waid to Jvuskok\\im inei. lliese speaiheads aie nsuall.\ well made,
showing; the month of the wolf open, with the line of teeth in relief
around the oi)en jaws, in the front of which is a hole lined with a
wooden socket, in which the conical butt of the spearpoint is placed.
The nostrils and the eyes of tht> wolf are olten represented by blackened
incised lines; or they may becircnlar pits in which wooden pegs are set,
or filled with a- black substance, so as to show jjrominently. The wolf's
ears are usually carved in relief, or are made of sharp-pointed pegs of
<^^==^
ivory set in the sides of the head. I n the latter case the eyes also are
made of round pegs of ivory, and the holes for the nostrils arc plugged
with wooden pins. Others have the eyes represented by blue or black
beads inlaid in the ivory. The accompanying illustrations ol two ot
324
THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING i^TRAIT
[ETII. ANN. 18
these give au idea of tbeir general character. Figure 109 is from lower
Kiiskokwim river ami figure 110 from Nunivak islaud.
|\ Nearly all the wolf spearheads have represented upon
jj; the surface the form of the wolf's body in low relief,
with the legs and feet extending around the under side.
The representation of the wolf or of some other ani-
mal totem seems to be common on this class of weap-
ons, which are used principally for killing wlute whales
or walrus.
Figure 111 illustrates a similar spearhead obtained
on Nunivak island. It is of ivory and represents the
land-otter totem. The muzzle is rounded, with a cir-
cular perforation for the eye. The mouth, nostrils, and
muzzle are outlined by incised lines, but no teeth are
shown. Along- the sides are other incised figures, as
shown in the illustration.
A spearhead from Chalitmut (figure 112) is carved
to represent an ermine, indicating the totem mark of
the owner.
Women belonging to the wolf gens braid strijys of
wolfskin in their hair, and young men and boys wear
a wolf tail hung behind on the belt. It is said to have
been tlie ancient custom for all to wear some mark about
the dress by which the gens of each person might be
distinguished.
Another gens among the Pnalit is tliat <if the ger-
falcon (Fdlcorusticoliis {/i/r/alco). The name lor gerfal-
con is cln-'kubv'-l-iili; tlie gerfalcon totem, vhilcuhv'-i-a-
go'-nk; the gerfalcon gens, chl la'ibr' -i-a' -fjo-uhV -i-(jU. On
spears and arrows this totem mark is made by bars of
red i)aint, which are said to represent the bars on the
gerfalcon's tail. These bars are shown on the arrow
illustrated in the accompanying figure 113. On the
bow rei)resented in the same figure this totem is indi-
cated by a red and black line along a shallow groove
in the middle of the inside of the bow.
The raven totem or mark is represented by an etched
outline of the bird's foot and leg, forming a trideutate
4
^ ^
FlQ. 114— Siiiipli' forms of the ra
Fio. 113 — Gcrfalinu
tottn.s OQ bow aud ^^j.^ qj. sometimes merely by an outline of the foot.
seal spear. ' j *i
Forms of this totem are shown in figure 111.
At East cape, Siberia, I saw numerous arrow- and spear-heads of
TOTKM MAKKS
325
ukI iiiiiile
bo,,ec,r ivo:Tl.e=,rinjr ,he ravoa nuuk, and the same ,nark was s...
tattoued on tlio fon'lioad of a hoy at Plover Lay ilifjnic li:.,
Tlicse marks arc froqueiitly scmi on carvinss. weapons, a.
ments of almost every deseri])tion. On clotlijiij; or
wooden utensils it may be marked with i)aint. On^tlie
gut skill suiokeboleeoverorthekasliiin at Kifjiktanik
two raven signs were drawn close togetlier.with a red
spot ill front oftliem, as shown In ligure IKi.
On incjuiry I was told that the man who ])resented
the kashini with this eover had marked upon it his to-
tem sign, and that the red sjiot in front was intended
to represcMit the bloody mark in the snow where the
raven bad eaten meat. My informant added that ^'"'•- "^-':"^'" fi'm
sometimes a ring was drawn before the raven tiacks lavT,',',"' '' "'''"'"
on the cover to rejjresent a seal liole in the iee.
If a man who jtresented a cover to the kashim belonged to another
gens, or if bis ancestors excelled in hunting a special kind of lar^e game
the figure of that animal was di-awn
on the cover. One man, whose ances-
tors were noted for being successful
hunters of sea animals, drew three
<-shai)e marks cm the cover which he
inesented to the kashim. as follows
< < < . These marks were said to
represent tiie rii)p!ing wake of an ani-
mal swimming in the water.
It is customary for liunters to cany
about witb them an object rejiresenting their totem. A man belong-
ing to tlie raven gens carries in his qinver a pair of raven feet and
a quill feather from the same bird.
The gerfalcon man carries in his
quiver a (juill feather of that totem
bird.
There are otber marks which are
somewbat dittcrent in signilicance
from the totem mark, but which may
be adoi)te(l for various rea.sons. At
St Michael a man told me of three
hunters who went out one winter
during a famine, and after hunting
for a long time could find no game. _ ^^ _^
J'^inally one of them went back to _ .i"or.
their sledge and took from it the
ham of a dog which he hail brought with him. After eating some of
this he started otf again, carrying the bone with him. lie had gone
only a short distance when he encountered a seal and killed it. This,
I totems on smoke-hole (
326
THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERINi; STRAIT
it was said, was due to tlie doji's ham-bone wliicli he had with him, and
thereafter he carried this boue and adopted a marl; to represent it in
l>lace of his totem
sign, as did his sou
after him.
At Sabotuisky, on
the lower Yukon, I
saw au oval door of
hewu boards iu a
storehouse, on which
was marked, with red
ocher, the outline of
an extended wolfskin
with the rude figure
of a wolf outlined on
the skin and sur-
rounded by a circle
(iigurellT). In reply
to a question, one of
the villagers told me
that it was the fam-
ily markof oneof the
villagers. "AUofonr
people," he added,
"have marks which
have been handed
down by our fathers
from very long ago,
and we put them on
all of our things."
Another man at
this village said that
his ancient namesake
had been a famous bowman, and once while hunting, having nothing
but blunt-head arrows, such as are used for killing rabbits and otlier
small game, came across a large red bear, which he immediately began
to shoot; Anally he broke all of the
bear's bones aud killed it. After this
he adopted the red bear as his sign aud
his descendants still use this mark.
Figure 118 represents a thin board,
on whicli tobacco is cut, which was
obtained at Sabotnisky. There is a ^ ,,,_,,,„.,„„...,.,.,,,„,
broad, shallow groove along each side,
succeeded by a small groove along its inner edge. The broad groove has
two incised curved marks representing bear claws. On each side and
riG. 11.S— Toi
'"''■'*™1 TOTICM MARKS— \VAl;s 307
near tlic end on earl, si.lo is an iiu'iscl .•ivsm.tic mark with a point,.,!
groove below, saiil to repicsent tlic niontli an,l l.arbel of a l,):,,'!. U ti„.
base of each bear eiaw is ins-^rtcl a tufl of white seal brisUes "with •„,'
other tnlt on the ed-e dos,. by an.l on,, on the tip of tiie lparb,.| „f the
loach. About one thin! of th," .listan,',. from th(. Iront ar,. c.rosslin,.sr..p.
resenting a lish net streteheil aeross the b,,aril. The e.lg,. of th,. l«>anl,
inebuling tiie broad groove, hearelaw incisions, ami loach in.Mith. is
painted red; the net is of ,lul| bluish ,.ol,.r. All of these niarUs hiiv,;
toteniie meanings which 1 di,l not hav,. an opjiortaniiy to ,lcterniine.
Figure 1I!» illustrat,.s the ligiires i)ainte(l on a grave box at Stari-
kwikhi)ak, which indicates that the father of the deceased was a noted
reindeer hunter.
Previ,)us to the arrival of the Russians on the .Maskan sliore of
Bering sea the Eskimo wageil an almost constant intertribal warfare;
at the same time, along the line of contact with the Tinnc tribes of the
interior, a bitter fend was always in exist,. nee. Tiie people of the coast
from the Y'ukon mouth to Kot/.ebue sound have many tales of villages
destroyed by war parties of Tinn,.. liack from the head of Norton
bay and Kotzebue sound, during the time of my resiilen,',' in that
region, se\eial Tiun,'' were killed by Malemut while hunting rein, leer
on the strip of uninhabited tundra lying between the districts oi.cupied
by the two peoples. During the summer of 1S7!) a jiarty of three Male-
mut from the head of Kotzebue sound ambush, 'd ami killed seven
Tinni'. who were tbund hunting reindeer in the interior.
As related by various hlskimo (luestioned by me, it aiipcared that a
favorite mode of carrying on their ancient warfare was to lie in ambush
near a village until night and then to cre<.p up and close the passage-
way to the kashim, thus coulining the men within, and afterward
shooting them with arrows througli the smoke hole in the roof. Some-
times the women were put to death, at other times they were taken
borne by th,' victors; but tiie men and the boys were always killeil.
In those days villages were built on high points, where defens,. was
m,)re easily made against an attacking party and from which a hiokout
was kept alm,)St constantly. When the warri,)rs of one of the Inalit
villages wished to make up a party to attack an enemy, a song of invi-
tation was made and a nu'ssenger sent to sing it in the kashims at
other friendly villages; meanwhile the men of the village originating
the plot set to work in the kashim and made suiiplies of new bows and
arrows and prepared other weapons wliile waiting for their friemis. The
people invited would Join the men from the first villag,. and all would
setout stealthily to surprise the enemy during the night. If they faded
iu this an open battle ensued, unless the attacking j.arty became ,lis-
couraged an,l returned home. Near St Michael there were shown me
some of th,. old h.,ikoi.l pJac.'S where the watchmen were stationed to
328 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [kth.ann. 18
guard against the approach of tlie Mageumt, wbo lived just south of
the Yukon mouth and were the chief enemies of the Uualit.
Near St Michael, on the top of an elevated islet close to the coast, is
the site of an aucient village which had been surprised and destroyed
by this last-named people long- before the arrival of the Kussiaus in
that region. Digging in some of the pits marking the places once
occupied by houses, I found charred fragments of wood and various
small articles belonging to the former occupants.
The following account of the ancient warfare of the Eskimo on the
lower Yukon and adjacent region southward was given me in January,
18S1, by an old man living near Andreivsky:
The people of the lower Yukon and Pastolik fought against those
living on the southern part of the Yukon delta and the country south-
ward, iuclitding the villages at Big lake and in the Kuslevak mountains
and the Magemut of the coast just south of the Yukon mouth. The
old man said that the main war between these people started in a
great village located near Ikognutt. Two boys were playing with a
bone-tip dart, and one of them accidentally pierced his coinpaniou's
eye; this so enraged the father of the injured boy that he caught the
other and destroyed both his eyes. The fathers of the two boys then
fought, one armed with a beaver-tooth knife and the other with a bone
bodkin, the tight resulting in the death of both men. The (]uarrel was
taken up by relatives and friends on both sides, the village became
divided, and the weaker party was forced to leave the Yukon and go
southward, where they settled. From that time continual warfare was
carried on between tbem.
Battles took place usually in summer, and the victors killed all they
could of the males of the opposing side, even including infants, to
prevent them from growing up as enemies. The dead were thrown in
heaps and left. The females were commonly spared from death, but
were taken as slaves.
When young men fought in their first battle each was given to drink
some of the blood and made to eat a snuill piece of the heart of the
first enemy killed by them, in order to render them brave. An Unalit
at St Michael told mc that in former days each of their young warriors
always ate a small piece of the heart of the first enemy killed by him
on a hostile raid.
During the battles on the Yukon the best fighters used to throw
themselves on their backs and kick their heels iu the air in derision of
the enemy when they approached one another. When any of the men
exhausted their supply of arrows they would stand in front of their
couu-ades and break those of the euemy with their spear shafts by
striking them as thej' tiew past. No shields were used. They said
that if an arrow was coming straight at a man he could not see it, so
it was very hard to avoid being hit, but that a man could readily see
one Hying toward another. Some of the warriors are said to have
been very expert bowmen. My old informant told me that his name-
NE.SON) MAGEMUT AM. VncoX KsKlMO WARKAl;,-. ;!2;i
sake was a famous bowmai,. On ,.,„■o-vasion l,o was said i,, l,av..
n-ou so ilial ]„. ,„iil(l
pinned an enemy to a wall of a lionso wit)
not release liiinself.
If a tin-ht lasted a lon.^ tinu.. so that l.otl. parries boea.Me tin.] and
Lungiy or sleepy, a fur .'oat would bo waved on a sii.k by one si.l,. .,s
a si-n of tiuee, -luring wlueli botli parties would rest, eat or si,.,.,, an,]
then renew tlie eonrtict. Durin- the trnee both sides station.-d ..n'anis
wbowatehed against surpris,.. SoinKimes. the ohl num sai.l "a man
would be shot so full of arrows that his body would bristle with thrm
and, falling, be held ahnost tree IVom the ground by th.-ir nunib,.r. '
At times volleys of arrows were tired in (uder to render it more dilli-
cult for the enemy to escape being hit. Wh.-n one of liu' warriors had
shot away all bis arrows ami chanced to be surrounded by the em.niy,
he could sometimes escape death for a long tinu! by do.lging and leap'-
iiig fnmi side to side, but tinally would be kill,.(l by soim' of them strik-
ing him upon the head with a warclub having a sharp spur of bone or
ivory on one side. The defeated jiarty was always pursued and. if
possible, exterminated.
The Magemut are said to have been stronger in battle tlian the
Yukon men, and a larger number of the latter were always killed in a
coiitiict between these two people. Neither side had any recognized
chief, but each fought as he i)leased, with the exception that some of
the older men had general supervision and control of the expedition.
When a nmii on either side had relatives in the oi)i)osing party, and
for this reason did not wish to take i)art in the battle, he would blacken
his face with charcoal and remain a iu)ncombatant, both sides respect-
ing his neutrality. In this event, a imin with his face blackened had
the privilege of going without danger among the people of either side
during a truce.
The Magemut always carried off th,. women after a sncei.ssful raid,
but my Yukon informant told me this was not done by his people, which
statement was probably made merely from a desire on his part to give
his own peojde the advantage in my eyes. He admitted, however, the
siijjerior tighting ([ualities of his enemies, the Magemut.
"When possible night raids wen; made by the villagers on both sides,
and the people were usually clubbed or speared to death. The coii-
(juered village was always i)illaged, and if a warrior saw any i.ersonal
ornament on a .slain enemy which pleased him. he .seized it and wore it
himself, even placing in his lijis the labrets taken from the face of a
dead foe. If one of the comiuerors chanced to see a woman wearing
handsome beads or other ornaments, he would brain her and strip
them off.
The old man told me that in battles between the peoide of lower
Kusko(|nini river aiul those of Bristol bay the victors nnule a juactice
of cutting off the heads of their slain enemies and placing them on the
top of sharj) stakes set in the grouml, with arrows thiiist crosswise
through their noses.
330 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [eth.ann. 18
The last battle foiiglit between tbe Yukon people and the Magemut
was about the time the Eussians first established themselves at St
Michael. This fight took i)lace on a tiat piece ot grouud at the head of
the noitliein branch of the Yukon mouth. Several low mounds visible
on tills little tlat are said to mark the places where the dead were left
in a heap after the battle.
In ancient times the Eskimo oi' Bering strait were constantly at war
with one another, the people of the Diomede islands being leagued with
the Eskimo of the Siberian shore against the combined forces of those
on King island and the American shore from near the head of Kotze-
bue sound to Cape Prince of Wales and Port Clarence. An old man
from Sledge island told me that formerly it was customary among the
people of the Siberiau coast to kill at sight any Eskimo from the Ameri-
can shore who might have been driven by storm across the strait,
either in umiaks or on tbe ice.
I was also informed that at one time the inhabitants of the lesser
Diomede islaud became angry with those of the greater Diomede
island and united with the people of Cape Prince of Wales against
them, but were defeated. The last war party iu this district came iu
a fleet of umiaks from East cape, Siberia, and the Diomede islands,
and sailed uj) Port Clarence, but meeting a large force of the American
Eskimo, both sides agreed upon a peace, which has not since been
broken.
During the wars formerly waged among the people living on the
coasts and islands of Bering strait, there was in common use a kind of
armor made of imbricated plates of walrus ivory fastened together with
sealskin cords. Plate xcii illustrates a uearly complete set of this
body armor, which was obtained on the Diomede islands.
Plates of ivory for armor of this kind were seen on St Lawrence
island, and ou the Siberiau shore at Cape Wankarem.
The i)eople about the shores of Norton and Kotzebue sounds were
also familiar with the use of armor in ancient times. During my resi-
dence at St Michael two- or three of the natives who lived turbulent
lives were reputed to have worn light iron armor under their fur frocks,
which it was claimed had been jturchased from vessels, aud from the
description must have been shirts of chain mail.
GAMES AXD TOYS
The Eskimo of the lower Yukon, the Alaskau coast district of Bering
sea, and the Arctic ocean have a considerable variety of games, both
for outdoor aud indoor amusement, and most of them have a wide
range. The following detailed descriptions of some of them, although
taken mainly from the Uualit of Norton sound, represent games found
among other tribes. The greater ])ortion of them are played while the
men are confiued to the villages during the short, cold days of winter.
In the vicinity of St Michael and some other trading stations the
Eskimo have learned to ])lay cards, usually puker, and are i>assionately
RURraU OF AMERICAN ETi-N
ESKIMO PLATE ARMOR
XELSON]
<iAMi;s A\n TOV:
331
foudof tliein; aswitl. the .s,,,,! hen, al„„i..M,os tlu-r i •
away everytlun.i, tl..v posse.. 1„ 11.'',^^'^""."'""-^""'''''
games tl.eloeaiitywlJeael, was hvi '"","' ""' "'"'"""
notoan.att,K.. a. not onunaniy ;â– ;:;::; ;V:,!;::::-;;:^
but, so far as culd ho learned, seemed t.. l,e ..■..„ ., '
with slight lea. .nodUieaUons. Hnpllen L ;; ^^ ^ 'r"'
were ..btained from wi.Iely separatell plaees ^'""â– '
Friendly contests in trials of strength, wrestlin.. ete, were „„,.•],
more eonnuon l.eiore than they have been sinee the anhal ot ,'
men, the.r commo- living p„t a stop to (he pre.iato.v raids of l
lage upon auother and caused a diminution iu the rivalry among the
yonug men to exeel in strength and agility wliich aeeomiiaiiied the
more warlike s])irit of other days.
In addition to the games of the ukmi, others are played by the women
and chiklren. lioys have toy hunting outfits, with models of sleils,
kaiaks, and umiaks, and small bows and arrows for liuntingbirds: they
also snare birds and set traps tor nuee and other small game. The girls
play with dolls made of ivory or other material, and also have small
models of dishes and other women's household utensils, with wiiieh
they iiinuse themselves in the house very much after the mannei- of
children in civilized countries, playing at housekeeping and women's
work of various kind.s. Figure 120, Irom a sketch made by .Mr II. W.
Elliott on St Lawrence island, re|)resents the boy I'oonook, with his
332 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [eth.axx.18
toy sled. lu the background is the sbelter over the entrance of the
tunnel leading to the interior of the half-underground house, the roof of
which appears like a mound on the right.
During one of my sledge journeys I was stormbound at Cape Darby,
near Bering strait, and during the day an old man in the house where
I stopped amused me by the ingenuity with which he made intricate
])atterus of cord, holding the loop between his extended hands after the
nuuiner of children making a "cat's cradle." For an hour or more he
made a constant succession of i)atterns with his sinew cord, forming
outlines of various birds and other animals of the region. The readi-
ness with which he wove the strings in and out showed that his dex-
terity must have been gained by long practice. I also heard of tliis
form of amusement among the Eskimo along the coast southward to the
moutli of the Kuskokwim.
The following games are in common iise throughout this region :
First game — (St Michael). A round block about 6 inches long is
cut into the form of a large spool, but with the flaring rim of one end
replaced by a sharpened point. The top is from 2i to 3 inches across
and has a deep hole in the center. This spool-like object is planted in
the floor of the kashim with the large end upward, and an indefinite
number of players gather around it seated cross-legged on the floor.
iS^ear the spool is a small pile of short sticks, of uniform size, used as
counters. These, with a small, pointed wooden dart, in size and shape
almost exactly like a shar])ened lead ])encil, compose the implements of
the game. The first player takes the butt of the dart between the
thumb and foretinger, with its ijoint upward and his hand nearly on a
level with the spool. Then he gives the dart a deft upward toss, trying
to cause it to take a curved course, so that it will f;ill with the point
downward and remain fast in the hole at the top of the spool. If he
succeeds he takes one of the counting sticks from the pile and tries
again; Nvhen he misses, the dart is passed to the next player, and so
on, until the counters are all gone, when the players count up and the
one having the most counters is the winner. Ordinarily this game is
l)layed by men, women, or children merely for pastime, but sometimes
small articles are staked upon the outcome. It is a source of much
sport to the players, who banter and laugh like school children at each
other's bad play.
Second c^ajie — (St 3Iichael). A bundle of from fifty to seventy-
five small, stjuared, wooden splints, about -1 inches long and a little
larger than a match, are placed in a small pile crosswise on the back of
the player's outstretched right hand. The player then removes his
hand (piickly and tries to grasp the falling sticks between his thumb and
fingers, still keeping the palm downward. If one or more of the sticks
fall to the ground it is a miss and the next player tries. Every time a
player succeeds in catching all of the falling sticks, he lays aside one
of them as a counter until all are gone, when each ijlayer counts up and
GAMES
333
the Olio hoUlms rhe greatost i.ui„l,er is the winner. These sniiuvd
splints are simihir t.. those used lor markers in the lirst same .h'seribed
Small stakes are sometimes jdayed for in this ^ame as in tlie liixt
Thjkd .;AME-(St Michael). The bun.li of slender splints ain adv
described are also used to iday a frame exactly like jacUstraws. The
l.layer grasps the bunch of sticks between the thumb ami I lie foiclin^er
of the right hand, resting one end upon the lioor; then lie suddenly
releases them and they fall in a small heap. The players have a small
wooden hook, and each in succession removes as many of the sticks as