228 THE LIFE OF E. J. PECK 



group of snow-houses between some rugged rocks 

 was reached in safety. Mr. Peck took up his quarters 

 with an old man and his wife. Their iglo was hospi 

 table, but not pleasant for a fastidious taste. The 

 house was in a most filthy state, blood, blubber, 

 and pieces of seal's meat being thrown about in all 

 directions. " I made, however," the missionary 

 says, " the best of my not over-comfortable abode, 

 and tried to make the portion of the house allotted 

 to me as clean as possible." 



Experiences among the Eskimos, as was seen 

 when we looked into their homes in Hudson's Bay, 

 were not always pleasant ; and at a later date 

 during this Kikkerton journey, Mr. Peck again 

 remarks ; 



" I witness strange sights in these Eskimo dwell 

 ings an Eskimo feast, for instance, being by no 

 means uncommon. Imagine a seal, fresh from the 

 sea, laid on the floor of a hut, surrounded by a num 

 ber of hungry people all armed with knives ready 

 for the fray. The seal is cut open down the middle, 

 the skin taken off, and the carcase roughly cut up ; 

 pieces of the gory flesh and blubber are then de 

 voured with the greatest avidity, and soon the mass 

 of meat vanishes away." 



Sunday, May 5, was spent in working among the 

 people of this village. There were six houses in all, 

 and we are given some description of the inhabitants 

 of each of them : 



