The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-03
ALASKA HAS IT
Dance Craze Invades the Northland.
 Esl1imos Flirting With It

The dance craze has struck the Arctic Circle. and now it is the Eskimo who is frolickng with Terpsichore, says the New
 York Times. Whether he yet knows the tango or trot may be doubted. but danc- ing of some time he is doing regularly.
 The New York tangoist who complains
 that pirouetting palaces in the Times square district are too crowded for com
 fort in the rush hours of the evening
 should pause for moment and let his thoughts gambol to the northland. When he considers the conditions under which the Eskimo capers he will realize that his
 thronged maxixe mansions really all
 most deserted spaces in comparison with conditions where blubber la reine is the supper dish.
 Emil Krulish, passed assistant surgeon of the United States public health serv- ice, has been studying the native villages along the arctic coast of Alaska, and his report has recently been published at Washington.
 He says that the Eskimo, who are ex- tremely sociable and fond of mixing are doing great deal of dancing, and that all-night dances are of weekly oc- currence during the winter in every vil- lage. The dance is held in an igloo (lIs-
 kimo house) with total dancing space of 16 square feet. And on this tiny area
 
 for many hours of dancing
 Tn addition to dancing, Dr. krulish says they sing, shake. cough and eXpectoratc, with a result which he evidently thinks can better be imagined than described, for he does not attempt an account be- yond saying that these dances are im- portant factors in the dissemination of tuberculosis and other diseases.
 ! The igloo is rather undesirable hab- | itation from the white mans viewpoint, l even when it is not being transformed into a dance hall. pr. Krulish says: 1 The igloos small in size, snecessa- dily overcrowded, and every crevice is | carefully sealed during the long winter months in order to maintain a comfort able temperature within. The different 1 forms of dwellings on the arctic coast are l the sod igloos, frame houses. and tents l The sod igloos. which are the standard, are constructed on two different plans. The first type of igloo, with windows | and doors in the walls, is frame struc- | ture of logs or lumber, The walls and l roof are covered thichly with sod, and l one or two windows are set into the walls 1 The home contains two separate compart- l ments, which are connected by a small 1 door. the living room proper. and the en- | try or shed The shed is somewhat small | CT in size than the living quarters. and Is | used as a storeroom for provisions, cloth l ing sleds and other articles too numerous l to mention. The entrance into the igloo 1 is through a low door into the entry. l The other type of igloo is also con l structed of timber and covered with sod l but the plan of construction differs some what from the one just described. Thi. | igloo also has two compartments, liv. l ing room and a storeroom, connected bl
 a low passageway. The entrance into th' l home is through an open hatch in th' i roof of the entry by means of a ladder
 Then by passing through the tunnel ont l enters the living room.
 The living rooms of some of the igloo' are curtained off to separate the sleepins quarters from other parts of the house hold, but the majority have no such ar
 rangement, all the household duties bens I conducted in the single room. The fur
 niture equipment usually consists of {
 small stove fed dishes and improviset
 beds. The board floor, which is usual,
 fairly clean. serves the purpose of chair and tables. A few of the families owr
 sewing machines, and occasionally { III photograph.