216 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



they never failed to use a prescriptive right 

 of helping themselves to the fattest and 

 most delicate parts of the deer. Towards 

 the end of the month, the rein-deer began 

 to quit the barren grounds, and came into 

 the vicinity of the house, on their way to 

 the woods ; and the success of the hunters 

 being consequently great, the necessity of 

 sending for the meat considerably retarded 

 the building of the house. In the mean 

 time we resided in our canvass tents, which 

 proved very cold habitations, although we 

 maintained a fire in front of them, and also 

 endeavoured to protect ourselves from the 

 piercing winds by a barricade of pine 

 branches. 



On the 6th of October, the house being 

 completed, we struck our tents, and re- 

 moved into it. It was merely a log-build- 

 ing, fifty feet long, and twenty-four wide, 

 divided into a hall, three bed rooms, and a 

 kitchen. The walls and roof were plastered 

 with clay, the floors laid with planks rudely 

 squared with the hatchet, and the windows 

 closed with parchment of deer-skin. The 



