A Herschel Island ice house, with a view of the Whalers' Graveyard in the distance.

In the 1890s modern refrigeration methods were unheard of. The whalers knew that the inclusion of meat in their diet helped ward off diseases such as scurvy, and following example of the Inuvialuit, constructed icehouses in the frozen ground to store fresh meat and other food for use throughout the year.

Much of the meat supply was traded for locally, or hunted by Inupiat from Alaska who were brought to Herschel Island by the whalers for that purpose.