90 THE POINT BARROW ESKIMO. 



FOR PREPARING FOOD. 



Pots of atone and other materials (u tkuzm). In former times, pots of 

 soapstone resembling those employed by the eastern Eskimo, and 

 probably obtained from the same region as the lamps, were used for 

 cooking food at Point Barrow, but the natives have so long been able 

 to procure metal kettles directly or indirectly from the whites (Elson 

 found copper kettles at Point Barrow in 1826) 1 that the former have 

 gone wholly out of use, and at the present day fragments only are to be 

 found. There are four such fragments in the collection, of which three 

 are of the same model and one quite different. 



ISTo. 89885-6 [1559] (Fig. - 0) is sufliciently whole to show the pattern 

 of the first type. It is of soft gray soapstone. A large angular gap is 

 broken from the middle of one side, taking out about half of this side, 



and a small angular 

 piece from the bot 

 tom. From the cor 

 ner of this gap the 

 pot has been broken 

 obliquely across the 

 bottom, and mended 

 in three places with 

 stitches of whale- 

 bone made as de 

 scribed under No. 



89805 [1321]. One end is cut down for about half its height, and the 

 edge carried round in a straight line till it meets the gap in the broken 

 side. This end appears to have been pieced with a fresh piece of stone, 

 as there are holes for stitches in the edge of the whole side and in the 

 upper edge of the broken side. There are also two &quot;stitch holes&quot; at 

 the other side of the gap, showing how it was originally mended. A 

 low transverse ridge across the middle of the whole end was probably 

 an ornament. Holes for strings by which the pot was hung up are 

 bored one-fourth to one-half inch from the brim. Two of these are 

 bored obliquely through the corners, which are now broken off. The 

 holes in the sides close to the corners were probably made to take the 

 place of these. The pot is neatly and smoothly made, and the brim is 

 slightly rounded. It shows signs of great age, and is blackened with 

 soot and crusted with oil and dirt. 2 



Nos. 89886 [680] and 89868 [1096] are much less complete. They are 

 the broken ends of pots slightly smaller than the above, but of pre 

 cisely the same pattern, even to the ornamental transverse ridge across 

 the end. 3 The string holes are bored through the corners as before, and 



&quot;Beechey s Voyage, p. 572. 



2 This specimen was broken in transportation, and the pieces received different Museum numbers. 

 It is now mended with glue. 



3 Compare these pots with the two figured in Parry s 2d Voyage (plate opposite p. 160). The smaller 

 of these has a ridge only on the end. hut on the larger the ridge runs all the way round. The plate 

 also shows how the pots were hung up. See also Fig. 1, plate opposite p. 548. 



