S02 COOK'S VOYAGE TO APRIL, 



occasions, the masks, or carved heads, as well as the 

 real dried heads, of the different animals, are put on. 



As to the materials of which they make their vari- 

 ous articles, it is to be observed, that every thing of 

 the rope kind is formed either from thongs of skins, 

 and sinews of animals, or from the same flaxen sub- 

 stance of which their mantles are manufactured. The 

 sinews often appeared to be of such a length, that it 

 might be presumed they could be of no other animal 

 than the whale. And the same may be said of the 

 bones of which they make their weapons already 

 mentioned; such as their bark-beating instruments, 

 the points of their spears, and the barbs of their har- 

 poons. 



Their great dexterity in Works of wood may, in 

 some measure, be ascribed to the assistance they re- 

 ceive from iron tools ; for, as far as we know, they 

 use no other ; at least, we saw only one chisel of 

 bone. And though originally, their tools must have 

 been of different materials, it is not improbable that 

 many of their improvements have been made since 

 they acquired a knowledge of that metal, which is 

 now universally used in their various wooden works. 

 The chisel and the knife are the only forms, as far 

 as we saw, that iron assumes amongst them. The 

 chisel is a long flat piece, fitted into a handle of 

 wood. A stone serves for a mallet, and a piece of 

 fish-skin for a polisher. I have seen some of these 

 chisels that were eight or ten inches long, and three 

 or four inches broad; but in general, they were smaller. 

 The knives are of various sizes ; some very large, 

 and their blades are crooked, somewhat like our prun- 

 ing-knife ; but the edge is on the back or convex 

 part. Most of them that we saw, were about the 

 breadth and thickness of an iron hoop ; and their sin- 

 gular form marks that they are not of European make. 

 Probably, they are imitations of their own original 

 instruments, used for the same purposes. They 

 sharpen these iron tools upon a coarse slate whetstone; 







