After being
upset twice, and stopping at least ten times, notwithstanding the
incessant bullying of Okotook, and, as it seemed to me, more
bodily labour on his part to steer us clear of accidents than if
he had walked the whole way, we at length arrived at the huts; a
distance of two miles, in five-and-twenty minutes. Of this
equipment and their usual modes of travelling, I shall have
occasion to speak more fully in another place.
I found that several fresh alterations had been made in the huts
since my last visit, all, however, of the same, kind, and having
in view the same object as those last described. In these
alterations they seem to consult the convenience of the moment,
and to do it all by such unanimous consent, that no consultation
or difference of opinion ever appears to exist about it. So much
snowdrift had now collected about the huts, that their external
appearance was as much altered as that of the interior, and it was
difficult to trace any resemblance to the original village, or
even to perceive its present limits. The snow was now as high as
the roofs on every side, so that one might walk completely over
them, and, but for the round plates of ice composing the windows,
without suspecting the little hive of human beings that was
comfortably established below.
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