520 1'"E CENTRAL ESKIMO. 



for the first time, have a very handsome coat, the hair being of a fine 

 texture and much longer than in older animals. From the middle 

 of May until late in summer their skins are most suitable for the 

 manufacture of summer clothing, but it is necessary to protect the 

 carcasses of the killed animals from the burning rays of the sun as 

 soon as possible or the skin would be quickly spoiled. 



After being dried they are cleaned with the sharp scraper (tesir- 

 qun), the modern device of which is represented in Fig. 465. It con- 

 sists of a handle having a round back and a flat front, with two 

 grooves for the knuckles of the first and second fingers, while the 

 thumb and the other fingers clasp the handle. The scraper itself 

 consists of a rounded piece of tin riveted to the handle. The old 

 scraper (Fig. 466) was made of a deer's shoulder or of some other 

 bone. I have never seen any that were made of a thigh bone, simi- 

 lar to those found by Lucien M. Turner in Ungava Bay. 



After being scraped the skin is soaked in salt water and washed 

 again. As soon as it is dry it is softened with the straight scraper 

 (seligoung) (Fig. 467). 



Fig. 407. Seligoung or scraper used for softening skins. (Museum fur Volkerkunde, Berlin. r\'A0697.) 



Fig. 468 shows some very old stone scrapers found in graves. As 

 the stones are sharpened it is probable that they were used for clean- 

 ing the skins. The hole in the right side of the handle is used for 

 the second fingor. tho grooves on the back for the third and fourth. 

 The bone is faslcucil tn the handle by whalebone straps or thongs. 



Skins of Pliixd ttinit Ihita, Plioca cristafa, and Plioca gramlandica 

 are prepared in the same way. 



Those which are intended for kayak covers, boots, mittens, (juivers, 

 &c. are prepared in a different way. They are either put into hot 

 water or laid in a brook for a few days until the hair begins to 

 loosen. Then both sides are worked with the ulo, in order to clean 

 and shave them. When the hair is removed they are dried and made 

 pliable in the same way as has been described. If it is intended to 

 make the skin as soft as possible it is allowed to become putrid be- 

 fore it is cleansed. Then the hair and the blubber are removed, and 

 afterwards it is left to hang in the sun for a few days until it acquires 

 a light color. 



The large ground seal (PJioca harhata) is skinned in a different 

 manner. Its skin is very thick, thicker even than sole leather, and 

 therefore extremely durable and suitable for all sorts of lines, par- 

 ticularly traces, lashings, and harpoon lines, and for soles, drinking 



