738 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1897. 



It is easy to uiiderstaiul the existence of the two types in the arctic 

 area, where soft driftwood exists alongside of antler and ivory. 



Example Cat. No. 208.S1, in the IT. S, National Museum, is a 

 curved knife from Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, collected by 

 Mr. James G. Swan. The cnrved blade is of iron, with both edges 

 alike, and resembles the modern can-opener. To form the joint its 

 tang is roughly let into the wooden handle at its end on one side, the 

 other side being notched, and is held in place by a lashing of thong. 

 The handle of oak is curved upward outside the thumb space and 



iiiii 



Figa. 10, 11. 

 CARVER'S KNIFE, AND GUARD FOR BACK OF HAND. 



Sitka, Alaska. 



Cat. Nos. Ifi8342, IfiSSjr,, U.S.N. M. 



tapers slightly to the outer end. The noteworthy features are the 

 adaptation of a modern can-opener for the blade, the resemblance of 

 the handle with its thumb space to Japanese and Korean handles, and 

 the notch at the inner end to prevent the slipping of the seizing. 

 Mr. D. W. Prentiss, jr., of the U. S. National Museum, had the good 

 fortune to observe a Yakutat Indian carving with a large specimen 

 of this variety of two-edged blade (Cat. No. 17819G, U.S.N.M.). The 

 handle is held in both hands while the carver dresses down the inside 

 of his canoe or wooden box. Now chipping toward himself, now away, 

 with the greatest rapidity, he gave the fine adz finish often observed 



