SEAL INDICATORS STOOL. 



255 



seen in use. We collected two specimens, of which No. 56507 [104], 

 Fig. 255a, will serve as the type. It is of walrus ivory, 14 inches long 

 and 0-3 in diameter, with a small lanyard of sinew. The curved cross 

 piece of ivory, 1 inches long, is inserted into a slot one-fourth of an 

 inch from the end and secured by a little treenail of wood. 



Fig. 2557&amp;gt; (No. 8!)454 [1114], from Nuwuk) is a similar indicator, 13 

 inches long and flat (0-3 inch wide and 0-1 thick). The upper end 

 is carved into scallops for ornament and has a small eye into which 



a- 



Flo. 255. Seal indicators. 



was knotted a bit of whalebone fiber. The tip is beveled off with a 

 concave bevel on both faces to a sharp edge, so that it can be used for 

 a &quot;feather setter&quot; (fgngwau) in feathering arrows. Such implements 

 are mentioned in most popular accounts of the Eskimo of the east, 

 and Capt. Parry describes it from personal observation at Iglulik. 1 I 

 have been unable to find any mention of its use in western America, 

 and have seen no specimens in the National Museum. 



Sealing utooh. When a native is watching a seal-hole he frequently 

 has to stand for hours mo 

 tionless on the ice. His feet 

 would become exceedingly 

 cold, in spite of the excel 

 lence of his foot covering, 

 were it not for a little three- 

 legged stool about 10 inches 

 high upon which he stands. 

 This stool is made of wood, 

 with a triangular top just 

 large enough to accommo 

 date a man s feet, with the, 

 heels together over one leg 

 of the stool, and the other 

 two legs supporting the toes 

 of each foot, respectively. FKI. J.M;.- -sealing toi. 



The stool is neatly made, and is as light as is consistent with strength. 

 It is universally employed and carried by the hunter, slung on the gun 

 cover with the legs projecting behind. 



When the hunter has a long time to wait, he generally squats down 

 so as almost to sit on his heels, holding his gun and spear in readiness, 

 and wholly covered with one of the deerskin cloaks already described. 

 They sometimes use this stool to sit on when waiting for ducks to tly 

 over the ice in the spring. 



Second Voyage, p. 510; also pi. opposite p. 550, Fig. 17. 



