The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1888-11-15
HuosoN's BAY PEOPLE.
Family Life of the Eskimo Who Dwell
Near the Great Inland Ocean.

Family Life Of the Eskimo Who Dwell
Near the Great Inland Ocean.
In the summer each family has its
own home, but in winter two or moro
families live together FOR the sake of iu-
creased warmth and economy of fuel.
The summer residence is tent made Of
scaiskins with the hair scraped Cff, giving
much the appearance of yellowish parch-
mcht, which is stretched over poles Of
driftwool arranged in the ordinary cone
shape. The door always faces toward
the water by whose side they are camped,
ana az the opposite side of the tent is the
bed, conposed of moss covered with
sealsk,n. As they sleep with head point
ing door yard, they necessarily lie down
bill, owing to the natural slope OF the
land toward the shore. This does not
seem either a comfortable or healthy POI
sition, but apparently thes are none the
worse for it, On either side of the door,
way is their lardsr, consisting OF exceed
ingly repulsivc leolSing piles of seal meat
and hlubbor, which give forth an odor
that Samson himself, with his hair at its
longest, could hardly wrestle with sue.
cessfully, SO overwhelming is its strength.
The winter Indications are made en-
1
under the sheltering Ice of a rock, in the
drift that accumulates there. The build
ers begin by marking out ON the snow
circle about fifteen feet in diameter.
which represents the inner side of the
walls, and with a saw or long bladed
knife they cut out blocks of snow from
three to six feet long by foot thick and
high, from inside the circle they have
marked; then, placing the blocks around
the circle, they carry the walls up spir-
ally (not in tiers, until they meet in a
keystone above, at distance of about
nine feet from the excavated level Of the
1oor. The result is, except, 'of course, as
to color, the production Of gigantic bee
hive, over the door or in the center of the
roof of which is set big block of fresh
water ice TO serve the purpose of win
dow in lighting an interior that, although
stainless white at first, is soon blackened
by the ever smoking, evil smelling lamps
the inmates use.
The furniture of these human hives is
very simple, as may be readily supposed.
1t consists of bed place or divan along
the side of the ''igloo," opposite the door,
and two fireplaces, one on either hand as
you enter. These are made of firmly
packed snow, and raised about three feet
above the floor, the divan having its
outer edge faced with pole to prevent
il from crumbling away when used as O
seat in the day time. The beds are made
up III the following manner; First,
layer Of moss spread over the snow; next,
a layer of sealskins; then layer Of bear
or deerskins, and finally the sleeping
bags, which resemble exaggerated pillow
slips, only that fur takes the place of
linen, and the fur is double, so that there
may be hair both inside and outside
Into these bags, of which each adult has
one, the Eskimo, stripped to the bare
buff, creeps for the night, and
sleeps very comfortably. Up to the
age of 10 the children share their
parents bag; after that they are pro-
NOTED to having one of their own.
Their fires are nothing more than
lamps rudely fashioned out of soapstone,
and so arranged as TO be self-stlpplying, a
mass of blubber being hung in such close
proximity to the flame that the fat is
, converted into oil, which, dripping into
, the bowl below, is consumed by means
!, of a moss wick. As the lamp has no
chimney, and both oil and wick are of
tic poorest, tiie rtSuit is tne reverse ol
brilliant, neither light nor heat being OBJ
, tained in what we would consider u
satisfactory quantity. just above
! the lamps sealskin is stretched to
prevent the heat thawing the roof away,
precaution that seems hardly necessary,
seeing that the ordinary temperature Of
these snow huts is 27 degs at the roof
l and "a degs. at the level Of the beds; in
: other words, from 8 to 8 dogs. below
+ freezing point.
: In order TO keep out as much cold as
: possible, the doorways are very low and
( narrow, fact which explains the curious
: phrase with which the hosts speed their
parting guests, namely: "Tabourko aper-
MAX in atit'--that is: ''Good-by; don'i
: bump your head. ~. Macdonald Oxley
in American Magazine.