NELSON] KATIAKS 219 
The frame consists of small strips of wood running lengthwise and 
brought together at the bow and stern; they are connected by curved 
ribs, placed at short intervals and fastened by rawhide cords; the bow 
has a stem piece of wood, roughly triangular in form; another piece at 
the stern is flattened, but varies in form according to the style of the 
kaiak in which itis placed. The railis formed of a strong piece of wood, 
into which the upper ends of the ribs are mortised, holding the rail in 
place and forming a support for the deck of the boat, in the middle of 
which is a circular opening, forming the manhole, surrounded by a 
wooden hoop, which is fastened to two pieces extending to the bow and 
stern, and resting on the cross-pieces which support the deck. On each 
side of the manhole is a short stanchion mortised into the rail and the 
lower side of the rim of the manhole. The entire surface is covered 
with sealskins, tanned with the hair taken off, and sewed together 
with sinew cord. The seams are oiled or coated with reindeer tallow, 
and the entire surface of the boat is thoroughly covered with oil, which 
is permitted to dry before the boat is placed in the water. 
In front of the manhole the deck is crossed from side to side by two 
stout rawhide cords, three or four feet apart, and one or two similar 
cords are placed at the back of the manhole; slipped on these cords at 
the rail, on each side, are spur-like pieces of deerhorn, ivory, or bone, 
which project upward and form a rest on which may be placed the 
paddle or the hunting spears. 
Commencing with the kaiaks in use at Nunivak island, the following 
descriptions show the different forms used successively along the coast 
nearly to Point Barrow: 
Figure 2, plate LXXIX, illustrates a kaiak from Nunivak island, 15 
feet 1 inch long, 14 inches deep, with 29 inches beam. Another kaiak, 
from the same island (figure 1, plate LXxrx), is 15 feet 1 inch long, 14 
inches deep, and has 29 inches beam. These kaiaks are heavily made, 
the framework being strong and stoutly built, in order to withstand the 
stormy seas which they have to encounter about thisisland. A similar 
form is in use on the coast of the adjacent mainland, 
The manhole is placed a trifle back from the center; the rim is lashed 
to the rail by rawhide cords; the cross-pieces which support the deck 
are upcurved toward the middle, forming a ridge, on the top of which 
is lashed a stout stick extending each way from the manhole to the bow 
and to the stern, where it projects as a short, handle-like, quadrate spur; 
below this the stern slopes downward, with a slight slant toward the 
front. The wooden parts on top of the bow are cut out, forming a 
large, round opening just above the rail, around which the skin coyer- 
ing is cut away. On some of the kaiaks this opening is made to repre- 
sent the eye of some mythological animal, the mouth of which is painted 
in black on the outside of the covering. In front of the stern are two 
loops of cord, which are attached to the central ridge, and hang on each 
side, so that the shafts of the spears, which lie on the ivory rests, may 
be thrust into them and their points placed under the crosscord to 
