Implements and Artefacts of the North-east Greenlanders. 393 



lee Picks. 



To the butt end of the shatt of the ice-hunting harpoon a poin- 

 ted piece of bone is lashed ; it is used for enlarging the hole in the 

 ice when the seal is struck with the harpoon and has to be hauled up. 



Of such ice picks the present collection contains only one spec- 

 imen, L. 3557, from Renska3ret, house 134 (PI. XVI, 3). It is made 

 of antler, semicircular in transverse section. At the butt end, for a 

 distance of 6'5 cm., the ice pick has been pointed by paring away 

 the sides, so that here it is trapezoid in transverse section ; this part 

 is intended for lashing to the shaft. Immediately below it is a hole 

 with grooves running forward for the reception of a line which 

 should further secure the connection between the ice pick and 

 the shaft. The apex is broken off, the present length is 19'5 cm.; 

 breadth 3'3. 



There exists one more specimen of this implement from North- 

 east Greenland, brought home by KoLDEWEY 1 . From Angmagsalik 

 ice picks of bone are known, although there iron specimens are in 

 the majority. In the colonized part of West Greenland, bone ice- 

 picks have long since been replaced by European steel chisels, but 

 the National Museum in Copenhagen contains some 10 older spec- 

 imens of bone, all from the regions north of 68. 



Sealing Stool. 



In hunting on the ice, when the hunter is obliged to wait 

 for hours at the breathing hole of a seal, he always takes a wooden 

 stool with him. 



The collection contains an unusually large and well-made spec- 

 imen of these sealing stools, found on the east shore of Stormbugt, 

 in the ruins of a tent (Fig. 12) 2 . The seat, which is semicircular 

 in form, is deeply hollowed, maximum depth being 15 cm., so 

 that it affords a comfortable rest. It was damaged while in use; 

 the part of the seat which now remains has been broken and 

 lashed together in six places, the holes and grooves made in the 

 process of mending are still visible; the back part of the existing 

 piece has in a similar manner been lashed in four places to the 

 edge now missing. Moreover, two nails have been driven into the 

 middle of the front edge to secure a splinter that had been split 

 off. All this shows that considerable trouble has been taken to 

 repair this stool, the manufacture of which had required a large 



1 Mus. f. Volkerkunde, Berlin, IV A 198. 25 cm. in length, of this the diagonal 

 splice constitutes 9 cm.; as in the specimen mentioned above, the line hole is 

 situated immediately behind the splice. 



2 Mus. No. L. 3715. 



