[Illustration: FIG. 490. Various styles of snow knife. (National
Museum, Washington. _a_, 10386; _b_, 10385.)]
The houses of the Eskimo differ according to the season. All the tribes
from Smith Sound to Labrador and from Davis Strait to Victoria Land are
in the habit of building snow houses in winter. Though they erect
another more durable kind of winter house, these are more frequently in
use. The principles of construction are the same everywhere. A level
place is selected for erecting the snow house. To be suitable for
cutting into blocks the snowbank must have been formed by a single
storm, for blocks which are cut from drifts composed of several layers
break when cut. It must be very fine grained, but not so hard that it
cannot be readily cut with the saw or the snow knife. The whole building
is constructed of blocks of about three feet or four feet in length, two
feet in height, and from six inches to eight inches in thickness. They
are cut with snow knives or dovetail saws, which for this reason are
much in demand. The old snow knife (sulung) was made of ivory and had a
slight curve (Fig. 490). The blocks are cut either vertically or
horizontally, the former way being more convenient if the snowdrift is
deep. Two parallel cuts of the breadth and the depth of the blocks are
made through the drift, and after having removed a small block the
Eskimo go on cutting or sawing parallel to the surface. A cross cut is
then made and the block is loosened with the point of the foot and
lifted out of the bank. Vertical blocks are more easily detached from
the snowdrift than horizontal ones.
Two men unite in building a house, the one cutting the blocks, the other
building. At first a row of blocks is put up in a circle, the single
pieces being slanted so as to fit closely together. Then the first block
is cut down to the ground and the top of the row is slanted so as to
form one thread of a spiral line. The builder places the first block of
the second row with its narrow side upon the first block and pushes it
with his left hand to the right so that it touches the last block of the
first row. Thus the snow block, which is inclined a little inward, has a
support on two sides. The vertical joint is slanted with the snow knife
and tightly pressed together, the new block resting on the oblique side
of the former. In building on in this way the blocks receive the shape
of almost regular trapezoids. Every block is inclined a little more
inward than the previous one, and as the angle to the vertical becomes
greater the blocks are only kept in their places by the neighboring
ones. In order to give them a good support the edges are the more
slanted as their angle is greater.
This method of building is very ingenious, as it affords the possibility
of building a vault without a scaffold. If the blocks were placed in
parallel rows, the first block of a new row would have no support, while
by this method each reclines on the previous one. When the house has
reached a considerable height the man who cuts the blocks outside must
place them upon the last row. The builder supports them with his head
and pushes them to their proper places. The key block and those which
are next to it are either cut inside or pushed into the house through a
small door cut for the purpose. The key block is generally shaped
irregularly, as it is fitted into the hole which remains; usually the
last two blocks are triangular. When the vault is finished the joints
between the blocks are closed up by cutting down the edges and pressing
the scraps into the joints. Larger openings are closed with snow blocks
and filled up with loose snow pressed into the fissures. Thus the whole
building becomes a tight vault, without any holes through which the warm
air inside may escape. Such a snow house, about five feet high and seven
feet in diameter, is used as a camp in winter journeys. It takes about
two hours for two skilled men to build and finish it. For winter
quarters the vaults are built from ten to twelve feet high and twelve to
fifteen feet in diameter. In order to reach this height the builder
makes a bench on which he steps while finishing the upper part of the
building.
The plan of a snow house of the Davis Strait tribes is a little
different from that of the Hudson Bay and the Iglulik tribes.
I shall first describe the former according to my own observations
(Figs. 491 and 492).
[Illustration: FIG. 491. Ground plan of snow house of Davis Strait
tribes.]
The entrance to the main building is formed by two, or less frequently
by three, small vaults. The first one (uadling) is a small dome about
six feet in height, with a door two and a half feet in height; the
second one is a long passage of equal height formed by an elliptical
vault (igdluling). Its roof is generally arched, but sometimes the top
is cut off evenly and covered with slabs of snow. Both vaults together
form the entrance and are called toqsung. A door about three feet high
leads into the main room, the floor of which is about nine inches above
that of the former. Two very small vaults are always attached to the
whole building (Fig. 491). One is situated alongside of the uadling and
the igdluling, and serves as a storeroom for clothing and harness
(sirdloang). It is not connected with the interior of the hut, but one
of the blocks of the vault can be taken out and is made to serve as a
lid. On the left side of the entrance of the main building is another
small vault (igdluarn), which is accessible from the main building. It
serves for keeping spare meat and blubber. Frequently there is a second
igdluarn on the opposite side, and sometimes even a third one in the
igdluling. Another appendix of the main building is frequently used, the
audlitiving (Fig. 491 and Fig. 492 _c_). It is a vault similar to the
sirdloang and is attached to the back of the main room. It serves for
storing up meat for future use.
Directly over the entrance a window is cut through the wall, either
square or more frequently forming an arch, which is generally covered
with the intestines of ground seals, neatly sewed together, the seams
standing vertically (Fig. 493). In the center there is a hole (qingang)
through which one can look out. In some instances a piece of fresh water
ice is inserted in the hole. According to Ross it is always used by the
Netchillirmiut (II, p. 250), who make the slab by letting water freeze
in a sealskin.
[Illustration: FIG. 492. Snow house of Davis Strait, sections.]
In the rear half and on both sides of the door a bank of snow two and a
half feet high is raised and cut off straight, a passage trench five
feet wide and six feet long remaining. The rear half forms the bed, the
adjoining parts of the side benches are the place for the lamps, while
on both sides of the entrance meat and refuse are heaped up. Frequently
the snowbank on which the hut is built is deep enough so that the bed
needs very little raising, and the passage is cut into the bank. As this
is much more convenient in building, the huts are generally erected on a
sloping face, the entrance lying on the lower part, which faces the
beach.
[Illustration: FIG. 493. Section and interior of snow house.]
Before the bed is arranged and the hut furnished the vault is lined with
skins, frequently with the cover of the summer hut. The lining
(ilupiqang) is fastened to the roof by small ropes (nirtsun), which are
fastened by a toggle on the outside of the wall (Fig. 493). In the lower
part of the building the lining lies close to the wall; in the upper
part it forms a flat roof about two or three feet below the top of the
vault. The effect of this arrangement is to prevent the warm air inside
from melting the snow roof, as above the skins there is always a layer
of colder air. Close to the top of the building a small hole (qangirn)
is cut through the wall for ventilation. The lamps require a good
draught, which is secured by this hole. The cold air enters through the
door, slowly filling the passage, and after being warmed rises to the
lamps and escapes through the skin cover and the hole. The moisture of
the air forms long ice needles on the inside of the roof. Sometimes they
fall down upon the skins, and must be immediately removed by shaking it
until they glide down at the sides, else they melt and wet the room
thoroughly. Frequently a high ice funnel forms around the hole from the
freezing moisture of the escaping air.
The southern and western tribes rarely line the snow house. The
continuous dropping from the roof, however, causes great inconvenience,
and, besides, the temperature cannot be raised higher than two or three
degrees centigrade above the freezing point, while in the lined houses
it is frequently from ten to twenty degrees centigrade, so that the
latter are much more comfortable. To avoid the dropping the natives
apply a cold piece of snow to the roof before the drop falls down, which
at once freezes to it, the roof acquiring by this repeated process a
stalactitic appearance. The eastern tribes use the lining in their
permanent houses without any exception. The western and southern tribes,
who leave the walls bare, heap a thick layer of loose snow over the
whole building, almost covering it up, the window and the ventilating
hole alone excepted. For this purpose snow shovels are used.
The edge of the bed is formed by a long pole. The surface of the
snowbank which forms the foundation for the bed is covered with pieces
of wood, oars, paddles, tent poles, &c. These are covered with a thick
layer of shrubs, particularly _Andromeda tetragona_. Over these numerous
heavy deerskins are spread, and thus a very comfortable bed is made.
According to Parry the arrangement in Iglulik is as follows (II, p.
501):
The beds are arranged by first covering the snow with a quantity
of small stones, over which are laid their paddles, tent poles,
and some blades of whalebone; above these they place a number of
little pieces of network made of thin slips of whalebone, and
lastly a quantity of twigs of birch and of the _Andromeda
tetragona_. * * * The birch, they say, had been procured from the
southward by way of Nuvuk. * * * There deerskins, which are very
numerous, can now be spread without risk of their touching the
snow.
At night, when the Eskimo go to bed, they put their clothing, their
boots excepted, on the edge of the platform under the deerskins, thus
forming a pillow, and lie down with the head toward the entrance. The
blankets (qipiq) for their beds are made of heavy deerskins, which are
sewed together, one blanket serving for a whole family. The edge of the
blanket is trimmed with leather straps.
On the side benches in front of the bed is the fireplace, which consists
of a stone lamp and a framework from which the pots are suspended (see
Fig. 493). The lamp (qudlirn), which is made of soapstone, is a shallow
vessel in the shape of a small segment of a circle. Sometimes a small
space is divided off at the back for gathering in the scraps of blubber.
The wick consists of hair of _Eryophorum_ or of dried moss rubbed down
with a little blubber so as to be inflammable. It is always carried by
the women in a small bag. The whole vessel is filled with blubber as
high as the wick, which is spread along the straight side of the vessel.
It requires constant attention to keep the desired length burning
without smoking, the length kindled being in accordance with the heat or
light required. The trimming of the wick is done with a bit of bone,
asbestus, or wood, with which the burning moss is spread along the edge
of the lamp and extinguished or pressed down if the fire is not wanted
or if it smokes. At the same time this stick serves to light other lamps
(or pipes), the burnt point being put into the blubber and then kindled.
Sometimes a long, narrow vessel stands below the lamp, in which the oil
that drops from the edge is collected.
In winter the blubber before being used is frozen, after which it is
thoroughly beaten. This bursts the vesicles of fat and the oil comes out
as soon as it is melted. The pieces of blubber are either put into the
lamp or placed over a piece of bone or wood, which hangs from the
framework a little behind the wick. In summer the oil must be chewed
out. It is a disgusting sight to see the women and children sitting
around a large vessel all chewing blubber and spitting the oil into it.
The frame of the fireplace consists of four poles stuck in the snow in a
square around the lamp and four crossbars connecting the poles at the
top. From those which run from the front to the back the kettle (ukusik)
is suspended by two pairs of strings or thongs. It is made of soapstone
and has a hole in each corner for the string. The kettle which is in use
among the eastern tribes has a narrow rim and a wide bottom (Fig. 494),
while that of the western ones is just the opposite. Parry, however,
found one of this description in River Clyde (I, p. 286). When not in
use it is shoved back by means of the strings. Since whalers began to
visit the country a great number of tin pots have been introduced, which
are much more serviceable, the process of cooking being quickened.
[Illustration: FIG. 494. Ukusik or soapstone kettle.]
On the top of the frame there is always a wood or bone hoop with a net
of thongs stretched across it (inetang). It serves to dry clothing,
particularly boots, stockings, and mittens, over the fire. In the
passage near the entrance to the hut there is frequently a small lamp
(adlirn), which is very effective for warming the cold air entering
through the door, and in the remotest corner in the back of the hut
there is sometimes another (kidlulirn). When all the lamps are lighted
the house becomes warm and comfortable.
Two small holes are frequently cut in the snowbank which forms the
ledge, at about the middle of its height (see Fig. 492 _a_). They are
closed with small snow blocks, each of which has a groove for a handle,
and serve to store away anything that must be kept dry. At night the
entrance of the inner room is closed with a large snow block, which
stands in the passage during the day.
These huts are always occupied by two families, each woman having her
own lamp and sitting on the ledge in front of it, the one on the right
side, the other on the left side of the house. If more families join in
building a common snow house, they make two main rooms with one
entrance. The plan of such a building is seen in Fig. 495.
[Illustration: FIG. 495. Plan of double snow house.]
The plans of the Iglulik and Hudson Bay houses are different from the
one described here. The difference will best be seen by comparing the
plans represented in Fig. 496 and Fig. 497, which have been reprinted
from Hall and Parry, respectively, with the former ones. Among the
eastern tribes I have never seen the beds on the side of the passage,
but always at the rear of the house.
[Illustration: FIG. 496. Plan of Iglulik house. (From Parry II, p.
500.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 497. Plan of Hudson Bay house. (From Hall II,
p. 128.)]
Besides these snow houses a more solid building is in use, called
qarmang. On the islands of the American Archipelago and in the
neighboring parts of the mainland numerous old stone foundations are
found, which prove that all these islands were once inhabited by the
Eskimo. It has often been said that the central tribes have forgotten
the art of building stone houses and always live in snow huts. At the
present time they do not build houses, but cover the walls of an old hut
with a new roof whenever they take possession of it. There is no need of
any new buildings, as the Eskimo always locate in the old settlements
and the old buildings are quite sufficient to satisfy all their wants.
[Illustration: FIG. 498. Plan and sections of qarmang or stone
house.]
Those in good condition have a long stone entrance (ka´teng) (Fig. 498),
sometimes from fifteen to twenty feet long. This is made by cutting an
excavation into the slope of a hill. Its walls are covered with large
slabs of stone about two and a half feet high and three feet wide, the
space between the stone and the sides of the excavation being afterwards
filled up with earth. The floor of the passage slopes upward toward the
hut. The last four feet of the entrance are covered with a very large
slab and are a little higher than the other parts of the roof of the
passageway. The slab is at the same height as the benches of the
dwelling room, which is also dug out, the walls being formed of stones
and whale ribs. The plan of the interior is the same as that of the snow
house, the bed being in the rear end of the room and the lamps on both
sides of the entrance. The floor of the hut is about eight inches higher
than that of the passage. The roof and the window, however, differ from
those of the snow house. In the front part of the hut the rib of a whale
is put up, forming an arch. A great number of poles are lashed to it and
run toward the back of the house, where they rest on the top of the
wall, forming, as it were, the rafters. The whole curve formed by the
rib is covered with a window of seal intestines, while the poles are
covered with sealskins, which are fastened in front to the whale rib. At
the other end they are either fastened to the ribs in the wall or, more
frequently, are steadied by stones. The roof is covered with a thick
layer of _Andromeda_, and another skin, which is fastened in the same
way, is spread over both covers. This kind of hut is very warm, light,
and comfortable. The stone banks forming the bed are covered as already
described.
[Illustration: FIG. 499. Plan of large qarmang or stone house for
three families.]
If three families occupy one house the whale’s rib which forms the
window is placed a few feet farther forward than in the previous case,
at the end of the large slab which forms the roof of the last part of
the passage.
[Illustration: FIG. 500. Plan of stone house in Anarnitung,
Cumberland Sound. (From a drawing by L. Kumlien.)]
By means of poles and bones a small side room is built (qareang), the
ceiling of which is sewed to that of the main room (Fig. 499). The large
slab which is in front of the window (at the end of the passage) is
utilized as a storeroom for both families living on that side of the
house, a place being left open only in the middle, where the spy hole
is. In some instances this side room is inclosed in the stone walls of
the hut.
Fig. 500 and Fig. 501 present sketches of plans of some of these houses.
From such sketches it appears that several houses might have a common
entrance.
[Illustration: FIG. 501. Plan of group of stone houses in
Pangnirtung, Cumberland Sound.]
In Anarnitung I observed no passage at all for the houses, the walls
being entirely above the ground and piled up with bowlders and sod. They
are, however, covered in the same way as the others and the entrance is
made of snow.
[Illustration: FIG. 502. Plan and sections of qarmang or house made
of whale ribs.]
A winter house built on the same plan is represented in Fig. 502. The
wall is made entirely of whale ribs, placed so that their ends cross one
another. The poles are tied over the top of the ribs and the whole frame
is covered with the double roof described above. A few narrow snow
vaults form the entrance. The front rib forms the door, and thus the hut
becomes quite dark. Huts of this kind are also called qarmang or
qarmaujang, i.e., similar to a qarmang.
In Ukiadliving I found, along with a great number of fine qarmat, some
very remarkable storehouses, such as are represented in Fig. 503.
Structures of this kind (ikan´) consist of heavy granite pillars, on the
top of which flat slabs are piled to a height of from nine to ten feet.
In winter, blubber and meat are put away upon these pillars, which are
sufficiently high to keep them from the dogs. Sometimes two pillars,
about ten feet apart, are found near the huts. In winter the kayak is
placed upon them in order to prevent it from being covered by snowdrifts
or from being torn and destroyed by the dogs. In snow villages these
pillars are made of snow.
The purpose of the long, kayak-like building figured by Kumlien (see
Fig. 500) is unknown to me. I found a similar one, consisting of two
rows of stones, scarcely one foot high but twenty feet long, in
Pangnirtung, Cumberland Sound, but nobody could explain its use.
[Illustration: FIG. 503. Storehouse in Ukiadliving. (From a sketch
by the author.)]
In the spring, when the rays of the sun become warmer, the roofs of the
snow houses fall down. At this season the natives build only the lower
half of a snow vault, which is covered with skins.
[Illustration: FIG. 504. Plan and sections of tupiq or tent of
Cumberland Sound.]
Still later they live in their tents (tupiq) (Fig. 504). The framework
consists of poles, which are frequently made of many pieces of wood
ingeniously lashed together. The plan (Fig. 504 _a_) is the same as that
of the winter houses. At the edge of the bed and at the entrance two
pairs of converging poles are erected. A little below the crossing
points two cross strips are firmly attached, forming the ridge. Behind
the poles, at the edge of the bed, six or eight others are arranged in a
semicircle resting on the ground and on the crossing point of those
poles. The frame is covered with a large skin roof fitting tightly. The
back part, covering the bed, is made of sealskins; the fore part,
between the two pairs of poles, of the thin membrane which is split from
the skins (see p. 519), and admits the light. The door is formed by the
front part of the cover, the left side (in entering) ending in the
middle of the entrance, the right one overlapping it, so as to prevent
the wind from blowing into the hut. The cover is steadied with heavy
stones (Fig. 504 _c_). In Cumberland Sound and the more southern parts
of Baffin Land the back of the hut is inclined at an angle of 45°; in
Davis Strait it is as steep as 60°, or even more. In the summer tent the
bed and the side platforms are not raised, but only separated from the
passage by means of poles.
Farther north and west, in Pond Bay, Admiralty Inlet, and Iglulik, where
wood is scarce, the Eskimo have a different plan of construction (Fig.
505). A strong pole is set up vertically at the end of the passage,
a small cross piece being lashed to its top. The entrance is formed by
an oblique pole, the end of which lies in the ridge of the roof. The
latter is formed by a stout thong which runs over the top of both poles
and is fastened to heavy stones on both sides. If wood is wanting, then
poles are made from the penis bones of the walrus. Parry found one of
these tents at River Clyde, on his first expedition, and describes it as
follows (I, p. 283):
The tents which compose their summer habitations, are principally
supported by a long pole of whalebone, 14 feet high, standing
perpendicularly, with 4 or 5 feet of it projecting above the skins
which form the roof and sides. The length of the tent is 17, and
its breadth from 7 to 9 feet, the narrowest part being next the
door, and widening towards the inner part, where the bed, composed
of a quantity of the small shrubby plant, the _Andromeda
tetragona_, occupies about one-third of the whole apartment. The
pole of the tent is fixed where the bed commences, and the latter
is kept separate by some pieces of bone laid across the tent from
side to side. The door which faces the southwest, is also formed
of two pieces of bone, with the upper ends fastened together, and
the skins are made to overlap in that part of the tent, which is
much lower than the inner end. The covering is fastened to the
ground by curved pieces of bone, being generally parts of the
whale.
This kind of tent differs from the one described by me only in the
construction of its door.
I could not find a description of the tent of the Hudson Bay Eskimo.
There is only one illustration in Klutschak (p. 137) and one in Ross
(II, p. 581) representing tents of the Netchillirmiut. In the former
there are a few conical tents, such as are used by the eastern tribes
before a sufficient number of skins for a large tent can be procured.
The same kind is represented in Ross’s book. The other tent drawn by
Klutschak is similar to the Iglulik one, but the arrangement of the
poles in the back part is invisible. The entrance is formed by two
converging poles and a rope runs over the ridge and is tied to a rock.
[Illustration: FIG. 505. Plan and sections of tupiq or tent of Pond
Bay.]
The small tents which are used in the spring are made of a few
converging poles forming a cone. They are covered with a skin roof.
[Illustration: FIG. 506. Plan and sections of double winter tent,
Cumberland Sound.]
Some families, instead of building snow houses or stone houses in
winter, cover the summer tent with shrubs and spread over them a second
skin cover. In front of the tent snow vaults are built to protect the
interior from the cold. In some instances several families join their
tents (Fig. 506). In the front part where the tents adjoin each other
the covers are taken away and replaced by a whale rib which affords a
passage from one room to the other.
The plans of the feasting houses, will be found in another place
(p. 600).