Identifier: adventuresoftwoy00knox (find matches)
Title: Adventures of two youths in the open Polar Sea
Year: 1885 (1880s)
Authors: Knox, Thomas Wallace, 1835-1896
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Publisher: New York, Harper & brothers
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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on of long-continued cold. Lumber was brought from below for building a houseover the deck; the structure was made as close as possible, in order tokeep out the cold, and a sufficient pitch was given to the roof to let thesnow slide off as fast as it fell. In the centre the roof was supported bystout rafters, and the space was made so roomy that it virtually added an-other deck to the ship. The dogs were allowed the run of this enclosedspace at certain hours of the day, but the most of their time was passedon the ice, where shelters were erected for them. They were not long infinding out the hour for meals. It was the custom to feed them at fourin the afternoon, and when the marine signal of. eight bells was giventhey walked up the gang-plank and indicated their readiness for duty.Had they been the patrons of a well-regulated boarding-house they couldnot have been more prompt. The dog-shelters were made of boards, like the housing of the deck. A WINTER RESIDENCE AMONG THE ESKIMOS. 161
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11 162 THE VOYAGE OF THE VIVIAN. Fred and George wanted to have some lints of snow or ice, and with theassistance of the dog-drivers they constructed some. It required a gooddeal of engineering, as the Chukchees are nut to be compared with theEskimos in this kind of work; in fact, the Eskimo snow-hut is the finestdwelling of the kind in the whole world. Fred and George made use ofthe drawings given by Captain Hall, and others familiar with the Eskimos,and then projected their edifices as an architect makes his plans. Everyblock was hewn from the ice, as a block of stone is cut for a .building; thejoints were cemented with water; a tunnel was made for the entrance, onthe same plan as in Greenland; and altogether the huts, when completed,were highly creditable to the builders. We will describe the mode of construction of the Eskimo snow-hut bvtelling how our friends made theirs. They levelled a space on the ice to form the floor, and in order tohave as little transportation as possible

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