“Godhavn, the Capital of Danish Greenland”
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.”
“Huts like Mounds of Grass on which the Dogs sleep”
“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.
“Broberg”