12 CAVE RELICS OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS. 



fracture. The sutures were tolerably well closed, except those of the lower part 

 *-&quot;-of the face, the supra-orbital ridges were very slightly marked, the forehead was 

 high and not sloping ; the styloid processes were remarkably long and slender, 

 and the whole skull exhibited a remarkable tenuity, being quite translucent, and 

 thinner, on the whole, than any other adult cranium I have ever examined. The 

 skull exhibited the usual Eskimo characteristics, of a well marked longitudinal 

 median ridge, and somewhat pyramidal form, but was unusually well shaped, 

 though not of as great capacity as many crania of the same race which have 

 passed through my hands. The teeth were but little worn, and the whole 

 appearance of the remains indicated that they were those of a nearly adult 

 male ; from which we may reasonably infer that they could not have been those 

 of the old chief or his son, as related in the tradition, unless the boy was older 

 than the story states. 



Passing up from behind the shoulders over the head and down upon the breast 

 was a strip (17469) of very fine grass matting which must have taken many 

 months to manufacture. The mesh is one peculiar, so far as I have observed, to 

 the western Eskimo and Aleiits, which, when compactly woven, gives a twilled 

 appearance to the fabric, and will be more fully described further on. The 

 pattern consisted in transverse stripes, somewhat raised above the general level, 

 and which comprised two or three stitches only in width. This matting, it should 

 be observed, is made of the fibre of an Elymus (which is treated as we treat hemp 

 or flax to obtain the fibre) and not of the crude grass itself. The raised stripes 

 are made of the outer coat of the straw, instead of the macerated fibre which 

 forms the body of the fabric, and were originally colored red, while it may be 

 supposed that the rest was of the normal straw color. The stripes are about 

 three-eighths of an inch apart in the middle of the mat, the interspaces gradually 

 widening to an inch and a quarter toward the edges. At intervals of an inch 

 and a half, transversely to the stripes, are inserted rows of small tufts, composed 

 of feathers (perhaps of the Leucosticte, as they appear red) and of fine deer 

 hairs, which are much used by the Eskimo for ornamental purposes. These are 

 taken from between the hoofs of the reindeer, and are of a different texture from 

 the hair of the rest of the animal. They appear to issue from the scent or oil 

 glands which are situated there. I have often noticed the natives saving these 

 small tufts, which are articles of trade among them. The tufts of the puffin 

 (Mormon cirrhata) or the light white feathers which appear on the cormorants 

 during the breeding season are also used for the same purpose, but are less 

 highly valued, being much more easily worn out. 



The edges of the mat were woven to make a selvage border and further sewed 

 over and over with a twisted thread of two strands of sinew, which had origi 

 nally fastened on a narrow strip of parchment, made from the oesophagus of the 



