Identifier: ridpathsuniversa08ridp (find matches)
Title: Ridpath's Universal history : an account of the origin, primitive condition and ethnic development of the great races of mankind, and of the principal events in the evolution and progress of the civilized life among men and nations, from recent and authentic sources with a preliminary inquiry on the time, place and manner of the beginning
Year: 1897 (1890s)
Authors: Ridpath, John Clark, 1840-1900
Subjects: World history
Publisher: Cincinnati : Jones
Contributing Library: University of Pittsburgh Library System
Digitizing Sponsor: Lyrasis Members and Sloan Foundation

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ofthe hut, induce himself to eat at all. NORTHERN ABORIGINES.—THE ESQUIMAUX, 447 Nothing is more common than to seeone of the principal men in an Esqui-mau hovel, sitting inclined backwards,in a state of beastly torpor from excessof food. He partly wakens at intervals,but his wife or the servants, who are ob-serving his comfort, immediately beginto stuff into his jaws great masses of rawfish or fat meat. . This he half-uncon-sciously chews and swallows as fast ashis stomach will admit more. Thus, fora long time together, he sleeps and difficulty. It might even constitutesome excuse for their filthiness, that thewater necessary for washing is not easilyobtained. Something, of course, mustbe had for drink, and this is producedby melting in the huts. But the drink-ing of blood is by no means an uncom-mon method of slaking thirst. It has been noticed in all countrieshaving a rigorous climate that the use ofice and snow, in the attempt to alleviatethe natural want of water, is rather an
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ESQUIMAU SNOW HUTS.—Drawn by Riou. wakes, grunting out his satisfaction atthe constant stuffing to which he is sub-jected. All the surroundings of the hutare filthy in the last degree, and a truenotion of the bestial manners of the in-habitants, especially in the manner ofeating, can hardly be conveyed by lan-guage. Great is the difficulty of obtaining water sufficient for the purposes of life in these higfh latitudes. Water hard to & obtain; ice ag- Ice and snow are abundant, gravates thirst. -, .-■ ,•/» • 1 -t , but the artificial heat nec-essary for reducing these to the liquidform is with the Esquimaux the great aggravation of the trouble than other-wise. Dr. Kane and all other arctic ex-plorers have found it necessary to forbidtheir men to eat snow or ice in the hopeof assuaging thirst. The natural reac-tion of the organs under the touch ofanything so cold as ice creates unnaturalheat, and aggravates the very evil whichit would allay. We remark the good fortune of th

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