392 THE POINT HARROW ESKIMO. 



about 8 inches of the middle of the shaft painted red, with a black ring 

 at the middle of the feathering, Seven of these are from Sidaru, one 

 from Nuwiik, and one from UtkiavwTn. Five from Sidaru have a red 

 ring round the middle, and a green one about the middle of the feather 

 ing, and four of the same set have also a red ring in front of the green 

 one. Three from Utkiavwlfi, belonging to different sets, have the shaft 

 painted red from the middle to the beginning of the feathering, and 

 three red rings 2 inches from the nock. Seven belonging to these 

 sets from the two northern villages are unpainted. 



A set of two small arrows which belong with the boy s bow No. 

 89!M)4 [786] are peculiar in their marking. About 5.J inches of the 

 middle of the shaft is painted red, there is a black ring round the middle, 

 aud a black spiral running the whole length of the feathering. 



The only decorative work in metal is to be seen in the pipes and their 

 accompanying picks and fire steel which have already been described. 



In addition to these illustrations of decorative art, we brought home 

 a series of seventy-nine objects which may be considered as purely 

 works of art without reference to decoration. Some of the older objects 

 in this series perhaps also served the purpose of amulets or charms, 1 

 but a number of the new ones were made simply as works of fancy for 

 sale to us. These objects are all carvings of various materials, some 

 times very rude and sometimes very neatly finished, but in most cases 

 even when rudely made highly characteristic of the object represented. 2 

 Walrus ivory, usually from the tusks, but sometimes from the teeth, is 

 the commonest material for these carvings. Thirty-six of the series 

 are made of this material, which is very well suited for the purpose, 

 being worked with tolerable ease, and capable of receiving a high finish. 

 Soapstone, from the ease with which it can be cut, is also rather a 

 favorite material. Seventeen of these, carvings are made of soapstoue, 

 in many cases evidently pieces of an old lamp or kettle. Other mineral 

 substances appear to be rarely used. Three images, all made for sale 

 and by the same hand, are of soft white gypsum and one tiny image of 

 a bear is rudely naked out of gray flint. (There are in the collection a 

 number of rude images of whales, made by flaking from flint, jasper, 

 aud glass, but as these were ascertained without doubt to be amulets, 

 they will be described under that head.) Kleven are made of wood, 

 nine of bone, one of antler, and one of the tooth of the polar bear. 

 Twenty-three of these carvings represent human beings, sometimes in 

 tentionally grotesque, ana caricatured; twenty -one, bowhead whales; 

 fourteen, polar bears; five, seals; three, walruses; one, a beluga; one, a 

 fish ; and seven, fanciful monsters. Pour are ornamented objects made 

 for sale; not, strictly speaking, images. 



Six of the representations of the human face or figure are of wood, 



1 Compare Nordenskiold, Vega, vol. 2, p. 126 and Kink, Tales, etc.., p. 52. 



&quot;Compare liessels, Naturalist, vol. 18, No. 9, p. 880, when- he speaks of finding among the. people of 

 Smith Sound ivory carvings representing animals and human figures exceedingly characteristic.&quot; 

 (See also Fig. 21 of the same paper.) 



