The winter dwellings of the Eskimo of Hudson strait consist of the usual
form of snow house. In this connection I may as well state that the
popular impression that the snow house described by Arctic travelers is
the only thing to be called an iglu is quite erroneous. The word "iglu"
is as fully generic in the Eskimo language as the word "house" is in the
English language. The correct term, as applied by the Eskimo, to the
snow house used as a dwelling is "ig lú ge ak" (Fig. 48.)
The first requisite for a snow house is snow. It must be of sufficient
depth and possess certain well-defined qualities. The snow may fall, but
until it has acquired sufficient depth for the size of blocks required
and firmness enough for strength to withstand the superposed weight
of the structure it is useless. An instrument termed snowknife
(p[)u]n[)u]k), shaped like a short sword, is used for the purpose of
cutting the blocks. The Eskimo seeks a place where the insertion of the
knife into the bed of snow will prove that the snow is in the proper
condition. He must then cut out a block of a size convenient to be
lifted. This is usually rejected as it may be irregular or broken.
Additional blocks, in size from 8 to 10 inches thick, 2 feet wide, and
slightly more in length are cut by a motion much resembling the act of
sawing, cutting the depth of the blade. The knife then cuts the bottom
off squarely and the block is lifted out, the builder standing where the
first blocks were cut from. The blocks are arranged on the bank of snow
around the pit in which the man stands. The first block usually is
somewhat triangular in shape for a purpose hereafter mentioned. The
second block is cut out and placed near the first, the end clipped with
the knife to allow the first joint to be close together. A third block
is cut and placed by the end of the second. It will now be seen that the
line of blocks is not straight, but curved concavely within. Additional
blocks are cut and placed end to end with each other until the first one
laid is reached. Here a longer block is cut to lay upon the inclined
side of the triangular-shaped block first used and so placed as to
"break" the joints, and thus render the structure more stable.
Additional blocks are placed on the first row, and as the operation
proceeds it will be seen that the blocks lie in a spiral form, gradually
drawing in as the structure rises, forming a dome-shaped wall of snow.
The key block at the top is carefully cut to fit the aperture and
inserted from the outside by the assistance of another person. All the
joints are carefully stopped up with spawls of snow or with snow crushed
between the hands and forced within the crevices.
[Illustration: FIG. 48. Deserted Eskimo snow houses,
near Fort Chimo.]
The floor of the snow house is the bed of snow from which the building
material was taken. The door is cut by taking blocks of snow from under
the bottom row of the foundation blocks. A trench is made, and along the
side of it the blocks are placed. An arched covering of the material
forms a sheltered passageway to the door.
When the snow house is to be occupied for a considerable time the
doorway may have walls of snow blocks piled as high as the shoulders,
with the top left open. This shields the entrance from wind and drifting
snow. Various forms of entrance are constructed, often very tortuous;
and when made a refuge by the numerous dogs they are not pleasant paths
along which to creep on hands and knees, for a panic may seize some
cowardly canine and all the dogs struggle to get suddenly out into the
open air. Vicious animals often wait until a white man gets about half
way through the entry and then make a sudden assault on him.
The interior of the house is arranged according to the number of persons
inhabiting it.
A raised bed, on which to sit during the day and sleep during the night,
is formed either by leaving a part of the snow-bank or else by bringing
in blocks and arranging them as a solid mass. On this are spread bows of
spruce, or dry grass, if obtainable, otherwise fine twigs of willow or
alder, and over these heavy reindeer or bear skins are thrown. On these
bed-skins are laid other softer skins of reindeer, with which to cover
the person on retiring to sleep. A window is sometimes set in the side
of the structure toward the sun. This is simply a piece of thick, clear
ice, from a lake, set in the wall of the dome. It admits light, although
it is generally light enough during the day within the snow-house unless
the walls be built particularly thick, but great thickness in certain
situations becomes necessary lest the winds and drifting snow wear away
the sides of the structure, causing it to admit the cold or tumble down.
Around the outside of the hut is sometimes built a protecting wall of
snow blocks, two or three feet high, to prevent the drifting snow from
wearing away the side of the dwelling. A storm of a single night's
duration is often sufficient to destroy a house.
The interior walls, in severe weather, become coated with frost films
from the breath, etc., condensing and crystallizing on the inside of the
dome and often presenting by the lamplight a brilliant show of myriads
of reflecting surfaces scintillating with greater luster than skillfully
set gems.
If the roof is not carefully shaped it is liable to cave in from the
heat within softening the snow, especially in moderate weather, and then
the entire structure falls.
Where the owner of the house has considerable possessions which must be
protected from the dogs and the weather, a similar structure is prepared
alongside of the dwelling and often connected with it by means of a
communicating passage-way. An exterior opening may be made and closed
with a block of snow. The larger articles, such as bags of oil and
bundles of skins, are put inside before the walls are up, if intended to
be stored for some time.
As I have slept in these snow-houses I can assert that, while very
uncomfortable, they afford a protection which can not be dispensed with.
When the doorway is open they soon become very cold, and when closed
upon several persons the heat becomes intolerable. Odors from the food
remain long after the remnants are disposed of, and where one has been
occupied for a long period the accumulation of refuse becomes so great
that a new structure is indispensable in order to get rid of it. All the
work of the different members of the family is performed within the
walls. The skins of animals are dressed and tanned there. The offal of
game and the hair from dressed skins mingle in one mass, which soon
putrefies and creates such a stench that only an Eskimo with most obtuse
sense of smell could inhabit the place.
When spring comes the huts begin to melt and in the course of a few warm
days fall down. If the weather is too inclement to permit a skin tent to
be occupied, the first hole in the wall may be patched with a deerskin,
but this will afford very limited protection from the cold of nights,
for, however warm the days, the nights will, until late in May, be so
cold that only the older individuals withstand the cold.
When the structure falls, melted by sun or rain, the miserable occupants
must erect temporary shelter of deerskin or cloth on the bare rocky
ridges. Those too poor to own a skin tent have often but a blanket of
deerskin, stretched over three or four poles, set to shelter them from
the chilly northerly winds usually prevailing at that season.
Here they must sojourn until the ice breaks from the shores of the coves
and bays, enabling the hunters to procure seals from the sea. Along the
shores one may often find camping sites of these poor wanderers
searching through the day for food and at night camping under the lee of
a wall of rock with little other covering than that worn during the day
and this often soaked with spray or rain.
Improvidence and indolence result in the most cruel privations toward
the end of winter. Many who are too weak and emaciated from lack of food
to pursue the chase to gain a living starve before reaching the sea and
are left to perish.
When the season is more advanced, and the weather warm enough, those who
are industrious and provident enough to be the possessors of sealskin
tents, move into them for the season.
The skin tent (Pl. XXXVII) is usually made of the skins of the largest
square flipper seals, those too heavy for any other purpose or not
necessary for other uses.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXXVII