. Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian Institution. Archives; Discoveries in science. object, the curved line or serrate ornament, the owner mark on the back of the head, and the existence of the dot and circle ornament for ej' and on the l>utton or side. Figures 40 and 41. pagvs 144 and 145. in Nelson (1900), are good illustrations of this type. Cat. No. 45000 (tig. 10) in the U. S. National Museum is a seal decoy from Sledg-e Island, collected ])v E. W. Nelson. It consists of ahandl(> of pine wood rudely carved at
. Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian Institution. Archives; Discoveries in science. object, the curved line or serrate ornament, the owner mark on the back of the head, and the existence of the dot and circle ornament for ej' and on the l>utton or side. Figures 40 and 41. pagvs 144 and 145. in Nelson (1900), are good illustrations of this type. Cat. No. 45000 (tig. 10) in the U. S. National Museum is a seal decoy from Sledg-e Island, collected ])v E. W. Nelson. It consists of ahandl(> of pine wood rudely carved at the Imtt end to resemble the face of a seal, and at the other end into three prongs. Upon each one of these prongs is fitted a toe of a seal so that the three points will touch the same surface. Around each of these is wrapped, by half hitches, a continuous thread of sinew and loops passing around a jog or pro- jection on the end of a stud in the handle just where it is pronged. This stud, of walrus ivory, has carved at the other extremity the head of a seal, the ej-es, ears, and nostrils indicated by insertions of black substance like whale- bone. The use of this, it is said by those who have trav- eled in Alaska, is to scratch upon the ice in order to imi- tate the noise made by the male seal and thereby attract his mate. On hearing the noise above, the seal that is under the ice comes to the ])reathing hole and is soon dispatched by the hunter. The ice scoop, an accessory to the harpoon, found all over the arctic regions, is shown in fig. 11, (/ and h. The first example, fig. llrr, is from the Amur region; ll/> shows a similar device from Cape Nome, Alaska, south of Bering Strait. After the seal is struck with the harpoon down through the small ])reath- ing hole, it is necessary to enlarge the opening in order to withdraw the l)ody of the animal. This is done with the pick on the butt end of the harpoon. As soon as the opening is large enough the hunter pro- ceeds to rem
Size: 884px × 2829px
Photo credit: © Library Book Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorsmithsonianinstitutio, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840
