I. VIEW OF NEW HERRNHUT IN GREENLAND, II. HOME MISSION DEPARTMENT. PAGE. 81 82-90 91-101 96 96-99 99-100 100-101 101 101-103 103-104 IV. WEEKLY LEAVES and Foreign Mission Intelligence. EXTRACTS from the Memorabilia of the U. E. C. V. CHURCH INTELLIGENCE. The YEAR 1849.-BETHLEHEM. By br. W. H. Van Vleck. 104-110 OBITUARIES. 1.) Of sister Elisabeth Binninger. 2.) 66 Mary Allen. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS OF CONTRIBUTIONS to the Home Mission Society of the Church. APPENDIX. Original Poetry, Historical Sketches &c. 110-112 112-113 113-116 116 BETHLEHEM : PUBLISHED (MONTHLY) FOR THE CHURCH OF THE UNITED BRETHREN. or at the Brethren's Establishments at Nazareth, J. W. HELD, PRINTER, BETHLEHEM, PENNA. RECEIVED BY REV. C. F. SEIDEL, FOR THE MORAVIAN CHURCH MISCELLANY, MARCH, 1850. Bethlehem.-Miss M. Connelly, A. Hillman, Aug. Luckenbach, Henry Luckenbach, Reub. Luckenbach, Mrs. Steuben.-6. Nazareth.-Dr. P. Walter, Dr. J. Hark, Dr. Ch. Sellers, Revd. Hoffeditz, Jacob F. Beck, J. C. Warner, James Henry, John A. Haman, Andrew G. Kern, Revd. Wm. Lennert.-10. Lancaster-Revd. Rob. de Schweinitz, Miss E. Quest, Mrs. C. Reigart, Mrs. F. Demuth, Mrs. C. Brenner, Dan. Erisman, Jacob Albright, John F. Steinman, C. F. Youngman, Henry Kepple, John Meyer, Henry Reed, Rud. Rauch, Jos. Eberman. Pet. G. Eberman.-16. Bainbridge, Pa.-Mr. F. G. Lennert. Leipersville.-Rev. George W. Perkin. Hartwick Sem. N. Y.-Rev. Dr. G. B. Miller. Staten Island.-A. Egbert, I. Burbank, Jac. Bodine, J. Vanderbilt, L. M. Cortelyou, J. G. Britain, R. Moore, Ch. Barstow, W. Dungan, Geo. Catlin Esq., R. Summers, J. Vanpelt, J. Simonson, Mrs. Jos. Lake.-14. Gnadenhuetten, Ohio.-David Gramm, Esq. C. B. Feter, L. Peter, Josh. Micksch. Geo. Dell, G. Fox, John G. Fox, Th. Fox, Ed. Romig, Miss L. Wuensch.-10. Canal Dover.-Rev. L. F. Kampman, Jac." Blickensderfer, Ed. Peter, Isr. Ricksecker, J. Kreiter, Jos. Demuth, Ad. Krakau, C. Hormel, Wm. Rickert, Ed. Luckenbach, Miss Delia E. Keller, [Canton,] Sam. C. Wolle, [Canton.]-12 Salem, N. C.-Rt. R. J. G. Herman, Rev. Th. Schultz, Rev. C. F. Kluge, Rev. G. F. Bahnson, Rev. E. A. de Schweinitz, [$2.] Rev. S. T. Pfohl,[$10.] Rev. G. Byhan, Rev. J. R. Schmidt, Dr. D. Keehln, Mrs. C. Van Vleck, Miss L. F. Bagge, Miss S. Pfohl, Mrs. M. Denke, Mrs. R. Shober, Joshua Boner, J. C. Blum, John Vogler, Sandford Schultz, Ch. Brietz, Rev. D. Z. Smith, Nath. Blum, Miss L. Meinung, Miss C. Smith, Miss C. Gibbins, Sam. Warner.-25. Bethania.-Rev. F. F. Hagen, Th. Lash, Sol. Transu, Mrs. E. Conrad, Mrs. J. Jones.-5. Bethabara.-Rev. L.. Oerter. Friedland.-Rev. L. Rights. Lexington, S. C.-Rev. Dr. Hazelius. West Tennessee.-Mrs. Julia Boner. Florida.-E, R. Alberti, Esq.. Rev. Jac. Siewers. LETTERS, &C. REC'D. BY THE EDITOR.-Jac. Blickensderfer, J. F. Beck, Rev. S. T. Pfohl, [$28.] F. G. Lennert, Gustavus Fox, [$10.] George Wanger, [$1.] Rev. Dr. G. B. Miller, [$5.] Professor Reynolds of Gettysburg, Dr. E. Robinson, Professor B. B. Edwards of Andover. View of New Herrnhut, the oldest Missionary Settlement of the United Brethren in Greenland. New Herrnhut is situated in 64 deg. 10 min. N. lat. and 50 deg. 39 min. W. long., on the south-western side of a peninsula on Baal's river, 3 miles from the open sea in this fiord or inlet, between the Danish colony Goodhab, (Good Hope,) and the harbor, about a mile from Goodhab. The extreme border of the land forms three large strands, between which the cliffs and rocks extend into the sea. The strand or beach consists of round stones, which the sea has thrown up as a dam, and gradually runs up between rocks into a valley, through which a brook flows down, which freezes in winter. The whole country is bleak and utterly devoid of trees, and the mountains, at no great distance from the settlement, covered with perpetual snow, rear their awful heads, and glaciers and ice-fields abound. In this scene of desolation New-Herrnhut is a green and lovely spot in the wilderness, as the scurvy-plant and grass grow upon and all around the houses of the Greenlanders, and cover the whole spot and its environs with verdure, which were originally composed of sand, where formerly not a single blade of grass was visible, but where now, and even on the cliffs and rocks, the most luxuriant grass is growing, since the ground has for a number of years been manured with the blood and fat of the seals. Thus New Herrnhut may literally, as well as spiritually, be named a "garden of the Lord in the waste howling wilderness." When the Greenlanders leave their summer-tents and move into their winter-houses, the town presents every evening and throughout the night a brilliant illumination, which is rendered still more beautiful as the houses are all built of the same height, standing in almost equal rows, and all the windows emitting the light of the lamps, which burn the whole night. Having sketched the present smiling appearance of New Herrn. hut, which was thus by the dews of heaven, falling upon the persevering labors of our devoted missionaries, made to rejoice and blossom as the sweet rose of Sharon, planted on those icy wastes, we add some interesting extracts describing the state of the country, its natives &c., from the valuable "Historical Sketches of the Missions of the United Brethren, by bishop J. Holmes." GREENLAND is the remotest tract of land in the north, lying between Europe and America, and is divided into east and west Greenland. The eastern coast is almost inaccessible; but on the western coast, the Danes have erected several factories for the purpose of carrying on the whale-fishery. The want of large timber is in some measure compensated by the drift-wood, which floats in great quantities into the bays and islands, and serves the Europeans for fuel, and the natives for building their houses, tents and boats. The climate in this country is intensely cold, sometimes so severe, that beer and even brandy freeze in a room heated by a stove; but the air is generally pure and serene, and bracing to European constitutions. The bays and the water between the islands are seldom frozen for any length of time, and in some winters they remain open the whole season. This is of great advantage to the Greenlanders, as their principal subsistence is derived from fishing. In very severe winters, therefore, they mostly experience a famine. The summer seldom lasts above four months, and even then it frequently snows, and the frost never leaves the ground entirely, as the rays of the sun seldom penetrate above a foot below the surface. Yet the heat in summer is as great as in any part of England or Germany. In summer there is scarce any night, as the sun does not remain above two or three hours below the horizon, and from the tops of the mountains his beams are reflected even at midnight, so that a person seated in a room, may read and write without the aid of a candle. And though the win. ter nights are proportionally long, yet the darkness is considerably lessened by the stronger light of the moon, the prevalence of the aurora borealis, (or northern lights,) and by reflections from the ice and snow. The natives are of a tawny hue and low stature, with very They are clad the skins of seals and Their dwellings are dark and black eyes, and strong flowing hair. whole year round in fur dresses, made of the reindeer, very neatly sewed by the women. of two kinds; first, tents, which are covered with seal-skins, and constitute their summer habitations; secondly, winter houses constructed of large stones, the walls being a yard in thickness, and the crevices filled up with earth and sods. The roof is made with a few uprights, cross-beams, and laths, every opening being stopped up with heath. Over this are spread sods and earth, and the whole covered with old skins. The inside breadth of such a house is generally twelve feet, but its length varies from twenty four to seventy two feet, according to the number of its inmates. The ceiling is so low that it barely admits of a man standing upright in it. The entrance is by a long, low passage, through which you must rather creep than walk; but this is well calculated to keep out the cold. Four, or even ten families live together in a house, each having its own apartments, separated from the rest by a screen made of skins. In every apartment a lamp is kept constantly burning, which lights and heats it, and serves the purpose of cooking their victuals. Great cleanliness must not be looked for in their houses; and the constant smell of the train-oil is very disagreeable to Europeans. Yet, the contentment of the Greenlanders, amidst this poverty, and the order and stillness observed among them, where so many dwell together, cannot but excite admiration. They have two sorts of boats; the one called woman's or skinboat, and the other kajak. The latter is eighteen feet long, terminating in a point at each end. In the middle it is eighteen inches broad, and but one foot in depth. It is covered on all sides, above and below, with seal-skins, leaving an aperture in the middle, in which the Greenlander seats himself, lacing the skin of the boat so tightly round his waist, that no water can penetrate. Such is their dexterity in managing the kajak, that if it even upset, they can right it again by a single stroke of the paddle, which they use for rowing. In this manner they scud over the waves, even in tempestuous weather, with astonishing celerity, and not frequently make a voyage of twenty leagues in a day. Seated in his kajak, equipped with his bow and arrow, his harpoon and other implements for catching seals, the Greenlander feels not a little proud of his skill, and looks down upon the arts of Europeans with supercilious contempt! The skin-boat is much larger, being from forty to fifty feet long, and proportionally broad and deep. The skeleton is made of thin laths, tightly fixed together, and covered with soft leather of sealskins, so that no water can penetrate. It is entirely managed and rowed by women, and capable of containing ten or twelve persons, together with their luggage and provisions. In these boats the |