TIDINGS FROM THE POLAR EXPLORING COLONY. 597 



exploring parties seldom visit it, and the influence of the white man is less per- 

 ceptible. They retain their habits of life as practiced before the general condi- 

 tion of the race was improved to a great extent in other parts of Greenland. I 

 spent four hours consecutively in one of their least attractive ' igloos ' or huts. 



" My pretext for so protracted a stay was ostensibly awaiting the completion 

 of a cap of eider-down, on which one of the squaws was engaged. The hut was 

 built of turf, moss and stone, and was entered by along, narrow, low passage or 

 tunnel — so low that I was compelled to crawl on hands and feet, a most disagree- 

 able and humiliating proceeding, as the dogs and natives (not much better in 

 point of cleanliness) also have ingress and egress through the same vestibule. On 

 reaching the small interior hole which was the entrance to the living, eating and 

 sleeping-room, the first glance revealed the mistress of the house, in an extremely 

 airy costume, sitting on the shelf or platform on which they sleep. By due pro- 

 cess of barter a neckerchief that I had worn was transferred to the possession o 

 the squaw in exchange for the eider cap to which I referred, and which she at 

 once proceeded to make, first measuring the dome of my intellect with great pre- 

 cision. 



"The room was too low to admit of standing upright. No stove or fire-place 

 appeared; as a substitute there was a hollowed stone, used as a lamp, with seal-oil 

 for fuel and moss for a wick. The atmosphere of the room was stifling and ex- 

 tremely nauseating from the odor of seal-skins strewn around. The sleeping ar- 

 rangements were most simple — a platform about two feet high and extending 

 from .the wall about six feet occupied one side of the room. This is the recepta- 

 cle of skins and furs during the day, and when the natives retire they make it a 

 general couch, each disciple of Morpheus drawing over himself or herself so 

 many of the skins as are necessary for comfort. 



" The costume of the Esquimaux women is so nearly like that of the men 

 that at first glance it is difficult to distinguish the sexes. The women, however 

 — as all the world over — dress in a more pleasing manner than the men. The 

 costume generally consists of a pair of dainty boots of dressed seal-skin, stained 

 different colors and ornamented with small pieces cut in fancy forms, which 

 reach above the knee. 



"Then come the trunks, or pantaloons, also of seal-skin, but with the long 

 hair on. This garment is very short, reaching hardly half way down the thigh, 

 when they meet the boots or leggings. The upper part of the body is covered 

 by a loose-fitting cassack or smock, devoid of buttons, which is pulled on over 

 the head. An attached hood can be drawn over the head or allowed to fall back 

 on the shoulders at pleasure. A pair of the afore -mentioned trunks, or panta- 

 loons, was the only part of the costume which the dusky maker of my cap saw 

 fit to wear. She appeared to work with greater facility, however, than if tram- 

 meled with clothing, as she deftly held the materials in position with her toes 

 while she trimmed or fitted them. Two or three children were hanging about 

 her, without seeming to impede her progress in the least. As soon as completed 

 she placed the cap on my head, and proved at once the possession of at least one 



