820 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. GO 



The following is quoted from Dr. P'ranz Boas: 



Cajit. CouuM- collected a mnnber of interesting objects among the tribe whom 

 he met with on the southwest coast of Southiimpton Island. 

 [EskiiiioJ The natives stiU use Ixiw and arrow. Thi\v have no guns, 



and they possess very liltl(> iron. Tlie jxiints of tlii'ir arrows 

 and hari)oons are made of fliut, wJiich is chipiHMl witli a l)oue llaker ( Fig. So), liio 

 handle of winch is made rough so as to give a lirm gi ip. In one specimen tlie 

 handle is wrapped with seniut in order to give a lirm hold. A pad made of serd- 

 skin folded in several layers belongs to tins implement; and attached to one 

 specimen by a string is a wide ring of leather, which is worn over the joint of 

 the fourth linger of the i-ight hand. The Hint which is to be worked is i)laced 

 on the skin pad in the hollow of the left hand. The tiaker is tirmly grasped by 

 the right so that the fourth linger is nt>ar its tajtering end. Then Hakes are 

 removed from the Hint by i)r('ssui-e, Iho second joint of the fourth linger, which 

 would striki' the Hint, being ijrolcctcd by the ring. Ai'row points, haritoon. and 

 lance points, and knives, are made of this material. It would seem that the 

 p]skimo first made the diamond-shaped forms, shown in Fig. S4, 2-d. By flak- 

 ing the base of these, arrow points with slender stems are made (Fig. 84, 4-1). 

 The elongated points (Fig. 84, r, s) may have been used as knives. A supply 

 of these points wrapped simjily in a long strip of seal intestine, and tlie llaker, 

 are generally carried in tlic t<ii>l pouch of the (puver, which is of tlu- same 

 type as that of Cumberland Sound and Smith Sound. ^ 



It AYotild appear that tlie liio'lily specialized curved llaker handle 

 iised b_y the Eskimo (fig-. l.Sl) was in use as far south as California. 



In describing the liay collection from the Hnpa of California, 

 INfason (|u<)tes Ray as follows: 



The ai'ro\vlica(ls used for war and for big game ar(> usually made from Hint 

 and obsidian, and more recently of iron and steel. The 

 lllnpal flakes for the stone heads are knocki'd olf by means of a 



chipping tool of deer antler. The stone heads are mad(> with 

 a cliipper composed of a ci'ooked handle to which is lashed a short piece of 

 antler jirecisely similar to those which I collected at Point I'.arrow. The work 

 is held in the left hand on a jiad and HaK'<4l olT by jii'essure with the tool in the 

 I'igiit hand, in exactly the same manner as I found the Innuits doing in northern 

 Alaska.' 



According to Chever, a free-hand |)ressure nictliod <d' chi])i)ing of 

 somewhat exceptional character Avas practiced by certain Califo'-nia 

 tribes: 



The stone arrowheads are made with great care, and the materials from 

 which they are made are often brought from long distances. 



ICnlil'iiniiM] (»bsidian and agate are probably selected not so much for 



beauty of coloring as for their close grain, which admits of 



more cjireful shaping. They use a tool with its workin_g edge shaped like th-^ 



side of a i;iazi(a"'s diamond. The arrowhead is held in the 

 1 Ncilclicd Flakcrl 



nijiper to chiit oft small Iragnn'iits.' 



Since it does not appear that ]\Ir. Chever actually witnessed the 

 use of the nipper described and illustrated by him, it seems possible 



1 I'.oas, Esl<imo of Bnffln Laud aud Hudson Bay, pp. G2-64. 



= Mason, The R;iy rollcctioii from lliipa RcserviUion, pp. 228-229. 



2Cliev<r, Tlic Indians of ralit'ornia, p|). l.'l'.t-llO. 



