336 THE POINT BARROW ESKIMO. 
A stout square timber, of perhaps 3 inches scantling, runs along the 
middle of the bottom forming a keel or keelson. This of necessity is 
usually made of several pieces of wood scarfed together and fastened 
with treenails and whalebone lashings. At each end it is fastened in the 
same way to the stem and sternpost, which are both of the same shape, 
broad and flat above or inside, but beveled off to a keel outside, and 
curving up in a knee, at the same time tapering off to the point where 
the bow (or stern) begins to flare. Here it is mortised into the under 
side of a trapezoidal block of wood, widest and thickest on the inboard 
end, and concaved off on the under face, to a thin edge outboard. Itis 
held on by a transverse lashing passing through holes in the end of the 
post and the thickest part of the block. Along each side of the bottom, 
at what would be the bilge of a round-bottom boat, runs a stout streak, 
Fig, 342.—Frame of umiak. 
thinner and wider than the keelson and set up edgewise. These are 
spread apart amidships, but bent together fore and aft so as to be 
scarfed into the stem and sternpost (see diagram, Fig. 343a). 
On the model they are fastened here with treenails, and this is prob- 
ably also the case on the large canoes. They are spread apart by 
cross pieces or floor timbers, flat rather broad boards laid across the 
keelson with their ends mortised into the bilge streaks. These are 
longest amidships and decrease regularly in length fore and aft. There 
were fifteen of them on Nikawaalu’s umiak. Onthemodelthey are pegged 
to the keelson and bilge streaks. The ribs are straight, slender, square 
timbers, eighteen on each side (on Nikawaalws umiak; the canoe photo- 
graphed has fifteen). These are allof the same length, but fitted obliquely 
to the outer edge of the bilge-streaksin such a way (see diagram, Fig. 
