222 MOVING OUT. 



appS-ently, of spring proper, and accordingly it thus becomes pos- 

 sible to move out of " winter quarters," and into the summer house 

 in its more exposed situation, from the middle to the last of April ; 

 strange as it may appear, the time set generally falls on the week 

 after Easter. 



The process of moving out is much like that of moving in, 

 though in the latter case you go by boat, and in the former by sled ; 

 as the baggage consists principally of provisions and boxes there is 

 not much to move. Of course in this region trunks are seldom 

 used, being replaced by the sailor's chest or carpenter's box which 

 holds each individual's goods. It was a glad day when we turned 

 our backs upon the house we had occupied throughout the long, 

 tedious winter, and finally landed, with our "goods and chattels," 

 at our summer house. It was a beautiful morning. The air was 

 keen and sharp with the freshness of the still lingering winter, 

 though the absence of that intense cold, so usual at this time, was 

 marked as quite a pleasant change. The sky was clear, and towards 

 noon the sun came out warm and nice. The hills were still more 

 or less covered with snow, yet here and there a suggestion of a 

 much greener foliage than could have been seen a month earlier 

 even had made its appearance. The greatest change, however, 

 occurred in the inroads which the waters of the sea, owing to the 

 previous mild weather, had made upon the ice of the bay. From 

 a point of the mainland we could see that half the pass between 

 the two islands was already open, and far onward and outward we 

 could view an open sea. I say open sea ; yet though the ice had 

 broken up, leaving the water visible, there were still large masses 

 of drift, or as it is called shee-shee ice floating up or down with the 

 current or drifting about at the mercy of wind and tide, and no 

 boat could yet be safe far outside. As we stood viewing the waters, 

 with their distant long lines of drift ice, which resembled the 

 pictures often seen of arctic winter, we would occasionally see 

 short, round bodies upon it, that upon inspection proved to be 

 seals. We could with our glass often see these animals sporting in 

 the open waters of some lagoon-shaped mass of ice, and occasion- 



