NELSON] TOPS, BUZZES, AND OTHER TOYS 341 
These are commonly of disk shape, thin at the edge and perforated in 
the center for a peg. One from Cape Prince of Wales (figure 122) is of 
walrus ivory; it is 24 inches in diameter and has a hole an inch wide 
in the middle, which is closed by a neatly fitted wooden plug of the 
same thickness as the top, through which passes a spindle-shape peg 
four inches long. This is the general style of top used in the region 
mentioned, but another kind is made to be spun with a guiding stick 
and cord; these are often used by men as well as 
by boys. 
On the lower Yukon the children amuse them- 
selves in winter by spinning tops on the wooden 
floor of the kashim. The game is played by each 
child spinning its top and then hurrying out 
through the long passage to the entrance, making 
a complete circuit around the outside of the 
building, then back to the interior, trying to 
return before the top has ceased spinning. These 
toys are spun between the two hands, the upper 
part of the spindle being held upright between 
the palms. Fic. 122—Top from Cape 
Among other games, the children also have a __ Prince of Wales (about). 
buzz, usually made by stringing a doubly perfo- 
rated, flattened disk on a cord. The two ends of the cord are tied 
together and the ends of the loop thus formed are held in their hands, 
so that by tightening and relaxing their hold the disk is caused to 
twirl about, exactly as is done with a similar toy by civilized chil- 
dren. These buzzes are usually made of wood, ivory, or bone, 
although of recent years some are made of metal. I obtained one at 
St Michael made from the adjoining phalangeal bones of some animal, 
probably a seal, still 
united by their carti- 
lage. The string is a 
single cord of sinew, 
which is made fast be- 
tween the two middle 
bones, and at each end 
oe of the string is tied a 
Fic 123—Toy woodpecker (4). short cross-stick for 
grasping. 
Another toy obtained at St Michael, represented in figure 123, is the 
image of a woodpecker made of wood fastened to a small wooden 
spatula by means of a stout quill in place of legs. The surface of the 
spatula is dotted over with red paint to represent food. By means of 
a string fastened to the point of the bird’s beak and passing down 
through a hole in the spatula, the child is enabled to pull the bird’s 
head down. On releasing it, the elasticity of the quill throws it up 
