MURDOCH. ] SCRAPER CUPS. 299 
moving the subcutaneous tissue, etc., while the stone scrapers just de- 
seribed are better for softening the skin. 
It is the distal end of the “cannon” bone or metacarpal, of a reindeer, 
6-2 inches long, with the two condyles forming the handle. At the other 
end the posterior tace of the shaft is chamfered off so as to expose the 
medullary cavity for about 25 inches, leaving a sharp edge on each 
side. The tip is roughly broken off. The tool appears 
to be old but the two condyles have been recently carved 
rudely into two human faces, one male (with marks for 
labrets) and the other female. There is a somewhat 
similar tool in the Museum brought by Mr. Nelson from 
Norton Sound. 
Seraper cups (6hovwin).—In removing the last of the 
blubber from the skins of seals or walruses when they 
wish to save the oil, they scrape it off with a little oblong 
cup of walrus ivory with a sharp edge at one or both 
ends. The cup, of course, catches the oil which is trans- 
ferred to a dish. These cups are sometimes, I believe, 
also used for dipping oil. We collected ten of these cups, 
of which No, 89251 [1287], Fig. 300a, will serve as the 
type. This is 3-7 inches long, carved out of a single 
piece of walrus ivory, and worked down from the inside 
to a sharp edge on each end. The carving is smoothly 
done on the outside, but more roughly within, where it 
is somewhat hacked. It is stained a dark yellow with oil 
and polished on the outside, probably by much handling. 5... eae ee 
Fig. 300b (No. 89258 [1090] also from Utkiaywin) is a sim- scraper. 
ilar cup, but has a sharp edge only at one end which is cut out in a 
concave curve. 
The ten cups in the collection are all about the same shape and size 
and all of walrus ivory, stained yellow with oil. The largest is 4 inches 
long and 23 wide, and the smallest, 3 by 2-1 inches. The majority are 
Fig. 300.—Seraper cups. 
about 34 by 24 inches. Five of the ten have sharp edges at both ends, 
the rest at one only. Mr. Nelson brought home specimens of this im- 
plement from Point Hope and St. Lawrence Island, but I do not find 
it mentioned elsewhere. 
With these tools and their knives, they do all the work of preparing 
skins for clothing, boat covers, ete. I had no opportunity of seeing the 
