58 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [eth.ann. 18 



beads into club-shape rolls hanging down to tbe shoulders or even over 

 the breast. Very often the strips of fur worn are those of the animal 

 representing the family totem, aud when wrapped about the hair in this 

 manner they indicate the gens to which the woman belongs. 



South of the Yukon mouth the women are especially fond of orna- 

 menting the pendent rolls or braids of hair by hauging bands and 

 strings of beads upon them with ivory ornaments attached, some of 

 which are figured. They usually represent the faces of animals or of 

 grotesque semihuman creatures. The ornament from Big lake illus- 

 trated in plate xxv, 1, is of ivory and represents the face of a wolf. 

 Another (plate xxv, 2), from Koiiigunugumut, represents a grotesque, 

 semihuman face. On one from the lower Kuskokwim (plate xxv, 3) 

 there is a representation of a human countenance, while one from 

 Agiukchugumut (plate xxv, 4) shows also a grotesque face. Another 

 specimen from Big lake (plate xxv, 6) is ornamented with a conven- 

 tional pattern. 



Combs used by the Eskimo for the hair are made by cutting slots in 

 the straight edge of flat or slightly curved pieces of deerhorn, walrus 

 ivory, or bone. 



A rather elaborately made deerhorn comb (figure 16, 1) is from the 

 lower Yukon, it has a series of teeth along one edge; the handle has a 

 bear's head in relief on each side, and a'ring of the material is left on 

 the back to strengthen the comb and to attbrd a better grip for the 

 hand. The upper side of the handle is crossed by parallel grooves 

 and a zigzag pattern formed by a series of circles pierced with central 

 holes. 



A specimen from Sledge island (figure 16, 5) is a flat tablet of deer- 

 horn with a series of teeth in one end and two projecting animal heads 

 carved on the upper end of the handle. Another, from St Michael 

 (figure 16, 4), is of deerhorn, with the handle ornamented by lines and 

 dots and terminating in a ring. In figure 16, 6, is shown a comb, from 

 the Diomede islands, made from a hollow bone, which has a series of 

 teeth of different sizes surrounding each end. 



Figure 16,2, shows an example from Nunivak island made from apiece 

 of walrus ivory, and has one end provided with large teeth and the 

 other with smaller ones. Another, from St Lawrence island (figure 

 16,3), is cut from a paddle-shape piece of bone. It has large rounded 

 teeth and a slender handle, pierced near its upper end. 



BRACELETS 



Bracelets of iron, brass, or copper are worn by women jmd girls 

 throughout the region visited. The men also use bracelets made of a 

 sealskin cord on which is strung one or more large beads of ivory or 

 other substance. They are generally used while at sea for rolling under 

 the end of the sleeves of the waterproof skin frock. In plate xxv, 5, 

 is shown an example of these bracelets from ISTunivak island. 



