6 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



The purity of the material of which the 

 house was framed, the elegance of its con- 

 struction, and the translucency of its walls, 

 which transmitted a very pleasant light, 

 gave it an appearance far superior to a 

 marble building, and one might survey it 

 with feelings somewhat akin to those pro- 

 duced by the contemplation of a Grecian 

 temple, reared by Phidias ; both are tri- 

 umphs of art, inimitable in their kinds. 



Several deer were killed near the house, 

 and we received some supplies from 

 Akaitcho. Parties were also employed in 

 bringing in the meat that was placed en 

 cache in the early part of the winter. More 

 than one half of these caches, however, had 

 been destroyed by the wolves and wolver- 

 enes; a circumstance which, in conjunction 

 with the empty state of our store-house, led 

 us to fear that we should be much straitened 

 for provisions before the arrival of any con- 

 siderable number of rein-deer in this neigh- 

 bourhood. 



A good many ptarmigan were seen at this 

 time, and the women caught some in snares, 



