The remains of Esquimaux habitations were found in four
different places. Six of these, which Captain Sabine had an
opportunity of examining, and which are situated on a level sandy
bank, at the side of a small ravine near the sea, are described by
him as consisting of stones rudely placed in a circular, or,
rather, an elliptical form. They were from seven to ten feet in
diameter; the broad, flat sides of the stones standing vertically,
and the whole structure, if such it may be called, being exactly
similar to that of the summer huts of the Esquimaux which we had
seen at Hare Island the preceding year. Attached to each of them
was a smaller circle, generally four or five feet in diameter,
which had probably been the fireplace. The small circles were
placed indifferently as to their direction from the huts to which
they belonged; and from the moss and sand which covered some of
the lower stones, particularly those which composed the flooring
of the huts, the whole encampment appeared to have been deserted
for several years. Very recent traces of the reindeer and musk-ox
were seen in many places; and a head of the latter, with several
reindeers' horns, was brought on board. A few patches of snow
remained in sheltered situations; the ravines, however, which were
numerous, bore the signs of recent and considerable floods, and
their bottoms were swampy, and covered with very luxuriant moss
and other vegetation, the character of which differed very little
from that of the land at the bottom of Possession Bay.
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