ETHNOLOGY. 25 



made from the netsick skin, with the hair on, and the hair side worn 

 outward and the hair pointing from the toe backwards. This very much 

 facilitates the drawing on of the boot. 



For summer wear the young of the netsick in the woolly coat is substi- 

 tuted for reindeer for the stockings. Dog skin is also sometimes used for 

 stockings, but not so commonly among the Cumberland Eskimo as among 

 those of Hudson's Straits, who use dog skins for pants as well as stock- 

 ings. 



All the clothing is sewed with sinews, reindeer or white whale. The 

 reindeer sinews are dried in bulk as they come from the animal, and are 

 split off as needed. The fibres am, separated as fine as necessary, and 

 then drawn quickly between the teeth to secure a more uniform size. The 

 women all sew towards themselves, using the thimble on the first finger; 

 they seldom use but one kind of seam ; the edges of the skin are care- 

 fully matched together, and joined by sewing over and over the overcast 

 seam. Their thimbles (called f/A'/A*, also signifies first finger) are made 

 from the skin of Phoca barbata ; in shape they are merely an oblong 

 piece sufficiently large to cover the point of the finger. A rim is cut 

 around the outside edge for about one half its length ; this forms a sort 

 of loop under which the finger is passed, and in this manner it is kept 

 in place. We found this style of thimble much more convenient than 

 the metal one of the usual form. 



Very few of the Cumberland Eskimo at the present day use anything 

 but steel needles, or bone ones made after the same pattern. We have 

 seen an instrument said to have been used as a needle that is consider- 

 ably- different from anything we ever saw before. An Eskimo brought 

 it to us, and wanted a hatchet in exchange. We thought it certain he 

 would return and offer to trade at our terms, but he did not, and Ave 

 never saw him again. This tool was almost exactly like an awl in shape, 

 but had an eye near the point. They must have had to thread this in- 

 strument for each stitch. The needle part was apparently of deer horn 

 and the handle of walrus ivory. 



The favorite and principal tool of the women is a knife shaped like an 

 ordinary mincing-knife. Nearly all the Cumberland Eskimo have now 

 procured iron enough from some source or other so that they can have 

 an iron knife of this pattern. Before they could procure enough iron, 

 they made the knife of ivory, and merely sank flakes or pieces of iron 

 into the edge, in the same manner as the natives of North Greenland do 

 at the present time. This same practice of sinking iron flakes into the 



