Ethnological results of the Point Barrow expedition: Ninth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1887-1888, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1892, pages 3-442Murdoch, John
History
Ethnological results of the Point Barrow expedition: Ninth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1887-1888, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1892, pages 3-442
Murdoch, John
Eskimos -- Alaska -- Barrow, Point, Region
with dirt and are nearly effaced by wear on the handle. This dipper is
not of such fine quality of ivory as the other two. It is not unlikely
that all these vessels were made by the natives around Kotzebue Sound,
where ivory is plenty, and where Beechey, as quoted above, found one
so like one of ours. We were informed by the owner that No. 56535
[371] was obtained from the Nunatañmiun.
[Footnote N193: Second Voyage, p. 503.]
[Footnote N194: See Fig. 26, plate opposite p. 550.]
[Footnote N195: See Figs. 8 and 9, opposite p. 548.]
[Illustration: FIG. 40.--Dipper of fossil ivory. 3/10]
[Illustration: FIG. 41.--Dipper of fossil ivory. 1/3]
[Footnote N196: Narrative, p. 148.]
_Spoons and ladles._--Each family has several spoons of various sizes,
and narrow shallow ladles of horn, bone, etc. The large spoon is for
stirring and ladling soup, etc. There is only one specimen in the
collection, No. 89739 [1352] (Fig. 42). This is a new one, made by a
native of Utkiavwĭñ, whom I asked to make himself a new spoon and
bring me his old one. He, however, misunderstood me and brought over
the new one, which Lieut. Ray purchased, not knowing that I had
especially asked for the old one. These spoons seem to be in such
constant use that the natives did not offer them for sale. This
specimen is smoothly carved from a single piece of pine, and painted
all over, except the inside of the bowl, with red ocher. A cross of
red ocher is marked in the middle of the bowl, and there is a shallow
groove, colored with blacklead, along the middle of the handle on top.
The length is 13.2 inches. A small spoon of light-colored horn, No.
89416 [1379], has a bowl of the common spoon shape with a short, flat
handle. Spoons of this sort were not seen in use, and as this is new
and evidently made for sale it may be meant for a copy of one of our
spoons. The narrow ladles of horn or bone may formerly have been used
for eating before it was so easy to get tin pots, but at present are
chiefly used for dipping oil, especially for filling the lamp. The
collection contains one of horn and four of bone.
[Illustration: FIG. 42.--Wooden spoon. 1/4]
[Illustration: FIG. 43.--Horn ladle. 1/2]
[Illustration: FIG. 44.--Bone ladle. 1/2]
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