250 SNOW HUTS OF NATIVES. Chap. XIII. 



to crawl upon our hands and knees. A slab of 

 ice in the roof admitted sufficient light. A snow- 

 bank or bench two feet high, and occupying half 

 the area of each hut, was covered with reindeer 

 skins, and formed the family place of repose. 

 An angular snow bench served as the kitchen 

 table, and immediately beside it sat the lady of 

 the establishment attending the stone lamp 

 which stood thereon, and the stone cooking 

 vessel suspended over it. The lamp was a 

 shallow open vessel, the fuel seal oil, and the 

 wick dried moss. Her " tinder box " was a 

 little seal-skin bag of soft dry moss, and with a 

 lump of iron pyrites and a broken file she struck 

 fire upon it. I purchased the file because it was 

 marked with the Government broad arrow. 



We saw two large snow shovels made of 

 mahogany board, some long spear handles, a 

 bow of English wood, two preserved meat tins, 

 and a deal case which might have once contained 

 a large telescope or a barometer ; it measured 

 3 feet 1 inch in length by 9 inches wide and 

 3 1 inches deep ; there was no lid, but part of 

 the brass hinges remained. 



I also purchased a knife which had some in- 

 distinct markings on it such as ship's cutlasses 

 or swords usually have •, the man told us it had 

 been picked up on the shore near where a ship 



