Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1895-05-07
AN ESKIMO HOME.
THERE ARE NO MODERN coNvENIENcEs


THERE ARE NO MODERN CoNyENIENcEs.
Miner w. Bruce. who Ia superintend-
ent at Tell Reindeer Station In Northern
Alaska. during his stay there made some
close observations of the habits and Gus
toms OF the Eskimo that give new in
sight OF those little understood people.
Our country up In that ice-bound region
is worthy of more attention than IL re-
ceives. We hear Of IL so seldom Ia an
official way that many good and patriot
ic citizens express surprise whln told
of the United States possessions in
the northern latituaes. OF the people
and their customs. Mr.. Bruce says:
The Eskimo in this portion Of Arctic
Alaska do not live. as many suppose, in
snow houses. They live in villages,
usually Of eight or ten families, in huts
built underground. Usually more than
one fsmily occupies hut, and often ten
or fifteen persons live together for eight
months in The year in single apartment
that Is barely large enough for two.
These huts are built by digging hole
]
logs are stood up side BY side all around
the hole. On the top Of these are laid
logs that rest even with the top Of the
ground. Stringers are then laid across
them and other logs are laid on these,
when they are covered over with dirt,
leaving an opening about two feet
square over which Is stretched piece Of
walrus entrail that is so transparent that
light comes through and IL serves the
purposes OF window.
An entrance into the hut is made
through an apartment constructed like
the hut, In the top OF which Is hole
large enough 10 admit Of a person get
ting through, and by means OF sort of
step ladder he reaches the bottom.
From this is a passageway about two
feet square through which he must
crawl on his hands aud knees TO reach
the living room OF the hut about fifteen
or twenty feet away. One entrance often
serves as passageway for three or four
huts, passages diyerging from the main
entrance in as many directions.
Usually a small room is cut of from
I the passageway, which Is used for a
kitchen. 1t Is a small affair, with hole
/ in the top TO let the smoke escape. They
are miserably inconvenient apartments,
and even an Eskimo woman STAYS in one
/ lust long enough 10 see that the fire is
I going aud the food does not burn, or she
would be sufiocated by the smoke that
completely fills the place. On one side
/ OF the hut Is built sort OF platform,
about midway from the floor TO the cell
| ing, wide enough for man 10 lie cross
wise, and the space above and below
answers for an upper and lower bunk
for the sleepers. No tables or chairs
are ever used by the Eskimo. The only
article of furniture found in their huts is
rude combination stove and lamp.
They are all OF one pattern, usually OF
wood, but sometimes OF stone, and are
| shaped the same as circular board
would be IL cut in halves. The centre of
1 the lamp Is followed out TO the depth of
perhaps half an inch, thus leaving "A
ridge all around. Along the inner circle
of this ridge is spread a sort of cotton,
/ gathered In summer from native wild
shrub. This answers for lampwick,
| and when saturated with seal oil will
burn long time before being consumed.
/ This lamp Is placed on two wooden pins
driven into the logs on one side OF the
hut. and above the lamp is driven an
I other wooden pin on which is placed a
piece of seal blubber, just far enough
/ from the flame TO cause the oil 10 drip
! sufficiently TO furnish fuel for the lamp.
/ Their lamps are never suffered to go out
from the time they are lighted In the
fall until they abandon their huts for
| the tent in summer. They answer the
purpose OF lamp and stove, and the huts
I in dull weather would be almost dark
without them.
These huts are always more or less
! damp. and as soon as the thaw occurs in
the spring the occupants and everything
in the huts are moved outside into tents.
This spring moving takes place while the
snow is yet deep on the ground and the
wind blows cold. When the thaw sets
| In the huts leak badly, and no attempt Is
again made to occupy them until 1t
freezes up in the fall. Then they are
again taken possession Of, aud the occu-
pants, young and old, go through sea-
son Of coughs and colds that assumes
somewhat the character Of an epidemic.
The attitude assumed by the men when
! i'm the huts is TO sit with their legs cross
ed tailor fashion. The women sit fiat
I on the floor. Ii is the common custom
/ Of both men and women when in their
huts to remove their coats, leaving them
selves naked from the waist up. This is
| also the custom of the small boys and
girls. but when the latter reach the age
of or 10 years they are taught that the
custom is immodest, and from that time,
| or until they become wives, they wear
some light covering over their shoul-
/ ders.
Until recent years the tent OF the Es-
kimo was made from the entrails of the
seal and walrus. While this answered
the purpose Of protecting them from the
rain, they were easily torn, and as the
animals become scarcer they were harder
to get. 1t took number Of seals TO fur
nish material even for a small tent. With
the advent of the whaling vessels came
cloth materials, so that now nearly every
family has cloth tent OF some kind.
The tents are made in circular form, and
resemble globe cut in two. Poles are
stuck in the ground aud bent over. their
ends being tied together with seal thong,
and when the tent is stretched over
them are just high enough in the centre
TO allow one to move about in STOPPING
position. The bottom of the tent is
brought down to the ground, and sand
and gravel heaped up so as to exclude
tho MIR