Sketches From Oldest America 



Wood shovels, tipped with bone, and picks made 

 from whale jaws, were employed in cutting sods 

 and excavating the ground for the iglos, and also 

 for digging pits in the deep snow, back in the 

 valleys, into which the deer would fall and could 

 then be easily captured. 



The first spear heads were of bone or ivory; later 

 on they were nicked on the sides so as to hold more 

 firmly. Afterward, the heads were made movable 

 with a line attached, having the advantage of hold 

 ing crosswise when driven well in. About one 

 hundred miles east of the village of Tigara, in the 

 land of the Kivalinyas, a man once darted a beluga, 

 but becoming entangled in the line he was dragged 

 off into the ocean. The beluga was afterward 

 killed at the mouth of the Mackenzie River, it hav 

 ing towed the body considerably more than one 

 thousand miles. 



For clothing, deerskins were stretched and scraped 

 with flint instruments, then dressed with powdered 

 heavy-spar, making the skin soft and pliable. 

 Fresh skins from the common seal were rolled up 

 and kept in a warm place until the hair loosened, 

 then stretched and dried, and afterward scraped and 

 worked until soft. These were employed to make 

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