95 
in high Northern Latitudes. 
raw for their Sundays’ dinners. This, I imagine, 
muft have been frozen ; as it began to freeze 
fharply before they were fettled in their habi¬ 
tation. This venilon, with a few lea-horfes and 
bears which they killed from time to time, con¬ 
flicted their whole winter’s provifion, except 
a very unfavoury article they were obliged to 
make out with, which was whale s fritters , or the 
feraps of fat after the oil has been preffed out. 
Thefe too, having been wetted and thrown in 
heaps, were mouldy. Their ulual courfe of diet, 
then, for the fir ft three months, was one meal 
of venifon everyday in the week, except Wednef- 
days and Fridays, when they kept faft on whale’s 
fritters. At the end of this period, on examin* 
ing their flock, they found it would not hold 
out at this rate, and therefore for the enfuing 
three months they retrenched their venifon meals' 
to three days in the week, and appeafed their 
hunger, as well as they could, on the other four 
days, upon the mouldy fritters. At the approach 
of fpring they had the good fortune to kill 
feveral white bears, which proved excellent food; 
and, together with wild fowl and foxes which 
they caught, rendered it unneceffary any longer 
to flint themfelves to fo rigorous an allowance; 
fo that they eat two or three meals of frefh meat 
daily, and foon improved in flrength and vigour. 
Their only drink during this whole time, was 
running water procured from beneath the ice 
• on 
