AKOKIGINAL AMKUICAN HAUPOUNS. 



211 



object, the curved line or serrate ornament, the owner mark on the 

 back of the head, and the existence of the dot and circle ornament for 

 ej'e.s and on the l>utton or side. 



Figures 40 and 41. pagvs 144 and 145. in Nelson (1900), are good 

 illustrations of this type. 



Cat. No. 45000 (tig. 10) in the U. S. National Museum is a seal 

 decoy from Sledg-e Island, collected ])v E. W. Nelson. It consists of 

 ahandl(> of pine wood rudely carved at the Imtt end to resemble the face 

 of a seal, and at the other end into three prongs. Upon 

 each one of these prongs is fitted a toe of a seal so that 

 the three points will touch the same surface. Around 

 each of these is wrapped, by half hitches, a continuous 

 thread of sinew and loops passing around a jog or pro- 

 jection on the end of a stud in the handle just where it 

 is pronged. This stud, of walrus ivory, has carved at 

 the other extremity the head 

 of a seal, the ej-es, ears, and 

 nostrils indicated by insertions 

 of black substance like whale- 

 bone. The use of this, it is 

 said by those who have trav- 

 eled in Alaska, is to scratch 

 upon the ice in order to imi- 

 tate the noise made by the male 

 seal and thereby attract his 

 mate. On hearing the noise 

 above, the seal that is under 

 the ice comes to the ])reathing 

 hole and is soon dispatched by 

 the hunter. 



The ice scoop, an accessory 

 to the harpoon, found all over 

 the arctic regions, is shown 

 in fig. 11, (/ and h. The first 

 example, fig. llrr, is from the 

 Amur region; ll/> shows a 

 similar device from Cape Nome, Alaska, south of Bering Strait. After 

 the seal is struck with the harpoon down through the small ])reath- 

 ing hole, it is necessary to enlarge the opening in order to withdraw 

 the l)ody of the animal. This is done with the pick on the butt end of 

 the harpoon. As soon as the opening is large enough the hunter pro- 

 ceeds to remove the broken ice at once by means of a scoop, the essen- 

 tial parts of which are the handle, the bow, and the webbing. In the 

 example from Schrenk here figured the very primitive way of attach- 

 ing the spoon to the handle is worthy of notice. The spoon is kite- 



Fig. 10. 



DECOY FOR SEAL. 



Sledge Island, Alaska. 



Collected by E. \V. Xelson. C"at. No. 450CO. U.S.N.II. 



