NELSON] DRUMS 351 
diameter. It is carved in the form of a walrus, the well-made head 
being placed at the inner end; on the lower side are four diagonal 
grooves for finger-rests, and at the rear the animal’s flippers are repre- 
sented. The back is etched with short lines to indicate bristly hairs. 
A handle from Point Hope, on the Arctic coast (figure 136) is of ivory, 
four inches long. At one end is caryed a human face, with small blue 
beads inlaid for eyes and the mouth incised; along the lower side are 
four finger-grooves, and an ivory strip is fitted in the square slot for the 
ends of the drum frame, Another specimen from the same place (num- 
Fic. 136—Drum handle (#). 
ber 63798) is similar to the preceding, but has the face curiously dis- 
torted. The tip of the handle is patched with a block of wood neatly 
fastened with five wooden pegs. 
A handle of reindeer horn from St Michael (figure 137) measures 
five inches in length and represents the head and neck of a sand hill 
crane. The beak is open, and small, round incisions mark the eyes 
and ears; the slot for the frame of the drum is at the base of the neck, 
and the wings of the bird are indicated by an incised line on each side, 
extending diagonally to the rear, where they meet on the back; short, 
parallel, incised lines represent the quill feathers. A drum obtained at 
Sledge island (number 
45401) has a handle made 
from a section of deerhorn 
without ornamentation. 
The frame, made of spruce, 
isslightly pear-shape, with 
the small end next to the 
handle, and is about 20 inches in diameter. The ends overlap and are 
fastened with sinew cord. It is fastened in the slot of the handle by 
a wooden pin, and is beveled both ways on the inside from a central 
ridge. On the outer surface, near the upper edge, is a deep groove to 
receive the braided sinew cord that fastens the cover, which has the 
looped end attached to a projecting wooden peg on the frame to the 
right of the handle. 
In a drum (number 38840) obtained at Cape Vancouver, the frame, 
made of spruce wood, 5 inches broad, is bent in a circle, 28 inches in 
diameter, the overlapping ends being sewed together with rawhide cord. 
Fic. 137—Drum handle (4). 
