MURDOCH.] NEEDLES AND THIMHLES. 319 



meant for sewing boat skins. With this needle belongs a peculiar large 

 bone or ivory thimble. The remaining needles are all very much alike, 

 though some are more roughly made than the others. Three of them 

 have the butt square instead of rounded, and half of them, including 

 some which are undoubtedly old, are four-sided at the point like a glov 

 er s needle. The longest is 3 inches long and the shortest 1-4 inches, 

 but the commonest length is about li or 2i inches. Similar bone needles 

 are mentioned by various authors. 1 



Nearly all the women now use ordinary metal thimbles, obtained in 

 trade, but they wear them in the old-fashioned way, on the tip of the 

 forefinger. Some of the older women, however, still prefer the ancient 

 leather thimble. There are two patterns of these: one intended for the 

 fore-finger only, and the other of such a shape that it may also be worn 

 on the other fingers as a guard against chafing in pulling stout thread 

 through thick leather. It is often so used at the present day. 



We collected three of the first-mentioned pattern, which is represented 

 by Fig. 3266 (No. 89390 [1202, 1240] ). It is made by cutting out a narrow 

 ring of raw sealskin 0-7 inch in diameter, with a circular flap 0-5 inch 

 in diameter on the outside of the ring and a corresponding one on the 

 inside of the same size, cut out of the middle of the ring. The Haps 

 are doubled over so as to make a pad on the inside of the forefinger 

 when the tip of the latter is inserted into the ring. The butt of the 

 needle presses against this pad. 



The third thimble, which belongs with the needlecase (No. 89371 

 [127(5]), is of precisely the same form and dimensions. 



There appeared to be little if any variation among those which we 

 saw. Capt. Lyon 2 figures two similar thimbles from Iglulik, which 

 are described on page 537 of the same work as being made of leather. 

 The flaps, however, seem to be only semicircular and not folded over, so 

 that the shield consists of only one thickness of leather. 



A similar thimble with the flap also not folded is used at Cumberland 

 Gulf. 3 



The other pattern, of which we brought home nine specimens, is rep 

 resented by No. 89389 [1191], which belongs with the set of bone needles 

 of the same number. It is a tube, open at both ends, one of which is larger 

 than the other, made by bending round a strip of split walrus hide and 

 sewing the ends together. It is 0-4 inch long and 2-1 in circumference 

 at the larger end. It is worn smooth with handling, and impregnated 

 with grease and dirt and marked with small pits where it has been 

 pressed against the butt of the needle in use. 



Four other old thimbles (No. 89393 [1194], from tltkiavwln, are made 



Formerly they used the bones of finhes nr thti very flue bones of birds instead of needles. f ranU, 

 viil. 1. ]&amp;gt;. 136. 



&quot;Their own clumsy needles of bone.&quot; 1 arry. Second Voy.. p. 587 and pi. opposite p. 548, 1*. 11. 

 Kumlien also speaks of &quot;steel needles or bone ones made after Tin- same pattern &quot;at Cumberland (lulf 

 (Contributions, p. 25). 



Parry, Second Voy., pi. opposite p. 550, Fip. 25. 



3 l!oa.8. Central Eskimo, p. 524. Fig. 47:j and Kumlicn. Contributions, p. 25. 



