The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1885-03-20
Eskimo BabV-LIfe.

When a baby Eskimo's mother make,
the hood tor her reindeer suit, sht
stretches it into a long sack or bag
that hangs down behind and is sup
ported by her shoulders, and this bag
of reindeer's skin is his cradle and
home, where he lives until he knows
how to walk, when he gets his OWL
first suit of clothing.
This, however, is while the baby
Eskimo is out-of-doofs or his mother is
making 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
without clothing, among the reindeer
skins that make the bed, where it
amuses itself with anything it can lay
it's hands on, from Ratchet to a snow
stick.
You doubtless think little Boreas
should have nice time rolling around
to his hearts content on the soft, warm
reindeer skins; but when l tell you
more about his little home, You may
not then think so. For his aDinter home
is built of snoW.
"But won't the snow melt and the
house tumble IMP" you will ask. OF
course it will, if you get it warmer
than Just the GOODNESS al which water
freezes; but duling 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 regu-
lating 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 very nice time, and
you can't see how 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 fell |
low really enjoys himself. He gets |
used to the cold, and has great fun |
frolicking around on the reindeer skins
and playing with his toys; and when l
have told you some other stories about
the cold these little folks can endure,
you can understand how they can en-
JOY themselves in the snow huts, or
igtoos, as they call them, when it is a
little colder than freezing.
1t times, the fire will get too warm
in the snow house, and then the cell
ing will commence melting, for you
all perhaps have learned at school that
when room becomes warmed it is
warmer at the ceiling and cooler near
the floor. So with the hut of snow: it
commences melting at the top because
it is warmer there,-and when two or
three drops of cold water have fallen
On the baby's bare shoulders. his
father or mother finds that it is getting
100 warm, and cuts down the fire.
When the water commences drop
ping, the mother will often take
'now-ball from the floor, where it is
colder than. freezing, and stick it
against the point where the water is
tripping. There it freezes fast and
oaks up the water just like a sponge
Until it becomes full; and tt en- she re-
moves it and puts on another, as soon
s it commences to drip again. Some /.
lines she will forget to remove it. and
Vhen it gets soaked and heavy with
water and warm enough to lose its
reezing hold, down it comes! perhaps .
light on the baby's bare back, where
fiattens out like slushy pancake
r into his face, as it once served me. .
Lieut.. Frederick SchWatka, in 81. :
Nicholas for March.