Eskimos and their Dogs.
At last the Eskimos became tired, and when the white men spread a buffalo skin on the floor near the fire, they threw themselves upon it. For supper each man had a large piece of raw walrus meat, from which he ate until he was tired. Then he went to sleep with the raw meat lying beside him. When he awoke he would seize his meat, eat more of it, then drop off to sleep again. Many slept in a sitting position, with their heads falling forward low on their breasts.
Dr. Kane made a treaty with these people. He bought all the walrus meat they had, giving them needles, beads, and old cask staves for it. They promised to bring Kane more food very soon, and also to lend him their dogs for his journey to the north. Then Metek said they must go, and it did not take them long to get ready. They harnessed the dogs to the sledges quickly, jumped on, cracked their long sealskin whips, and off they went, dashing over the ice at a speed of twenty miles an hour.
Some time later Metek again visited Rensselaer Harbor. This time Dr. Kane decided to go with him to his hut, and bring back a load of walrus meat. Kane and Metek traveled eight miles by sledge, with Metek’s excellent team of twelve wild Eskimo dogs. They rode very swiftly over the ice and snow, until at last Kane saw what looked like two dark spots on the pure white surface. These spots were the entrances to two Eskimo huts.
The Eskimo huts are built of large stones and are heavily sodded with turf or moss. They are shaped like half of an egg, and the entrance is a tunnel, through which the dwellers creep on their hands and knees. The door is a slab of slate or ice. At this time the huts were buried under the snow.
The natives rushed out to meet the travelers. They seemed delighted to see Kane, but the cold soon drove them inside again. Kane and Metek followed, crawling through a tunnel twelve feet in length, which led them into the hut of one room about six by fifteen feet. It was crowded with persons and served for all purposes. The women were cooking large pieces of walrus meat over small lamps, and men and children were lying about half-clothed, calling to one another with uncouth sounds. Others lay stretched upon the floor sleeping.
Interior of an Eskimo Hut.
From a drawing by Dr. Kane.
The thermometer outside registered 30° below zero. Inside the hut the temperature stood at 90°, nor was there any place for fresh air to enter. Poor Dr. Kane was obliged to take off all his fur clothes like the rest. Being very tired, he soon fell asleep, with an Eskimo boy for a pillow, and a little Eskimo baby under his arm.