MORDOCH.] SNOW TOOLS. 305 
apu’ya, or snow hut, they at the present day prefer a saw or a large steel 
knife (for instance, a whaleman’s boarding knife), if they can procure it, 
but they still have many of the large saber-shaped ivory knives so com- 
monly used by the Eskimo everywhere for this purpose. These are, 
however, more generally used for scraping snow off their clothing, ete., at 
Fia. 305.—Ivory snow knife. 
present. We brought home two of these knives, which do not differ in 
any important respect from the many specimens collected by other ex- 
plorers in Alaska. 
No. 89478 [759], Fig. 305, is one of these—saviu'ra, “like a knife.” It 
is of walrus ivory (following the natural outline of the tusk), 165 inches 
Fic. 306.—Snow shovels. 
long. The blade is double-edged, the haft rounded on the edges and 
laced along the lower edge for 34 inches with a double piece of sinew 
braid. The object of this is to give the hand a firmer grip on the haft. 
These knives are also used for cutting the blocks of snow to supply 
the house with water. 
Snow shovels.—The broad, short-handled snow shovel of wood with a 
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