XII.] 



STONE HAMMERS. 



483 



a skin tliong, with which the stone is fastened to the short shaft 

 of wood or bone. The bones which are used for food are finely 

 crushed with this implement against a stone anvil or a 

 whale's vertebra, and then boiled with water and blood, before 

 being eaten. At first w^e believed that this dish was intended 

 for the dogs, but afterwards I had an opportunity of convincing 

 myself that the natives themselves ate it ; and that long before 

 the time when they suffered from scarcity of provisions. The 

 hammer is further of interest as forming one of the stone im- 

 plements which are most frequently found in graves from the 

 Stone Age. That the hammer was mainly intended for kitchen 

 purposes appears from the circumstance that the women alone 

 had it at their disposal, and were consulted when it was parted 

 with. Along with such hammers there was to be found in every 



STONE HAMMERS AND ANVIL FOR CRUSHING BONES. 



(One-sixth of the natural size.) 



tent an anvil, consisting of a whale's vertebra or a large round 

 stone with a bowl-formed depression worn or cut out in the 

 middle of it. 



During winter a great portion of the inhabitants of Yinretlen, 

 Pitlekaj, and as far as from Irgunnuk, came daily on board to 

 beg or buy themselves provisions, and during this period they 

 were fed mainly by us. They soon accustomed themselves to 

 our food. They appeared specially fond of pea-soup and por- 

 ridge. The latter they generally laid out on a snow-drift to 

 freeze, and then took it in the frozen form to the tents. 

 Coffee they did not care for unless it was well sugared. Salt 

 they did not use, but with sugar they were all highly delighted. 

 They also drank tea with pleasure. Otherwise water forms 

 their principal drink. They were, however, often cumpelled in 



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