148 Account of a Voyage to Sp'ifjbergen. 



a rarity to us; the Ruffian officers reliflied our Cheftiire cheefc 

 and (liip's bifcuit as a very bigh treat. We drank the Em- 

 prcfs of Ruffia's and King George's health. The Ruffian 

 commander was an elderly man, of ver}' agreeable manners j 

 the furgeon extremely fo, and very intelligent. 



The hut confifted of two large rooms, each about 30 feet 

 fquarc, but fo low that I touched the ceiling with my fur 

 cap. In the middle of the front-room was a circular erec- 

 tion of brick-work, which ferved as an oven to bake their 

 bread, and bake or boil their meat, and at the fame time 

 performed the office of a (love to warm the room. The fuel 

 employed was wood, which drives on (bore plentifully in 

 whole trees ftrippcd of their branches. A chimney carried 

 the fmoke out of the roof of tlie hut ; but when they wifhed 

 it, they could, by means of a flue, convey the fmoke into the 

 back room for the purpofe of fmoking and curing their rein- 

 deer fl^fh axtd tongues, bears hams, &c. Round three fides^ 

 of the front room was raifed an elevated place of about three 

 feet wide, covered with white bear flcins, which ferved for 

 bcdfleads. The captain's bed-clothes were made of white: 

 fox fkins fewed together ; the furgeon's was the fame : the 

 boatfwain, cook, carpentsr, and the men, had flieep-fkins^ 

 The walls infide. the room were very fmooth, and white- 

 waflied '^ and the ceiling was made of ftout deal-boards,, 

 plained Cnooth, and white-wafhed. 



The rooins had a fufficicnt number of fmall glafs windows,, 

 of about t\\ o feet fquarc, to afford light : the floor was- 

 hard clay, perfciStly fmooth : the whole hut was- nearly 60? 

 feet in length, and 34 wide outfide ; and was conftrufted o£ 

 heavy bcauis cut fquare, of about twelve inches thick, laid, 

 liorizontally one upon the other, joined at the four cornera 

 bv a kind of dove-tailing, caulked with dry mofs, and payed 

 over \^ 1th tar and pitch, lb that not a breath of air can pene-. 

 iraic: the roof confiUed of thin ribs laid acrofs the beam-, 

 wall.s, and three-inch deal nailed over them, fo that you 

 could walk on the lop of the houfe: thereof was caulked and 



tarred. 



