CHAPTER VII.
A holiday in Greenland—A lady blue with cold—The loves of Greenlanders—Close shaving—Meet the whalers—Information of whalers—Disco—Danish hospitality—Sail from Disco—Kindness of the whalers—Danish establishments in Greenland.
ANCHORED AT HOLSTEINBORG.
Wednesday night, April 28th.—Safely anchored at Holsteinborg, and moored to the rocks; a charming change, after our position only a few days back. We have been visited by the Danish residents—the chief trader or governor, the priest, and two others: their latest European intelligence is not more recent than our own, but the Danish ship is hourly expected; she usually leaves Copenhagen about the middle of March.
The winter here has been just the reverse of our own experience; it has been severe in point of temperature, but with very little wind; the land lies buried in snow, and as yet there is no thaw; it is too early for the cod-fishery, and not a single reindeer has been killed throughout the winter! Eider-ducks, looms, and dovekies are abundant, as well as hares and ptarmigan.
29th.—A bright and lovely day. Our poor, half-famished dogs have been landed near the carcases of four whales, so they must be supremely happy. I visited the Governor to-day, and found his little wooden house as scrupulously clean and neat as the houses of the Danish residents in Greenland invariably are. The only ornaments about the room were portraits of his unfortunate wife and two children: they embarked at Copenhagen last year to rejoin him, and the ill-fated vessel has never since been heard of. Poor Governor Elberg is in ill health, and talks of returning home—by home he means Denmark, the land of his birth, and where once he had a home.
HOLIDAY IN GREENLAND.
30th.—This is a grand Danish holiday; the inhabitants are all dressed in their Sunday clothes—at least, all who have got a change of garments—and there is both morning and evening service in the small wooden church. As the Governor could not be persuaded to unlock the door of the dance-house, our men returned on board early; yesterday evening they were all on shore, and, with the Esquimaux, were squeezed into this one large room: to be squeezed in a crowd of human beings is positive enjoyment after a winter's isolation such as ours has been. Old Harvey constituted himself master of the ceremonies, and with his flute led the orchestra; it consisted of one other flute and a fiddle; he managed to perch himself above all the rest, at one end of the room, and played with such vigor that our bluejackets and the Esquimaux ladies danced away most furiously for hours. These ladies can dance in the least possible space, their costume being particularly well adapted for the purpose, partaking as it does much more of the "Bloomer" than the "crinoline."
Christian looks immensely happy: his countrymen regard him as a man whose fortune is made, and the women gaze with admiration upon his neat sailor's dress, and his good-natured, full, round face, and huge, fat, shining cheeks; Mr. Petersen is in great request to interpret between the English, Danes, and Esquimaux.
May, 1858.