170 CURIOUS HOMES ANB THEIR TENANTS. 



shuts herself np, for not only has she to sustain her- 

 self, but nurse her little ones ; and, as may be imagined, 

 it is a hungry family that makes its appearance in the 

 early spring when the snow softens, and then mother 

 bear digs her way out into the open air and into day- 

 Hght. 



It might perhaps be thought that any living crea- 

 ture buried in snow would smother, but not only is 

 the snow itself full of air, but it permits air to pene- 

 trate through it ; so mixeh so that in a snow-house you 

 can tell, by holding your hand near the wall, against 

 which side the wind is blowing. 



In this miscalled Greenland, the land of the mid- 

 night sun and midday moon, or whei-e the whole year 

 is divided into one day and night, where the winter's 

 snows exten<l unbroken for unknown miles on every 

 side, in vain might the traveler seek for any sign of 

 life ; and yet beneath his very feet may lie a com- 

 modious dome-shaped apartment, where in comfort 

 and safety reside a mother and her child. 



It is the ighio^ ov house of the seal, who has taught 

 the native Innuits how to build a comfortable (com- 

 fortable to Innuits and seals) home of no better ma- 

 terial than ice and snow. In contriving a home for 

 her little one, Madame Seal begins by enlarging the 

 hole in the ice which is her door to the outer world. 



Seals, although the greater part of their lives are 

 spent in and under the water, are air-breathing ani- 

 mals, and consequently must have breathing-holes in 

 the ice where they can at any time procure a supply 

 of oxygen. These breathing-places are carefully kept 



