OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 177 



}cin'; also out of pocket. It was laiiijliublc to observe the pains he now '^22- 



? ' . , - , , , . February 



L to impress on tlie mincl oi every person he saw, that he was no longer ^,*->-N./ 



•^likloke, by which name he had lately been distinguished ; for he 



ncd to tliiuk that my receiving him again into favour was a perfect 



)lution from his offence. 



he gale continued to blow from the north-west throughout the day, 



igh the barometer gradually rose from 29.73 to 29.93 inches. Two 



:ns were seen: these birds, which were observed frequently in the 



■se of the winter, were almost always seen in a single pa r at a time, 



their plumage remained perfectly black as in the summer. 



n the 23d I paid another visit to the huts, and found the greater part Sat. 23. 



he men absent on their scaling excursions. We thought however that, 



?pt on pressing occasions, one man was left in each hut to keep an eye 



the conduct of the women, and this was the case to-day. The huts 



in the interior assumed a somewhat different appearance since I had 



seen them ; the roofs were much blackened by the smoke of the 

 ps, and the warmth had in most parts given them a glazed and honey- 

 bed surface : indeed the whole of the walls had become much thinner 

 hawing, so that the light was more plainly visible through them. The 

 V also on which the lamps stood was considerably worn away, so as to 

 Toy in great measure the regularity of the original plan of construction, 

 hcse changes might be added that of a vast (juantity of blood and oil 



now defaced the purity of the snowy floor, and emitted effluvia not 



agreeable to European noses; so that, uj)on the whole, it may be ima- 

 d that our first impressions of the comfort and cleanliness of these ha- 

 tions were more favourable than their present state was calculated to 

 te. 



o the original apartments they had now also added various smaller 

 es for stores, communicating with the huts from within, and looking 

 ctliing like our ovens, though without any door to them.j, "In some of 

 e tliey deposited their ui)per jackets, which they usually take ofl' in 

 ing into their huts, as we do a great coat; while in smaller ones, like 

 c shelves in a recess, they kept various articles of their Kablooana 

 es. These and similar alterations and additions they were constantly 

 ing throughout the winter; for their inexhaustible materials being always 

 and, it required but little time and labour to adopt any arrangement 



might suit their convenience. 



2 A 



