Th^ v^esterq ?Rsqpiipaux -fesqrt annually, according to Capl
i n PranWin^. fo the district bordering; on .totfe&: northerit-ex^
tremity of the. Rocky qr»eifl|)ny Mountains, ■ about 140° of
west longitude* for the purpose of bartering with the eastern
tribes irpq tools, and other articles of Russian manufacture for
sealrskins^.QiJ, and furs,
nearest neighbours to the southward <of the western
Esquimaux are the tribe of Loucheux belonging .to the race
of Athapascans, who will be described in the nex^chapter.
The different tribes, belonging to the great Algonquin family
border on the eastern Esquimaux in Qanada. . These two
nations wage perpetual hostilities, and are said to regard 4ach
other.as natural energies.
Section 11.-—O f the Eastern Esquimaux; ..
Mr. Gallatin distinguishes; Hiree,di alecfcsy marking sb. many
subdivisions, of the raee^in the mstern department of the
Esquimaux. These are as follows.
1. The language of the Esquimaux of Hudson’s Bay,
reaching westward beyond Mackenzie’s River.
\2, The language^ of Greenland, well-known by:;Egede%;
grammar and dictionary, and the translation of'the Gospels
made by the Moravian missionaries. It must be observed
that the inhabitants of-the western coast'of Greenland havis
no. intercourse with those of the- eastern coast, lately discovered.
These last may have a different dialect. .
3- The language of the Labrador Esquimaux, probably
allied to that of-Hudson’s Straits. This dialect-differs so
much from that of Greenland, that the Moravian missionaries
found it necessary to make a new translation of the
Gospels for the use of the natives of Labrador,’ that previously
made for the Greenlanders not being sufficiently understood
by the former people.
Mr. Gallatin conjectures that Iceland once contained a
tribe of the Esquimaux stock. He says: “ I am informed
by Mr. Thorkelson, a learned native of Iceland and librarian
of the Royal Library of Copenhagen, that it appeared by
ancient manuscript chronicles of Iceland thdt the island was
feimd already inhabited by a barbarous race, which was
exterminated by the invadore.” yffyqpa some obscure notices in
..q^'.e^e|eeiastical writers, yve might rather - conclude that they
■ were the descendants of riome earlier refugees from Ireland
or Britain, who have' heen. -|upposed -t© have left vestiges of
Christianity in Iceland.*
, “ Greenland was disefwe^redi^fefk^HorW^^^^OT, Icelanders
about a h u n d r e d j L a i e t ; *than Iceland. Two
colonies.^er-e planted therein, the .eastern andiWe$tera cqast,
„with which an intercourse was ©ontinued both from Iceland
and Norway till the fifteenth century, when if ceased, thi-
EUccessful attempts were made to renew it,; and the eastern-
coast was found inaccessible-from the enormous accumulation
of ice on its shores. It was only in 1781 that, the Danish
-government sent a new colony to West Greenland. The
ruins of the ancient settlement, but no traces of the desccriH
danis of the first colonists,, were found. The country was
then altogether ^occupied by Eskimaux. The south-eastern
part qCthe west continues to, be blocked up by ice. i^ a p ta in
Clavering met with a tribe of Eskimaux in about 74° of north
latitude. It seems almost incredible that they shqmd.;Jiave
reached that spot-either by a land journey of eight hundred
miles across Greenland, or the same distance along frozen
and inaccessible shores between Cape Fatewell and ,the ©pen
sea in 69° of latitude. It is much m®re probable that* at a
former period the southern part of the eastern, coast was free
from ice.
“ In the year 10,0,1. land was discovered south-west of
Cape Farewell, and a colony sent' from Greenland. The
country was called Vinlandy and must have been Newfoundland.
Mention is made ,of a tribe of Indians, who, from
the description and .the name of. Skraellings or dwarfs, gi-ven
them by the Normans, must have been Eskimaux. It appears
that there existed another race of Indians in the interior
of the island who are now extinct, and it is not known
* See Best’s Histoire'du Christianising,, iii. p, 3B5.
VOL. V. . 2 B