936 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1895. 



extreme left is an iDScriptiou, "16th time of seeing tliem," denoting 

 that it Avas the sixteenth time that whales had been sighted. The 

 letters at the tail end of the whales, W B, S B, and L B, denote waist 

 boat, starboard boat, and larboard boat, two whales being captured by 

 the first and second, while three were taken by the last named. At 

 the right of the whales are the numbers of barrels of oil furnished by 

 each, as well as the total, amounting to 146. The method of stamping 

 these outlines is by means of small wooden blocks, which are dipped in 

 ink or other coloring matter, for the reason that the picture of the 

 whale is so readily perceived, obviating the necessity of searching over 

 each page to find any special reference thereto in the manuscript text. 



On plate 71) is represented another part of the same log book, and 

 under date of Monday, July 21, 1856, are two references, the first, "29 

 time of seeing," and another "30th time," referring to the characters 

 of whale's flukes or tails standing upright, and denoting in this con- 

 nection that the whales were sighted but not captured. 



On plate 80 are represented five specimens of Eskimo carvings which 

 are of interest in this connection. 



In fig. 1 is shown a very short kantag, or perhaps bag handle, from 

 Sledge Island, the original measuring but about 2i inches in length, 

 while the perforations along the top ridge separate the pieces of ivory 

 into a series of connected flukes. These are better illustrated on fig. 

 3, a specimen from Cape Darby, in which the whale tails are almost 

 separated from one another, slightly bent to one side, and ver> natural 

 in general outline. 



In fig. 4 is shown another neat specimen from Sledge Island, while in 

 fig. 2 we have one made of a piece of hollow ivory or bone, in which 

 both ridges are rudely perforated so as to simulate whale tails, as in 

 the preceding illustrations. These four specimens are of interest, from 

 the fact that the flukes are utilized in the decoration or ornamentation 

 of utensils, and probably at the same time denoting that the owner 

 was a whale hunter or had been successful in catching whales. The 

 most interesting specimen in the series, however, is that given in fig. 5, 

 which represents a kantag handle from Point Hope. This specimen, 

 in addition to having the carving of a whale fluke at the upper edge, 

 has neatly engraved upon one side four flukes, flanked on either side 

 by a bowhead whale facing inward. The six figures are arranged 

 artistically and symmetrically, and are almost exactly of the same 

 class of ornamentation as in plate 80. 



The question would naturally arise whether the Eskimo had copied 

 such methods of portrayal from the whalers, or the whalers from the 

 Eskimo, or whether the art evolved independently among both. 



In consultation with Captain E. P. Herendeen, now of Washington, 

 District of Columbia, a gentleman who has spent many years in the 

 Arctic regions, I am informed by him that he made his first whaling 

 voyage toward Point Barrow in the year 1854. At that time he found 



