390 
WE ATTACK THE HEADMAN’S DAIRY. 
climbed into easily without the aid of steps. Of course 
they had no fire in them, they being used mostly as 
el ee p i n g~ qu arte r s . 
We did not enter any of them, hut, upon looking in, 
saw nothing but piles upon piles of skins, which, being 
spread out very evenly, gave the whole apartment the 
appearance of one vast “field-bed.” Their doors shut 
quite closely and worked upon wooden hinges, and they 
were sometimes locked with padlocks, (obtained from the 
whale-ships which visit them from time to time,) in which 
cases we generally found that they acted the part of store- 
houses. As sleeping-apartments they were decidedly 
preferable to the larger ones, as they were free from the 
odour of fish, and the absence of fire left their sides 
and contents of a reasonable colour. 
When we came to buy our milk, the headman beckoned 
us to follow him with our bottles, and led the way to his 
particular “lock-up,” wdiere he opened the door with a 
wire key, (having lost the original,) and disclosed to our 
brightening eyes the long-untasted luxury ranged around 
its sapling flooring in tin pans and cool-looking earthen 
jars. We bought it ij/ the jar — each one a jar — and began 
on the spot to make up for lost time. Who can tell how 
much our scurvy-threatened palates enjoyed these pro 
tracted draughts ? 
In addition to these houses, there were any number 
of sheds scattered about for drying fish previous to the 
smoking-process. These were rigged with light mova- 
ble roofs, so that the fish might be exposed to the sun 
as -well as protected from rain. They told us that, when 
bad weather came on, they hauled over the roofs, and 
