The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-08-19
AN ESQUIMAU'S ODD HOUSE.
THE "IaLoo" WHICH HE BUILDS OF
SNOW BLOCKS.
Sclerting a Site After Days Journey
with n Dog Tcnm-Eccding the
CANNES.

with a Dog Tcnm-EccdinG the
Hungry. CANNES.
In an article in the New York Times
describing the daily routine of an Esqui-
mau's life, Lieutenant Schwatka tells
how the %''isloon is built at the end of a
days Journey. lie says:
The two conditions necessary for q
good camp arc water and snow; that is,
near Il fresh water lake or river where
water can be procured by digging
through the ice, and deep snow banks
of such quality that it will make good
material for q snow house or, as the M
tivcs call it, our igloo. In 4 very hilly
country, especially one of Il granite
formation, arctic lakes and rivers are nu-
mcrous, very deep, and therefore seldom
frozen to the bottom, consequently al
most any of them may be depended upon
TO furnish sufficient water. AS the coun-
try becomes more level the chances de-
crease. In prospecting the Esquimau
throws himself flat on the ice at full
length, and where no snow covers it he
presses his flat pug nose against it, and
by some varying popularity of the hues
he can tel pretty closely whether 1t Is
frozen to the bottom or not. lie is mis-.
taken now and then, however, and after
digging through six or seven feet OF
ice he finds to his disgust that
there is nothing but fine mud at the bot
tom. | have known six holes to be dug
on one lake with tins result. In such
cases snow or ice must be melted. This
process consumes more oil and postpones
the evening meal about an hour. Where
oil is plentiful, as on short journeys, and
time is no object, the subject OF water
is not so important, but it is seldom on
n LONG Journey that both these conditions
are in a party's favor. Believing there
is water in q lake. the travellers have
reached, and n good days journey hav-
ing been performed, the spot on the lake
where the snow houses will be built de-
ponds on the best snow for that purpose.
This is determined by q testing stick or
! an iron rod two or three feet long and
about the diameter Of 4 lead pencil,
with which they prod the snow at its
! greatest depths along the shores OF the
lake. BY this test they can determine
its consistency not only on the surface,
but as deep as they will need to cut 1t IN
making the blocks for the snow house.
| Snow that looks we'll on the surface may
be worthless for building purposes a few
inches below, and i bank of loose snow
may cover q compact n OF splendid
texture for these curious now houses. l
have seen them. however, prod all around
the rim of q lake half q mile across, and
then be compelled to move on to the
next. When the first one who tlnus n
good place gives a shout indicating that
he has been successful in his proddings,
he leaves his stick standing upright in
the snow 10 mark the spot, and with the
others brings the dogs and sledges to the
building site, and operations are COM
mcnccd on these hypcrborean dwellings.
Imagine a brick painted white and in
creased in size about three or four times,
then you will have a snow block. Take
a spiral course Of these snow blocks as
ccndins, and each one leaning q little
more than its previous fellow,
until the last one, in the top, is
perfectly level, and the whole structure,
leaving out the chinks and cracks be.
tween blocks, looking like the half Of m
! egg shell, and YOU have an igloo. We
had three of these igloos built every
evening for our party of nearly 20 souls,
and this building occupied about an
hour. Half an hour is passed in pros
pccting for water and good snow, half
an hour is consumed in completing the
snow bed inside and spreading thereon
| the reindeer skins for the bed, the fixing
up Of the lamp and kettle with the lire
burning, and one hour is passed in cook
ing the food.
When the building site has been
selected a couple Of the party, generally
nearly full.grown boys, proceed to dig
the well through the thick ice to the
fresh water underneath. Operations are
commenced with two tools, an ice scoop
and an ice chiscl. The ice scoop is a
musk OK ladle. fastened to the end Of a
light pole about ten feet long, the latter
being a chisel or a sharpcncd bolt on a
similar pole. A hole is cnt i'll the ice
about a foot and a half in diameter and
about six Or eight inches deep with the
ice chisel, and the chopped ice formed in
this operation is taken out with the ice
! SCOOP and deposited alongside the we'll.
This alienation of cutting with the
chiscl and removing with the SCOOP is
kept up until the wateris reached, four to
six or seven feet below. The greatest
dcpthwc ever had to dig was eight feet
. and fourinchcs on q small lake where we
thought getting water at all was very
doubtful. One object in keeping tn
hole or we'll Of a good diameter is that if
any salmon exist in the lake or river they
can be caught with a hook and line
through it, this being a pleasant duty Of
the boys and old womcn who thus often
catch good meal Of these delicious fish.
The igloo completed and Il snow bed
made inside about two feet high, the
slchgc is unloadcd, and the reindeer
skins spread on the show bel, the first
LAYER, of Unframed ones, being hair side
down and the next OF soft skins, being
hair side up, on which the natives sleep
without clothing. If during the day
the slcdgc has upset or the wind has
been drifting the snow, or in any way
the snow could have gotten on the lcin.
deer skins at the top of the load, they
are thoroughly beaten with a snow stick
kept for that purpose. 1t IS his pecu-
liarity which distinguishes reindeer skins
from all other arctic fur-thc case with
which snow, however damp. can be re-
moved from it by this process. The
lamps fire going, while waiting for the
meat to cook it is customary for all the
party to partakc of half a pound to a
pound each of raw frozen meat, after the
manner OF the midday lunch.
If the dogs have not been lcl for two
or three days it will be now in order to
give them their semi weekly feeding, and
this requires a good deal of time and
patience. They are only fed once every
other day even when the canine lfrdcr is
amply supplied ana they arc doing their
hardest work, while on long journeys,
where an ample larder occurs only at
rare intervals, the times of feeding are
more likely to be every third and even
fourth day. And when fed every other
day, if the food is ample, they will 60 in
definitely on the hardest work and re.
tain their good condition. One Of the hard
est things for the dog driver to manage
is the feeding Of his animals so as to give
each one his share, which is seldom all
they want to cat. If the food is cut up
into little bits, so that the dogs can swal-
low it at q gulp or two, and spread upon
the ground or snow, the little ones will
get nearly all of it, forthc first reception
of food is always greeted by the big ones
bclligercntly, indulgingin an unnecessary
squabblc to determine supremacy. and
while this is going on the little ones are
as busy rs chickens picking up the bits.
Nothing can be more comical than 10
see feeding of this kind
among Il large band of dogs, for by the
time the huge fellows are through fight.
INC, the food has disappeared, and YOU