THE LAMP OF THE ESKIMO. 1051 



flow of the oil. Leugth, 13} inches; width, 10:^ iuches; height, 3 inches. 

 Eslfiruo, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. C'ollected by E. W. Nelson. 63.569. Plate 



. 15, fig. 2. 



Double lamp. Made of clay with large ailmixtnie of ([uartz fragments, strongly 

 burnt and completely soaked with oil. In shape it is a large oblong platter 

 having concave side with a step at either end above the bottom of the reservoir. 

 At either side the step is raised into crescentic ridges, each jiierced with two 

 holes slanting down to the reservoir with the angle of the sides. Through 

 these orifices the wick is fed. The wick is laid along the edge of either side of 

 the lamp. This is the only example of a double Eskimo lamp, and from its 

 capacity it must have been used where oil was plenty. The lamp bears a like- 

 ness to the wooden dishes of this region. Length, 15^ inches; width, 12;^: 

 inches: height, 2^ inches Eskimo, St. Lawrence Island, Bering Strait, Alaska. 

 Collected by E. W. Nelson. 49196. Plate 15, fig. 3. 



Laaip. This lamp is made of clay burning yellow, with coarse temper of subangu- 

 lar quartz fragments. It is oblong, with truncated corners resembling in shape 

 the wooden dishes of the Norton Sound region, and is rather deep. The clay was 

 prol)ab]y formed in a wooden dish. The upper edge is flat, except on the side 

 where the wick is placed, which is rounded oft". At 2 inches from the lip and 

 j)arallel with it there is a bridge i^: inches long, standing 1^ inches above the 

 bottom of the lamp at the rear and five-eighths of an inch in relief in front of 

 the lip, thus forming a shelf. The ol'tice of the bridge may be to prevent parti- 

 cles of moss falling into the oil, to prevent floating masses i>f unmelted blubber 

 from interfering with the wick, or it may bo used as a secondary wick surface 

 when the oil is low. The deposits on the ridge seems to point to the latter use. 

 By the flattening of the base the lamp leans forward toward the wick edge at a 

 low angle, as is observed in the Chnkchis lamp (Plate 17, fig. 1) and in common 

 Avith the latter it possesses a ridge. This lamp is set on a vessel which com- 

 bines tiie functions of rest and drip catcher. Length, 8jr inches; width, 6| 

 inches; height, at rear, 2| inches; at front, 2 inches. Eskimo, St. Lawrence 

 Island, Alaska. Collected by E. W. Nelson. 63544. Plate 15, fig. 4. 



OiJLONG COOKING POT. Made of coarse earthernwaro. At the upper corners the 

 clay has been pinched up and pierced for the attachment of cords for suspending 

 the pot. The vessel is rudely made and is much Idackened with lamp smoke. 

 Length, 6 inches; width, 4| inches; height, 2^ inches. Eskimo, St. Lawrence 

 Island, Alaska. Collected by E. W. Nelson. 63546. Plate 16, fig. 1. 



Ohlong COOKING POT. Small oblong pot of coarse pottery, blackened and covered 

 on the bottom with deposit from the lamp. Each corner is pierced with two 

 orifices through which pass whalebone strips for suspending the pot. The vessel 

 would seem too small for cooking food, but it has evidently been used over the 

 lamp. Length, If inches; width, 3^ inches; height, If inches. Eskimo, St. 

 Lawrence Island, Alaska. Collected by E. W. Nelson. 63548. Plate 16, fig. 2. 



Ohlong cooking pot. Small oblong pot of very coarse earthenware, without lugs; 

 probably a foo<l vessel, as it is not smoked l>y the lamji. Length, 4 J inches; 

 width, 3f inches; height. If inches. Eskimo, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. 

 Collected by E. W. Nelson. 63547. Plate 16, iig. 3. 



Dhip catcher. Long, narrow, shallow vessel of coarse burnt clay, rounded at the 

 ends and slightly curved. This vessel is catalogued as a lamp. Its edges are 

 not found for the wick, which is an infallible test for a lamp. It was probably 

 placed under the lip of a lamii to catch dropping oil. Length, 8i inches ; width, 2| 

 inches; height If inches. Eskimo, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Collected by 

 E. W, Nelson. 63545. Plate 16, fig. 4, 



