THE LAMP OP THE ESKIMO. 



By AValteu Hough, Ph. D., 

 Assistant Curator, Division of Ethnolo<Jii, U. S. National Museum. 



The comi)leteness of the collection of Eskimo lamps in the National 

 Mnseuni, showing as it does examples from nearly every tribe from 

 Labrador to the Aleutian Islands, renders it possible to treat them 

 monographically. 



This paper is one of a series in course of preparation under the gen- 

 eral subject of heating and illumination from the standi)oint of the 

 ethnologist. 



It is scarcely necessary to remark upon the inhospitable surround- 

 ings oif the Eskimo or the rigor of the climate retiected in their cave- 

 like houses. One is forced to recognize that in this region the need for 

 warmth and light is only second to the prime need for food. This fact 

 appears in the diet and clothing of the natives, in the nonconducting 

 structure of the house, in the plan of the burrow-like entrance and in 

 the height of the sleei)ing benches around the hut, which designedly 

 or from instinct are so placed as to take advantage of the heated air 

 collected under the ceiling. Thus Schwatka says that the "Netschillik 

 Iniuiit, who inhabit the mainland opposite King William's Land, have 

 the warmest Igloos in the Arctic, as they are very low. The heat of the 

 lamp and of the body keeps them very warm."' 



At the same time there is a question whether the bodily temperature 

 of the Eskimo is higher than that of the Europeans. Observations 

 made at North Blufl'ou the Hudson Strait show that the mean temper- 

 ature of the party in December and July was 98.1° and 97.7°, while 

 tliat of the Eskimo for the corresponding dates was 100.2° and 98.4°.^ 



The observations of Dr. Green, of the Thetis, which prove that the 

 summer temperature of the Eskimo differs little from the normal (98.4°), 

 lead him to the conclusion that the latitude makes inappreciable difter- 

 ence in animal heat and that the nature of the food supply of the 

 Eskimo is sufficient to counteract the effect of natural forces.^ To 



'F. Schwatka, Science, December 14, 1884, p. 544. 



2W. A. Ashe, Science, X, July 29, 1889, p. 59. 



^E. H. Green, The hygiene of the Eskimo, with some observations on the thermom- 

 tcer to determine their physiological norm. Medical News, Philadelphia, XLVII, 

 1885, pp. 505-507. 



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