329 



children, whilst at the same time working with skins and at- 

 tending to the flame of the blubber-lamp. 



The lamp stood on the boards of the side-platform, sup- 

 ported by 3 stones (cf. flg. 21). Soapstone is still used for the 

 lamps, but cooking utensils of soapstone are disappearing and 

 those of tin and iron are taking their place. In the bend on 

 the most convex side of the lamp lie as a rule shining lumps 

 of white, unmelted blubber, while the bottom of the lamp is 



//// ////,//mJ7/ ////////// ////^///////^/^/^/^/f/^/ /^"^"/'^^"^'"^''^''''^'^/'^'^''^'' 



Fig 20. 

 Diagrammatic longitudinal section of the same tent (i.e. tlirough ABC in fig. 19). 

 a 6 is the sloping pole which in fig. 19 is most nearly indicated by C; it rests on a 

 stone at 6 and is attached to the top-pole at a. ad is the upright H (fig. 19), 

 indicated here by dots, as it lies outside the middle plane. The two coverings of 

 the tent are represented as in fig. 19, and the clear part of the inner covering is 

 also indicated by a dotted line. The manner in which the coverings are anchored 

 by stone-ballast is shown between Ь and e. be is meant to represent the divided 

 main platform, only the wooden floor being shown. 



covered by the melted, floating blubber. The flame is placed 

 within the bend on the less convex side of the lamp, which is 

 turned towards the main platform. If the lamp has to be 

 lighted and there is no melted blubber in it, the women have 

 to melt the blubber by chewing and then spit it out into the 

 lamp or directly on to a prepared wick of moss. The latter must 

 be rolled, namely, between the hands before it can be used, 

 until it makes a fine dust. Some of the moss is strewn along 

 the edge of the lamp where the flame is to be, whilst the rest 

 is sometimes laid as a reserve in one of the pointed corners 



