If the first view
of the exterior of this little village was such as to create
astonishment, that feeling was in no small degree heightened, on
accepting the invitation soon given us to enter these extraordinary
houses, in the construction of which we observed that not a single
material was used but snow and ice. After creeping through two
low passages, having each its arched doorway, we came to a small
circular apartment, of which the roof was a perfect arched dome.
From this three doorways, also arched, and of larger dimensions
than the outer ones, led into as many inhabited apartments, one on
each side, and the other facing us as we entered. The interior of
these presented a scene no less novel than interesting. The women
were seated on the beds at the sides of the huts, each having her
little fireplace or lamp with all her domestic utensils about her;
the children crept behind their mothers, and the dogs, except the
female ones, which were indulged with a part of the beds, slunk out
past us in dismay. The construction of this inhabited part of the
huts was similar to that of the outer apartment, being a dome
formed by separate blocks of snow, laid with great regularity and
no small art, each being cut into the shape requisite to form a
substantial arch, from seven to eight feet high in the centre, and
having no support whatever but what this principle of building
supplied.
Pages:
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308