The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1885-04-17
lAisrcllanenus.
Eskimo Baby-lire.

When baby Eskmo's mother makes the
hood for her reindeer suit, she stretches it in
TO Il long sack or bag, that hangs down be
hind and is supported by her shoulders, and
this bag of reindeer skin is his cradle and
home, where he lives until be knows how to
walk, when he gets his own first suit of cloth
ing.
Tl>, however, is while the baby Eskimo is
out of-doors or his mother is making a social
visit. When at his own home, in order not
to trouble his mother while she is sewing or
cooking or doing such other work, the little
baby is allowed to roll around almost with
out clothing, among the reindeer skins that
make the bed, where it umuses itself with
anything /, can lay its hands on, from a
Ratchet to Il snow stick.
You doubtless think little Boreas should
have a nice time rolling around to his hearts
content on the soft, warm reindeer skins;
but when tell you more about his little
home, you may not then think So For his
lcintcr home is built Of Sn0tc.
But won't the snow melt and the house
tumble in ?" you will ask. OF course it will,
if you get it warmer than just the GOODNESS at
which water freezes but during the greater
part of the year it is so cold that the snow
will not melt, even when the Eskimo burn
fires in their stone lamps inside these snow
houses SO by closely regulating the amount
of the fire, they can just keep the snow from
melting. In short, it must always be cold
enough in their home to freeze.
So you can see that the little Eskimo can
not have such very nice time, and you can't
see how in the world he can be almost naked
nearly all day long when it is SO cold But
such is the fact.
Yet, in spite of all this the little fellow real
ly enjoys himself. He gets used to the cold,
and has great fun frolicking around on the
raindcer skins and playing with his toys and
when | have told you some other stories
about the cold these little folks can en-
dure, you can understand how they can
enjoy themselves in the snow huts, or igloos,
as they call them, when it is only a little cold
or than freezing.
AT times, the fire will get too warm in the
snow house, and then the ceiling will COM
mence meting,-for you all perhaps have
learned at school that when room becomes
warmed it is warmer at the ceiling and cool
er near the floor. So with the hut of snow it
commences melting at the top because it is
warmer therc,-and when two or three drops
of cold water have fallen on the taby's bare
shoulders, his father or mother finds that it is
getting to warm, and cuts down the fire.
When the water commences dropping, the
lnotneT VIII olteu tdhe SHOW Ddll from Ine
floor, where it is colder than freezing, and
stick it against the point where the water is
dripping. There it freezes fast and soaks up
the water just like a sponge until it becomes
full and then she removes it and puts on
another, as soon as it commences to drip
again. Sometimes she will forget to remove
it, and when it gets soaked and heavy with
water and warm enough to lose its freezing
hold, down it comes perhaps right on the
baby's bare back, where it tlattens out like a
slushy pancake,-or into his face, as it once
served me.-St. Nicholas.