NELSON] ' KAIAKS 219 



The frame consists of small strips of wood running lengthwise and 

 brought together at the bow and stern ; they are connected by curved 

 ribs, placed at short intervals and fastened by rawhide cords; the bow 

 has a stem piece of wood, roughly triangular in form; another piece at 

 the stern is flattened, but varies in form according to the style of the 

 kaiak in which it is placed. The rail is formed of a strong piece of wood, 

 into which the upper ends of the ribs are mortised, holding the rail in 

 place and forming a support for the deck of the boat, in the middle of 

 which is a circular opening, forming the manhole, surrounded by a 

 wooden hoop, which is fastened to two pieces extending to the bow and 

 stern, and resting on the cross-pieces which support the deck. On each 

 side of the manhole is a short stanchion mortised into the rail and the 

 lower side of the rim of the manhole. The entire surface is covered 

 with sealskins, tanned with the hair taken off, and sewed together 

 with sinew cord. The seams are oiled or coated with reindeer tallow, 

 and the entire surface of the boat is thoroughly covered with oil, which 

 is permitted to dry before the boat is placed in the water. 



In front of the manhole the deck is crossed from side to side by two 

 stout rawhide cords, three or four feet apart, and one or two similar 

 cords are placed at the back of the manhole; slipped on these cords at 

 the rail, on each side, are spur-like pieces of deerhorn, ivory, or bone, 

 which project upward and form a rest on which may be placed the 

 paddle or the hunting spears. 



Commencing with the kaiaks in use at Nunivak Island, the following 

 descriptions show the different forms used successively along the coast 

 nearly to Point Barrow : 



Figure 2, plate lxxix, illustrates a kaiak from Nunivak island, 15 

 feet 1 inch long, 14 inches deep, with 29 inches beam. Another kaiak, 

 from the same island (figure 1, plate lxxix), is 15 feet 1 inch long, li 

 inches deep, and has 29 inches beam. These kaiaks are heavily made, 

 the framework being strong and stoutly built, in order to withstand the 

 stormy seas which they have to encounter about this island. A similar 

 form is in use on the coast of the adjacent mainland. 



The manhole is placed a trifle back from the center; the rim is lashed 

 to the rail by rawhide cords ; the cross-pieces which support the deck 

 are upcurved toward the middle, forming a ridge, on the top of which 

 is lashed a stout stick extending each way from the manhole to the bow 

 and to the stern, where it projects as a short, handle-like, quadrate spur; 

 below this the stern slopes downward, with a slight slant toward the 

 front. The wooden parts on top of the bow-are cut out, forming a 

 large, round opening just above the rail, around which the skin cover- 

 ing is cut away. On some of the kaiaks this opening is made to repre- 

 sent the eye of some mythological animal, the mouth of which is painted 

 in black on the outside of the covering. In front of the stern are two 

 loops of cord, which are attached to the central ridge, and hang on each 

 side, so that the shafts of the spears, which lie on the ivory rests, may 

 be thrust into them and their points placed under the crosscord to 



