Dr King on the Industrial Arts of the Esquimaux. 129 



Two varieties of form and construction have been found 

 amongst the natives of Hudson Straits. The one has been 

 described and figured by Mr Henry Ellis ; and a specimen 

 of the other is in my possession. Sir Edward Parry did 

 not meet with either of these bows among the natives of 

 Melville Peninsula, although close neighbours to those of 

 Hudson Straits. The bow met with by Mr Henry Ellis, 

 ** was made of three pieces of wood, each forming a part of the 

 same arch, very nicely and exactly joined together." The 

 bow in my possession differs from that of Mr Henry Ellis, 

 in being flat instead of arched in the centre, and having a 

 small piece of wood bound with fish-skin to the back part of 

 the junction of the two curved extremities with the central 

 flat portion, and is composed of five pieces of wood. At 

 Melville Peninsula, for the want of wood, the horn of the 

 musk ox, thinned horns of deer, and other bony substances 

 are used. To protect the wrist from the abrasion which 

 would ensue from frequent use, the Esquimaux of Behring 

 Straits buckle on a piece of ivory about three or four inches 

 long, hollowed out to the wrist, or a guard made of several 

 pieces of ivory or wood fastened together like an iron-holder. 

 Tlie bow-string is, moreover, in contact with about a foot of 

 the wood at each end, and, when used, makes a report fatal 

 to secrecy ; their more warlike neighbours are careful to 

 muffle these parts with fur.* To make the bow draw stiffly, 

 they dip it in water, wliich causes its back and string to con- 

 tract, and creates a greater impetus. Sir Martin Frobisher 

 informs us, that the bows are three feet long ; Captain Lyon 

 adds six inches to that length ; and the one in my possession 

 measures five feet three inches. It is used in the horizontal 

 position. Lieutenant Edward Chappel must have been the 

 dupe of some Israelitish Esquimaux, or he would scarcely 

 have pronounced " the whole fabrication of the bows and 

 arrows not to surpass the workmanship of an English school- 

 boy." Specimens of the industrial arts of the Esquimaux 

 were presented by Lieutenant Chappel to the Library of the 

 University of Cambridge. 



* Beechy. 

 VOL. XLII. KO. LXXXIIL— JANUARY 1847. I 



