224. THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [ETH. ANN. 18 
cut from the same piece of wood, and at other times is formed from a 
separate piece pierced with a hole, by which it is fitted on the end of 
the handle. 
Figure 29, plate LXXVIII, shows one of these crosspieces for a paddle 
handle from the lower Yukon. It is made of bone, is oval in outline, 
and is provided with a projecting lip on the lower side, through which 
is a round hole for putting on the end of the handle. 
Figure 70a represents an umiak paddle used in Kotzebue sound, and 
figure 70) shows a form of umiak paddle seen at Point Hope. 
The kaiak paddles used by the people of Nunivak island and the 
adjacent mainland are neatly made and frequently ornamented, in red 
and black paint, with figures forming the private marks or totem 
signs of the owner. ; 
The Bering strait islanders decorate their kaiak paddles in patterns 
of red and black, which probably form totem and ownership marks. 
Figure 71) represents a double-blade paddle from King island. It 
is about 8 feet long and the handle is suboval in cross section. The 
blades are long, narrow, and flat on the surface which is to be used 
et ——— 
Fic. 70—Forms of umiak paddles. 
against the water, and are strengthened along the backs by a ridge 
down the middle. One of the blades is painted black and the other 
red, and the handle is surrounded by red and black bands. Another 
double-blade paddle, obtained at Point Barrow by Lieutenant Ray 
(figure 71 a), is 7 feet in length, with the blades nearly flat on both sides 
and much broader and more rounded than those of the preceding speci- 
men. The backs of the blades have a very slight ridge running down 
the center. A single-blade paddle from King island (figure 9, plate 
LXxX) has a large, broad blade, with a central ridge on the outside. 
The lower two-thirds of the blade is painted black, and a triangular 
spot of black is marked on each side; the edge of the blade, where it 
joins the handle at the upper end, is also black, with a ring extending 
around the handle. All of these black markings are bordered by a 
narrow line of red and constitute the private marks of the owner. 
Another single-blade kaiak paddle, from Kushunuk (figure 7, plate 
LXxXX), has a crosspiece fitted on the top of the handle by means of a 
_ square hole. The blade is long and slender and is tipped with black for 
a short distance; this is succeeded by several bands, varying 1n width, 
alternately of red, black, and uncolored wood. The handle near the 
