Page:Life with the Esquimaux - 1864 - Volume 1.djvu/58

Rh they were wont to meet American and English vessels. While yet far off, some one exclaimed, 'There they come!' Every eye was quickly turned that way. I saw them at a distance coming swiftly in their kyacks. Their number seemed legion. On they came. They meet us, and greet with smiles. The George Henry kept her course; the kyacks followed in our wake. We looked forward; others and others were coming, as if to welcome us to their bay and homes.

"As we neared the land, how eagerly I sought to catch every view that was within sight. My eyes wandered far back to the most distant mountain; then I brought them quickly to those which seemed about to shake hands with me, piercing into their nooks and their time-worn rocks—now up their pinnacles, now down to their broad massive bases. I was happy. "We saw the little Danish flag on the hill that stands as sentinel to the rock-ribbed bay. We passed on; the western ridge, that runs far out into the sea, stole away the winds which were so gracefully carrying us to our chosen port, yet enough favoured us to go slowly. Soon Holsteinborg, in all its imperial greatness, met our eye. Tis true, Holsteinborg was not gaudily attired, as some kings' palaces are; but there she was and is, sparkling in diamonds of pure water, radiating rainbows in continual sunlight. There she was and is, surrounded by walls more ancient than Jerusalem, or Thebes, or Babel's Tower—of God's creation—mountains that seem to prop up this arctic sky—mountains whose southern sides are now clothed in green and laughing flowers, and whose northern slopes rest beneath a bed of white.

"As we entered the harbour, our national colours, streamer, and ship's flag were raised, and the Governor of Holsteinborg responded by hoisting the Danish ensign. Then, at 10 of this day, the 7th of July, 1860, and the fortieth day from the port of New London, United States, we came to an anchor. Had it not been for head winds and calms, we might have made the passage in twenty-five to thirty days. Captain B has made it in thirty-four; he says it generally takes