250 THE POINT BARROW ESKIMO. 
large whale, a foot long, and has the tail bent up, while the animal is 
usually represented as if lying still. It has good-sized sky-blue beads 
inlaid for the eyes. 
Fig. 251b (No. 89733 [1161], from Nuwittk) represents a small box 44 
inches long, probably older than the others, and the only one not carved 
into the shape of a whale. Itis roughly egg-shaped and has no wooden 
cover to the cavity, which is covered with a piece of deerskin, held on 
by a string of seal thong wrapped three times around the body in a 
rough, deep groove, with the end tucked under. In this box are five 
slate blades for the whale harpoon. 
We also collected two boxes for walrus harpoons made in the shape 
of the walrus, with ivory or bone tusks. No. 89732 [860], Fig. 251¢, from 
Nuwitk, is old, and 7 inches long, and has two oval bits of ivory, with 
holes bored to represent the pupils, inlaid for the eyes. There is no 
cover, but the cavity is filled with a number of slate blades, carefully 
packed in whalebone shavings. There is a little eyebolt of ivory at 
each end of the cavity. One end of a bit of sinew braid is tied to the 
anterior of these, and the other carried down through the hinder one, 
and then brought up and fastened round the body with a marling hitch. 
The other (No. 56489 [127], is new and rather roughly made, 5 inches 
long and painted all over with red ocher. It has a cover, but no strings. 
No. 56501 [142], Fig. 251d, from Utkiavwin, is for carrying harpoon 
blades for the chase of the bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), and is 
neatly carved into the shape of that animal. It is 7-4 inches long and 
has ivory eyes like the walrus box, No. 89732 [860]. The cover is fitted 
to the cavity like those of the whale boxes, but is held on by one string 
only, a piece of seal thong about 3 feet long passing through the mid- 
dle of the cover and out ata hole on the left side, about one-fourth inch 
from the cavity. The box is filled with raveled rope-yarns. Fig. 251e 
(No. 89730 [981], from Utkiaywin) is like this, but very large, 9-3 inches 
long. The cover is thick and a little larger than the cavity, beveled 
on the upper face and notched on each side to receive the string, which 
is a bit of sinew braid fastened to two little ivory hooks, one on each 
side of the body. It is fastened to the right hook, carried across and 
hooked around the left-hand one, then carried over and hooked round 
the other, and secured by tucking a bight of the end under the last 
part. The box contains several slate blades. We also collected one 
other large seal box (No. 89731 [859], from Nuwtk), very roughly 
carved, and 9:8 inches long. The cover is fitted into the cavity and held 
on by a narrow strip of whalebone running across in a transverse groove 
in the cover and through a hole in each side of the box. 
Nets (ku'bra).—The smaller seals are captured in large-meshed nets of 
rawhide. We brought home one of these, No. 56756 [109], Figs 252 
252b (detail of mesh). This is a rectangular net, eighteen meshes long 
and twelve deep, netted of fine seal thong with the ordinary netting knot. 
The length of the mesh is 14 inches. 
