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.
[Illustration: 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.
Small pieces of bone, used for arrows &c., were straightened, after
being steamed, with the implement represented in Fig. 474.
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.
[Illustration: FIG. 474. Instrument for straightening bones.]
[Illustration: FIG. 475. Drill for working in ivory and bone.
(National Museum, Washington. 34114.) ⅔]
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.
[Illustration: FIG. 476. Driftwood used in kindling fire from
Nugumiut. (National Museum, Washington. 10258.) ¼]
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.
[Illustration: FIG. 477. Eskimo graver’s tool. (National Museum,
Washington. 34105.) ½]
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.