OF THE POLAR SEA, 3 



house, on their way to the woods ; and the success 

 of the hunters being consequently great, the ne- 

 cessity of sending for the meat considerably re- 

 tarded the building of tlie house. In the mean 

 time we resided in our canvass tents, which 

 proved very cold habitations, although we main- 

 tained a fire in front of them, and also endea- 

 voured to protect ourselves from the piercing 

 winds by a barricade of pine branches. 



On the 6th of October, the house being com- 

 pleted, we struck our tents, and removed into it. 

 It was merely a log-building, fifty leet long, and 

 twenty-four wide, divided into a hall, three bed- 

 rooms, and a kitchen. The walls and roof were 

 plastered with clay, the floors laid with planks 

 rudely squared with the hatchet, and the windows 

 closed with parchment of deer-skin. The clay, 

 which, from the coldness of the weather, required 

 to be tempered before the fire with hot water, 

 froze as it was daubed on, and afterwards cracked 

 in such a manner as to admit the wind from every 

 quarter; yet, compared with the tents, our new 

 habitation appeared comfortable; and having 

 filled our capacious clay -built chimney with fagots, 

 we spent a cheerful evening before the invigo- 

 rating blaze. The change was pecuharly bene- 

 ficial to Dr. Richardson, who, having, in one of 

 his excursions, incautiously laid down on the 



