446 



THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT 



[ETH. ANN. 18 



- J 



FIG. 157 Ivory carvingof a composite animal (J). 



The people of Bering strait said that it preys upon right whales. On 

 a spear-rest used ill the bow of an umiak (plate cvia) are etched 

 four of these birds, two upon each side. On one side the birds are 

 represented as having their claws in the backs of the whales, which 



they are carrying away; on 

 the other side the birds are 

 represented as not yet hav 

 ing seized their prey. 



On the shore of Norton 

 sound the tin-mi-uk -puJc is 

 said to catch either whales or 

 reindeer, and along the lower 

 Yukon it was reported to 

 prey upon people and rein 

 deer. Among the tales herein recorded is one from the lower Yukon 

 describing the last pair of these birds which were believed to have lived 

 there. In that district the top of a mountain below Ikogmut was 

 pointed out as one on which these birds were said to have nested. 



Plate evil b shows a handsomely etched ivory pipestem from Norton 

 sound. The side represented in the illustration has several groups of 

 human figures. There is also a kashim with men dancing inside to the 

 music of a drum; others are entering through the summer passage 

 way above ground, and others on the roof. Next is a man with a bow 

 and arrow shooting another who holds a spear upraised. The next is 

 a representation of the Thuuderbird seizing a reindeer, followed by the 

 figure of the huge man-worm, or ti-sikh-pdk) that figures in Eskimo 

 mythology. Other less important figures are also etched on this sur 

 face, as is shown in the illustration. 



The small sculpiu, which is very common along the rocky shore of 

 Norton sound, is called the rainmaker, and the Eskimo say it will cause 

 heavy rain if a person takes one of them in his hand. 



Small fragments of quartz crystal are said to be the centers of masses 

 of ice that have frozen harder than usual, so that the cores have turned 

 to stone. These are prized as amulets. 



I was told by a fur trader who was fa 

 miliar with the Nunivak islanders that 

 the latter claim descent from a dog. 



Figure 157, from Cape Darby, on the 

 northern shore of Norton sound, is an 

 ivory carving 3.J inches long, representing the head and shoulders of a 

 white bear and the body of a seal. The bear has in its mouth an object 

 which projects upon either side and is grasped by the paws. This is a 

 well made carving, and is pierced longitudinally through the under 

 surface for the passage of a cord. It was used as a handle for drag 

 ging seals and other heavy bodies over the ice and represents one of 

 the mythic animals of the people on the shore of Bering strait. 



FlG. 158 Ivory carvinjjrepresentinjrthe 

 man-worm (full size). 



