THE ESKIMOS 



kind to gnaw, for occasionally in the spring season the condi- 

 tion of the snow and ice is such as to render hunting impos- 

 sible, and though they store up meat in the fall for winter 

 use, it is often exhausted before spring. 



When this state of things occurs the condition of the Eski- 

 mos is deplorable in the extreme. They are forced to kill 

 and eat their wretched dogs, which are even more nearly 

 starved than themselves, and next they resort to their skin 

 clothing and moccasins, which 

 they soak in water until they 

 become soft, though perhaps 

 not altogether palatable. 



^SText to starvation, perhaps 

 the most severe affliction the 

 Eskimo has to endure is that 

 of snow-blindness. This trouble 

 is very prevalent in the spring 

 season, and is caused by ex- 

 posure to the strong glare of 

 the sun upon the glistening 

 fields of snow and ice. Snow- 

 blindness is thus in reality 

 acute inflammation of the eyes, 

 and the pain caused by it is 

 excruciating, being like what 

 one would expect to suffer if 

 his eyes were filled with hot salt. 



In order to guard against the occurrence of snow-blindness, 

 the Eskimos wear a very ingenious contrivance in the form 

 of wooden goggles. These are neatly carved so as to fit over 

 the nose and close in to the sockets of the eyes. Instead of 

 colored glasses, which the Eskimos have no means of getting, 

 these goggles are made with narrow horizontal slits, just wide 

 enough to allow the wearer to see through. Thus the excess 

 of light is excluded, while the sight is not entirely obstructed. 

 9 129 



^jWv'*'/^ 



WOODEN SNOW-GOGGLES. 



I speak from experience. 



