CHAP. VIII.

Of the Inhabitants, their Houses, and House Furniture.

IT is undoubted, that the modern inhabitants of Greenland are the offspring of the Schrellings, especially those that live on the Western coast; and there may be some mixture, for aught we know, of the ancient Norway colonies that formerly¹ dwelled in the country, who in length of time were blended and naturalized among the natives, which is made probable by{114} several Norway words found in their language. For, although the Norway colonies were destroyed, yet there were, no doubt, some remains² of them, which joined with the natives and became all one nation. With these inhabitants all the sea coasts are peopled, some more and some less.

The coast is pretty populous³ in the Southern parts, and on the North in 68° and 69°; though, compared to other countries, it is in the main but thinly inhabited. In the inner parts of the country nobody lives, except at certain times in the summer season, when they go rein⁴ deer hunting. The reason of this is, that (as has been said above) the whole upland country is perpetually covered with ice and snow.

As to their houses or dwelling⁵ places, they have one for the winter season and another for the summer. Their winter habitation is a low hut built with stone and turf, two or three yards high, with a flat roof. In this hut the windows are on one side, made of the bowels⁶ of seals dressed and sewed together, or of the maws of{115} halibut, and are white and transparent⁷. On the other side their beds are placed, which consist in shelves or benches made up of deal boards raised half a yard from the ground; their bedding is made of seal and rein deer skins.

Several families live together in one of these houses or huts; each family occupying a room by itself, separated from the rest by a wooden post, by which also the roof is supported; before which there is a hearth⁹ or fireplace, in which is placed a great lamp in the form of a half moon seated on a trevet; over this are hung their kettles of brass¹⁰, copper¹¹, or marble, in which they boil their victuals¹²: under the roof, just above the lamp, they have a sort of rack or shelf, to put their wet clothes upon to dry. The fore⁸ door or entry of the house is very low, so that they must stoop, and most creep in upon all fours, to get in at it; which is so contrived¹³ to keep the cold air out as much as possible. The inside of the houses is covered or lined with old skins, which before have served{116} for the covering of their boats. Some of these houses are so large, that they can harbour seven or eight families.

Upon the benches or shelves, where their beds are placed, is the ordinary seat of the women, attending their work of sewing and making up the clothing. The men with their sons occupy the foremost parts of the benches, turning their back to the women: on the opposite side, under the windows, the men belonging to the family, or strangers, take their seats upon the benches there placed.

I cannot forbear taking notice, that though in one of these houses there be ten or twenty train lamps, one does not perceive the steam or smoke thereof to fill these small cottages: the reason, I imagine, is, the care they take in trimming those lamps, viz. they take dry moss¹⁴, rubbed very small, which they lay on one side of the lamp, which, being lighted, burns softly and does not cause any smoke, if they do not lay it on too thick, or in lumps. This fire gives such a heat, that it not only serves to boil their{117} victuals, but also heats the room to that degree, that it is as hot as a bagnio. But for those who are not used to this way of firing, the smell is very disagreeable, as well by the number of burning lamps, all fed with train oil, as on account of divers¹⁵ sorts of raw meat, fishes, and fat, which they heap up in their habitations; but especially their urine tubs smell most insufferably, and strike one, that is not accustomed to it, to the very heart.

These winter habitations they begin to dwell in immediately after Michaelmas, and leave them again at the approach of the spring, which commonly is at the latter end of March; and then for the summer season lodge¹⁶ in tents, which are their summer habitations. These tents are made of rafts or long poles, set in a circular form, bending at the top, and resembling a sugar loaf, and covered with a double cover, of which the innermost is of seal or rein deer skins with the hairy side inward (if they be rich), and the outermost¹⁷ also of the same sort of skins, without hair, dressed with fat, that the rain may not{118} pierce them. In these tents they have their beds, and lamps to dress their meat with; also a curtain made of the guts¹⁸ or bowels of seals sewed together, through which they receive the day light instead of windows. Every master of a family has got such a tent, and a great woman’s boat, to transport their tents and luggage from place to place, where their business calls them.

1 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

4 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

5 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

6 bowels   

n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处

参考例句：

• Salts is a medicine that causes movements of the bowels. 泻盐是一种促使肠子运动的药物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cabins are in the bowels of the ship. 舱房设在船腹内。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

8 fore   

adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部

参考例句：

• Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
• I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。

9 hearth   

n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面

参考例句：

• She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来，在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
• She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里，打开电灯。

10 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

11 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

12 victuals   

n.食物；食品

参考例句：

• A plateful of coarse broken victuals was set before him.一盘粗劣的剩余饭食放到了他的面前。
• There are no more victuals for the pig.猪没有吃的啦。

13 contrived   

adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的

参考例句：

• There was nothing contrived or calculated about what he said.他说的话里没有任何蓄意捏造的成分。
• The plot seems contrived.情节看起来不真实。

14 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

15 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

16 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

17 outermost   

adj.最外面的，远离中心的

参考例句：

• He fired and hit the outermost ring of the target.他开枪射中了靶子的最外一环。
• The outermost electron is shielded from the nucleus.原子核对最外层电子的作用受到屏蔽。

18 guts   

v.狼吞虎咽，贪婪地吃，飞碟游戏（比赛双方每组5人，相距15码，互相掷接飞碟）；毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的第三人称单数 )；取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 )；内脏；消化道的下段；肠

参考例句：

• I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净，我只需烧一下即可。
• Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》