NELSON] KNIVES AND THIMBLES 109 



Figure G, plate xlvii, from Kusbunuk, is a small knife made of slate 

 set in a slot in the end of an oval wooden handle. 



Figure 7, plate xlvii, from the lower Yukon, is made of a fine-grain 

 stone very similar in appearance to slate, set into a wooden handle. 

 This specimen is more neatly made than is usually the case with these 

 implements. 



Figure 5, plate xlvii, from the lower Yukon, is a rough piece of slate 

 set in a rudely made, wooden handle. 



Figure 9, plate xlvii, from the lower Yukon, is a slate knife attached 

 to a wooden handle by means of a rawhide cord passed through a hole 

 in the back. It has a sheath made from two pieces of wood fastened 

 together with a rawhide cord. 



Figure 10, plate xlvii, from St Michael, is ^ long slate blade fitted 

 into a slot in the end of a wooden handle anTl bound in place with a 

 lashing of untauned sealskin. 



Figure 4, plate xlvii, from Kofiigunugumut, is a specimen of the 

 iron-blade knives which, since the introduction of iron into Alaska, are 

 gradually displacing the old stone and slate implements. It is set in a 

 neatly made wooden handle. 



Figure 1, plate xlvii, from Sfuguuugumut, is another iron- blade 

 knife with a solid ivory handle. 



Specimens of wooden-handle knives, similar in character to those 

 from the American coast, were obtained on St Lawrence island, but 

 they show the customary rude workmanship of that district. 



THIMBLES AND THIMBLE HOLDERS 



Thimbles for women are made usually from small, oval pieces of tough 

 sealskin, having a slit extending across one edge, forming a loop-like 

 strap, through which the forefinger is thrust, so that the strap rests 

 across the nail and the pad of skin in the inner side of the finger (see 

 figure 20, plate xliv, from Xubviukhchugaluk). Some of the women 

 use metal thimbles obtained from the traders, which are also imitated 

 in ivory by themselves, but most of the women prefer the old-fashioned 

 sealskin thimbles. 



Figure 21, plate xliv, from Chalitmut, is one of these ivory thimbles 

 made to rest like a cap over the end of the finger; the back is cut away 

 except for a strap or band across the inner border. In form this is a 

 combination of the metal thimble of the white people and the old 

 style made from a piece of sealskin. 



Sealskin thimbles are carried usually on a holder or guard attached 

 to the end of a cord, which is either fastened to the workbag or forms 

 a pendant to the strap of the needle-case. These holders vary greatly 

 in form, but are most frequently of hook shape. 



Figure 1, plate xliv, from St Michael, is a thimble holder made from 

 a plain piece of bone from the leg of a bird; it is the rudest and 

 simplest form of this article. 



