubs, which only rise a few feet above the ground, throwing out lateral branches. But to supply this deficiency, and afford to the Esquimaux the means of making their arms and utensils, considerable quantities of drift timber are frequently thrown up on the barren shores. The most abundant plants are mosses and lichens; and these are not only copiously produced, but they possess a nutritious and salutary quality, which does not characterize those of the same species that grow in more temperate climates. Mushrooms and ferns also find the means of subsistence here; and there is a thick tufted juicy plant, of extreme fecundity, emphatically called scurvy-grass, on account of its acting as an antidote to scurvy. The different species of sorrel, especially the Rumex digynus, are found flourishing under the snow at the very furthest limits of vegetation. These are likewise antidotes to scurvy. During the short gleam of summer some beautiful specimens of the floral tribe adorn the vegetative patches, but little of vegetable production useful as food. Greenland can be raised under this ungenial sky. The order algae, especially the species or tribe fucus or sea-weed, grows in great abundance, and covers the Greenland coast with submarine meadows. The singular phenomenon of red snow, which has excited so much interest, is now supposed to result from an assemblage of very minute vegetable bodies belonging to the class of cryptogamic plants, and is termed Uredo viridis. The arctic mountains on which Captain Ross observed the red snow are about 800 feet high, and extend eight miles in length. Captain Scoresby observed the same phenomenon on Rathbun's Island on the eastern coast in 1823. Although snow is not the natural situation of this plant, it possesses a great tenacity of life, and not only preserves its vitality in winter, but, during the partial thawing of the snow it multiplies so as to cover a vast expanse with red suffusion.

Although vegetation be scanty and unimportant in the arctic regions, there is a remarkable profusion of animal life. The sea, in particular, swarms with living beings, some of which are of a magnitude far surpassing anything to be met with elsewhere. One of the grand articles of food for supporting these numerous tribes is the genus Medusa of Linnaeus, graphically called by seamen sea-blubber. These animals are of a soft, gelatinous consistence, and they abound to an extraordinary extent. By far the most numerous of the medusian tribes, however, are very minute; but so plentiful are they, that about a fourth part of the Greenland sea is tinged of an olive-green colour by them. This portion of the ocean is considered as the polar pasture ground, where whales used to be met with in greatest numbers. Animals of the class Crustacea stand next in number and importance as food for the whale. Here various species of the crab occur in large numbers, as well as of the shrimp, whose carnivorous propensities, as observed by Parry, are remarkably strong. Many of the zoophilical and molluscous orders, and several species of marine worms, also abound. But the cetaceous tribes are by far the largest in size, and most important to mankind, of the numerous living beings which inhabit the northern seas. The largest of these is the whale, the mysticetus being sometimes sixty feet in length, and the rorqual nearly a hundred. Of whales there is a considerable variety; and the catching of them has long been a lucrative speculation, on account of the oil and whalebone derived from them. All the shores and borders of the arctic zone are frequented by huge amphibious races, which seem to form an intermediate link between whales and quadrupeds, between the mammalia of the ocean and those of the land. Amongst these is the morse or walrus, a large and unwieldy creature, measuring from twelve to fifteen feet in length, and from eight to ten in circumference. Seals are very numerous, and constitute both the food and the clothing of the Esquimaux, and a profitable fishery to Europeans. Amongst land animals is the polar bear, whose ferocity and daring render him one of the most formidable of quadrupeds. The rein-deer are pretty numerous in some parts of Greenland during summer, and afford a favourite object of chase. Their flesh is good, and the skin forms a very comfortable article of clothing. The arctic fox is met with in considerable numbers. The dog, however, is the most important quadruped, and the most valuable to the Esquimaux, who have succeeded in taming and rendering it subservient to them in travelling and in hunting. Yoked to a sledge, these animals can draw a great weight with very considerable rapidity. Land birds are not numerous, but the number of sea-fowl is incredible. The auk, the petrel, and the gull, in clustered myriads darken the sky, and make the rocks and shores re-echo with their wild clang. The goose and the duck are also met with in these regions; and great flocks of that species of duck called the eider, whose down is so valuable, arrive in spring on the most northern shores of Greenland. Amongst other arctic birds are terns, which produce the most delicate eggs of any water bird; the Greenland colymbus (guillemot), whose skin affords a comfortable article of clothing; the tringa (sand-piper); the charadrius (plover); and the tetrao (grouse and ptarmigan).

The native inhabitants of these countries are the Esquimaux, a race widely diffused over the shores of the Northern Ocean.

Like the vegetation of these high latitudes, the human figure is dwarfish in size, and decidedly below the European standard. A man five feet nine inches in height is considered as a person of gigantic stature, and, compared with the average altitude to which they attain, as possessing amongst them the same superiority of size which a person six feet two or three inches in height does amongst us. The body is somewhat thick, but the hands and feet are small, and the fingers short. The face is generally round and flat, with prominent cheek bones, but full and plump cheeks. They are tolerably well shaped; and the female countenance, although destitute of all pretensions to regular beauty, has a frank and good-humoured expression; and if they would allow it to be purified of its thick incrustation of grease and dirt, it might even be accounted handsome. The flesh of these people is soft and flabby, and they have a phlegmatic constitution corresponding to this habit. The dress of the men consists chiefly in a double coat of seal-skin or rein-deer; the hairy side of the inner one being placed next the skin, whilst to the outer one there is an ample hood attached, which is drawn over the head. Their breeches are also double, and of the same material, overlapping the boots, which extend to the knee; the latter are composed either of deer skin, or, if for hunting or travelling, of the hide of the seal or the walrus. The dress of the females is very nearly the same, with some slight variations in form. The chief distinction lies in their boots, which are of capacious dimensions, and, like those of Hudibras, receptacles for whatever sort of goods may come in the way of the wearer. These habiliments are very neatly sewed together, an art in which the women display considerable dexterity. The thread they use is the sinews and some other parts of animals. There is also some taste shown in decorating them with parti-coloured stripes of skins. Like other savages, they are fond of ornaments, and contrive also to paint their bodies.

Under such a rigorous climate, much labour is necessary to secure subsistence. For nine months the ground is locked up in frost, and rendered incapable of producing any root or herb which can constitute a staple article of diet. They are, moreover, improvident; in consequence of which, combined with the precarious supply of food, they are often subjected to severe privation. Yet they are proof against the lessons of experience, and so happy is their disposition, that a moment's gratification of their wants makes them forget that they had ever suffered from hunger, or that on the morrow they may again be in the same distress. Hunting and fishing are their only resources, and of course their time is spent in pursuing, by land or sea, the wild animals by which these are inhabited. During summer, the deer is pursued with bow and arrow or the gun, and their flesh and skin are highly prized. But for the greater part of the year the Esquimaux must seek their food in the waters, from the seal, the walrus, and sometimes the whale. For the purposes of respiration, these animals rise above the water, and the moment they become visible, the Esquimaux attack them with dart or harpoon, to which they have sometimes a long line attached. The capture of a whale is the greatest and rarest of their marine achievements. On these occasions a large body of men assemble armed with a variety of weapons. The animal, when struck, plunges under water; but being obliged to rise for air, a fresh attack is made upon him with their lances, until, exhausted by fatigue and loss of blood, he falls their prey. These captures are shared amongst the inhabitants of the village, all the cooking pots in which are put in requisition when the arrival of one is announced, for the purpose of boiling the flesh of the animal, which is cut up into dainty slices. The cooking being finished, the feast commences by a person first extracting a large piece from the pot, and, after severing with his teeth as much as the mouth will hold, handing it to a second person, who does the same, and he to a third, and so on till the whole is devoured.

There seems to be no assignable limit to the capacity of an Esquimaux stomach. He has been known to devour, in twenty-four hours, ten pounds four ounces of solid food, more than a pint of strong soup, and a gallon and a pint of water.

A single Esquimaux, assisted only by his dogs, will attack the polar bear without the slightest fear or hesitation; which indicates no small amount of personal courage. The dogs keep the ferocious animal at bay, assailing him on all sides, whilst the master attacks him with his spear, and avoids, with astonishing adroitness, the furious springs of the enraged monster. In reflective intellect the Esquimaux have little to boast of. Although some of them are arch, ingenious, and jocular, no manifestations of a profound understanding have yet been discovered amongst them. In arithmetical skill they are lamentably deficient, being scarcely capable of counting as far as ten; and their taste for music is nearly as low an ebb. Some of them, however, display a constructive talent, in exercising which the principal tool employed is the knife. Their houses are built of various forms and materials, according to the season and the region of their residence. Some of their winter houses are of stone and earth, partly sunk in the ground. Others are of snow and ice. Those of ice are built in the following manner: When winter approaches, the ice is cut into tall square blocks, with which they construct regular spacious domes, connected with other smaller ones, for the purposes of domestic economy. For the admission of light, a round hole is cut on one side of the roof of each apartment, and a circular plate of ice, three or four inches thick, and two or three feet in diameter, is inserted in it. The light is soft and agreeable, similar to that which is transmitted by ground glass, and is quite sufficient for every purpose as long as there is any light to be derived from without. The inside of the tenement is shaped with care, and a glossy surface is then given to it by the effusion of water. The wall soon becomes a solid mass, which, being a slow conductor, checks the access of cold. As soon as the snow melts, the Greenlanders quit their wintry habitations, and erect their tents, which are of two kinds; one of these is of a pretty solid construction, and such as forms a fixed summer residence; the other is of a lighter nature, and can easily be removed from place to place. It generally consists of poles, upon which the skins of animals are stretched. Their boats consist of a light frame-work of wood or bone, which is covered with seal-skins. There are two kinds of them; one large for the transport of goods and for the conveyance of women; the other small, and fitted to hold only one man. The top of the latter, which is called a kaijak, is covered over with seal-skin, but in the middle there is a round opening for the reception of the Greenlander, who, here seated, propels himself through the deep by means of an oar, which is furnished with a broad blade at each end. With this slender vessel he swims over the hillocks like a sea bird, and without much dread of tempests.

In their moral character the Esquimaux inherit more than an average share of human frailty. Few savage tribes have made themselves more notorious for dishonest and thievish dispositions. They will steal the most useless things. Little respect indeed is entertained for the rights of property; gratitude is a virtue almost unknown amongst them; and in their habits they are exceedingly licentious, connubial infidelity being winked at as a very unimportant matter.

But some tribes, especially those seen by Captain Graah, Greenland, appeared to possess a much higher moral character. They also display little or no sympathy or regret for the sufferings and death of neighbours, or even of relations. The Esquimaux, however, are not inclined to war; they are neither irascible nor revengeful; and they treat their offspring with the greatest tenderness. In their domestic economy, however, they are uniformly filthy, and disgusting in the extreme.

These descriptions, however, only apply in their full extent to original Esquimaux who have had little or no intercourse with Europeans. In the various missionary stations the grosser aspect has been much modified and changed by the influence of Christian teaching. And among a no inconsiderable number of the people the true principles of the gospel have taken root, and the effects of it have become apparent in their lives, so as to yield an improvement generally among the population around, and very many individual examples of the true Christian character.

Their language is remarkable for the copiousness of its grammatical forms. Their particles are as numerous and as varied as in the Greeks; but the rule which directs them to introduce into the verb all the parts of the sentence gives rise to words of a disproportionate length. The consonants r, k, and t predominate in this language, and produce harsh sounds by their frequent recurrence. The Greenlanders of the north speak a dialect unintelligible to those of the south; according to Captain Ross it is called Kummoke. The Greenlanders sometimes call themselves Innouk, or brothers; but their real national name appears to be Kalalit, and they commonly designate their country by the name of Kalalit Noumet. The trade of Greenland is a monopoly in the hands of the Danish government. Five or six vessels are annually sent from Copenhagen, about the beginning of May, with manufactures of various kinds, as well as colonial produce, as coffee, sugar, tobacco, &c. The exports from Greenland in 1847-9 averaged about L17,000 annually, and consisted chiefly of seal-skin, deer-skin, oil, whalebone, and elder-down.