portion of the surface of the body is to be covered, it must become a painful as well as tedious process, especially as for want of needles, they often use a strip of whalebone as a substitute. For those parts where a needle cannot conveniently be passed under the skin, they use the method by puncture, which is common in other countries, and by which our seamen frequently mark their hands and arms.

Ès-qui-maux (Ès-ki-mö) mèas-ŭred

as-sem-bled

in-di-vid-u-als

tòl-er-a-bly

wrinkled

com-par-i-sons

pre-pòst-er-ous-ly

corp-u-lent, having a large
body; stout, fat. Lat. corpus,
"a body."
di-vèst-ed, stript, deprived of.
Lat. di, "asunder, apart,
off;" and vestio, "I clothe ;'
lit. "to take off the clothing."
brun-ètte (brun-èt), woman with
brown or dark complexion.
French diminutive of brun,
"brown."

per-cèp-ti-ble, able to be per

Lat. re, "back," and lucto,
"I struggle;" lit. "strug-
gling against."

in-duced, led on to, prevailed
upon. Lat. in, "in, to," and
duco, "I lead."
ef-fèct-u-al-ly, with effect, tho-
roughly; in such a manner
as to effect or accomplish
the action,

or-i-gin-ate, take origin, arise.
in-dis-pèns-a-ble, that cannot
be dispensed with, or done
without; necessary.
ex-ped-i-tious-ly, quickly,
speedily, promptly.
ep-i-dèrm-is, the outer skin. Lit.
the skin that lies upon the
true skin; Greek, from epi,
"upon," and derma, "skin."
pèr-man-ent, constant, remain-
ing always.
Lat. per,

"through, thoroughly," and

maneo, "I stay, remain." punc-ture, pricking. Lat. punctum, "to prick.”

2. ESQUIMAUX HUTS AND HOUSEHOLDS.

IN their winter habitations the only materials employed are snow and ice, the latter being made use of for the windows alone. The work is commenced by cutting from a drift of hard and compact snow a number of oblong slabs six or seven inches thick and about two feet in length, and laying them edgeways on a level spot, also covered with snow, in a circular form, and of a diameter from eight to fifteen feet, proportioned to the number of occupants the hut is to contain. Upon this, as a foundation, is laid a second tier of the same kind, but with the pieces inclining a little inward, and made to fit closely to the lower slabs and to each other, by running a knife adroitly along the upper parts and sides.

The top of this tier is now prepared for the reception of a third by squaring it off smoothly with a knife, all which is dexterously performed by one man standing within the circle and receiving the blocks of snow from those employed in cutting them without. When the wall has attained a height of four or five feet it leans so much inward as to appear as if about to tumble every moment, but the workmen still fearlessly lay their blocks of snow upon it until it is too high any longer to furnish the materials to the builder in this manner. Of this he gives notice by cutting a hole close to the ground in that part where the door is intended to be, which is near the south side, and through this the snow is now passed. Thus they continue till they have brought the sides nearly to meet in a perfect and well-constructed donie, sometimes nine or ten feet high in the centre; and this they take considerable care in finishing by fitting the last block, or keystone, very nicely in the centre, dropping it into its place from the outside, though it is still done by the man within. The people outside are in the meantime occupied in throwing up snow with the snow shovel, and in stuffing in little wedges of snow where holes have been accidentally left.

The builder next proceeds to let himself out by enlarging the proposed doorway into the form of a Gothic arch, three feet high and two feet and a half wide at the bottom, communicating with which they construct two passages, each from ten to twelve feet long and from four to five feet in height, the lowest being that

next the hut. The roofs of these passages are sometimes arched, but more generally made flat by slabs laid on horizontally. In first digging the snow for building the hut, they take it principally from the part where the passages are to be made, which purposely brings the floor of the latter considerably lower than that of the hut, but in no part do they dig till the bare ground appears.

The work just described completes the walls of a hut, if a single apartment only be required; but if, on account of relationship, or from any other cause, several families are to reside under one roof, the passages are made common to all, and the first apartment (in that case made smaller) forms a kind of ante-chamber, from which you go through an arched doorway five feet high into the inhabited apartments. When there are three of these, which is generally the case, the whole building, with its adjacent passages, forms a tolerably regular

cross.

For the admission of light into the huts a round hole is cut on one side of the roof of each apartment, and a circular plate of ice, three or four inches thick and two feet in diameter, let into it. The light is soft and pleasant, like that transmitted through ground glass, and it is quite sufficient for every purpose. When, after some time, these edifices become surrounded by drift, it is only by the windows that they could be recognized as human habitations. It may, perhaps, then be imagined how singular is their external appearance at night, when they discover themselves

only by a circular disk of light transmitted through the windows from the lamps within.

The next thing to be done is to raise a bank of snow, two and a half feet high, all round the interior of each apartment, except on the side next the door. This bank, which is neatly squared off, forms their beds and fireplace, the former occupying the sides and the latter the end opposite the door. The passage left open up to the fireplace is between three and four feet wide. The beds are arranged by first covering the snow with a quantity of small stones, over which are laid their paddles, tentpoles, and some blades of whalebone; above these they place a number of little pieces of network, made of thin slips of whalebone, and lastly a quantity of twigs of birch and of the andromeda tetragona. Their deerskins, which are very numerous, can now be spread without risk of their touching the snow; and such a bed is capable of affording not merely comfort, but luxurious repose, in spite of the rigour of the climate. The skins thus used as blankets are made of a large size, and bordered, like some of the jackets, with a fringe of long narrow slips of leather.

The fire belonging to each family consists of a single lamp, or shallow vessel of lapis ollaris, its form being the lesser segment of a circle. The wick, composed of dry moss rubbed between the hands till it is quite inflammable, is disposed along the edge of the lamp on the straight side, and a greater or smaller quantity lighted according to the heat required or the fuel that can be afforded. When the whole length of this, which is