306 llli; I'oiNT BAKKOW ESKIMO. 



.sliaip edge of ivoiv is ilir km.I uiiivfi.sally .iiiployed whenever snow is 

 "to'lH'sliovole.l. .'iiii'T l.xl.ai it :nvay or tWi M'xcavatiug houses or pit- 

 falls in tlie snowilrilts. or ■• chinldn.i; "" up the crevices in the waUs of 

 tiie'suow hous.., and is an ind.sprnsal.l,- part of tlie traveler's outfit in 

 winter The shovels (|,i Usuni ar.' all made (in essentially the same pat- 

 tern, wl.i.li is ^^r\\ shown In !• i- imia. X... 5073!» |;?0]. The blade is 14 

 incii'es bmad and 11 hnii;. Th.' whole upi)er surtace of the shovel 

 is Hat. The handl.- is beveled off on the side to a rounded edge 

 below, and is (piile thiek where it Joins the blade, taperinj;- off to the tip. 

 The blade is thick and abrnjitly rounded ott' on the upper edge below 

 and gradually thinned down to the edge. The edge of the wood is 

 flttecfwith a tongue iido a grov.' in the top of the ivory edge, whieh is 

 U inches dce|i. it is fastened on by wooden tree-nails at irregular 

 intervals, and at oiH'cnd, win-re the eilge of the groove has been broken, 

 bv a stitch of black whalelione. The wooden part of the shovel is made 

 of four uiu'qual |iieces of sjuwe. neatly titted and doweled together 

 and held by the ivory edge and three stitches of black whalebone 

 close to the ni.i)ei edge, and countersuiik below the flat surface. The 

 whi|t|>ings of sinew braid on the handle are to give a firm grip for 

 the hands. 



No. r)G7.'5S [27]. Fig. ■'•Wh. is a sinular shovel of the same material 

 and almost exactly the same dinu-nsions. figured to show the way it 



l,j,s 1) 1 piered togethei and mended. The maker of this shovel was 



able to i)rocure a broad piece of wood which only had to be pieced out 

 with a narrow strip on the left side, which is fastened on as before. It 

 was. how.'vcr, not long enough to make tlie whole of the handle, which 

 has a piece Si im'lies long, neatly scaifed on at the end and secured by 

 six stout treenails of wood; three at each end of the joint, passing 

 through the thin part of the scarf into tlie thick, but not thnmghthelatter. 

 Nearly the whole handle was seized with sinew braid put on as before, 

 but nmch of this seizing is broken off. At the right side of the blade 

 twist, bringing it parallel to the ivory edge, and ren- 

 > split, as has happened li-om the warping of the ivory 

 has been in the Museum. The owner sought to pre- 

 tening to the edge a stout " strap" of walrus ivory -tj 

 ippears to be an old bird spear ])oint. The lower end of 

 ii-oove of the ivory edge, and it was held on by three 

 ;s of narrow wlialebone. each running through a 

 the wood and round tin' ivory in a deep transverse 



uow shovel is very like that from IgluUk, flgiu'ed by 

 le handle of the latter is so much shorter in propor- 

 hat th.-re is an additi(Uial handle like that of a pot 

 if the blade on the upper surtace. The ivory edge 

 lastcned on wholly with stitches. 



l*;iiiy s SiM-und Voy.. pi. oplJoslte p. 548, Fig. 5. 



