@€n Gsguimaux Billage.

OST of us pity those poor people of the north, whose hara rate
has placed them in one of the dreariest parts of the earth, where
only a few mosses can be found in the vegetable world; where
it would be almost impossible for human beings to live were it
not for the food and clothing which the ocean waters yield so
freely. But this land is their own and they would not exchange
it for our more comfortable one. In fact, some of these people

who have been brought here by explorers have been uneasy until they could re-

turn to their own country and their own people.

The Esquimaux who live in this region, are short of stature, but strong,
broad-shouldered men. They have narrow foreheads, broad, flat noses, with
little or no beards. The hair on the head is long, straight, coarse and black.
Both men and women possess hands and feet that are wonderfully small and
well formed. The dress of both sexes is very much alike, the object being in
that severe climate to keep warm and to have the clothing as light as possible.
They wear two pairs of trousers, the inner one of reindeer skin, with the soft
fur next the flesh, and the outer pair of sealskin. They also wear two jackets
made of the same material. The outer one has a large hood which, when drawn
up, completely covers the head, and sometimes the entire face except the eyes.
Their hoods are made of sealskin, lined with reindeer fur, or the soft, downy
coats of birds. The outer jacket of the women is usually a little larger than
that of the men, and is provided with an extra hood in which to carry the babies
when ona journey. In the summer, one of the first suits is laid aside. Some
of the Esquimau women braid their black, glossy hair with much care and taste.
They tattoo their foreheads, cheeks and chins.

_ The Esquimau’s igloo, or house, is built of snow and ice. The word means
either house or room, but as their houses never contain but one apartment, the
word applies equally to both. The Esquimaux are a wandering people, but
during the winter months occupy their igloo, built of stones, with moss piled up
around and over them, so that when covered with snow they make a very com-
fortable dwelling-place. At other times the houses are made of blocks of snow,
cut out in regular form with a snow-knife, which is made of reindeer or musk-ox
bones. The builder first clears the snow away froma space large enough for
the house, leaving the solid ice on the bottom for a floor. The house is built in
the form of a dene: usually about ten or twelve feet across. All the cracks and
openings are carefully chinked i in with snow. Then water is thrown over them