October, 1864.) Igho-BtdlfJmr/. 7;{ 



sunken 18 inches below the general surface. In placiii^- the hlccks 

 around this excavation, of about 10 feet diameter, the iiist tier is 

 made up of those which, by increasing regularly in width, form a 



SNOW-KNIFE MADE OF BONE; DEPOSITED BY HALL IN THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 



spiral from right to left. They are laid from within, each being 

 secured b)^ a bevel on the one last laid and another bevel on the next 

 one below. The joints are well broken. The blocks incline inwardly, 

 thus regularly diminishing the diameter of the igloo and fitting it for 

 the dome or keystone. Thirty-eight blocks were here used. P^or 

 ventilation, a small hole is usually made by the spear. The crevices 

 are well filled with snow within and without, making it nearly an 

 air-tight structure. For a window, a small opening cut in the dome 

 is filled in usually with a block of clear ice ; in some cases witli the 

 scraped inner linings of the seal ; this last makes a light on whicli 

 the frost does not settle as upon the ice-blocks. The passage-way to 

 the igloo is always long and points toward the south. The Repulse 

 Bay natives shovel up much more snow upon the hut than the Green- 

 landers do. The igloo lamp is sometimes nothing more than a flat 

 stone, about 6 inches in length, placed in a niche cut out of the wall, 

 and having on it a little dry moss for a wick, which is supplied Avitli 

 oil by a slice of blubber from the bear or the seal. A stone lamp of 

 better form, although poor enough, will give something of a fair light 

 and warmth. 



