The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1885-03-04
Esk'm oBaby Life-How the Dots of HUI
mainly Live In the Ice and snow.


Esk'm oBaby Life-How the Dots of HUI
mainly Live In the Ice and Snow.
From st. Nicholas for Februsy,
When a baby Eskimo's mother makes the
hoods for her reindeer suit, she stretches it
into long sack or bag. that hangs down De-
hind and is supported by her shoulders, and
this bag OF RENDERS skin is his cradle and
home, where he lives until he knows how to
walk, when he gets his own first suit of cloth
ing.
This however, is while the baby Eskimo
is out of doors. or his mother is making
social visit When at his own home, in order
to trouble his mother while she is saving 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 1t amuseS itself with
anything it can lay its hands on, from
Ratchet to snow-stick-
You doubtless think little BoTeis 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 90. For his
winter home is built of snow.
But wont the snow melt and the house
tumble in2' you will ask. Oh course it will,
If you get it warmer than Just the GOODNESS
ar which water freezes: but during the great
er part Of theyear it is so cold that the snow
gill not melt, even when the Eskim0 burn
fres in their stone lamps inside these snow
houses 50 by closely regulating the amount
Of FIRE, they can Just keep the snow from
melting. In short, it must always be cold
enough in their homes to freeze.
So you can see that the little Eskimo
can not have such a 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 tpite of all this, the little fellow
really enjoys himself. he gets used to the
cold, and has great fun fr0licking around on
the reindeer skins and plsying with his toys;
and when have told you some other stories
about the cold these little fellows can endure
you can understand how they can enjoy
themselves in the snow huts; or igloos, as
they call them, when it is only little colder
than freezing.
At times the fire will get too warm in the
snow house, and then the ceiling will COM
mence melting, for you all perhaps have
earned at school that when room becom as
warmed it is warmer near the ceiling and
cooler near the floor. So with the hut of
snow; II commences melting at the top be.
cause it is warmer there, and when two or
three drops of cold water have fallen on the
bsby's bare shoulders his father or mother
finds that it is getting too warm and cuts
down the fire.
When the water commences dropping the
mother will often take SNOWFALL from the
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 sponge until ii 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 loose its freezing
hold, down it comes, perpaps right on the
bsby's bare back, where 1t fisttens out like a
slushy pancake, or into his face, as it once
served me.