MURDOCH. ] MECHANICAL ANIMALS. oo 
The fox was thus held up by the spring parallel to the length of the 
board with its head and forelegs raised. A string of sinew braid 10 
feet long was passed through a hole in the septum of the fox’s nose and 
knotted once so as to leave two equal ends. These ends were carried 
down through two holes, one in each edge of the board 95 inches from 
the forward end, and each was tied to a roughly-rounded bit of pine stick 
round which it was reeled when not in use. By pulling these strings 
together, the fox was made to dart down his head, which was raised 
by the spring aS soon as the string was slackened. By pulling one 
or the other string the fox could be made to dart to one or the other 
side of the board. 
One man manipulated the fox, pulling a string with each hand, The 
lemming’s holes were about 14 inches in diameter, one in each edge of 
the board and at such a distance from the end that when the string, 
which was 7 feet 4 inches long, was drawn through them, it erossed 
the board just where the fox’s nose struck, when it was pulled down. 
The ends of the string were reeled round bits of stick. The lemming 
was a narrow strip of wolf’s fur, about 3 inches long, doubled in the mid- 
dle, with the middle of the string hitched into the bight. By pulling the 
ends of the string alternately, the lemming was made to jump out of 
the hole on one side, run across the board and into the other, very much 
as a live lemming runs from one tunnel to another on the tundra. It 
took two persons, one on each side, to handle the lemming. The fox- 
skin and spring appeared to be older than the rest of the machine. 
The board was originally 10 inches or 1 foot longer at each end, but 
had to be cut off to pack it. 
Petroff mentions a similar custom among the ‘“ Nushegagmute” of 
Bristol Bay, of introducing stuffed animals moved with hidden strings 
in their performances ;' and Dall? describes a festival at Norton Sound, 
where a dead seal was brought in and moved about with strings. 
Description of festivals.—It is greatly to be regretted that we had not 
established such intimate relations with the natives, as afterwards 
was the case, in the winter of 185182, since this was the only one of 
the two seasons that the great winter festival was held at Utkiavwin. 
In the winter of 1852-’83 there had been so many deaths in the village 
that the natives did not feel like celebrating any regular festival, and 
only indulged in a few impromptu dances late in the season. These 
were unfortunately held in the evening when the writer’s tour of duty 
at the station prevented his witnessing them. Those of the party who 
did go over brought back only fragmentary and rather vague accounts 
of the performance. The confining nature of the work at the station 
prevented our witnessing any of the celebrations at Nuwiik or at 
Pernyt, when the “ Nunataimiun” visitors were entertained. 
The best accounts we have of any performance is given by Lieut. 
‘Report, p. 135. ? Alaska, p. 156. 
