502 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 



without any perceptible smoke or offensive smell. The lamp is made to 

 supply itself with oil, by suspend inj? a long thin slice of whale, seal, or sea- 

 horse blubber near the flame, the warmth of which causes the oil to drip into 

 the vessel until the whole is extracted. Immediately over the lamp is fixed 

 a rude and ricketty frame-work of wood, from which their pots arc suspended, 

 and serving also to sustain a large hoop of bone, having a net stretched tight 

 within it. This contrivance, called hmetdl, is intended for the reception of 

 any wet things, and is usually loaded with boots, shoes, and mittens. 



The fire-place just described as situated at the upper end of the apartment, 

 has always two lamps facing different ways, one for each family occupying 

 the corresponding bed-place. There is frequently also a smaller and less- 

 pretending establishment on the same model, lamp, pot, net and all, in one 

 of the corners next the door ; for one apartment sometinies contains three 

 families, which are always closely related, and no married woman or even a 

 widow without children is without her separate fire-place. 



With all the lamps lighted and the hut full of people and dogs, a thermo- 

 meter placed on the net over the fire indicated a temperature of 3b^ ; when 

 removed two or three feet from this situation it fell to 32^, and placed close 

 to the wall stood at 23", the temperature of the open air at the time being 

 25° below zero. A greater degree of warmth than this, produces extreme 

 inconvenience by the dropping from the roofs. This they endeavour to 

 obviate, by applying a little piece of snow to the place from which a drop 

 proceeds, and this adhering is for a short time an effectual remedy ; but for 

 several weeks in the spring, when the weather is too warm for these edifices, 

 and still too cold for tents, they suffer much on this account, 



The most important perhaps of the domestic utensils, next to the lamp 

 already described, are the ootkooseeks or stone pots for cooking. (1.) These 

 are hollowed out of solid hpis ollam, of an oblong form, wider at the top than at 

 the bottom, all made in similar proportion though of various sizes, correspond- 

 ing with the dimensions of the lamp which burns under it. The pot is sus- 

 pended by a line of sinew at each end to the frame-work over the tire, and 

 thus becomes so black on every side that the original colour of the stone is in 

 no part discernible. -Many of them were cracked quite across in several places, 

 and mended by sewing with sinew or rivets of copper, iron, or lead, so as 

 with the assistance of a lashing and a due proportion of dirt to render them 

 quite water-tight. I may here remark, that as these people distinguish the 



