224 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [BTH.AXN.IS 



cut from the same piece of wood, and at other times is formed from a 

 separate piece pierced with a hole, by which it is fitted on the end of 

 the handle. 



Figure 29, plate LXXVIII, shows one of these crosspieces for a paddle 

 handle from the lower Yukon. It is made of bone, is oval in outline, 

 and is provided with a projecting lip on the lower side, through which 

 is a round hole for putting on the end of the handle. 



Figure 70 a represents an umiak paddle used in Kotzebue sound, and 

 figure 70 & shows a form of umiak paddle seen at Point Hope. 



The kaiak paddles used by the people of Nunivak island and the 

 adjacent mainland are neatly made and frequently ornamented, in red 

 and black paint, with figures forming the private marks or totem 

 signs of the owner. 



The Bering strait islanders decorate their kaiak paddles in patterns 

 of red and black, which probably form totem and ownership marks. 



Figure 71 b represents a double-blade paddle from King island. It 

 is about 8 feet long and the handle is suboval in cross section. The 

 blades are long, narrow, and tlat on the surface which is to be used 



FIG. 70 Forms of umiak paddles. 



against the water, and are strengthened along the backs by a ridge 

 down the middle. One of the blades is painted black and the other 

 red, and the handle is surrounded by red and black bands. Another 

 double-blade paddle, obtained at Point Barrow by Lieutenant Ray 

 (figure 71 )&amp;gt; is 7 feet in length, with the blades nearly flat on both sides 

 and much broader and more rounded than those of the preceding speci 

 men. The backs of the blades have a very slight ridge running down 

 the center. A single-blade paddle from King island (figure 0, plate 

 LXXX) has a large, broad blade, with a central ridge on the outside. 

 The lower two-thirds of the blade is painted black, and a triangular 

 spot of black is marked on each side; the edge of the blade, where it 

 joins the handle at the upper end, is also black, with a ring extending 

 around the handle. All of these black markings are bordered by a 

 narrow line of red and constitute the private marks of the owner. 



Another single-blade kaiak paddle, from Kushuuuk (figure 7, plate 

 LXXX), has a crosspiece fitted on the top of the handle by means of a 

 square hole. The blade is long and slender and is tipped with black for 

 a short distance; this is succeeded by several bands, varying in width, 

 alternately of red, black, and uncolored wood. The handle near the 



