90 



THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT 



[ETH. ANN. 18 



fastened about the center for attaching it to the belt. Figure 25, 1, 

 from Norton sound, is a similar implement, with a strip of skin lashed 

 to the butt with a sinew cord for attaching it to a belt. 



Plate XXXVIII, 23, from the lower Yukon, is a double-end tool of this 

 kind, having a tooth set in each extremity of the handle. 



BIRCH-BARK TOOLS 



Implements for stripping bark from birch trees are used in Alaska 

 wherever those trees are found. 

 Plate xxxviii, 20, represents two of these tools from the lower 



Yukon; they are 

 intended to be 

 used together and 

 are coupled by a 

 rawhide cord. One 

 of them has a 

 short, knife-like 

 blade, which pro- 

 jects a little more 

 than half an inch 

 from the handle 

 and has two sharp 

 points which are 

 used to mark the 

 outlines of the 

 sheets of bark to 

 be stripped from 

 the tree; the han- 

 dle consists of two 

 pieces of spruce, 

 between which the 

 blade is inserted 

 and is kept in 

 place by strong 

 wrapi^ings of raw 

 hide cord. The 

 other implement is a long, knife-like piece of bone, on which the raven 

 totem is rudely cut. After the birch-bark has been scored by the first- 

 described implement, the point of the other is inserted between the 

 bark and the wood and forced around the trunk of the tree to separate 

 and remove the bark. 



Plate XXXVIII, 17, from the head of Norton sound, is a long bone knife 

 for removing birch-bark from the tree. It is sharpened at the point 

 and on one edge; the butt is heavily etched with zigzag patterns and 

 with the raven totem mark. 



Fig. 25 — Knife sharpeners (/u). 



