Page:Material Culture of the Iglulik Eskimos.djvu/135

Having found a snow-bank of suitable size and kind, preferably with a slightly sloping surface, the cutting out of the snow blocks commences. Two parallel scratches are made in the snow, corresponding to the length of a snow block, 60–70 cm, and the first blocks are cut out of the mass of snow between these; the first one is triangular-prismatic and must be thrown aside; but as soon as this has been removed and a vertical wall has been obtained to commence with, the blocks themselves can be cut out. The snow-knife is run backwards and forwards at the ends of the block in order to prevent the snow from binding; the back-face is formed Image missingFig. 75.Snow house building. by sticking the knife down deeply at the back several times, the bottom-face is formed by a single cut, and the block is loosened by a gentle kick with the foot. Most frequently the block is cut on a slight curve, the side facing the worker being a little concave and is intended to face the inside of the house. When a block is loose, it is lifted up and the next one is cut. Not until about ten blocks have been cut does the building of the house begin. By means of the ice-hunting harpoon, the snow-knife or other implement, a circle is often described on the surface of the snow-drift to indicate the size of the house; more frequently, however, building is commenced without it. The first blocks are placed in a circle, leaning slightly inwards, resting against each other, the adjoining faces being trimmed to fit. This circle is so arranged that the passage from which the first row of blocks was cut may be used as the doorway to the house when it is finished; owing to the direction of the wind this doorway should preferably face the south. The following blocks are then cut out from the snow inside the circle as long there is sufficient snow: often there is enough, sometimes so much, indeed, that a ledge can