The Eskimo women trim the lamps so well that there is no smoke from them, unless there is a draft in the tent or igloo.

They cut small pieces of blubber, which they lay on moss and ignite, and the heat from the moss dries out the oil, making a surprisingly hot flame.

Until I gave them matches, they had only the primitive means of ignition by flint and steel, which they obtained from a vein of pyrites.

When I first went up there, all their lamps and rectangular pots were made of soapstone, two or three veins of which are found in that country.

Their ability to utilize the soapstone and pyrites is an illustration of their intelligence and ingenuity.
As a rule little clothing is worn in the tupiks in warm weather, as the normal summer temperature is around fifty degrees Fahrenheit, and in the strong sunlight may go as high as eighty-five or even ninety-five.
The trial marriage is an ineradicable custom among the Eskimos.