NELSON] BOATS, OARS, AND SAILS 217 
were seen in use at Cape Prince of Wales on Bering strait, and at 
points northward and southward from that locality. 
The oars are held in place usually by means of a rawhide lashing 
made fast, on the inside of the boat, to the framework. The steering 
is always done with a large, broad-blade paddle. 
In ancient times sails sometimes were improvised by sewing together 
grass mats and putting them up between two long sticks, which were 
fastened to the framework of the umiak and stayed by means of cords 
so as to extend upward and outward in V-shape form, one from each 
side of the boat. Later, after the arrival of white men, a single upright 
mast with stays and with blocks made from bone or ivory, were adopted 
in imitation of the rigging used on the ships of the strangers. 
Sails were next made from the skins of reindeer or other animals, 
sewed to a proper size and shape and fastened to a yard, which was 
raised or lowered by tackle made of walrus-hide cord passed through 
an ivory or bone block or through a hole in the upper end of the mast. 
Some sails are still made of old deerskins or light sealskins sewed 
together, but many are seen of light canvas or drilling obtained from 
vessels or through fur traders. 
The framework of these boats is formed of neatly-shaped pieces cut 
from driftwood and lashed together with rawhide cords, which are 
passed through holes drilled in the wood, as shown in the model, from 
St Michael, illustrated in plate Lxxvir, 38. The covering is of heavy 
sealskin or walrus:hide, tanned to remove the hair, sewed into proper 
shape, and drawn over the framework. In the edges many little slits 
are cut, through which is passed the cord which lashes it to the frame- 
work on the inside under the rail. After it is in place the lashings are 
drawn tightly and permitted to dry; as it contracts the cover becomes 
as tight as a drumhead, after which several coats of seal oil are 
applied to the outside and allowed to become thoroughly dry, when 
the cover becomes impervious to water for a week or ten days, at the 
expiration of which time it becomes water-soaked and it is then neces- 
sary to haul up the boat on the shore and, after allowing it to dry, to 
give it another coating of oil, otherwise the skins would rot. Travel- 
ing is done by day, and at night the boats are hauled up on the beach 
and turned bottom up or upon one edge, so that they may dry during 
the night. When treated carefully in the manner described, the cover 
of an umiak will last for several years. 
In comparison with the Norton sound umiaks, I noticed that the 
boats used by the people of Bering strait have somewhat less sheer to 
the sides and are provided with flaps of sealskin about two feet wide, 
which are attached along the rail and folded down inside the boat in 
fair weather; in rough weather these flaps are raised and held in place 
by stout sticks lashed to the framework around the sides and their 
ends thrust into a series of holes or slots along the upper edge of the 
flap. In addition to these, the people of Bering strait carry sealskin 
