540 THE CENTRAL ESKIMO. 



The blocks are cut either vertically or horizontally, the former way 

 being more convenient if the snowdrift is deep. Two parallel cuts 

 of the breadth and the depth of the blocks are made through the 

 drift, and after having removed a small block the Eskiiiio ,i;-(i on cut- 

 ting or sawing i)arallel to the surface. A nossciit is then made and 

 the block is loosened with the T^oint of tlic fndt and lifted out of the 

 bank. Vertical blocks are more easily detached from the snowdrift 

 than horizontal ones. 



Two men vinite in building a house, the one cutting the blocks, 

 the other building. At first a row of blocks is put up in a circle, the 

 single jiieces being slanted so as to fit closely together. Then the 

 first block is cut down to the ground and the top of the row is slanted 

 so as to form one thread of a spiral line. The builder places the first 

 block of the second row with its narrow side upon the first block and 

 pushes it with his left hand to the right so that it touches the last 

 block of the first row. Thus the snow block, which is inclined a 

 little inward, has a support on two sides. The vertical joint is slanted 

 with the snow kuif e and tightly pressed together, the new block rest- 

 ing on the oblique side of the former. In building on in this way 

 the blocks receive the shape of almost regular trapezoids. Every 

 block is inclined a little more inward than the previous one, and as 

 the aii,i;lc to the vertical becomes greater the blocks are only kept in 

 thcii' places by the neighboring ones. In order to give them a good 

 support the edges are the more slanted as their angle is greater. 



This method of building is very ingenious, as it aifords the possi- 

 bility of building a vault without a scaffold. If the blocks were ijlaced 

 in parallel rows, thi^ first block of a new row would have no sup^jort. 

 while liy this method e.icli reclines on the previous one. When the 

 house has i-cai-hed ,-i coiisideralile height the manwhocuts the blocks 

 outside must place them upon the last row. The builder supports 

 them with his head and pushes them to their proper places. The 

 key block and those which are next to it are either cut inside or 

 pushed into the house through a small door cut for the purpose. The 

 key block is generally shaped irregularly, as it is fitted into the hole 

 which remains; usually the last two blocks are triangular. When 

 the vaidt is finished the joints between the blocks are closed up by 

 cutting down the edges and pressing the scraps into the joints. 

 Larger openings are closed with snow blocks and filled up with loose 

 snow pressed into the fissures. Thus the whole building becomes a 

 tieht vault, without any holes through which the warm air inside 

 ni.iy esca|ie. Such a snow house, about five feet high and seven 

 feet iu diauieter, is used as acamp in winter journeys. Ittakes aboiit 

 two Ipours for two skilled men to build and finish it. For winter 

 quarters the vaults are built from ten to twelve feet high and twelve 

 to fifteen feet in diameter. In order to reach this height the builder 



