When not in use, the point of the drill is sometimes protected with a sheath. One such sheath was obtained, No. 89447 [1112], figured in Point Barrow Report, Ethnology, Pl. II, Fig. 1. It is of walrus ivory, 3-6 inches long. The end of a piece of thong is passed through the eye and the other part fastened round the open end with a marline-hitch, catching down the end. This leaves a lanyard 9¼ inches long, which is hitched or knotted round the shaft of the drill when the sheath is fitted over the point. [Illustration: FIG. 156.--Drill mouthpiece without wings. 1/2] [Illustration: FIG. 157.--Bone-pointed drill. 1/4] The drills above described are used for perforating all sorts of material, wood, bone, ivory, metal, etc., and are almost the only boring implements used, even awls being unusual. Before the introduction of iron, the point was made of one of the small bones from a seal’s leg. We obtained four specimens of these bone drills, of which two, at least, appear to be genuine. No. 89498 [956], Fig. 157, is one of these, from Nuwŭk. The shaft is of the ordinary pattern and made of some hard wood, but the point is a roughly cylindrical rod of bone, expanding at the point, where it is convex on one face and concave on the other and beveled on both faces into two cutting edges, which meet in an acute angle. The larger end of the shaft has been split and mended by whipping it for about three-quarters of an inch with sinew braid. No. 89518 [1174], is apparently also genuine, and is like the preceding, but beveled only on the concave face of the point, which is rather obtuse. No. 89519 [1258] was made for the market. It has a rude shaft of whale’s bone, but a carefully made bone point of precisely the pattern of the modern iron ones. No. 89520 [1182] has no shaft, and appears to be an old unfinished drill fitted into a carelessly made bone ferrule. The drill at the present day is always worked with a bow, which allows one hand to be used for steadying the piece of work. We were informed, however, that formerly a cord was sometimes used without the bow, but furnished with a transverse handle at each end. We collected six little handles of ivory, carved into some ornamental shape, each with an eye in the middle to which a thong could be attached. All were old, and we never saw them in use. The first two were collected at an early period of our acquaintance with these people, and from our imperfect knowledge of the language we got the impression that they were handles to be attached to a harpoon line.