448 



THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT 



[ETH. ANN. 18 



and half seal, described as having the upper part of the body cov 

 ered with white skin, with long hair on the head, and the legs replaced 



by a seal s body. It is a mythi 

 cal conception common among 

 the western Eskimo. 



Figure 164, from Cape Van 

 couver, is a carving an inch and 

 three-quarters long, representing 



FIG. 102 Ivory float handle with mermaid-like l * 



tigure (2). a walrus. On the breast is a 



human face, inclosed within the 



front flippers and looking forward, intended to represent the features 

 of the walrus inua. The body is ornamented \vith concentric circles 



FIG. 163 Carving representing a mermaid-like 

 creature (J). 



Fia. 164 Ivory carving showing the face 

 of a walrus inva (full size). 



with central dots, made by filling round holes in the ivory with 

 wooden plugs. The general execution of this carving is very good, 

 the shape of the walrus, including the tusks, 

 nostrils, and small sunken dots about the 

 muzzle, representing bristles, being well re 

 produced. 



An ivory carving (number 43717), three 

 inches in length, from Nunivak island, rep 

 resents a seal s body with a man s head and 

 neck. It is pierced crosswise through the 

 shoulders for the passage of a cord, and is 

 used as a fastener for a woman s belt. This 

 represents one of the composite animals 

 which figure in the mythology of this region. 



A carving, from Sledge island in Bering 

 strait (number 45236), represents a seal s 

 body with a semihuman face. It is pierced 

 lengthwise along the lower side for the pas 

 sage of a cord, is used for the same purpose 

 as the specimen last described, and, like it, 

 illustrates a mythic animal. 



Another carving (figure 135), from the 

 northern shore of Norton sound, is 4 inches 

 in length, made from mammoth ivory, and 



represents a white bear carrying upon its back the extended figure of 

 a man lying face downward with his head over the animal s hips and 



FIG. 165 Drawing of mythic 

 creature in a wooden tray (J). 



