232 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [ethann. 18 



Nome, but this has not occurred recently. On a clear day the head- 

 land on the Siberian shore is visible from St Lawrence island, some 

 40 or 50 miles away. 



During the summer of 1879 the Tinne from Anvik, on the lower 

 Yukon, descended the river in several umiaks and visited St Michael 

 to exchange their wooden tubs and dishes for seal oil and other 

 products of the coast district. 



UNITS OF VALUE AND MEASUREMENT— NUMERATION 



UNITS OF VALUE 



The skins of mammals, being the most valuable portable property 

 among the Alaskan Eskimo, give the most convenient standard of 

 value. In very early days, before the advent of the Russians about 

 the Yukon district, the skin of the full-grown land otter was consid- 

 ered tlie unit of value. Equaling it was the skin of the large hair seal. 



Of late years the skin of the beaver has replaced the otter skin as 

 the unit of trade value. All other skins, furs, and articles of trade 

 generally are sold as "a skin"' and multiples or fractious of "a skin," 

 as it is termed. In addition to this, certain small, untanned skins, 

 used for making fur coats or blouses, are tied in lots sufficient to make 

 a coat, and are sold in this way. It requires four skins of reindeer 

 fawns, or forty skins of Parry's marmot or of the muskrat, for a coat, 

 and these sets are known by terms designating these bunches. Thus: 



Four fawn skins — noiiJch'-Mt. 



Forty Parry's marmot skins = cJiigtJih'-kiU. 

 Forty muskrat skins = i-l%g'4-wukh'-Tcut. 



The pelt of a wolf or a wolverine is worth several "skins" in trade, 

 while a number of pelts of muskrats or Parry's marmot are required 

 to make the value of ''a skin." 



The foregoing terms are of the Unalit, but similar ones are in use 

 among all the Eskimo of this region. 



UNITS OF MEASUREMENT 



All units of linear measurement among these people are based on 

 body measurements — mainly of the hand and the arm, which form the 

 readiest standards. Such units of measurement are used also by them 

 for gauging the size and length of all of their tools, implements, and, 

 in fact, of nearly everything made by them. 



As the length of a man's hands and arms are usually in proportion 

 to the length of his body, it is evident that bows, arrows, spears, boat 

 frames, etc, when made by him according to a fixed number of spans or 

 cubits, will be in direct proportion to himself, and thus especially suit- 

 able to his use, whether he be large or small. 



