high
enough to permit the tallest man of the tribe to stand erect, and some
of them so capacious that a family of six or eight persons could dwell
in them easily. We may remark, however, that Esquimau ideas of
roominess and comfort in their dwellings differ very considerably from
ours. Their chief aim is to create heat, and for this end they
cheerfully submit to what we would consider the discomfort of crowding
and close air.

The village at a little distance bore a curious resemblance to a cluster
of white beehives; and the round, soft, hairy natives, creeping out and
in continually, and moving about amongst them, were not unlike (with the
aid of a little imagination) to a swarm of monstrous black bees--an idea
which was further strengthened by the continuous hum that floated on the
air over the busy settlement. Kayaks and oomiaks lay about in several
places supported on blocks of ice, and seal-spears, paddles, dans,
lances, coils of walrus-line, and other implements, were intermingled in
rare confusion with sledges, sealskins, junks of raw meat and bones, on
which latter the numerous dogs of the tribe were earnestly engaged.

In the midst of this village stood a hut which differed considerably
from those around. It was built of clear ice instead of snow. There
were one or two other igloos made of the same material, but none so
large, clean, or elegant as this one. The walls, which were
perpendicular, were composed of about thirty large square blocks,
cemented together with snow, and arranged in the form of an octagon.
The roof was a dome of snow. A small porch or passage, also of ice,
stood in front of the low doorway, which had been made high enough to
permit the owner of the mansion to enter by stooping slightly. In front
and all around this hut the snow was carefully scraped, and all
offensive objects--such as seal and whale blubber--removed, giving to it
an appearance of cleanliness and comfort which the neighbouring igloos
did not possess. Inside of this icy residence, on a couch of deerskin
was seated Edith Stanley!

On that terrible night when the child lost her way in the dreary plain,
she had wandered she knew not whither, until she was suddenly arrested
by coming to the edge of the solid ice on the shores of Ungava Bay.
Here the high winds had broken up the ice, and the black waters of the
sea now rolled at her feet and checked her progress. Terrified at this
unexpected sight, Edith endeavoured