The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-11-19
THE EARLY EXPLORER, HANS EGEDE

Wnen LIT. LOOK returned 10 SOpcu-
hagen from his discovery of the north
pole, he made the trip in the good
ship Egede. 1t is worthy of note that
this vessel was named after Hans
Paulsen Egede, one of the pioneers in
Greenland exploration, who was born
in Norway two hundred and twenty
three years ago, and died in Copen-
hagen in 1853. Early in the twelfth
century a colony of Norwegians and
Icelanders went to Greenland to open
up commercial relations and establish
homes. They were Christians, but did
nothing toward teaching the Eskimos.
For over two hundred years they were
fairly successful in selling products be-
tween Greenland and Norway. Then a
change came.
The Eskimos gave them serious trou-
BILE, the scourge of the "black death
killed many, and to crown their mis-
fortunes vast seas of polar ice swept
about the east coast, so that this sec
ton was inaccessible. No ships could
reach the colony, and they were help
less. During period of two hundred
years efforts were occasionally made to
rescue those who might have survived
the original colonists, but there had
been no success, and finally this band
of pioneers and their descendants had
become merely parts of history.
Hans Egede was the pastor of the
village church at Vaagen, Norway. and
he became deeply interested in the
constantly repeated story of the colo
nists of Greenland. He began to dream
of mission among the Eskimos, and
the finding of traces of the unfortu-
nate settlers. Realizing that there
must be a material object to attract
and bind followers in such an enter
prise, he organized the plan for a
trading company, members of which
company should 60 with him.
His friends, and the bishop of Ber-
gen, tried to dissuade him in his PLAN
and only hi swife, Gertrude Egede
was in sympathy with the enterprise.
He pushed the matter of the trading
company with such good arguments
that Frederick ", king of Denmark
took up the matter, and empowered
Hans Egede to sail for tidings of the
lost colony, promising that ships with
supplies should follow him.
He sailed on the ship Good Hope.
July 3, l72l, with his wife and two
sons, and landed safely on the west
coast of Greenland, at Baals river
They worked their way to the north
trying to get traces of the early col
ony, and awaited with Impotence the
arrival of the relief ship from Denmark
1t was after discouragements of every
sort that this reached Kenzec, and
Hans Egede and his followers were
urged to return to civilization.
But the fever of enthusiasm was not
cooled even by the awful cold, and
Hans decided to remain, although many
of his party had died from the cruel
climate. He and his family lived with
the Eskimos in their huts, and after
they learned to speak the native
tongue they heard the fate of tine
first colonists. Hans Egede made a
journey with party of natives to a
valley on the east coast, where he
found the ruins of Norwegian homes.
churches and public buildings. The en-
tire community had persisted and moth
ing but the ruins of their buildings
remained. After long period with the
natives, Egede returned to Copenhagen,