NELSON] 



DRUMS 



351 



diameter. It is carved in the form of a walrus, the well-made head 

 being placed at the inner end; on the lower side are four diagonal 

 grooves for finger-rests, and at the rear the animal s flippers are repre 

 sented. The back is etched with short lines to indicate bristly hairs. 

 A handle from Point Hope, on the Arctic coast (figure 136) is of ivory, 

 four inches long. At one end is carved a human face, with small blue 

 beads inlaid for eyes and the mouth incised; along the lower side are 

 four finger-grooves, and an ivory strip is fitted in the square slot for the 

 ends of the drum frame. Another specimen from the same place (nurn- 



FIG. 136 Drum handle (J). 



ber 63798) is similar to the preceding, but has the face curiously dis 

 torted. The tip of the handle is patched with a block of wood neatly 

 fastened with five wooden pegs. 



A handle of reindeer horn from St Michael (figure 137) measures 

 five inches in length and represents the head and neck of a sand hill 

 crane. The beak is open, and small, round incisions mark the eyes 

 and ears; the slot for the frame of the drum is at the base of the neck, 

 and the wings of the bird are indicated by an incised line on each side, 

 extending diagonally to the rear, where they meet on the back; short, 

 parallel, incised lines represent the quill feathers. A drum obtained at 

 Sledge island (number 

 45401) has a handle made 

 from a section of deerhorn 

 without ornamentation. 

 The frame, made of spruce, 

 is slightly pear-shape, with 

 the small end next to the 



handle, and is about 20 inches in diameter. The ends overlap and are 

 fastened with sinew cord. It is fastened in the slot of the handle by 

 a wooden pin, and is beveled both ways on the inside from a central 

 ridge. On the outer surface, near the upper edge, is a deep groove to 

 receive the braided sinew cord that fastens the cover, which has the 

 looped end attached to a projecting wooden peg on the frame to the 

 right of the handle. 



In a drum (number 38840) obtained at Cape Vancouver, the frame, 

 made of spruce wood, 3 inches broad, is bent in a circle, 28 inches in 

 diameter, the overlapping ends being sewed together with rawhide cord. 



FIG. 137 Drum handle (). 



