CONSTRUCTION OF THE SNOW HOrsE. 



539 



HABITATIONS AND DRESS. 

 THE HOUSE. 



The houses of the Eskimo differ according to the season. All the 

 tribes from Smith Sound to Labrador and from Davis Strait to 

 Victoria Land are in the habit of building snow houses in winter. 

 Though they erect another more durable kind of winter house, these 

 are more frequently in use. The principles of construction are the same 

 everywhere. A level place is selected for erecting the snow house. 



Fig. 490. Various stj-les of snow knife. (National Museum, Washington, a, 10386 ; 6, lOS&'i.) 



To be suitable for cutting into blocks the snowbank must have been 

 formed by a single storm, for blocks which are cut from drifts com- 

 posed of several layers break when cut. It must be very fine grained, 

 but not so hard that it cannot be readily cut with the saw or the snow 

 knife. The whole building is constructed of blocks of about three 

 feet or four feet in length, two feet in height, and from six iuCTies to 

 eight inches in thickness. They are cut with snow knives or dove- 

 tail saws, which for this reason are much in demand. The old snow 

 knife (sulung) was made of ivory and had a slight curve (Fig. 490). 



