ESKIMO KNIVES

often of pectolite, used as bone-breakers
or whenever a maul was required, were
crude affairs, consisting generally of natural,
elliptical bowlders, or of pieces of convenient
size, pecked into shape, and flattened at
the end (pl. xtv). They were hafted in
the same manner as the adzes.
Kavives—Knives, for which no substi-
tute equal to jade could be found in primi-
tive times, were very different for the
sexes among the Eskimo. The du, or wo-
man’s knife (pl. xv), was quite uniform
in shape, consisting of a thin, crescentic
blade, ground down to a keen edge along
the curved portion. Some were inserted
in the groove of a handle of ivory, bone,
or wood, which was often ornamentally
carved; others were smoothed along the
upper straight edge, which was generally
expanded, and in some instances a groove
on one or both sides was provided, seem-
ingly for the purpose of giving the hand a
better hold of the blade. This tool was]
the constant companion of the woman,
and was used for every possible purpose,
from splitting fish to cutting a thread.

AND MONOGRAPHS