196 THE ESKIMO ‘ABOUT BERING STRAIT (ETH. ANN. 18 
ARTS AND MANUFACTURES 
BONE AND IVORY CARVING 
The Alaskan Eskimo are remarkable for their dexterity in working 
wood, bone, ivory, and reindeer horn. This is particularly noticeable 
among the people on the islands of Bering strait and the mainland 
coast from Point Hope southward to the mouth of Kuskokwim river. 
Within this area the implements used in hunting and for household 
purposes are handsomely made and often are elaborately ornamented; 
special skill is shown in adapting the forms of mammals, birds, and 
fish, with which they are familiar, to the ornamentation of useful arti- 
eles. In addition to utilizing animal forms for this purpose, they dis- 
play considerable imaginative faculty in the conception of designs for 
fanciful carvings, as well as in ornamental patterns, which are fre- 
quently etched on the surface of various objects. Many of their carv- 
ings are really artistic, and the skill with which animal forms are 
carved in relief is admirable. The beauty of their work is the more 
surprising when we consider the rude tools with which it is accom- 
plished. Of the articles obtained many are very ancient, and, the old 
men told me, had been made by the use of flint tools. The execution 
of these carvings is equal to that of the specimens produced by the use 
of iron and steel tools at the present time. 
While a cousiderable degree of artistic taste and skill is quite gen- 
eral, there are some districts in which the people seem to have a 
greater amount of ability in this direction than the average. The most 
notable instance of this is among the people living between the Yukon 
delta and the lower Kuskokwiim, which is amply illustrated in the 
collection, obtained in that locality, of elaborate masks, handsomely 
ornamented wooden boxes and trays, and a great variety of beautifully 
executed ivory work. The villages of Askinuk, Kushunuk, Agiukehu- 
gumut, and others in this vicinity, supplied a fine series of ivory carvings, 
well-made wooden dishes, and numerous implements of wood and ivory, 
all marked by excellence of workmanship. The people of Ukagamut 
were living in the greatest squalor, even for Eskimo, yet among them 
were found beautiful specimens of ivory carving. 
Before working bone, deerhorn, or ivory, it is the custom to soak 
the material thoroughly in urine in order to soften it, and indeed it is 
frequently wetted with the same liquid as the work progresses. For 
rendering the etched lines on the surface of carvings more distinct, a 
black paint is made from a mixture of gunpowder and blood, which 1s 
rubbed into the freshly cut incisious, making a permanent stain. 
In places where ivory is plentiful the men appeared to delight in occu- 
pying their leisure time in making carvings from that material or from 
bone, sometimes for use, but frequently merely for pastime, and many 
little images are made as toys for children. The articles thus produced 
