THE LIFE AT TUKTUYAKTOK 137 



this ran three alcoves, so that the ground plan of the 

 house was not very different from the club in playing 

 cards. In each one of the three alcoves was a sleeping 

 platform about eight inches higher than the floor. Out 

 of one alcove there led a door communicating with a 

 separate house occupied by an uncle of Ovayuak's, with 

 his wife and family. In our big house and in this little 

 connected house we were twenty-three all together, not 

 counting visitors and there were visitors nearly every 

 night. There was just room on the bed platforms for all 

 but me to sleep, and when every one else had gone to bed 

 I used to spread my blankets on the floor near the door 

 so as to be where it was as cool as possible. Whenever 

 there were visitors there were others besides me sleeping 

 on the open floor space. 



There is very little furniture in an Eskimo house. They 

 have the sensible way of getting along with the least 

 possible, and much of what they do use they use only 

 temporarily and then take it out of doors. Ordinarily 

 there is in the alleyway leading out from the Eskimo 

 house a side chamber where certain articles of furniture 

 are kept that are frequently used. Whenever one is 

 needed somebody goes to bring it in. Other things less 

 frequently used are kept on an elevated platform outside 

 the house. Here are kept also the food and any property 

 the people may own, such as rifles that are not in use, 

 bolts of cloth purchased from the whalers, or the like. 



But it is the custom to keep in the house the cooking 

 gear and the little movable tables upon which the food is 

 prepared and eaten. These took up some floor space and 

 so did our sheet-iron stove that was used for cooking. 

 When visitors were numerous the tables were moved out 

 into the alleyway, and occasionally the stove also had to 



