My conductor resumed as follows: "As I told you before, the whale is the
staple of this island. You observe that his skin serves us as a house;
from his bones we form all our implements--from his sinews, our thickest
ropes down to our finest thread. The dress we wear is composed of the
belly-part of the skin, dressed with a sort of soap, composed of the
alkali obtained from the sea-weed which abounds in the lake, and the oil
of the whale. His blubber serves us for fuel and candle; his flesh for
meat, and the milk is invaluable to us. It is true, we have other
resources; we have our lizards, and a variety of fish and shell fish;
and when we are shut up in the winter among the icebergs, we procure the
flesh and skins of the seals and the polar bear. But we have no
vegetable of any kind; and although the want of bread may at first he
unpleasant, a few weeks will reconcile you to the privation. But it is
time to repose after your fatigues--I will report your arrival to the
great harpooner, after I have shown you to your chamber." He then
conducted me to an inner room, where I found a couch, composed of the
skins of the polar bears, on which I threw myself, and in a few minutes
was fast asleep.

The next morning I was awakened by my host. "If you wish to see the
whales milked, this is the hour that they are called in; a short walk
will explain more to you than many hours' conversation."

I arose perfectly refreshed from my long nap, and followed my conductor.
We passed a large tank. "This is our water; we are obliged not to
waste it, although we have a sufficiency; the tank is coated by a
cement, formed of lime, obtained by the burning of the shells of fish.
We make all our vessels, that are submitted to the fire, of the same
substance, mixed with pounded lava; it is burnt in the fire, and glazed
with sea-salt."

We arrived at the edge of the lake, where we came to a large shallow
dock, cut out of the lava in the side, in which were about two dozen
young whales, who followed my host as he walked round the edge.

"These are my calves; we do not admit the mothers until we have first
drawn off what milk we require."

Several men now came down to the beach: one of them blew a horn, formed
out of a part of the horn of a sea unicorn, and immediately a herd of
whales collected at the sound, and swam towards the beach. They all
answered to their names; and when the men waded in the water up to their
knees, quietly gro