GRAPHIC ART OF THE ESKIMOS. 937 



iii possession of the natives of Point Barrow innumerable specimens 

 of ivory upon which were engraved similar outlines of flukes and 

 whales, both of which had reference to whaling expeditions. Captain 

 Herendeen believes also that the Innuit practiced this method of 

 indicating a whale, by simply portraying its tail, prior to the voyages 

 to that part of the Arctic ocean of the whalers. This is a question 

 that can not now be satisfactorily determined when we come to remem 

 ber the early arrival in that part of the Arctic regions of the Russians 

 and people of other nationalties, all of whom came for purposes of 

 exploration and probably traffic. The practice of portraying but part 

 of an animal for the whole, known as synecdoche, is very common 

 among some of our native Indian tribes, and it seems to have resulted 

 chiefly, perhaps, as labor saving, and also perhaps because many of 

 the natives may have had occasion to portray certain animals by only 

 the most conspicuous parts to represent the whole, as the observer 

 would readily understand the intention of the artist. Such a process 

 of pictography is particularly prevalent among the Dakota and other 

 of the Plains Indians, especially in connec 

 tion with the indication of proper names, in 

 which the human head is drawn with a 

 short line, issuing from the mouth and run 

 ning upward from the head, connecting 



WHALE FLUKES, CAPE NOME. 



thereby the object or animal which suggests 



the name of the person; and in which the line denotes speech, in imi 

 tation of the common gesture sign made by passing the finger forward 

 from the mouth, denoting &quot;That is it,&quot; instead of simply passing the 

 finger forward to denote speech generically; the latter would be indi 

 cated in pictographs only by a short straight line, extending forward 

 and perhaps slightly curved, but not attached to any object. 



In comparison with the preceding remarks concerning the conventional 

 fluke, the accompanying designs on fig. 154 are reproduced from a 

 specimen from Cape Nome. The forms are diverse, yet both are accu 

 rate in suggesting the original which furnished the concept. 



Such T-shaped figures, denoting flukes, are tattooed upon the body 

 to signify that the person so decorated is a successful whaler. Reference 

 to several localities where the natives practice this method of personal 

 adornment, to indicate also individual achievement, will be found under 

 the caption of Tattooing, p. 781. 



Plate 14, fig. 3, represents a kantag or bucket handle from Norton 

 Sound. Upon this specimen is engraved a wolf, to the right of which 

 are two grazing reindeer, while the fourth and fifth characters repre 

 sent hides or skins of bear placed in an upright position so as to 

 almost resemble the tree symbol. To the right of this is a habitation 

 with smoke rising from the smoke hole, and a native approaching the 

 entrance. Along the upper margin of this specimen are two seals at 

 the left, and a whale s fluke, indicating that a whale was seen by the 



