Evening Republican, Volume 59, Number 64, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 April 1917 — Eskimo Carving. [ARTICLE]

Eskimo Carving.

All of the Eskimo carving today Is done with steel tools, but there is . work in existence that dates back to the stone age. The ./ilder Eskimos say that their ancestors used tools of flint, and it is known that they have been carving ivory for many generations. Some of the very poorest of them and those that live in the most out-of-the-way places are noted for their work of this kind. They seem to do it for pastime, and make many toys and dolls for their children. They have a way of softening the bone, horn, or ivory before they work it, and to make the carvings more distinct they etch lines on the surface with a black paint made of a mixture of gunpowder and blood. This, when put on the freshly-cut bone, makes a permanent stain. '. '