M.vi.LEin.] PICTOGRAPHS OX STONE, BONE, WOOD. 59 



BONE. 



For instances of the use of bone, refer to several Alaska ivory carv- 

 ings in this paper, e. g., Figure 111, page 192 ; Comanche buffalo 

 shoulder blade, Figure 137, page. 21G; Hidatsa shoulder blade, page 

 151 ; New Zealaud human bone, Figure 34, page 74. 



THE LIVING TREE. 



An example is to be found in Schoolcraft, IV, p. 253, PI. 33, Fig. A, 

 where it is stated that Mr. Richard 11. Kern furnished a copy of an 

 Indian drawing, which was "found on the trunk of a Cottonwood tree 

 in the valley of King's River, California, and evidently represents the 

 manner of catching different wild animals with the lasso." 



The use of the lasso, and the characters being upon the bark of a 

 living tree, show sufficient reason to believe that this record was of 

 modern workmanship. 



HOOD. 



The Indians of the Northwest Coast generally employ wood upon 

 which to depict objects of various kinds. These appear to partake of a 

 mythical nature, sometimes becoming absurdly grotesque. Totem posts 

 (Plate LXXXIII, page 190), boats, boat paddles, the boards constitut- 

 ing the front wall of a house, and masks are among the objects used 

 upon which to display artistic skill. 



Ottawa drawings are also found upon pipe-stems made of wood, 

 usually ash. Figure 120, page 204, is an example of this. 



Among the Arikara boat paddles are used upon which marks of per- 

 sonal distinction are reproduced, as shown in Figure 80, page 182. 



Wooden dancing ornaments, such as fanciful representations of the 

 human figure, idols, etc., are generally ornamented with a variety of 

 colors, having them sometimes arranged to represent designs closely 

 related to, if not actually signifying, marks of gentile distinction. 



In Alaska, mortuary records are drawn upon slabs of wood. See 

 Figures 113 and 114, page 198. Mnemonic devices, notices of departure, 

 distress, etc., are also drawn upon thin narrow slips of wood, averaging 

 an inch in width, and of sufficient length. See Figures 58 and 59. page 

 154. A circular piece of wood or board is sometimes drawn upon, 

 showiug the human face, and placed upon a pole, and facing in a cer- 

 tain direction, to show the course taken by the survivors of a settlement 

 which has been attacked by an enemy. See Figure 50, page 152. 



BARK. 



The Ojibwa have, until very recently, been in the habit of tracing 

 characters of various kinds upon the inner surface of birch bark. 

 These records are usually mnemonic, though many pertain to personal 

 exploits. An illustration is given iu Figure 139, page 218. The lines 

 appear to have been traced with a sharply-pointed instrument, probably 

 bone, and in some examples the drawings are made by simple punct- 

 uring. Sometimes color is applied to the objects delineated, and 



