110 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT (ETH. ANN. 18 
Figure 24, plate xLIv, also from St Michael, is in the form of a 
double crescent, with a hole in the middle over which the thimble is 
slipped and retained in place by the crescent-shape bar. 
Figure 14, plate xLtv, from Norton bay, is a plain, hook-like holder. 
Figure 19, plate xLiv, from Kotzebue sound; figure 18, from Hotham 
inlet, and figure 17, from Point Hope, are all made from ivory and rep- 
resent different forms of this little implement. 
Figure 2, plate xLiv, from St Lawrence island, is a rude hook made 
from .a walrus tooth. Figure 4, from Kushunuk, is a rather rudely 
made hook of deerhorn. Figure 3 is another deerhorn hook from the 
same locality as the last. Figure 7, from Nunivak island, is a hook 
made from walrus ivory in the form of a salmon. 
Figures 5, 8, 9, 10, and 15, of plate XLIV, represent various forms of 
this implement made from ivory. All are from Kushunuk. 
Figure 11, plate xLrv, from Nubviukhehugaluk, and figure 12, of the 
same plate, are ivory hook-shape holders from Kotzebue sound. 
Figure 15, plate xLiv, from Unalaklit, is a hook-shape holder having 
a leather band which slips down over the hook, holding it closed and 
preventing the thimble from dropping off. 
Figure 6, plate xLiv, from Kushunuk, is a specimen which has a 
wrapping of spruce rootlets around the shank and inside the slot 
which forms the hook to keep the thimble in place. 
Figure 16, plate xLrv, is a double thimble guard of ivory from Point 
Hope. 
IMPLEMENTS FOR MAKING THREAD AND CORD 
Thread for sewing clothing or other small articles is made of sinew 
from the legs of reindeer, dried and beaten with a maul to loosen the 
fibers, which are then divided and cleaned. From the Kuskokwim 
northward to Kotzebue sound and the islands of Bering strait, small 
comb-like implements with from two to four teeth are in use for this 
purpose. On the lower Yukon a species of tough grass is obtained and 
utilized for making thread and for other purposes. After being dried 
and beaten it is hatcheled with the combs which are used for making 
thread from sinew. Cords are made in different ways and of various 
materials, according to the uses for which they are intended. The 
kind most commonly in use is made from tanned sealskin, which 
is trimmed to an oval shape, from which a continuous strip is cut. 
Sometimes an entire skin is made into an unbroken cord. For heavier 
cords the skin of the walrus is utilized. Tanned reindeer skins are 
also cut into thongs, and sinews of reindeer and seals are twisted into 
cords of various sizes. On the lower Yukon and in the interior ter- 
ritory occupied by the Eskimo, cord is made from the inner bark of the 
willow. Strips of whalebone are also frequently employed for lashings 
on sledges, boats, and various implements. 
Figure 5, plate xLvitia, from Norton sound, represents one of the 
combs used in making thread from sinew. 
Figure 6, plate xLv1i1a, from the Diomede islands, is a comb or sinew 
