Identifier: inalaskanwildern00gord (find matches)
Title: In the Alaskan wilderness
Year: 1917 (1910s)
Authors: Gordon, G. B. (George Byron), 1870-1927
Subjects: Eskimo languages Alaska -- Description and travel
Publisher: Philadelphia : The John C. Winston Company
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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cture writing as a basis. By means of thisdiscovery he could take down all the lessons andsermons that he heard and recite them afterwardswithout missing anything. The central feature of each village, as of allEskimo villages, is the kozgee, a large housebuilt mostly underground and big enough to holdthe entire population of the village and in addi-tion such guests as may be invited to the cere-monial meetings and dance festivals that alwaystake place in the kozgee. At all other times itis the mens house, where all the men of thevillage may assemble, and where each has hisappointed seat and sleeping place. From thisclub women are excluded except at the dances.It is there that all the unmarried men sleep.Married men have been known to sleep therealso. Another function of the kozgee is that of thesweat bath in which the men are fond of indulging.The heavy hewn planks that form the floor aremovable over a square central area. Underneaththis area is a deep pit, directly under the smoke138
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hole in the roof. When the men or any groupof them wish to take a sweat bath they build agreat fire in this pit and in this they place stoneswhich become red hot. In the meantime greatwooden buckets filled with water are placed inreadiness, and the entrance is tightly closed sothat no air can come in. Each man holds acleverly devised respirator in his mouth which heremoves at intervals, as the air becomes moreintensely heated, to drink enormous draughts ofwater from the buckets. Finally water is dribbledcontinuously on the red hot stones and the smokyair of the kozgee, already intensely heated,becomes heavily charged with steam. Perspi-ration is freely induced and the men rub theirbodies with urine, which, on account of theammonia it contains, produces a lather. Finallythe door is opened and all rush out and roll inthe snow in evident delight. The kozgee, it will be seen, serves many dif-ferent functions. As a social institution it isobviously of great importance and worthy ofmuch stu

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