Page:Archæology of the Central Eskimos.djvu/439

The drying frame was irregular in shape, more or less rounded, the frame being of antler and the strings of sinew thread or strips of sealskin. Large oval trays were used for meat and blubber, the bottom of sealskin and the sides of baleen; at times meat was hung up in the houses on large hooks of bone. The meat forks were of Image missingFig. 93.Sadlermio woman. John Murray fot. bone, with one point. Cylindrical sealskin vessels with round bottoms were used as urine containers. Spoons were used, if more rarely; as a rule the small oval cups of baleen were used for ladling. Sucking tubes, of swan thigh-bone, about 30 cm long, were used in the house and also when caribou hunting. Fire was made by striking two pieces of pyrite together and allowing the sparks to fall upon cotton-grass or peat, and also by fire- boring. Water pails were made of the skin of the bearded seal; at times small bone cups were made with bowl and handle in one piece. For storing clothing, of which however they never had much more than those they stood in, they used sealskin bags with round bottoms, closed at the top by a running cord; for small articles they used bags of loon skin, bird-foot skin and salmon skin. Rugs were used on the platforms, some of them of caribou skins sewn together (without fringes, which the the Sadlermiut did not use at all), others simply of unworked bear skins. Water and other liquids were removed from the platform skins and clothing with the usual water scraper of caribou scapula.

They had always plenty of meat, and they ate it boiled, raw and