270 KALUTUNAH AT HOME. 



deer, and a couple of gallons of oil. Observing our 

 approach, he came out to meet us, and, some snow 

 having drifted into the passage, he scraped it away 

 with his foot, and invited us to enter. This we did 

 on our hands and knees, through a sort of tunnel 

 about twelve feet long ; and thence we emerged into 

 a dimly lighted den, where, coiled up in a nest of rein- 

 deer-skins which I had given them, was the family of 

 the chief and the wife and baby of Myouk. Kalutu- 

 nah's wife was stitching away quite swiftly at a pair 

 of boots for my use, and I brought her some more 

 "work," and also some presents, among which was a 

 string of beads and a looking-glass, which much 

 amused the children. Myouk's wife, on the other 

 hand, was quite idle, not even looking after her child, 

 which, startled by our approach, rolled down on the 

 floor about our feet, and thence into the entrance 

 among the snow which lay scattered along the pas- 

 sage. The poor little creature, being almost naked, 

 set up a terrible scream, and its amiable mother, 

 promptly seizing it by one of its legs, hauled it up 

 and crammed into its mouth a chunk of blubber which 

 quickly stopped its noise. 



Both this woman and her husband were evidently 

 a great annoyance to the frugal proprietors of the 

 hut ; but, with a generous practice of hospitality 

 which I have not found elsewhere, in history or fic- 

 tion, except in Cedric the Saxon, such a worthless 

 crew are suffered to settle themselves upon a thrifty 

 family without fear of being turned out of doors. 



I sat for some time talking to Kalutunah and his 

 industrious wife. There was not room, it w^as true, 

 with so many people in the hut, to be greatly at one's 

 ease, and I had to dodge ray head when I moved, to 



