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



the numerous illustrated papers we had, and would come day after day 

 and borrow them; finally he came and asked me for a pencil and some 

 paper, which I supplied him. Some days later I chanced to go to his 

 tent, and found him lying prone upon the ground, with an old magazine 

 before him, engaged in copying one of the pictures on the piece of 

 paper which I had given him. 



When he saw me he seemed to be very much abashed and tried to 

 conceal the drawing, but I took it up and was surprised at the ability 

 he had shown. He had done so well that I asked him if he could 

 draw me some pictures of Eskimo villages and scenes. He agreed to 

 try to do so. He was furnished with a supply of pencils and paper, 

 and the result was a series of a dozen or more pictures which were 

 remarkable, considering that they were made by a savage whose ideas 

 were similar to those of his people, ^cept what he had learned by 

 looking over the papers I had loaned him a short time before. 



WRITTEN RECORDS 



The Eskimo also have an idea of keeping records or tallies of events, 

 as was illustrated in a trading record kept by a Malemut during a 

 winter trading trip which he made from St Michael to Kotzebue 

 sound. It was kept for his own reference and without any suggestion 

 from another. It was drawn on small fragments of brown paper and 

 was a good example of picture writing; small, partly conventional out- 

 lines were made to represent the various articles of trading goods, 

 which were drawn beside a representation of the skins for which he 

 had exchanged them. On the same paper he drew a route map of his 

 journey, markinjj the villages at which he had stopped. 



PAINTS AND COLORS 



A picture, image, paint, or color is called a'-lhin-uJc by the Unalit. 

 Fine shades of color are not differentiated by these people, but they 

 have names for most of the primary colors. 



Black is called tun-u'-U; white, M-tugliu-li; red, Icauig'-u-lt; brown 

 or russet, Icau-uf'-u-Ulch-lu'-g^uk; green, chun-nJch'-lulc or chHtl-iq/'-u-lt. 

 Various other shades are distinguished as being colored like natural 

 objects; gray or clay color is called Mgu' -yii-gniiV -ifi-uk (from M-gu'-yuk, 

 clay, and a'-lMn-uJi, color) ; purple is ki-uii' d'-lMn-iik; blue is ku-logh'-un 

 a'-lhtn-uk. 



Coloring matter i« obtained from various sources. The dark reddish 

 shade which is given to tanned sealskin is obtained by soaking the 

 inner bark of the alder in urine for a day and washing the skin with 

 the infusion. White is made from a white clayey earth ; yellow and 

 red from ocherous earths; red is also obtained from oxide of iron; 

 black is made from plumbago, charcoal, or gunpowder, the two latter 

 being mixed with blood; green is obtained from oxide of copper. 



