570 



PHE CENTRAL ESKIMO. 



much more clever than we in liandling the thong and have a great 

 variety of forms, some of which are represented in Fig. 525. 



As an example I shall describe the method of making the device 

 representing a deer (Fig. 535 a) : Wind the loop over both hands, 

 passing it over the back of the thumbs inside the palms and outside 

 the fourth fingers. Take the string from the palm of the right hand 

 with the first finger of the left and vice versa. The first finger of 

 the right hand moves over all the parts of the thong lying on the 

 first and fourth fingers of the right hand and passes through the loop 

 formed by the thongs on the thumb of the right hand; then it moves 

 back over the foremost thong and takes it up, while the thumb lets 

 go the loop. The first finger moves downward before the thongs 

 lying on the fourth finger and comes up in front of all the thongs. 

 The thumb is placed into the loojas hanging on the first finger and 

 the loop hanging on the first finger of the left hand is drawn through 

 both and hung again over the same finger. The thumb and first 

 finger of the right and the thumb of the left hand let go their loops. 

 The whole is tlien drawn tight. A few other devices from Hudson 

 Bay are represented by Klutschak (p. 139). 



FiQ. .520. Ball (Mu^lui 1 1 u \ ulk ilunle Berlin I\ \ 082-2,) 



The ball (Fig. 53G) is most frequently used in summer. It is made 

 of sealskin stuffed with moss and neatly trimmed with skin straps. 

 One man throws the ball among the players, whose object it is to 

 keep it always in motion without allowing it to touch the ground. 

 Another game of ball I have seen played by men only. A leather 

 ball filled with hard clay is propelled with a whip, the lash of which 

 is tied up in a coil. Every man has his whip and is to hit the ball 

 and so prevent his fellow players from getting at it. 



A third game at ball called igdlukitaqtung is played with small 

 balls tossed up alternately from the right to the left, one always 

 being in the air. Songs used in the game will be found in the last 

 pages of this paper. 



