After this, we covered
ourselves with skin, spreading them over the whole of us; and the closer
we got, the better, as there was more warmth. We lay till the morning,
and then the process was the same again." It appears that people may bury
themselves in snow, and want neither air nor warmth. I have never made
the experiment; but have read of numerous instances of people falling
into snow-drifts, and not being extricated for many days, and when at
length they were taken out, they never seem to have complained of cold,
or any other sufferings than those of hunger and of anxiety.
HUTS.
Huts and Snow-Houses.--In making a depot, it is usual to build a house;
often the men must pass weeks in inactivity, and they had better spend
their time in making their quarters comfortable than in idleness.
Whatever huts are used by the natives are sure, if made with extra care,
to be good enough for European travellers.
Log-huts.--In building log-huts, four poles are planted in the ground, to
correspond to the four corners; against these, logs are piled one above
another as in the drawing below; they are so deeply notched where their
ends are crossed, that the adjacent sides are firmly dovetailed. When the
walls are entirely completed, the door and windows are chopped out.
[Sketch of cabin].
The spaces between the logs must be caulked with moss, etc.
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