300 THE POINT HARROW ESKIMO. 



the region about Pitlckaj, however, the dogs are harnessed &quot;tandem&quot; 

 in pairs, as is the case at Norton Sound, where a more efficient har 

 ness is also used, which is probably not Eskimo, but learned from the 

 whites. Nordenskiold 2 expresses the opinion that the Eskimo method 

 of harnessing the dogs abreast indicates that the Eskimos have lived 

 longer than the Chukchis north of the limit of trees; in other words, 

 that the method of harnessing the dogs tandem is the older one, and 

 that the Eskimo have learned to harness them abreast since they left 

 the woodland regions. I can hardly agree with these conclusions, for 

 it seems tx&amp;gt; me that the easiest and most natural method of attaching 

 the, dogs would be, to fasten each directly to the, sled by its own trace. 

 Now, when many dogs are, attached to the sled in this way, the outer 

 dogs can not apply their strength in a direct line but must pull obliquely, 

 and, moreover, as we know to be the case, so many long traces are 

 constantly becoming entangled, and each individual dog has to be kept 

 straight by the driver. If, however, the dogs be made fast to a long 

 line, one behind the other, not only does each pull straight ahead, but 

 if the leader be kept to the track he pulls the other dogs after him, re 

 lieving the driver of the greater part of the care of them. 



It seems to me therefore, that the tandem method is an improvement 

 in dog harnessing, which has been adopted only by the natives of 

 northeastern Siberia, and northwestern America, and has no connection 

 with the wooded or unwooded state of the country. 3 



HUNTING SCORES. 



The only thing that we saw of the nature of numerical records were 

 the series of animals engraved upon ivory, already alluded to. Iii most 

 cases we were unable to learn whether the figures really represented 

 an actual record or not, though the bag handle, No. 89424 [890] 

 already figured, was said to contain the actual score of whales killed 

 by old Yu ksifia. The custom does not appear to be so prevalent 

 as at Norton Sound (see above, p. 1?7). Many of these possible scores 

 being engraved on ivory implements have already been described. 

 With one exception they only record the capture of whales or reindeer. 

 The exception (No. iS!42~&amp;gt; [17.32], Fig. l~&amp;gt;3b) presents a series of ten 

 bearded seals. The reindeer are usually depicted in a natural attitude, 

 and some of the circumstances of the hunt are usually represented. 

 For instance, a man is figured aiming with a bow and arrow toward a 

 a line of reindeer, indicating that such a number were taken by shoot 

 ing, while a string of deer, represented without legs as they would ap- 



Scc Dull, Alaska, pp. 16,1 ami 166. 



*Ve&amp;lt;;a, v(.l. 2, p. 05, footnote*. 



s For deseriptions of the sledjjt-3 and methods of harnessing used hy the eastern Eskimo, see r.essel s 

 Naturalist, vol. 18, pt. 9, p. 868, figs. 4 and 5 (Smith Sound) ; Kane, 2(1 Crinnell Exp., vol. 1, p. 205 

 (Smith Sound) and iiixt (Vrinnell Kxp., p. 44:t (Greenland) ; KuniHen, Contributions, p. 42, and lioa.s, 

 &quot;Central Kskimo, &quot; pp. 52fl-5:tK (Cumberland Gulf ) ; Parry, 2d voyage, p. f&amp;gt;14, and Lyon, Journal, p. 

 235 (I^lnlik); Cilder, Seliwatka s Search, pp. 511, 52, and fill, and Schwatka s &quot;Niturod in the North,&quot; 

 pp. 152, 153 (NW. shore of Hudson Day and Kiutf Williams Land). 



