Fig. 141.—Old cooper’s adz, rehafted.
All these adzes, ancient and modern, are hafted upon essentially the same pattern. The short curved haft, the shape of which is sufficiently well indicated by the figures, seems to have been generally made of whale’s rib or reindeer antler, both of which have a natural curve suited to the shape of the haft. A “branch” of a reindeer’s antler is particularly well suited for the haft of a small adze. Not only does it have naturally the proper dimensions and a suitable curve, but it is very easy, by cutting out a small segment of the “beam” where the “branch” starts from it, to make a flange of a convenient shape for fitting to the head. Antler is besides easily obtained, not only when the deer is killed for food, but by picking up shed antlers on the tundra, and is consequently employed for many purposes. The haft usually has a knob at the tip to keep the hand from slipping, and the grip is sometimes roughened with cross cuts or wound with thong. There are usually as many holes for the lashing as there are eyes in the head, though there are two holes when the head has only one large eye. On the bone heads, the surfaces to which the haft is applied and the channels for the lashings are roughened with cross cuts to prevent slipping. The lashing always follows the same general plan, though no two adzes are lashed exactly alike. The plan may be summarized as follows: One end of the thong makes a turn through one of the holes in the haft, and around or through the head. This turn is then secured, usually by passing the long end through a slit in the short end and hauling this loop taut, sometimes by knotting the short end to the long part, or by catching the short end down under the next turn. The long part then makes several turns round or through the head and through the haft, sometimes also crossing around the latter, and the whole is then finished off by wrapping the end two or three times around the turns on one side and tucking it neatly underneath. This is very like the method of lashing on the heads of the mauls already described, but the mauls have only one hole in the haft, and there are rarely any turns around the latter.
Fig. 142.—Adz with bone blade.
Jade adz blades, like those already described, have been brought by Mr. Nelson from Kotzebue Sound, the Diomedes, St. Michaels, etc., and one came from as far south as the Kuskoquim River.
[Chisels.]—
We collected a number of small short handled chisels, resembling the implements called “trinket makers,” of which there are so many in the National Museum. We never happened to see them in actual use, but were informed that they were especially designed for working on reindeer antler. Of the eight specimens collected No. 89302 [884], Fig. 143, has been selected as a type of the antler chisel (kĭ´ñnusa). The blade is of steel, and the haft is of reindeer antler, in two longitudinal sections, put together at right angles to the plane of the blade, held together by a stout round bone treenail 2½ inches from the butt. The square tip of the blade is beveled on both faces to a rough cutting edge. Fig. 144 (No. 89301) [1000] has a small blade with an oblique tip not beveled to an edge, and a haft of walrus ivory yellowed from age, and ornamented with rows of rings, each with a dot in the center, all incised and colored with red ocher. The two parts of the haft are fastened together by a stout wooden treenail and a stitch of whalebone.