|ji|| to be .an excellent fifljery. One o f the filh, pf the many which we faw
leap out o f the water, .fell into our canoe; . it was about ten inches
long, and of a round Ihape. About the places where they had made
their fires were fcattered pieces o f whalebone, and thickhurned .leather,
with parta o f the frames.of three canoes; we.could alfoobferve where
they had fpilled train o il; and there was the lingular appearance^ of <a
fpruce fir, ftripped o f its branches to. the top like an Engiilh. mayxpofej
The weather was cloudy, and the d r cold and jmpleafanw >;'Eix&tóthi$'
place-for .about five milesitheriver widens, it theufiowsin- a .variety
jj of narrow, meandering channels, amongft low iftands, .enlivened with no
trees, but a few dwarf willows^
A t four, we landed, where there Were three houfe£ -oh ratherhks^e-
longing to the-natives. The ground-plot is of an öval‘ fórm; <Sböd’t
fifteen feet long, ten feet wide in the middle, and eight feetWéfclfer
énd : the whole of it is dug about twelve inches below the fuxfafce bf
the ground, and one half o f it is covered over with willow branches;
which probably ferves as a bed for the whole family. A fpace, in
the middle o f the other part, o f about four feet wide, -is deepened
twelve inches more, and is the only fpot in the houfe where a grown
perfon can Hand, upright. One fide o f it is covered; as has been
already defcribed, and the other is the hearth Orifire-plaee, c# whfeh,
however, they do not make much ufe, Though it Was clofe'to the
waH,.the latter did. not appear to be burned. The'door or; entrance
is’ in the middle o f one end of the houfe, and is about two feet*'and
an half high and two feet wide, and has a cbverëd way or porch five
ieet in length;, fo that it is abfolutely neceffary to creep -on all fours
m
in order to get ipto, or out of, this curious habitation. - There is an hole
o f about eighteen inches fquare on the top of it, which ferves the threefold.
purpofe. o f a window, an oecafional door, -arid a chimney. The
under-ground part of the fioof is lised with fplit wood. Six or eight
ftumps^fimdl tr$?S; driven in$p the earth, with the root upwards, on
which are laid feme crofs pieces',o f timber, Support the rpof pf the
building, which is*an-' oblong fquare Of ten feet’ by fix'. The whofe
is made of drift-wood covered with branches and dry grafs; over which
■ On each fide of thefe houfea are a few
fquare holes in the groundpf'about two feet in depth, which-are covered
with %lit wood and to
beiCiUtrifed fot] the prefervation of the 'jtfj'itfer ftock Of provilions> In
and about:: the - ho»fe%.we.’ found fledge runners and bones^ pieces of
whalebone, and poplar bark cpt in circle!, which are ufed as Cofks to
b u o y the nets, and are fixed.to them b y pieces Of whalebone. Before
each hut a great number, o f flumps of trees were fixed in the ground,
upon which it appeared that-they hung their filh to dry.
We now continued our voyage, and encamped at eight o’clock. I
calculated our eQyrfe at about North-Welt, and, allowing for the windings,
that we had made fifty-four mite. We <ex§se£ledi throughout the
•day, to meet with fome o f the native;?. On feveral of the iflands we perceived
the print of their feet in the fand, as uf- they had been there but a
few days before, to procure wild fowl. There were frequent Ihowefs of
rain in the afternoon, and the weather was raw and difagreeable. We law
-a black fox ; but trees were now become, vei^ rare objects, except a few
dwarf willows, of not more than three feet in height.
I The