New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-02-27

count beyond twenty, and although they
De h.ck their eenealogy through several gene
m man past middle life knows how old
,.o,s than twenty is "much very mucn
n' IA connted." They had no idea OF writing
Hos ,ha arrival of the Missionaries. The slight
r,,:,;or which they make Of religious ideas Is
e.. D,;r;tiye and unshsped They have In their
.aoa m word for God, and they never pray;
80, have a elimmering belief in the existence
s .Io .oul Torngarsuk, their Good Spirit Is
che .ize Of a mans finger, and mortal
zI.nv also represent him as wnlte pear OF d
lent with one arm. Beside this powerful sP"i'
Gre are smaller spirits for water hre ana eir.
rro,rsarsuk has wife or mother, VINO is the III
.~,o,.,;on Of the Spirit Of Evil She lives on the
s'o,,ou, Of the sea, guarded by seals, and mas
mower over the fishes -
This mythology is still further enlarged ano oe'
,,Or.tad bv the angekOkks, or magicians' who nave
.,,o., influence over the people, pronounclng ora
Dc. n,eteIIipg changes Of the weather and per
forring ucantations for the sick. They use ape
nile, dialect among themselves, which the peo
nile do not understand, all the words being meta
nborical or used in reversed sense, IN tne"
charms and lamentations. These maslcians en-
tsrtsin the belief that they see witches In tne
lark who have horns and are black from the I'M
vers to the elbows. Though generally so milo
and gentle, the Greenlanders treat suspecseu
witches with the greatest barbarlty' Au '''s''s''
sock az such person is called, 10 torn out OF tue
house or tent stabbed and cut In pieces eacn one
concerned in the act devouring piece of the
beart in order that the spirit OF the victim shall
mot return to plague him. An old woman, who
lacks natural protector, is generally declared
Glitch The natives also believe in torRdks, or
Guardian spirits, and wear as amulets around their
oecks. the jawbones Of foxes, crows heads, tal-
con claws and the like. 1t is very difficult Tor
chem to be satisfied with the promise OF the
Christian heaven, since it does not contain what
they most value-seals. They believe that every
thing they see in Heaven or on Earth, had its orr
gin in their country. The arch of heaven turns
round on the pivot of high, sharp peak, far to
abe North the Great Bear they compare to
sort Of bench, on which they fasten their ropes
and harpoons for the capture of seal; the belt OF
Orion consists Of Greenlanders who were placed
ahere because they could not find the way to their
own country; the Pleiades are bowling dogs,
which surround a white bear. The red stars take
their color from eating seals livers, the white
from eating seals brains the Northern Lights
are caused by the souls of the dead playing at ball
In the sky there is an immense lake, confined by
dam when the water overflOws this dam, it
rains, and if the dam should break, heaven would
fall and crush the earth
As far as the influence of the Moravians ex
fends these ideas have for the most part disap-
peared as well as the magicians who taught them.
Although the Christianity Of the converted Green
landers is still very rude and limited, the labors
of the jealous missionaries have borne good fruit.
In addition to the Gospel, the latter teach what
ever handicrafts the Esquimaux are capable OF
learning, and protect them against imposition in
their trade with foreigners When Egede came
70 Greenland, where before him the Dutch
whalers had occasionally visited the coast, the
natives remarked; why are not the Dutch as
willing as you are, to teach us about God? Their
only speech is meat meat the kettle fall -
The trade with Greenland is now carried on by
the Danes, who send thither annually half dozen
vessels. They take ammunition, knives, axes,
needles arrow heads, some linen and woollen
wares cloth, tobacco, meal tea and coffee, and
bring back in return, eider-down, seal skins
whales teeth, furs, fsh-bone and train'ol. The
sale of brandy is prohibited. The entire import
and export trade of Greenland amounts to about
$500 600 annually.