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The sewing is done with thread made of deer or white whale sinews. Particularly are those sinews at the back dried and when intended for use they can easily be split as thin as required. At present steel needles are in general use. Wherever they are wanting ivory ones of the same pattern are used (Fig. 470). The thread is fastened to the eyehole by a kind of loop, the short end being twisted around the longer one. Kumlien described a needle of a very different device (p. 25):

This tool was almost exactly like an awl in shape, but had an eye near the point. They must have had to thread this instrument for each stitch. The needle part was apparently of deer horn and the handle of walrus ivory.

Probably it was used like a packing needle for sewing tent covers, &c. The needles (mirqun) are kept in ivory needle cases (umī´ujang). The case represented in Fig. 471 is from a grave in Cumberland Sound. The grooves on both sides are evidently intended for a leather strap which is to be tied around it. This specimen is closed at the bottom and had a stopper for closing the mouth. Fig. 472 is a more common pattern. The ivory piece forms a tube through which a leather strap passes. The needles are stuck into the leather and drawn into the tube. Small ivory implements and ornaments are attached to both ends of the strap.

Fig. 473. Tikiq or thimble. (National Museum, Washington. 10181.) 1/1

Thimbles (tikiq) (Fig. 473) are made of an oblong piece of ground sealskin, fitting to the point of the first finger. A rim is cut around half of its circumference and thus it can be drawn over the finger. The women sew by pulling the thread toward them and making an overcast seam.

Whalebone is used for making elastic thongs and in the place of wood; for example, for kayak ribs, for the rim of the kayak hole, boxes, &c. It requires no particular preparation, being easily split and shaped so as to fit any purpose. If wood is to be bent into hoops or deer horn is to be straightened, it is made pliable by being put into boiling water for some time. Bones of whales and other large animals and the penis bone of the walrus are used instead of poles. In olden times, when iron was extremely rare and an effective saw could not be procured, they split the bone by drilling many holes, one close to the other, afterwards breaking the pieces asunder.

Fig. 474. Instrument for straightening bones.

Small pieces of bone, used for arrows &c., were straightened, after being steamed, with the implement represented in Fig. 474.

Fig. 475. Drill for working in ivory and bone. (National Museum, Washington. 34114.) ⅔

The drill (Fig. 475) is the most important implement for working in ivory and bone. It consists of three parts: the bow with its string (niuqtung), the drill (qaivun), and the mouthpiece (qingmiaq). The string of the bow is twisted around the shaft of the drill, the mouthpiece (which is made of wood or of bone) is taken into the mouth, and the rounded end of the drill is placed in its hole. Then the whole implement is put firmly against the place to be perforated and is set in motion by moving the bow. Instead of the latter, a string is sometimes used with a handle at each end. For one man, however, the first device is handier. The string of the second form is usually pulled by one man while the other holds the mouthpiece.

The same instrument is sometimes used for making fire. Instead of the iron, a piece of hard wood (ground willow) is put into the mouthpiece and placed upon a piece of driftwood cut to the shape represented in Fig. 476. The wooden drill turns rapidly in a hole of the driftwood until it begins to glow. A little moss is applied to the glowing wood and gently blown until it begins to burn. Wherever flint and pyrite are to be had these are used for striking fire. Moss or the wool-like hair of Eryophorum serves for tinder.

Fig. 476. Driftwood used in kindling fire from Nugumiut. (National Museum, Washington. 10258.) ¼

Fig. 477. Eskimo graver’s tool. (National Museum, Washington. 34105.) ½

Ivory implements are cut out of the tusks with strong knives and are shaped by chipping pieces from the blocks until they acquire the desired forms. In olden times it must have been an extremely troublesome work to cut them out, the old knives being very poor and ineffective. They are finished with the file, which on this account is an important tool for the natives; it is also used for sharpening knives and harpoons. The women’s knives are cut, by means of files, from old saw blades; the seal harpoons, from Scotch whale harpoons. If files are not obtainable, whetstones are used for sharpening the iron and stone implements.

Engravings in bone and ivory are made with the implement represented in Fig. 477. An iron point is inserted in a wooden handle; formerly a quartz point was used. The notch which separates the head from the handle serves as a hold for the points of the fingers. The designs are scratched into the ivory with the iron pin.

Stone implements were made of flint, slate, or soapstone. Flint was worked with a squeezing tool, generally made of bone. Small pieces were thus split off until the stone acquired the desired form. Slate was first roughly formed and then finished with the drill and the whetstone. The soft soapstone is now chiseled out with iron tools. If large blocks of soapstone cannot be obtained, fragments are cemented together by means of a mixture of seal’s blood, a kind of clay, and dog’s hair. This is applied to the joint, the vessel being heated over a lamp until the cement is dry. According to Lyon (p. 320) it is fancied that the hair of a bitch would spoil the composition and prevent it from sticking.