226 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [etii. ann. 18 



lashed- to the rails of umiaks at the poiut where the oars pass over them 

 to preserve the cover from wear by friction. 



One of these strips, obtained at Port Clarence by Dr Dall, is shown 

 in figure 35, plate lxxviii. It is flattened below, with one edge turned 

 down, forming a slight lip; the upper portion is rounded, and has a 

 l^rojecting shoulder to retain the lashing which binds it to the rail of 

 the boat. 



SPEAR AND PADDLE GUARDS 



In Bering strait, where considerable whale fishing is done, small 

 ivory or bone forks are lashed to the bows of umiaks, just inside and 

 between the front ends of the rails; in these the ends of the lances and 

 spears rest, and through them the lines run out. The projecting sides 

 of these forks are usually carved in the form of the heads and shoulders 

 of white bears. They are made in two jiieces and are united in the 

 middle by an ivory or bone block mortised in and fastened by wooden 

 or ivory pegs. In some instances the two halves are lashed together 

 by rawhide cords i)assed through holes; on the outer edges are holes 

 through which pass the lashings which attach them to the bow. 



Figure 33, plate lxxviii, shows an example of these lance guards 

 from the Diomede islands; another (figure 37, plate lxxviii) from Cai)e 

 Prince of Wales, has been illustrated among the mythological figures 

 to show the ''thunderbird" Wshich is etched on its surface (see plate 

 cviia). 



To prevent the spears and paddles from falling off the sloping deck 

 of the kaiak, when not in use, there are used guards consisting of 

 upstanding, spur-like pieces of bone, ivory, or deerhorn, which rest on 

 the gunwale on each side, and are fastened to the crossline of the kaiak, 

 which passes through a hole in the base. This base of the guard is 

 flattened and sometimes heavily scored with grooves to give it a firmer 

 hold against the surface of the skin covering. The guards are made 

 in a variety of forms, the simjilest of which is a subtriangular piece 

 with the broad base downward. 



Figure 4, plate lxxviii, represents one of these guards, which was 

 obtained at Kofiigunugumut; it is rounded in outline and narrow 

 above, where it ends in the form of a tail of a white whale. Another, 

 from Chalitmut (figure 3, plate lxxviii), is curved over at the end and 

 pierced with a narrow, pear-shaj^e hole through the tip. 



Another simple form is a flattened, shell-like piece of ivory, having 

 the bottom curved or flat for resting on the surface of the cover, with a 

 thin, flattened or oval upturned point, the outer side of which is gen- 

 erally covered with etched patterns. Sometimes the inner surface is 

 also ornamented in the same manner. Figure 8, plate lxxviii, from 

 Anogogmut; figure 10, plate lxxviii, from Kushunuk, and figures 7 

 and 9, plate lxxviii, from Sfugunugumut, re])resent examples of this 

 kind of guard. 



