feflion, to put up in his houfe; as an ornament: But/Thprfîn
'would not unlefv he would payhkn its; weigh tin; gold: upon
thefe conditions he fold ;it him' at laft. It feems, th%^ood: w.as
railed maufor (matiaokler bauxn, of Rufcus meufdom, myfe-træ.)
and had; beq^brought &om;^inland, Hierj^gnous Tragq^.iàys,
that , no rats, mice, or bats, will comecnear«4 iis .wopd,” So far
Amgrimus Jona.
As I have faid before, it is not in the kaft an improbable foppofition,
that the ddfeendants, of a Norwe^ap ccA|ny fh©uld ftift
be found itt the faid country ; and I ground ,my hypothecs upon
what that eminent jefuit. Fere Charlevoix, -verypLaioly intimates
a nw^ üf e his travels id America; he tells ps, that;he found o,n the ifland
of Newfoundland, a people with beards, complexion, and every
«ai left in of a different nation from tho reft of. ^^inhabitants called
Efquimaux (a name, without : doubt, which the hrendh have
given them) which he redcans is an Europeamoolony ; his, words
"are thefe, “ Les Efquimaux refemblent autant aux- Paragons, que
|c payS qu’ils habitent reflèmble „aux cotes du détroit de MagcHàn.
C’eft un peuple feroee qui mange la chair toute crue .des animâux.
Ëëüra yeux font petits, leurs cheveux blonds; leur rpeau ldhiallez
blanche; et- ils ont de là barbe.; /Toutes cesmarques Jes diftin~
gùdit dè toks feurs Ycafins; ;et pourraient faire croirfeÿîaqit'ihi&at.
une colonie d’Européens, qui ont dégénéré parla mifere et par le
manque d’inftruâion. Hift. et defeription geiicrale de la Nouvelle
France, &c.”
It is a pity, that the good father •Charlevoix had not fo much
knowlege of the Norvegiam language, as to have fceeiïiahfeto 6X-
amine whether his fuppofitiorcwere true. I am apt to; conclude,
that he would have found them to be^dc&endants of the-Norve-
gians, who, by length of time, and long abfence from their equip.
try, or want of fhips, or elfe, by their own choice, had remained
tiiere, and forgot their native, land, yet ftill retaining th„e cadent
Norvejpfei dialed:, fuch as.the.Tceknders now fpeak. It is not
probaUe, tliat he would have found any figns of chriftianity
nmoiag them, for their departure happened much about the time
that chriftiahity was introduced into Norway; which oceafioned
miury colonies leaving the country, exclufive of thofe dia^did it
for reafbns of Rate. Others left their native land out of deteftation
tion 4o; the crudtieswhtch ting Olaks Tr^gonk ^erdlM -tspoft
feis ftibjefts; who, >:.aeteprdmgatq^the-euffom of thofe times, and
the principles of the pbpfh fpMt;; endeavoured td propagate5 the
chriftian religion,* or rather a 3mei« feypq^itfoal ptqfeffion of'it,
by .force,. u
Since I wrote 'the above, account, I happen,edsto;:Caft inf- eyes
upon a book, entitled, A General' Account :of the -Gofttilienf of
America, and its Inhabitants. Publifhed thig year; with a preface
by.'Docft. Siegen,'JaG. Baumgartetfs.'This work , treats mote
largely of the per^le i ha^e 'meritiOned abOve, their difference
from the dthd# Aimericaiftj^ahd'their cfo^eigm original inftVlj'C;
1. pi 27. and feq. fe<ft. If 3; in thefe words; “ The nation of the
Efkimaux, which-inhabit the country from 521« 60 degrees of
north-latitude, between Hudfonh bay and | the ftrait of Pcllcifle,
fcparating the continent of Labrador Horn Nfcwrokndlaiid; haVe
foch peculiar cuftoms, agreeing fb little With thofe of the other
Indian nations of America, ■ nay their form is fb different from
the reft of the fohabitantel&f this part of the World, that I believe
we fhould not err, if We Were t© derive'themTrOift-a'qfiite differ
tent origin'. ' They are tall and better made than the ^hfer LiW
dians ; they have curled hair, which they clip off at their eari,
and let their heards grow.
Their hair is generally blabkh’ trrough ;%rn'e ’ of them- have
light coloured, and others; have red hair, like the inhabitants of
the northern parts of Europe.
The name Efkimaux ferns to be derived from the word efki-
manfic, which in the language of the Abenaques, implies men .
who eat flefh raw.' Farias, the iriftibitatits©fithis countiy live
by hunting and fifhing; they eat -the games they till, and the
fifh they .catch, raw and bloody, without any preparation. The
neighbouring Indian® give them another name. Which ftgniftes
fugitives or run-aways, not becaufc they arc cowards? but on
account of their hrifk, active,' turbulent, difpofoions. j|
They live in a coi>ftant diftmft of their neighbours, and are
continually .upon their guard againft any incroachment, avoiding
as much' as poffible ah| commerce with^other nations. Som6!
affirm yothat this nation proceeds from feme Bifcaians who were
fhipwreck’d with feveral veffels in thefe parts; if this be, true,
1 - ^ . they