180 



THE POINT BAEEOW ESKIMO. 



The drill at the present day is always worked with a bow, which allows 

 one hand to bo used for steadying the piece of work. We were informed, 

 however, that formerly a cord was sometimes used without the bow, but 

 furnished with a transverse handle at each end. 



We collected six little handles of ivory, carved into some ornamental 

 shape, each with an eye in the middle to which a thong could be attached. 

 All were old, and wo never saw them in use. The first two were col 

 lected at an early period of our acquaintance with these people, and from 

 our imperfect knowledge of the language we got the impression that 

 they were handles to be attached to a harpoon line. 



We were not long, however in finding out that the harpoon has no 

 such appendage, and when the other four came in a year later, at a time 



when the press of other work pre 

 vented careful inquiry into their 

 use, we supposed that they were 

 meant for handles to the lines used 

 for dragging dead seals, as they 

 somewhat resemble such an im 

 plement. On our return home, 

 when I had opportunities for mak 

 ing a careful study of the collec 

 tion, I found that none of the drag 

 lines, either in our own collection 

 or in those of the Museum, had 

 handles of this description. On 

 the other hand, I found many sim 

 ilar implements in Mr. Nelson s 

 collection labeled &quot;drill-cord han 

 dles,&quot; and finally one pair (No. 

 30319, from Kashunuk, near Cape 

 Komanzoft ), still attached to the 

 drill cord. These handles are al 

 most identical in shape with No. 



89458 [835], from Utkiavwlfi. This leaves no doubt in my mind that 

 the so-called &quot;drag-line handles&quot; in our collection are nothing more than 

 handles for drill cords, now wholly obsolete and supplanted by the bows 

 already described. I have figured all six of these handles to show the 

 different patterns of ornamentation. They are all made of walrus ivory, 

 and are all &quot;odd&quot; handles, no two being mates. Fig. 158a (No. 5G526) 

 [8G], is 5-2 inches long, and light blue beads are inserted for eyes in the 

 seal s heads. The eye for the drill cord is made by boring two median 

 holes at the middle of one side so that they meet under the surface and 

 make a longitudinal channel. 



Fig. 1586 (No. 50527 [23) from Utkiavwlfi), is 4-3 inches long, and is 

 very accurately carved into the image of a man s right leg and foot, 

 dressed in a striped deerskin boot. The end opposite to the foot is the 



