Report of the First Thule Expedition 1912. 



293 



which the Eskimo builder follows with instinctive genius. The hut is 

 built up in the form of a hive, the roof being thus, by an ingenious 

 arrangement, made self-supporting. This is a thing which demands a 

 great deal of practice, and a novice will not get far with his blocks 

 before the whole collapses. The foundation of the house is laid by- 

 setting the blocks in a ring, sloping somewhat inwards. In placing the 

 first block of the next ring, a cut is made in the block on which it 

 rests, and the surface 

 trimmed with the 

 knife in such a fashion 

 that the new circle 

 about to be formed 

 slopes inward slightly 

 more than the first. 

 By this means, the 

 walls themselves nar- 

 row gradually inward 

 in a spiral, which is 

 finally closed with a 

 single block. The 

 house is then ready, 

 built and roofed. 



The blocks of 

 which the house is 

 to be built should be 

 taken from drifts of 

 hard, closely packed 

 snow. Each block is 

 a rule a little over 

 1 m. square by about 

 ^/4 m. thick. Larger 

 blocks may of course 

 be used if desired, but 

 are naturally heavier 

 to handle. The blocks 



are cut out of the drift with sharp knives, having a blade about 

 ^/4 m. long, or better still sawn out with a tenon saw. With four men 

 to a hut, the work is generally divided by setting two to cut out the 

 blocks, while the third at once commences building with the material 

 handed to him by the fourth. It need hardly be said that the builder 

 stands inside the ring, and ends, of course, by shutting himself in 

 when the last block falls into place. It is best not to make the dome 

 too high, as this makes it more difficult to keep warm in the hut. 



As soon as the domed roof is completed, all cracks between the 

 blocks are caulked with snow. It is best to light a small lamp inside 



Peter Freichen. 



