300 THE POINT BARKOW ESKIMO. 



process in all its stages, and can therefore give only a general account 

 of it. Deerskins are always dressed as furs, with the hair on. The 

 skin is rough-dried in the open air, with considerable subcutaneous tissue 

 adhering to it, and laid aside until needed. When wanted for use, a 

 woman takes the skin and works it over carefully with a stone scraper 

 on the flesh side, removing every scrap of subcutaneous tissue and 

 &quot;breaking the grain &quot; of the skin, which leaves a surface resembling 

 white chamois leather and very soft. This is then rubbed down with a 

 flat piece of sandstone or gypsum, and finally with chalk, so that when 

 finished it seems like pipeclayed leather. All furs are prepared in the 

 same way. Small seal skins to be worn with the hair on are scraped 

 very clean and, I think, soaked in urine, before they are spread out to 

 dry. The black waterproof seal skin has the hair shaved off close to 

 the skin, great care being taken to leave, the epidermis intact, and also 

 has a certain amount of tanning in urine. It is probable that a little 

 of the blubber is left on these skins, to make them oily and waterproof. 



When, however they wish to prepare the white-tanned seal skin, the 

 skins are brought into the warm house, thawed out or dampened and 

 then rolled up and allowed to ferment for several days, so that when they are 

 unrolled hair and epidermis are easily scraped off together. The skin 

 is then soaked in urine, stretched 071 a large hoop, and put out to dry in 

 the sun and air. Many of these skins are prepared during the first 

 sunny weather in the early spring. The skins of the large seal, walrus 

 or bear when used for boat-covers or boot soles appear to be sweated 

 in the same way, as the epidermis is always removed. We did not learn 

 whether urine was employed on these skins, but I think from their 

 ordinary appearance that they are simply stretched and dried in their 

 own fat, as appears to be the case with the skin of the beluga, from 

 which the epidermis is easily scraped without sweating. 



Combs for deerskins. The loosened hairs on a deerskin garment are 

 removed by means of a comb made of a section of the beam of an ant 

 ler, hollowed out and cut into teeth on the end. This instrument prob 

 ably serves also to remove vermin, as its name &quot;kumotm&quot; looks very 

 much as if derived from kumiik, louse. I must say, however, that the na 

 tives whom I asked if kumotin had anything to do with kiimiik said 

 it had not. When vermin get troublesome- in a garment, it is taken 

 out on the tundra, away from the houses, and beaten with rods like a 

 carpet. Very old garments when much infested with lice are taken 

 out back of the village, cut into small pieces, and burned. It is no un 

 common sight in the spring to see an old woman sitting out on the tun 

 dra, busy with her knife cutting up old clothes. 



We brought home nine of these combs, of which No. 89354(1879], 

 Fig. ;j()l, has been selected as the type. It is 4 inches long and has 



1 Crantz describes the process of preparing boat covers as follows: &quot; The boat skins uro selected out 

 of the stoutest seals bides, from which the fat is not, quite taken off; they roll them up, and sit on them, 

 or let them lie in the sun covered with grass several weeks, till the hair will eomo otf.&quot; History of 

 Greenland, vol. 1, p. 167. 



