254 



THE HUDSON BAY ESKIMO. 



pierced to receive a loop l)y wliicli it may be liuiig to tlie belt or the 

 workbag. 

 Needles are also kept iu a kiud of small cusliioii (Fig. 7-i) made of 



Fig. 72.— Ivory needle case. 

 Koksoagniyut. 



Fio. 73.- Ivory needle case. 

 Kobsoagmyut. 



sealskin, elaborately ornamented with beads and stuffed with sphagnum 

 moss. The cushion is perforated around the edge to receive the needles, 



which would not easily go 



through the tough skin. 

 Accompanying one of 

 these needle cushions iu 

 the collection is one of 

 the old-fashioned thim- 

 bles such as are still used, 

 although metal thimbles 

 are preferred. It is sim- 

 ply a strip of sealskin 

 sewed into a ring large 

 enough to fit the forefin- 

 ger, and is usually at- 



cushion by a thong with au ivory toggle on the end, to prevent the 

 thimble from slipping off. 



Small articles used in sewing, such as scraps of skin, needle cases, 

 sinew thread, thimbles, etc., are carried iu sma'l bags of deerskin, which 

 are often elaborately ornamented with beads of various colors, like the 

 specimen in the collection, No. 3047. 



AMUSEMENT.S. 



Notwithstanding the fact that these people have had their lot cast 

 upon the frozen shores of the sea, they appear happy and contented 

 and loath to leave the land of their birth. Although it is a constant 



Fig. 74. — Sealskin needle cushion, with tliimhle. 



