Daily Yellowstone journal., 1888-03-23
Friday, March a., 1883.
HUDSoN,s BAY PEOPLE.
Family Life of the Eskimo Who Dwell
Near h Great Inland Ocean.

Family Life OF the Eskimo Who Dwell
Near The Great Inland Ocean.
In tho summer each family has its
own home, but in winter two OF more
families live together for the sake of in
creased warmth and economy Of fuel.
The summer residence is a tent made Of
sealskins with the hair scraped OH, giving
much the appearance of yellowiSh parch.
ment, which is stretched over poles of
driftwood arranged in the ordinary cont
shape. The door always faces toward
the water by whose side they are camped,
and at the opposite side Of the tent is the
bed, composed of moss covered with
sealskln. As they sleep with head point
ing doorward, they necessarily lie down
hill, owing TO the natural slope of the
land toward the shore. This does not
seem either a comfortable or healthy POI
sition, but apparently they are none the
worse for it. On either side Of the door,
way il their latler, consisting Of exceed.
ingly repulsivc looking piles Of seal meat
and blubber, which give forth AZ o1or
that Samson himself, with his hair as its
longest, could hardly wrcstle with sue
cesSfully, SC Overwhelming is It's strength.
The winter habitations are made en-.
trely OF snow. and are generally bailt
under the 7heltcriuC lee of q rock. in the
drift that lccumulates there. The build
ers begin Jy marking ont on The snow q
circle q Out fifteen feet in diameter,
which presents the inner side of the
walls, ;Hd with o saw or long bladed
knife I ey cut out blocks Of snow, from
three ~ six feet long 10y a foo: thick and
high. from inside the circle they have
marl,d; then, placing the hlocGs around
the yirc!e, they carry the walls up spir-
ally mot in tiers, until they meet in a
keystone above, at q distance Of about
nine feet from the cygayated level of the
floor. The result Is. except. Of course, as
to color, the production Of a gigantic bee
hive, over the door or in the center Of the
roof Of which Is set a big block Of frcsL
water ice 10 serve the purpose uf a win.
dow in lighting an interior that, although
stainless white &C first, j. sO0n blnckened
by the ever smoking, evil smelling lamps
the iumatcs use.
4Att % "a VA NANlNE lNLlAlaAAA AANt1 IL
very simple, rs may be readily supposed.
1t consists Of a bel place or diyan along
the side of the ',igloo,' opposite the door,
and two fircplaces, one on either hand as
Won enter. These are made Of firmly
packed SNOW, n raised about three feet
above the floor, the divan having its
outer edge faced with a pole 10 prevent
it from crumbling away when used as q
seat in the day time. The beds are made
up in the following manner; First, a
layer Of mos spread over the SNOW; next,
a layer Of aealskins; then n LAYER If bear
or deerskius, aud finally the sleeping
bags, which resemble exaggerated pillow
slips. only that fur takes the place IF
linen, and the fur is double. 70 that there
may lie hair both inside and outside.
Into these bags, Il which each adult has
one, the Eskimo, stfipped 70 the bare
buff, creeps for the night, and
sleeps very comfortably. Up to the
age Of ~ the children share their
parents bag; after that they are pro-
NOTED 10 having one Of their own,
Their fires are nothing more than
AhhA iAN'As ANNtil3ll'h Jul VI Fla NLDlt,
and so arranged a. 20 he self-supplying, a
mass Of blubber bc.ng hung in such closs
proximity 10 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
The poorest, the result is the reverse of
brilliant. neither light nor heat being OBJ
tanned in what we would consider a
satisfactory quantity. Just above
the lamps a sealskin is stretched to
prevent the heat thawing the roof away,
a precaution that seems hardly necessary,
seeing that the ordinary temperature Of
these snow huts is % dogs. at the roof
and "a degs. at the level Of the beds: in
other words from 8 to s dogs. below
freezing point.
In order to keep out as much cold az
possible, the doorways are very low and
narrow, a fact which explains the curious
phrase with which the hosts speed their
parting guests, namely: .'Tabourke amer
MAX In a.it'-that is: ''Good-by; don't
bump your head. ~. Macdonald Oxley
In American Magazine.