CAVE RELICS OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS. 23 



Four sea-lion teeth, (17256.) I think the hard ivory which these afford was 

 used for some kinds of sewing awls which were affixed to a handle. I have 

 found these teeth chipped in such a way as to make it evident that something 

 was about to be made of them when the work was interrupted. They split 

 rather easily. The teeth of the Orca or killer-whale, the small teeth of the 

 walrus, and the teeth of the sperm whale were all formerly used by the islanders 

 for various purposes, especially for carving little images or toys. 



Four pieces of gypsum (17263.) This comes from near Nunivak Island, at 

 least that is the only locality where the natives have it in any quantity. They 

 use it for labrets and other ornaments, and inlay their kantags very prettily with 

 lozenge-shaped pieces of it. These pieces were all quite small, and intended for 

 beads. These were usually bored before the surface was shaped, and, in the 

 present case, one of the pieces had been bored nearly through, a funnel-shaped 

 pit being made on each side. 



One stone arrow or lance point, (17265,) about an inch and a half long, with 

 short barbs and broad haft. It was made of a black siliceous stone. This was 

 the only portion of a weapon found, but the Rev. Father Innokenti told me that 

 there were formerly many seal lances in this cave. The Atka men, who princi 

 pally hunt on this island, from time to time losing arrows which they could not 

 replace in any other way, and being in no fear of ghosts, were used to replenish 

 their stock from the cave, until the supply was exhausted. 



Two beads or bugles (17261) made of the metacarpal bone of a bird s wing, 

 and about half an inch long ; also one of the bones from which they were made, 

 (17262.) Two rough pieces of bone, one of which had been sawed longitudi 

 nally, (17252-3.) A small ivory pendant (17259) of a figure-of-eight shape with 

 one lobe half an inch in diameter and the other an eighth of an inch ; quite flat, 

 and with a small piece of sinew thread tied round the narrow part evidently an 

 ornament, such as the natives attach to the ends of the strings by which they tie 

 up tobacco and other small bags. 



An ivory figure of a spotted hair-seal, (17257,) in a life-like attitude, about an 

 inch and three-quarters long. This was found, so the captain told me, in a little 

 child s seal-skin boot, on which the hair was perfectly preserved. The boot has 

 not come to hand. Another rough figure of some four-footed animal (17258) 

 with a forked tail, perhaps used for smoothing down the asperities of their sinew 

 thread by drawing it through the sharp furrow in the tail. The natives on the 

 mainland use a similar instrument for this purpose. Three curious implements, 

 (17260,) two of them an inch long, and the other two and a half inches long, 

 made of ivory. I have never seen anything like these elsewhere. They are 

 shaped like a small arrow head with the point curved to one side, with one or 

 two deep notches on the concave side, and three or more much smaller ones on 

 the convex edge ; a sharp point ; a square haft with a noteh or two on the convex 



