240 



Popular Science Monthly 



NEEDLE 

 CASE 



COMB" 



The sewing materials which the Eskimo 

 women use for their elaborate needlework 



The Eskimo Workbasket Which 

 Is Worn About the Neck 



THE Eskimo housewife wears 

 her workbasket about her 

 neck, which means that the 

 Eskimo housewife is exceed 

 ingly industrious. During 

 the long winter months she 

 has nothing more to do 

 than chew blubber and 

 make ornaments to adorn 

 herself and her several daugh- 

 ters. Some of the most 

 elaborate needlework is done 

 by these silent folk of the far 

 North. Out of the toughest 

 of hides and with the crudest 

 of instruments they have 

 wrought objects of great 

 beauty and interest. 



The illustration shows 

 the several parts which go 

 to make up the work- 

 basket. The needle case 



is carved from a bit of driftwood. The 

 thimble is formed from a piece of tough 

 walrus hide. The comb is carved from a 

 walrus tusk. The skewer-like stiletto is 

 made of bone and is used for making holes 

 in skins, as well as to close the wounds in 

 seals and other animals, to prevent the 

 blood from escaping. The needle is made 

 from ivory; the thread is of reindeer 

 sinew. The toggle is a bit of polished 

 whalebone ornamented with bone rings. 



These are strung together on a strip of 

 walrus hide profusely decorated with ivory 

 beads. The comb is probably used more 

 often for getting the tangles out of ani- 

 mals' fur than for the arrangement of the 

 women's hair; for the custom of the 

 Eskimo housewife is to smooth out her 

 hair only occasionally, and then grease it so 

 heavily with whale oil that it stays smooth 

 indefinitely. When she is busy at other 

 things, Madame Eskimo tosses her work- 

 basket over her shoulder out of her way. 



Are You Tired? Then Sit on Your 

 Walking Stick 



CONSIDER all the changes which the 

 ordinary walking-stick has been heir 

 to. Your grandfather's stick was just a 

 plain old piece of hardy hickory. But 

 look at the stick which father carries. It 

 has an electric lamp to illuminate the key- 

 hole for him at night. It carries a cigar or 

 two and a small box of matches in its 

 spacious head — or tiny bottles of medicine, 

 a dagger, a revolver or other fancied neces- 

 sities. But with all these walking-stick 

 accessories there is one thing 

 father can't do with his stick. 

 He can't turn it into a stool. 



Charles Jaquet, a subject of the 



German Emperor, otherwise 



known as the Kaiser, has invented 



a combination stool, cane and 



umbrella. It is the stick of 



sticks. With his cane you 



need not look about you for 



a seat when you are tired. 



Just extend the two limbs 



connected with the cane, 



pull out the collapsible seat, 



and sit down. The members 



which act as chair legs fold 



compactly against the 



cane; so does the seat, 



which is composed of 



leather or some strongly 



woven fabric. 



This is the stick of sticks. It is 

 a combination umbrella, cane, 

 and seat, whichever you need 



