The first kind cannot be used at all as it is; but in cases of emergency it may be trampled down and later on provide good building material.[1] With soft snow, however, there is always the risk that the dome will collapse or become worn off in a storm. The Image missingFig. 11.Snow probes. second sort is the easiest to cut and the warmest, for which reason it is always preferred in winter; but in spring it is inclined to collapse, and then [sitijuc·uᴀq] is used. The nature of the snow is examined with the snow probe, a long, thin stick which is prodded deep into the snow at several places within the circle which the hut will approximately occupy, in order that the builder may not suddenly stand in need of material. In this manner it is not difficult, after a little practice, to tell the difference between suitable and unsuitable snow.
The snow probe [häƀgut] was originally made of "reindeer horn, straightened by steaming and worked down until about half an inch in diameter, with a ferule of walrus tusk or the tooth of a bear on the bottom".[2] In the Thule collection there is one of these from the Qaernermiut (P 28: 73; fig. 11 b). It is a stick 100 cm long, slender and slightly bent, with a handle consisting of a ring of the same material pushed down over one end. There is no ferrule, nor is it probable that this has been common except perhaps at the coast; neither Gilder nor Boas give any provenance data for their statements.
Nowadays the snow probe is as a rule made of wood. We have a snow probe from the Pâdlimiut at Hikoligjuaq (P 28: 74), made of a thin stick of wood; at the fore end there is a ferrule of antler, fixed on with a copper rivet, and at the rear end a ring-shaped handle of antler fastened with a nail. Length 71 cm; cross section quadratic; ferrule 3.6 cm. On a similar snow probe from the Pâdlimiut at Eskimo Point (P 28: 75; fig. 11 a) the ferrule runs towards the rear into two wings, between which the point of the wooden stick is wedged and fastened with six nails. The handle is a crosspiece of wood. Length 90.5 cm, ferrule 6.5 cm, breadth of handle 5.2 cm.
The blocks of snow are cut out with the snow knife and vary a little in size; a medium sized block is about 75 to 80 cm long, 50 cm
