252 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT (ETH. ANN, 18 
to be baled out twice a day. The kashim was very small and low, with 
no floor except the beaten earth; the fire pit in the middle of the room 
was in the depression which began at the walls and sloped gradually 
toward the center. This central depression was full of water, and 
the entire floor was covered except for a narrow border about four feet 
wide around the sides. In this kashim two lamps were burning upon 
supports, one on each side of the room. These supports were rudely 
carved in the form of a human face, representing quite a different type 
from the countenances of the people, and constituted the only attempt 
at such work that I saw among the Eskimo (figure 79). When the 
Kuskokwim was reached the abundance of driftwood was shown by 
the larger size of the houses and kashims, and by the presence of ele- 
vated storehouses and frames for sleds and boats. 
From St Michael northward along the coast of the mainland there 
existed a much greater variety of houses than 
had been noted to the southward of that 
Wt place. From St Michael to Ufiaktolik, in- 
ZZ) cluding Kigiktauik, Unalaklit, and Shaktolik, 
\ with a few smaller places, the houses are of 
the type general among the Unalit, as the 
people belong mainly to that group. 
Tup-hanikwa, north of Unalaklit, had in 
February, 1580, a single house, which was 
occupied by three families. The single room 
was 10 by 12 feet in dimension and about 54 
feet high. On the night of my visit sixteen 
adults slept on the earthen floor of this small 
room. 
At the villages of Atnuk and Nubviukh. 
chugaluk the houses were large, well made, 
and provided with a floor of hewed planks; 
the sleeping platforms were raised about 18 
inches above the floor. 
In March, 1880, the village of Ignituk, near Cape Darby, contained 
about one hundred and fifty people. It was built at the mouth of a 
small canyon leading down to the sea, and the lower houses were on the 
upper edge of an abrupt slope 40 or 50 feet above the beach, where were 
arranged on sleds the kaiaks of the villagers ready for seal hunting on 
the sea ice. The houses had plank floors and broad sleeping benches. 
They were built with a small, square anteroom, which was used as a 
storeroom for provisions, and from it a passage about 5 feet high and 
10 to 20 feet in length led to the round hole giving access to the living 
room. This hoje was either in the end of the passage opening through 
the wall of the room just above the floor, or through the floor inside 
the front wall. In the middle of the floor the planks were laid so that 
they could be taken up, as is done in the kashims. Close to the fire- 
Fic, 79—Carved lamp support. 
