in the dances. It
is made of a circular hoop about eighteen inches in width over which
is stretched a resonant covering made from the bladder of the walrus
or seal. It is held in place by a cord of rawhide (o['k]linok)[7]
which fits into a groove on the outer rim. The cover can therefore be
tightened at will. It is customary during the intermissions between
the dances for the drummers to rub a handful of snow over the skins to
prevent them from cracking under the heavy blows. The drum is held
aloft and struck with a thin stick (mumwa).[8] It gives a deep boom in
answer. The shaman uses a smaller baton with which he beats a
continuous tattoo as an accompaniment to his songs. The northerners
strike the back of the rim with their sticks, while the Yukon people
belabor the face of the drum.

[6] Tcauyak, Yukon dialect.

[7] Loftak, Yukon dialect.

[8] Mumra, Yukon dialect.

The leader of the chorus frequently flourishes a baton, made from a
fox tail or the skin of the ermine which is mounted on a stick. With
this he marks the time of the dance. In Plate XIV, the white blur is
the ermine at the end of his stick. It is very difficult to obtain a
good picture in the ill lighted kasgi, and not often that the natives
will allow one taken there.

One indispensable part of a male dancer's outfit is his gloves. I have
never seen a man dancing without them. These are usually of wolverine,
or of reindeer with elaborate trimmings, but on ordinary occasions any
kind will do. The women do not share this peculiarity. In place of
gloves they wear handlets of grass decorated with feathers of duck or
of ptarmigan. The men in the Totem Dances also wear handlets which are
carved and painted to represent the particular totem they seek to
honor. These too are fantastically decorated with feathers, usually of
the loon. The central feather is stripped, and crowned with a tuft of
white down. Both men and women wear armlets and fillets of skin or
feathers according to the animal character they represent. When in the
full swing of the dance with fur and feathers streaming they present a
pleasing spectacle, a picture full of the same wild grace and poetic
motion which characterizes the animal forbears from which they claim
descent.

The chief characters in the Totem and Comic Dances wear masks and
carry staves decorated with feathers. Occasionally the women
assistants carry feathered wands (Kelizruk).

Of the masks there is a great v