The only thing that we saw of the nature of numerical records were the
series of animals engraved upon ivory, already alluded to. In most
cases we were unable to learn whether the figures really represented
an actual record or not, though the bag handle, No. 89424 [890]
already figured, was said to contain the actual score of whales killed
by old Yú´ksĭña. The custom does not appear to be so prevalent as at
Norton Sound (see above, p. 117). Many of these possible scores being
engraved on ivory implements have already been described. With one
exception they only record the capture of whales or reindeer. The
exception (No. 89425 [1732], Fig. 153_b_) presents a series of ten
bearded seals. The reindeer are usually depicted in a natural
attitude, and some of the circumstances of the hunt are usually
represented. For instance, a man is figured aiming with a bow and
arrow toward a line of reindeer, indicating that such a number were
taken by shooting, while a string of deer, represented without legs as
they would appear swimming, followed by a rude figure of a man in a
kaiak, means that so many were lanced in the water. Other incidents of
the excursion are also sometimes represented. On these records the
whale is always represented by a rude figure of the tail cut off at
the “small,” and often represented as hanging from a horizontal line.
[Illustration: FIG. 360.--Hunting score engraved on ivory.]
We also brought home four engraved pieces of ivory, which are nothing
else than records of real or imaginary scenes. I have figured all of
these. Fig. 360 (No. 89487 [1026] from Nuwŭk) is a narrow flat tablet
of ivory, 4.8 inches long and 1 inch wide, with a string at one end to
hang it up by. On each face is an ornamental border inclosing a number
of incised figures, which probably represent actual scenes, as the
tablet is not new.
The figures on the obverse face are colored with red ocher. At the
upper end, standing on a cross line, with his head toward the end, is
a rudely drawn man, holding his right hand up and his left down, with
the fingers outspread. At his left stands a boy with both hands down.
These figures probably represent the hunter and his son. Just below
the cross line is a man raising a spear to strike an animal which is
perhaps meant for a reindeer without horns. Three deer, also without
horns, stand with their feet on one border with their heads toward the
upper end, and on the other border near the other end are two bucks
with large antlers heading the other way, and behind them a man in a
kaiak. Between him and the animal which the first man is spearing is
an object which may represent the crescent moon. The story may perhaps
be freely translated as follows: “When the moon was young the man and
his son killed six reindeer, two of them bucks with large antlers. One
they speared on land, the rest they chased with the kaiak.”
On the reverse the figures and border are colored black with soot. In
the left-hand lower corner is a she bear and her cub heading to the
left, followed by a man who is about to shoot an arrow at them. Then
come two more bears heading toward the right, and in the right-hand
lower corner is a whale with two floats attached to him by a harpoon
line. Above this is an umiak with four men in it approaching another
whale which has already received one harpoon with its two floats. The
harpoon which is to be thrust at him may be seen sticking out over the
bow of the boat. Then come two whales in a line, one heading to the
left and one to the right. In the left-hand upper corner is a figure
which may represent a boat, bottom up, on the staging of four posts.
We did not learn the actual history of this tablet, which was brought
down for sale with a number of other things.
Fig. 361 (No. 89473 [1349] from Utkiavwĭñ) is a piece of an old
snow-shovel edge with freshly incised figures on both faces, which the
artist said represented his own record. The figures are all colored
with red ocher. On the obverse the figures all stand on a roughly
drawn ground line. At the left is a man pointing his rifle at a bear,
which stands on its hind legs facing him. Then comes a she bear
walking toward the left followed by a cub, then two large bears also
walking to the left, and a she bear in the same attitude, followed by
two cubs, one behind the other. This was explained by the artist as
follows: “These are all the bears I have killed. This one alone
(pointing to the ‘rampant’ one) was bad. All the others were good.” We
heard at the time of his giving the death shot to the last bear as it
was charging his comrade, who had wounded it with his muzzle-loader.
On the reverse, the figures are in the same position. The same man
points his rifle at a string of three wolves. His explanation was:
“These are the wolves I have killed.”
[Illustration: FIG. 361.--Hunting score engraved on ivory, obverse
and reverse. 1/3]
[Illustration: FIG. 362.--Hunting score engraved on ivory. 1/3]
Fig. 362 (No. 89474 [1334] from Utkiavwĭñ) is newly made, but was said
to be the record of a man of our acquaintance named Mûñĭñolu. It is a
flat piece of the outside of a walrus tusk 9.7 inches long and 1.8
wide at the broader end. The figures are incised on one face only, and
colored with red ocher. The face is divided lengthwise into two panels
by a horizontal line. In the upper panel, at the left, is a man facing
to the right and pointing a gun at a line of three standing deer,
facing toward the left. Two are bucks and one a doe. Then come two
bucks, represented without legs, as if swimming in the water, followed
by a rude figure of a man in a kaiak. Below the line at the left is an
umiak with five men, and then a row of twelve conventionalized whales’
tails, of which all but the first, second, and fifth are joined to the
horizontal line by a short straight line. The record may be freely
translated as follows: “I went out with my gun and killed three large
reindeer, two bucks and a doe. I also speared two large bucks in the
water. My whaling crew have taken twelve whales.” The number of whales
is open to suspicion, as they just fill up the board.
[Illustration: FIG. 363.--Hunting score engraved on ivory, obverse
and reverse.]
Fig. 363 (No. 56517 [121] from Utkiavwĭñ) is a piece of an old
snow-shovel edge 4.2 inches long, with a loop of thong at the upper
side to hang it up by. It is covered on both faces with freshly
incised figures, colored with red ocher, representing some real or
imaginary occurrence.
The obverse is bordered with a single narrow line. At the left is a
man standing with arms outstretched supporting himself by two slender
staffs as long as he is. In the middle are three rude figures of
tents, very high and slender. At the right is a hornless reindeer
heading to the left, with a man standing on its back with his legs
straddled apart and his arms uplifted. On the reverse, there is no
border, but a single dog and a man who supports himself with a long
staff are dragging an empty rail sledge toward the left.
I find no mention of the use of any such scores among the eastern
Eskimo, but they are very common among those of the west, as shown by
the Museum collections. They record in this way, not only hunting
exploits but all sorts of trivial occurrences.