202 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [eth.axn 18 



^ Despite the ability shown by the Eskimo of this region in carving 

 bone and ivory, I saw only two efforts m£l*i^t modeling in clay beyond 

 the manufacture of pots and lamps. Thes^w'ere both rude clay dolls, 

 obtained at a village on the lower Yukon. 



A specimen of earthenware from St Michael (number 43068) is 9 inches 

 high by lOJ wide. Around the inside, near the top, occurs a series of 

 small incised dots; on the inside of the rim are live parallel incised 

 grooves, just below a broader groove which borders the edge; the 

 upper surface of the edge is marked also with a shallow groove. 

 Another vessel from tlie same locality has three lines of dots around its 

 outer border, near the rim, with two sets of double parallel grooves, 

 and just inside the slightly flaring rim are four roughly made grooves. 

 From St Lawrence island were obtained some small clay vessels 

 which were used for suspending over ignited lamps. One of these (fig- 

 ure 13, plate xxviii) is 4^ inches long, 3^ wide, and li in depth. It 

 is quadrate in outline, with rounded corners, each of which is provided 



with two holes through which are passed 

 strijis of whalebone by which it was sus- 

 pended. A similar vessel from the same 

 locality (number 63546) measures 6 inches 

 in length, 4| in width, and 2 inches in 

 depth; it has a small lug at each corner, 

 near the ui)per edge, pierced for the recep- 

 tion of the cord by which it was suspended 

 over the lamp. Another of these small pots 

 from the same place (figure 1, plate xxviii) 



■"--''''^'•'''■*^'^^"'^ parallel. It measures 8i inches in length 



Fig. 60— Clay pot tiom Hotliam inlet. , „, , , -..j,-," ... 



by 3 broad, and a little over au inch in 

 depth. Another specimen from the same island (number 62547) is fash- 

 ioned like the preceding three vessels, all of which are too small for use 

 in cooking food, and probably served for the purpose of trying out seal 

 oil for use in the lamps. 



MATS, BASKETS, AND BAGS 



From the shore of Norton sound to the Kuskokwim tiie women are 

 \j expert in weaving grass mats, baskets, and bags. Grass mats are used 

 on the sleeping jbenches and for wrapping around bedding. They are 

 used also as sails for kaiaks, and formerly were utilized as sails for 

 umiaks. They now frequently serve as curtains to partition off the 

 corners of a room or a sleeping platform. Small mats are placed also 

 in the manholes of kaiaks to serve as seats. The bags are used for 

 storing fish, berries, and other food supplies, or for clothing. Smaller 

 bags and baskets are made for containing small articles used in the 

 house. 



At Chukwuk, on the lower Yukon, I saw a woman making one of 



