422 THOMAS THOMSEN 



Sometimes a hole has been drilled for the suspension of the knife. 

 In three cases it is placed at the butt end of the handle, in two knives 

 of Type I in the "shoulder" on the back of the knife. 1 



Type I, with double shoulder at the junction of blade and handle, 

 is represented by six specimens: 



L. 3183. Syttenkilometenuesset (PL XIX, 2) ; length 32'6 cm., extreme breadth 

 6*5 cm. Four holes have been drilled in the posterior portion of the back of 

 the blade, of which now only the front one remains entire. 



L. 3477. Renskaeret, house 132 (PL XIX, 5); length 24*5 cm., extreme breadth 

 5'9 cm. The blade has fairly straight edges, and is very broad in proportion 

 to its length. In the knob at the butt end of the handle a hole has been 

 drilled for suspension. 



L. 3478. From the same house as the preceding (PL XIX, 4); length 27'8 

 cm., extreme breadth 8'8 cm. In form it closely resembles the preceding 

 specimen; it has, however, no hole at the butt end of the handle, but one at 

 the shoulder on the back. 



L. 3529. Renskasret, house 133 (PL XIX, 1). Unusually narrow; length 

 29'5 cm., extreme breadth only 35 cm. It is slightly curved in form; at the 

 butt end is a hole for the reception of a thong. 



L. 3652. Winter settlement on the east shore of Stormbugt (PL XX, 2); 

 length 23*7 cm., extreme breadth 4'6 cm. It is made of antler, the inner tissue 

 of which appears upon one side of the specimen, and is much weathered, 

 which doubtless accounts for the fact that this knife, in contrast to all the 

 others, has no knob at the butt end of the handle. 



L. 4030. Winter settlement at Rypefjeldet (PL XIX, 3); length 29' 1 cm., 

 extreme breadth 7 cm. Like L. 3478, it has a hole at the shoulder on the 

 back. The knob at the butt end of the handle is now missing, but two dril- 

 led holes at this point show that it has been lashed to the butt as a sepa- 

 rate part; the point of juncture has been cut smooth and straight so as to 

 make a neat joint. In the flat surface thus formed is a drilled cavity, the 

 occurence of which I believe to be accidental, hardly intended to receive a tap 

 on the opposite flat surface, a manner of joining not usual among the Eskimos. 



Type I is the common form for the North-east Greenland snow 

 knife. Besides the six specimens belonging to this collection, the 

 National Museum in Copenhagen contains four specimens from Dan- 

 marks at Scoresby Sound (70 26' N. lat.) 2 and one from Cape Tobin 

 (70 24' N. lat.). 3 In the Christiania Museum there is one from the 

 region of 74 20' N. lat. 4 , and of the NATHORST collection in Stockholm 

 three specimens of this type are figured by SroLPE 5 . Consequently, 

 there are at least 15 specimens from the stretch of coast between 

 76 49' and 70 24' N. lat. 



1 A snow knife brought home by the Amdrup Expedition from Dunholm has holes 

 in both the places mentioned above (THALBITZER I, p. 438, Fig. 42). 



2 L. b. 712, 717, 738, 740; cf. RYDER I, p. 320, Fig. 19. 

 8 L. 4527; cf. footnote 1. 



4 No. 10039, 



6 STOLPE, PI. IV, Fig. 12; the central figure in the plate. 



