392 Thomas Thomsen 



ger shaft for weapons. Even if the latter do not attain the dimens- 

 ions of the weapons of the district further south as regards diameter, 

 yet they are in no wise slender; moreover, their joints and finish 

 show much care and accuracy. 



Finger Rests for Weapon Shafts. 



In weapons where the throwing board is not used, a bone 

 peg is placed on the shaft at the point where it is grasped by the 

 hand, to serve as a support during the throw. 



In the colonized part of Greenland these pegs are now mortised 

 into the wood, but at Smith Sound they are usually lashed to 

 it. ^ This is also the case with the three spec- 

 imens found in the collection of the Danmark 

 Expedition. In shape they resemble an oblique 

 pyramid with flat base, applied to the shaft so 

 ^^^^^^^^ that the apex inclines towards the butt end ; they 

 ^^^^^P^^ are provided with 1 — 2 holes for lashing on to 

 ^^B^l b the shaft. 



^^Ш L. 4029, Rypefjeldet (Fig. 13a). Base 16 X ГЗ cm.; 



height 27 cm., reckoned at right angles to the base. 

 One hole. 



L. 4028, l^ypefjeldet (Fig. 13 6). Base 24x16 cm.; 

 height 31 cm. Two holes. 



L. 3493, Renskæret, house 132 (Fig. 13 c). Of antler; 

 narrow. Base 2'9xll cm.; height 38 cm. Two holes. 



Fig. 11. -/" ' ^" t^^^ National Museum in Copenhagen there 



are some specimens of such hand rests from the 

 northern part of colonized West Greenland down to Disco Bay. 



Among the Central Eskimo the lashed finger rests are of a 

 different shape ^; from the West Eskimo, on the other hand, there 

 are forms similar to those described above '^ together with the Cen- 

 tral Eskimo type. Above (p. 376) it has been suggested that the bear 

 illustrated in Fig. 2 a should probably be regarded as a particularly 

 fine specimen of this kind. 



1 Kroeber pi. XI, 1-2. 



'^ Boas III, p. 17, Fig. 11. Tiie attachments for lines figured in the same place in 

 Fig. 10 are certainly more like our specimens, but the author mentions particu- 

 larly that here the base is concave; moreover, the fact that his specimens 

 a and с are grooved for tiiongs shows that they must, unlike the items from 

 our collection, have been fastened to a very narrow object. 



3 Nel.son, pi. LVH b, 27 and 28 and 31 and 32. Cf. Mason I, Plates 8 and 9. 



