DRILLS, LABRETS

in the larger end of a slightly tapering,
rounded, wooden rod, which was revolved
back and forth with the bow-drill, or string
of hide and toggles.

Labrets——Possibly the rarest and most
highly valued articles of jade were the la-
brets worn by Eskimo men, which in some
cases have been transmitted from genera-
tion to generation, or dug from sites of
old habitations. The one here shown
(pl. xxz), procured in 1880 in Hotham inlet,
is of an olive shade, of fine, homogeneous
texture, beautifully fashioned, and remark-
able for a narrow groove cut along three-
quarters of the length of the outer face for
ornamentation. It is quadrangular, with
two rounded sides, and is beveled at the
ends. The button, which passed through
the lip and rested against the gums, has a
longer and a shorter arm for insertion and
to hold the labret securely in place. The
making of such delicate objects of so hard
and brittle a material as jade, with sand-
stone, flint, and grit, which were the only
means at the disposal of their makers, is
an object lesson to the skilled workers

AND MONOGRAPHS