336 



are said to far excel those of the fox and dog; they are softer 

 and more pliable, do not cause sweating of the feet so readily, 

 are more easily dried and never become so stiff and uncom- 



Fig. 25. 



Fig. 26. 



Bone-scraper with wooden handle. 

 7,5 cm long ; 3,7—3,9 cm broad. 



Fig. 27. 



A "softening scraper" with wooden 



handle and a piece of tin-plate from 



a preserving tin. 10,5 cm long, 



4,2—5,9 cm broad. 



fortable. Dried grass is used as stopping between the kamikker 

 and hare-skin stockings, especially under the sole of the foot. 

 To keep their extremely high foot-ware stiff, the women further 

 use a piece of stiff seal's skin of the form shown in fig. 25. 

 This is inserted in the kamik between this and Ihe hare-skin 



stocking and in front of the shin- 

 bone, so that it goes from the in- 

 step to the knee. Its length is ca. 

 35 cm and its breadth 16 — 1 8 cm. 



It is only possible to go some 

 few days with such skin foot-ware 

 before it becomes sodden with the 

 wet. The stockings and grass must 

 then be taken out of the kamikker 

 and dried, and these must likewise 

 be cleaned, dried and made soft 

 again by rubbing (kamjute). In South Greenland it is common 

 first of all to wash the dirt from the kamikker, bût up here, 

 where water is a more costly commodity , they are scraped 

 clean with a bone instrument (fig. 26). After this a scraper 



Fig. 28. 



Skin-scraper with bone-handle and 

 iron plate. 10.5 cm long, 6.2 cm 

 broad , the iron plate occupying 

 2.8 cm. On the bone handle a couple 

 of holes can be seen, one of which 

 goes right through. 



