140 TlIK POINT BARRDW ESKIMO. 



;icat ilii'iid, ii|)pareutly superstitious, of 



(lilies ((Kstciis taraudi), one of whicli I 



II ]ic()])]('. A liiail one (lay cau.ulit oiic of 



these, and wliitlled out a little 



__^ box of wood,in wiiicli lie slmt 



the insect u]i and tied it up 



J with a shred of sinew. t(^lling 



"j ('apt. Herendeen that it was 



I ••tunriauum," for "tutula." 



'fttit )fij'"i'i =J ^ small lump of iudurated 



,^«;.i.ii-. :.=^w- -^- ^^_^^^^^j ^^^_ ^^ ^273] was 



i'i„. ris.-i;..N.ir,iniii i..i>-.iriiiik=t. ,„n, ,|^y brought over from 



nUiavwin. with the story that it was a " medicme" for driviug away 

 the ice. The mail who uses this cliarui stands on tlie high bank at the 

 villauc aii(Miicakiiiu tilf .U'idiis of the gravel thi'ows tlieni seaward. 

 This will cause the ice to move otf from the shore. 



The essential identity of the amulets of the Point Barrow natives 

 with those used by the Eskimo elsewhere is shown by tlie following 

 jiassages iVdiii oi liei writers. Egede says:' 



\ Sii|.,i>iili..n \.r\ rniiiiiinii aiiioiij; tlieiii is to load tli.-iiisclvcs witli Amulets or 

 l',.,i.aiHl.i.. ,l:,imlinu al.niit tli.il Necks and Anns, wlii.li nmsist in s„iiu- I'ieees nf 

 „M \V,„„1. Stones „r I'.uiMs. liills and Claws nf liinls. ,,v Aiiytliiii" else which tlieir 



tied iciiihI 11m ir loidicad, lucasl, ..r arm. 



rarr\ speaks ' (it what he su]>poses were anuilets at Iglulik, consist- 

 ing of teeth of Ilie fox. wolf, aud musk-ox, hones of the "kablegarioo" 

 (sujijiosed 1(1 be the wolverine), and foxes' noses. Kumlien says ^ that 

 at CumberlaiKi (iulf. •■among the many superstitious notions, the wear- 

 ing of charms about the person is one of the most curious. These are 

 called «»(/(»-«/. iti- inniix'ii.MMX may be nothing but pieces of bone or 

 wood, birds' bills or claws, or an animal's teeth or skin." A little 

 girl "had a small envelope of sealskin that was worn on the T)ack other 

 inside jacket '' containing two small stones. 



Sucli little ])ockets of skin sewed to the inner jacket are very com- 

 mon at Point Barrow, but we did not succeed in any case in learning 

 their contents. At Kotzebne Sound, Beechey saw ravens' skins on 

 which the natives set a high value, while the beaks and claws of these 

 birds were attached to their belts and headbands.^ Petitot describes^ 

 tlu- amulets n.sed in tlu; Mackenzie district, in thepassage already quoted, 

 as "defrocpies empaillees de eorbeau, de faucon ou d'hermine." It is 



'Cni-iilaiiil. p. l;i-l. « Contributions, p. 45. 



» Hiali.ry ot (iicfTilaiid. vol. 1, p. 216. 'Voyage, p. 333. 



^Sccoiiil voyage, p. 497. i^Monographie, etc., p. xr. 



