124 G. Holm. 



the only ones at their disposal, the concentric circles and wavy 

 lines bring about a great deal of variation in the figures. 



Amongst those objects found in graves which are in the pos- 

 session of ethnographical museums, there is practically nothing to 

 indicate that the West Greenlanders in former times possessed an 

 art like that of the Easterners. 



If, on the other hand, we go to the Western Eskimo at Point 

 Barrow and on the Behring strait or to the Indian tribes along the 

 North-West coast of America, we will find an art which is on level 

 with that of the Angmagsaliks. In speaking of the artistic sense 

 of the Nutka Indians Cook writes^): "To their taste and design in 

 working figures upon their garments, corresponds their fondness of 

 carving, in everything they make of wood. Nothing is without a 

 kind of frieze-work, or the figure of some animal upon it . . . small 

 W'hole human figures, representations of birds, fish and land and 

 sea animals, models of their household utensils and of their canoes, 

 were found among them in great abundance". 



The Western Eskimo are fond of placing figures of animals 

 everywhere where they can find a suitable place for them. From 

 Port Clarence we also find figures in relief on several objects. 

 These figures resemble those of the Angmagsaliks, though they do 

 not appear to be fixed to the objects with nails, but rather to be 

 carved in relief on the objects themselves. Amongst the Aleuts, on 

 the other hand, there are traces of attached figures^), but these are 

 far larger and are not, like those of the Angmagsaliks, in flat re- 

 lief, but are carved freely. The West Eskimo method of engraving 

 ornaments and pictures on hunting implements is unknown at Ang- 

 magsalik. 



The correspondence between the artistic skill of the East- 

 Greenlanders and the Western Eskimo seems to indicate that the East 

 Greenlanders had had more recent communications with the latter 

 than the West-Greenlanders, and thus bears out Rink's view that 

 the East Greenlanders reached their present habitations by going 

 north of Greenland^). 



') James Cook: "A voyage to the Pacific Ocean", vol. II, p. 326. I may take 

 the opportunity here of pointing at the numerous points of agreement be- 

 tween these Indians, who were descriljed by Cook, and the Angmagsaliks. 

 The same correspondence, moreover, is also found among tlie other Ath Indians. 

 fGeorge Gibbs: 'Tribes of Western Washington and North-western Oregon"; 

 .James Swan: "The Indians of Cape Flatter}'"). 



^) Nordenskiöld : "Studier och forskningar", p. 348. 



^) Hink: "Om Grønlands Indland", p. 1; id.: "üventyr og Sagn". Supplement, p. 153. 

 I shall take occasion hei'e to mention some of the reasons which speak 

 in favour of tilis view; 



