The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-01-24
an ARCTIC WINTER HoHM
NOW tho Eskime Build Their Hsuss'

OiuCc hlOuC biuCo tho Whh'
an ARCTIC WINTER HoAIM
NOW tho Esk,no Build Their Houses.
opytgh. 1892. ~ S. s. Jfec7sr.
The Eskimo among whom my travels have
been Ind two distinct methods Of living in
their two Seasons OF winter and summer. tho
former being in egg-shaped houses OF snow.
and tho latter in tents made OF skins. The
winter life OF tho Eskimo Is much more inter-
esting than his summer existence which par
takes SO much OF the general existence OF
savases. with but a few embarrassing changes.
while in winter time they havo modc OF life
so radically different from Tint Of any othor
people that the first travellers among them
to describe these strange details were looked
| upon as Murohausens OF the greatest breadth
| OF imagination. Houses Of Ice and snow. tho
! very last thing person would take to mako
comfortable abode anywhere. were reruted to
| he their winter habitations They lived on
raw frozon meat in temperature where 1t
| would 10 agony to any ono else not to have
| their meal steaminG hot. and SO on through all
| the social economy. leading o perfect lilo OF
polar paradoxes.
1t is claimed by some writer's that tho nation
found itself in its frigid land as Il result Of ma
| tionul weakness. l am. however. firm be-
| lever that tho Eskimo finds in the North his
most congenial cline. and we find to corrobo-
rate this the perfect contentment Of the people
with their country. their hesitation in leaving
| It for however short visit. their longings to
return whom absent; many other reasons
show that they are naturally natives OF tho
| Northland By their own choice. They are no
more held to the rim OF the chccrless Arctic
Sea by other races than are the musk oxen by
the buffalo or tho polnr bear by the grizzly.
| They are moro than satisfied with their cold
country and its low temperature. as is plainly
shown in thor preference for the winter life
over that Of summer. although their struggle
| for existence Is much harder then. as viewed
from our point Of hnrdshir3. in the exposures
they must undergo. and their oft-rcrurrng
| fanlines. orwhch they seem to care little.
! Now let us take 1, look ut their life in their
| wint-r home. as seen by one who has lived as
! an Eskimo for over two years among them a
| few rrelnontory frosts commence in the
arctic fall or early winter. generally followed
by n clustering northern storm Of snow and
sleet. and then with sharp snap the thor
n.omotsr sinks to tho minus twenties and
thirtics and tho Arctic winter is upon them.
and. as tho schoolboy would sey. for keeps.
too This sudden onslaught OF the winter
does not drive them Mt once to their peculiar
! snow houses. glad as they would be to avail
themselves OF such nbodes. for the first SHOWS
Arctic ti archtecture Tic general impressl IN Of
the Arctic SHOWS is that they are Of unfath.2m-
s"nd H tH tey dsr o es ,s ro
s;sp, sialIy the northern-m9ss state;s: Both
il tho annual fan Of snow. on our contiHent
north Of the Arctic circle will average as deep,
at That. Willie H the sretest disrencs "i betwssn
thrown by an Eskimo at refractory dog log is In
the consistency or the two. The snow OF the
s is ike nat 81 s
or ice is like water though both are the same
SUBSTANCES, The peculiar hnrd cop,ssist.ney Of
the polar gales and the action OF the extreme:
both, Of these conditions will have to be full
tlled before thss. Arctic architect, will use the
that mntorinl. or to put it palmer. fully forty
degrees below zero must have been reached;
e snm avs IS o
blocks, or huge brio ks OF snow with which, they
looking s So NIUE" Huif ike the s q.
pictures Of bee hives with their oblate shape.
snow houses. and the Arctic carpenter Is driven
the bter eed ana is the
Ice fr9W tho many fresh lakes with
about half n foot thick they cut out slabs about
the size Of house door. put them upright on
n sna them sd sna to 9f Els na
= roof they lash the summer skin tent These
houses are as Transparent spar t as glass and when
his or her nnighb9r is about without the
trouble OF getting down and crawling In the
The house Office. whi lie warm or than skin tent.
will! not compare with one OF snow for comfort,
turc an i.loo. or snow house. is constructed. II
9 an nd cut It In two in the MD
| good miniature rpUreSputn tiOn Of n COMMA of
Eskimo snow houses. The fuller s,lcll will
represent an iglpo during the coldest weather
pointed shell viii! represent an igI"o built IN
bull dor. With himself as a a centie. and his eS.
tended arm and hand crashing the snow
q from eight t. twolyo feet according to the
intended IN, humber 81 tho occupants OF the
course of snow blocks il to rest rs soon rs they
H F5ss cut from soms neghbh"ring snow drs
large p Sn Of s's and
%siss about twelve to fifteen pounds.
TGey are sm never niE fensa5sy sns
tho snow blocks, SIX 70 sight Inches; Another
snow blocks are laid in courses. as We con.
strust 6riskwork: when in reality there Is but Vt
Sstom u s s setsn HE bssts
ascend the SPIRAL from the base. where they
e top 90 eH seetus
until it disappears at the summit of I'll, tho dome,
blocks. which are upright ut tho base. lean
more and more as the top Of the, house IL
reached until the last one the keyhlock, II Sc
| can c9ll it Is perfectly horizontal and firmly
| wedges In ami binds the whole. which has be-
como q domelike structure. well initiated In
til. miniature half egg shell placed on Its rim
) And now will describe the inside Of ths
iGloo. Here tho snow workman makes Q
! high from tho ground. which takes up fully
thTee.iourths Of tho interior Of the house
. rude bed are spread the soft, warm reindeer
, skins that form the bedding. On the south
side Of the isloo u hole IL cut which answers
the pnTgrose Of q q, door and any one venting
knees and crawl in; To prevent the SNOW
from the top OF the doorway brushing of and
) fall ling down the neck and back. each Eskimo
. puts his skin hood. which s. attached to his
, reindeer coat, over his head before entering
and Just rs soon az his shoulders are well Il
5 the house he shoves his legs back and begins
his nose into the snow OF which the boo
. is made. You. will see by this that
= the igloo is lacking very much in "elbow
room" Nevertheless these Eskimos seem tc