ESKIMOS AT HOME AND AT WORK 49 



The women have other duties, however, besides 

 making and mending clothes. There are the lamps 

 to be thought of, and these make no small demand 

 on their time. 



In many regions the Eskimo lamp is still made of 

 stone ; the wick is generally prepared from moss, 

 and is kept at a proper height by means of a stick, 

 so that the lamp will not smoke. A vast amount 

 of practice is needed before this object can be 

 attained with any degree of certainty. 



Blubber supplies the oil that is needed. It is 

 prepared by beating it with a large bone with a 

 heavy end, and when beaten almost to a pulp, it 

 is either placed in the lamp in this form or hung 

 on a cross-piece of wood some little distance above 

 the flame of the lamp. The heat of the flame then 

 melts the blubber and causes it to drip into the 

 lamp below. 



It must not be supposed that cooking is con- 

 sidered to be a necessary accompaniment of food. 

 An Eskimo can thoroughly enjoy a good meal of 

 raw seal's flesh and blubber, as we inferred from 

 the meaning of the name mentioned in the last 

 chapter. But nevertheless the food, or a portion 

 of it, is sometimes cooked, and if there is meat in 

 the house, the wife often is engaged in preparing 

 it against her lord's return. Kettles, like the lamp, 

 made of stone, are kept for this purpose. 



The children spend most of their time in play. 



4 



