140 b 



GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 



Bone orna 

 merits. 



Bone pins, more or less carefully carved, are used by the medicine- 

 men to secure the knot into which they tie up their hair; and pieces 

 of bone carved to represent whales, birds, human figures, or combina- 

 tions of these are not unfrequently found, though now seldom worn. 

 They served formerly for ornaments, some of the smaller being proba- 

 bly ear-rings. 

 Speaking doll. A peculiar and very ingenious speaking doll was obtained at Skide- 

 gate. This did not seem to be a mere toy, but was looked upon as a 

 thing of worth, and had previously been used, in all probability, as an 

 impressive mystery. It consisted of a small wooden head, 3J inches 

 high by 2J inches wide and 2 inches deep from back to front, composed 

 of two pieces of wood hollowed till quite thin, and the front one carved 

 to represent a grotesque face, with a large round open mouth with 

 projecting lips. The two wooden pieces had then been neatly joined, 

 a narrow slit only remaining within the neck, and serving for the 

 passage of air, which then impinging on a sharp edge at the back 

 of the cavity representing the mouth, makes a hollow whistling sound. 

 To the neck is tied the orifice of a bladder, which is filled with some 

 loose elastic substance, probably coarse grass or bark. On squeezing 

 the bladder sharply in the hand a note is produced, and on relaxing 

 the pressure the air runs back silently, enabling the sound to be made 

 as frequently as desired. 



Most of the ordinary household utensils are made of wood, or rather 

 it may be said were so made, for at the present day tin and cheap 

 earthenware dishes are rapidly superseding those of native manufac- 

 ture. Several distinct types of wooden dishes may be distinguished, and 

 these appear to have been followed by the maker with little variation 

 except in the detail of ornamentation. One form, used to hold berries 

 and other food, is a tray of oblong outline, the length being about one 

 and one-third times the width, and the depth comparatively small. 

 These are cut out of solid wood, the edge being slightly undercut 

 within, and the bottom within rounded though externally angular. 

 The outer ends are generally the sides occasionally ornamented by 

 incised carving or painting. The edge is frequently, in the better 

 examples, set with a row of the strong, calcareous opercula of Pachy- 

 poma gibberosum. These trays are often ten feet or more in length 

 (Fig. 31). Another very favourite form (represented in Fig. 20) may 

 be said to be boat-shaped, the hollow of the dish being oval in outline, 

 but provided at the ends with prow-like wooden projections which serve 

 as handles. One of these is generally carved to represent the head of 

 an animal, the other the tail and hind legs. These dishes are seldom 

 more than eight or ten inches in length, and curve upwards from the 

 middle toward the ends. Another form is oblong in outline, but nearly 



Dishes and 

 vessels. 



