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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



of liunting and fishing, of building wig- 

 wams and tlie like." But it is a funda- 

 mental error, Mr. Jacknian believes, to 

 suppose that while the child may be In- 

 dianlike in his instincts he is to be con- 

 sidered or treated as an Indian. An- 

 other factor of which evolution makes a 

 great deal — the nature of the environ- 

 ment — must be considered, and it is very 

 powerful. The material for satisfying 

 the cravings of the early instincts should 

 therefore be chosen from the immediate 

 environment, to which the pupil's reac- 

 tion is at once positive and definite. 

 " It is scarcely possible to overmagnify 

 the benefits of an education that seeks 

 first to make the most out of the imme- 

 diate things of life. Its results and its 

 ideals are about us everywhere. The 

 ability to use in the most intelligent 

 and skillful way the materials of our 

 environment is the necessary condition 

 for the highest purposes and the most 

 glorified ideals. One must have a pro- 

 found respect for the education that pro- 

 poses to give us clean cities and hygienic 

 homes." 



An Athabascan Indian Lodge. — 



The caribou-skin lodge of the northern 

 Athabascan Indians is described by Mr. 

 Frank Russell, in his Explorations in 

 the Far North, as supported by a frame- 

 work of from twelve to thirty poles. 

 In pitching camp in winter, sticks are 

 thrust through the snow in order to find 

 solid earth for a floor. If the stick 

 enters soft moss the place is avoided, 

 as the camp fire would spread and un- 

 dermine the lodge. When a suitable 

 site is found, the men clear away the 

 snow with their snowshoes, and perhaps 

 assist the women in cutting and carry- 

 ing the lodge poles. It is the women's 

 duty to carry bundles of spruce boughs 

 with which to cover the floor of the 

 lodge. The brush is carefully laid, 

 branch by branch, so that the stems are 

 under the tops and point away from the 

 center. This floor is renewed every Sat- 

 urday afternoon. The fireplace is sur- 

 rounded by a pole of green wood, three 

 or four inches in diameter, cut so as to 

 be bent in the form of a polygon. Above 

 the doorway a pole eight feet long is 

 lashed to the lodge-poles in a horizon- 

 tal position, six feet from the ground ; 

 this, and a similar pole on the opposite 

 side, support from six to twelve poles. 



crossing above the fire, making a stage 

 on which to thaw and dry meat. Each 

 hunter's powder-horn and shot-pouch 

 are suspended from a lodge-pole or his 

 back, while his gun stands in its cover 

 against a pole or lies on a stage outside. 

 Near the door flap are several hungry 

 and watchful dogs, which, by constantly 

 running in and out, make an opening for 

 the cold wind to enter. The dogs are 

 tied at night. The side of the fire next 

 to the entrance is allotted to the children 

 and visiting women. On either side sit 

 the wives, for there are usually two 

 families in one lodge. Behind them are 

 muskimoots and an inextricable confu- 

 sion of rags, blankets, bones, meat, etc. 

 If a crooked knife, a tea bag, or any- 

 thing that is in the heap is needed, every- 

 thing is tumbled about until it is found. 

 The sled-wrapper is extended behind the 

 lodge-poles and serves as a catch-all for 

 stores of meat, bones to be pounded and 

 boiled to extract the grease, and odds 

 and ends not in constant use. The next 

 space is occupied by the men of the 

 house; that farthest from the door is 

 reserved for the yovmg men and the men 

 guests. At night each adult rolls up in 

 a single three-point blanket or a caribou- 

 skin robe, and sleeps on an undressed 

 caribou skin. A piece of an old blanket 

 generally covers the small children in a 

 bunch. 



The Sand Grouse. — Pallas's sand 

 grouse is a native of the Kirghiz steppes 

 of central Asia, and occasionally, driven 

 by some pressure of circumstances of 

 which we can only conjecture the na- 

 luie, makes visits to England. Its pres- 

 ence in that country has never been re- 

 corded till this century — more, perhaps, 

 for lack of observers than of migrating 

 birds — but it has appeared in 18G3, 1872, 

 1873, 1888, 1889, and 1899. The princi- 

 pal migration in recent years was in 

 1888, when many examples were seen 

 and shot in difi'erent parts of the coun- 

 try. In the same year it was seen " far 

 and wide " in western Europe, and as 

 far north as Trondhjem, in western Nor- 

 way. A writer in the Saturday Review 

 remarks on the resemblance of this 

 sand grouse, as described by Prjevalski 

 in central Asia, to the various sand 

 grouse he has seen in South Africa. At 

 the drinking places they circle round 

 the water. Presently they alight and, 



