208 
GREENLAND VOYAGE. 
Traces of inhabitation, some of them recent, oc¬ 
curred all over the plain at the foot of Neill’s 
Cliffs. The most considerable and striking, con¬ 
sisted of the remains of a hamlet (Plate VI.) com¬ 
posed of nine or ten huts in close combination, 
besides many others scattered about the margin 
of the flat. This place, indeed, afforded the most 
admirable site that could have been selected, for 
the structures used by the Esquimaux for their 
winter’s residences ; being elevated about 50 feet 
above the beach, perfectly dry, and presenting a 
rapid slope towards the river that limits the 
plain on the south side, and towards the beach 
which forms the eastern boundary. The roofs of 
all the huts had either been removed or had fallen 
in ; what remained, consisted of an excavation in 
the ground at the brow of the bank, about 4 feet 
in depth, 15 in length, and 6 to 9 in width. The 
sides of each hut were sustained by a wall of 
rough stones, and the bottom appeared to be gra¬ 
vel, clay, and moss. The access to these huts, 
after the manner of the Esquimaux, was a horizon¬ 
tal tunnel perforating the ground, about 15 feet in 
length, opening at one extremity on the side of the 
bank, into the external air, and, at the other, com¬ 
municating with the interior of the hut. This 
tunnel was so low, that a person must creep on 
his hands and knees to get into the dwelling; 
