276 THE ESKIMO Al^OUT BERING STRAIT [eth.ann.18 



antler hollowed out and fitted with a cap of wood or antler at each 

 end. Some are made from the butts of walrus tusks hollowed out and 

 fitted with covers, and others are of wood or bone. 



One of these boxes, from Hotham inlet (figure 7, plate lxxxvii), is 

 made from a piece of Walrus ivory and shaped something like the hoof 

 of a reindeer. About its upper end is sewed a piece of cloth provided 

 with a puckering string for closing it. The surface is plain, except for 

 a series of circles and dots which extend around its upper border. 



A box from Golofnin bay (figure 5, plate lxxxvii) is made from the 

 butt of a large walrus tusk, and has a wooden bottom held in place by 

 wooden pins set through holes drilled in the ivory. The sides of this 

 box, which have been split, are repaired with small copper clamps and 

 a sinew cord wound around the middle. The toi) is neatly made of 

 walrus ivory, oval in outline, with a sunken shoulder to fit in the open- 

 ing of the box. In the back are two holes through which a rawhide 

 cord is passed and tied; the cord then runs up through a hole in the 

 edge of the cover and along a slot on the top, then down again near 

 the front edge and through a hole just below the top of tlie box, from 

 which hangs its free end. By the use of this simple contrivauce the 

 cover can be raised or closed without danger of dropping it. This 

 device for the covers of these boxes is in common use along the coast 

 from the Yukon mouth to Kotzebue sound. 



A specimen from Hotham inlet (plate lxxxvii, 4) is made from a 

 piece of reindeer antler and has a wooden bottom held in place by 

 snugly fitting the outline of the box. The top is a simple wooden piece 

 with a short rawhide cord, with a knot in its end, projecting from the 

 middle of the upper surface, by which it can be lifted out. The box is 

 oval in shape, and has incised lines in pairs around the outside, dividing 

 it into four nearly equal sections, in which are etched a variety of fig- 

 ures, including birds, mammals, boats, sledges, trees, waterfowl, and 

 people. The etching is deep and is rendered very distinct by having 

 dark-reddish coloring matter rubbed into the incised lines. On one 

 side is etched the raven totem, with a circle and dot just in front, simi- 

 lar to the mark described as existing on a kashim cover at Kigiktauik, 

 and undoubtedly intended to represent the same idea of the raven's 

 tracks in the snow, with the mark left where it had eaten meat (see 

 figure IIG, page 325). 



Number G4184 is a tall box of walrus ivory, fiattened-oval in shape, 

 also from Hotham inlet. Around the base on one side are etched the 

 figures of six reindeer ; on the other side is represented a house with 

 an elevated cache and a man shooting a* the hindmost of the deer. 

 Around the upper border is carved a zigzag pattern, pendent from 

 which is a series of raven totem marks. On another specimen of simi- 

 lar shai)e, from Kazbinsky, on the lower Yukon, each of the borders is 

 ornamented with a zigzag pattern and with raven totem marks extend- 

 ing thence toward the middle of the box. 



