26 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARCTIC AMERICA. 



edge was also used on tlieir large skinning-knives, which were made from 

 a walrus tusk, and much after the pattern of an ordinary steel butcher- 

 knife. Some of these ivory knives have no iron in them; but at the 

 present time they are used principally, if not entirely, for cutting snow 

 and removing ice from their kyacks. 



The women seldom use any other kind of knife than such as just de 

 scribed. With them they remove the blubber from the skins, split skins, 

 cut up meat, and when sewing this instrument is used instead of scissors. 

 They begin a garment by sewing together two pieces of skin and shap- 

 ing them as they go along by means of the knife, cutting for an inch or 

 two and then sewing. They always push the knife from them when 

 working it. 



Tattooing does not seem to be as prevalent now as formerly, for it is 

 mostly on the aged women that one finds it at present. The markings 

 resemble India ink in appearance, and are done with gunpowder at pres- 

 ent. Still, some use the old method, by taking the juice of Fucus vesicu- 

 losus L. (or a closely allied species), and some small algae that appar- 

 ently contain a good deal of iodine, and mixing with lampblack. 



Instances came under our observation of people of apparently great 

 age, say seventy years and over, to judge from appearances ; they had 

 gray hair (a rare thing among the Eskimo), and were nearly blind; 

 the women had the teeth worn close to the gums by chewing skins. 



It is impossible to arrive at any definite conclusion regarding their 

 age, as they keep no record of time and cannot refer to any past event 

 by any means of notation. We could not learn of the rudest attempt at 

 picture-writing or hieroglyphics; and, as they possess no records what- 

 ever, their traditions are handed down from generation to generation 

 without being fixed by any means which allow even an approximate 

 estimate of their growth and prosperity. 



Most of them are unable to count beyond their ten fingers, and many 

 are unable to go over six; some, again, are said to have names for num- 

 bers to twenty, but they are few. The numerals are differently pro- 

 nounced, and we found difficulty in getting one sufficiently conversant 

 with them to give us the numerals to ten. 



One=Atdusa, or atausat. 



TwoMacho. 



ThTM=Pingasuit, or pingasat. 



Four=$asemme, or sesemat. 



'FiyQ=T6dlimcnc, or todlimdt. 



