2 2 Director s Annual Report 



Returning to the Henriciues specimen, we get some light on 

 the use of the toboggan from the fact that under the ancient system 

 women of certain high rank were not permitted to walk — they were 

 carried. It seems to me that this specimen ma\- well haA-e been the 

 private car of some chiefess who preferred this mode of traveling. 

 In support of this I would refer to the position of the side ropes 

 placed so as not to interfere with the seating space; the number of 

 ropes, indicating that numerous retainers were at command, and 

 their arrangement, such that the toboggan could be perfectly con- 

 trolled and so avoid an accident that might upset the august person- 

 age or cause her discomfort. Were the toboggan intended for human 

 conveyance the position naturally taken would be a seat, cross- 

 legged or otherwise, with the weight of the body on the rear end of 

 the sled and the block as a brace for the feet. The excessive wear 

 on the under surface at this place indicates such a probability. The 

 precautions taken and the number of men required would hardly 

 be necessary, and the wear on the under surface would have been 

 more evenly distributed were the sled used for the transportation of 

 freight. The fact that the toboggan was impregnated with salt, 

 and its resemblance to the bow of a canoe savors more of the sea 

 than the hills; the presence of salt would be accounted for if one 

 use of the sled was to carry Kaneamuna to and from the ocean; 

 it was stated that surf riding was one of her amusements. 



The use of any sled by a woman must have been a departure from 

 custom which was sufficiently novel to impress it on the memory of 

 fourteen generations, but it could not have become general among 

 women, or there would have been no comnicnt at all. The use of 

 a sled of this tN'pe must have been an isolated case, or infrequent, or 

 it would hardly have escaped attention so long. I cannot but be- 

 lieve that the tradition refers to the Henriques specimen. 



THE CzREGSON .SPECIMEN . 



An interesting specimen has been loaned by Mr. Harr}- 

 Gregson (Fig. 5). It is of heavy, laminated basalt. The bulb- 

 ous end is fairlv evenly divided into four lobes by broad, shallow 



[62] 



