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



opposite side. The space between tlie front and rear crossbars occupies 

 almost the entire area of the slioe and is crossed by a stent netting of 

 rectangular pattern, with some of the strands passing diagonally, pro- 

 ducing a combination of patterns. These coarsely netted shoes are 

 intended for use upon frozen snow or on the rough surface of the sea 

 ice, for\rhich purposes they are very serviceable, as the masses of 

 broken ice have many small openings large enough for the foot to pass 

 through, which render traveling very difficult without such assistance. 

 By aid of these shoes hunters are enabled to travel safely and fre- 

 quently to pass over weak i)laces where newly made ice would not 

 otherwise support them. On the Asiatic coast the Eskimo use snow- 

 shoes similar to those from St Lawrence island that have been 

 described, and others rather more elongated but similar in general 

 pattern. 



Fig. 66— Snowshoe from St Lawreuco i.shiiul. 

 ICE STAFFS 



When traveling or hunting on the sea ice there is great risk of 

 breaking through thin places whicli have been concealed by drifted 

 snow. To guard against this danger the people are in the habit, at 

 certain seasons, of carrying a stout wooden statf with a strong ivory 

 or bone point, two or three inches long, inserted in the lower end and 

 fastened by a strong wrapping of sinew. Around the base of this 

 point is fastened a hoop of bone or deerhorn, hung to the staff by a 

 cord passed through a hole above the point. A ring of bone or horn 

 surrounds the base of the point, and between it and the outer hoop 

 strong cross-lashings of rawhide form a sort of netting. 



In walking over suspicious places in the ice the traveler plants the 

 staff solidly before him previous to taking a step; if the ice be thin the 

 point of the staff' goes through, but the hoop comes in contact with a 

 broader surface and prevents the staff' from sinking farther. In this way 



