Page:Life with the Esquimaux - 1864 - Volume 1.djvu/204

Rh the bay, the condition of the natives from want of blubber and food was in an alarming state. Many of them could have no friendly lamp to give light and heat.

The Esquimaux lamp is the "all in all" to these people. By it their igloo is lighted and kept warm; by it they melt ice or snow for their drink; and by it they dry their clothing, mittens, boots, stockings, &c. Without the lamp, Esquimaux could not live—not so much because of its warmth or use for cooking, but because it enables them to dry their skin clothing, melt ice for drink, and gives them light during the long arctic night of winter.



When I called upon Tookoolito the lamp was without oil, and could not give either sufficient light, heat, or drying power, hence the melancholy aspect of her otherwise happy abode. Ebierbing, however, intended very soon to make a sealing excursion, and obtain blubber at any risk. When obliged, Esquimaux do not hesitate in undergoing the greatest privations to get food for their families. They will watch over a sea-hole for one hour or fifty, if need be, in the coldest weather, waiting for the seal to come up and breathe. Kudlago in this manner caught the first seeds of the complaint which carried him off. His family were starving; and after bearing the pain of seeing them suffer for a few days, he could endure it no longer. He went out in