Ethnological results of the Point Barrow expedition: Ninth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1887-1888, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1892, pages 3-442Murdoch, John
History
Ethnological results of the Point Barrow expedition: Ninth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1887-1888, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1892, pages 3-442
Murdoch, John
Eskimos -- Alaska -- Barrow, Point, Region
As I have already said, the only harpoon of this kind now used at
Point Barrow is a small one intended only for the capture of small
seals. It has no bladder, but the rather long line is attached to the
shaft by a martingale which makes the shaft drag sideways through the
water. Three of these little darts, which are thrown with a handboard
like the bird dart, make a set. The resistance of the shafts of these
three spears darted into the seal in succession is said to be
sufficient to fatigue the seal so that he can be easily approached and
dispatched. We never saw these weapons used, though they are very
common, as they are intended only for use from the kaiak, which these
people seldom use in the neighborhood of the villages. When in the
_umiak_, shooting with the rifle is a more expeditious means of taking
seals. We collected three sets of these darts (kúkigû).
No. 89249_b_ [523], Fig. 203, has been selected for description. The
shaft is of spruce, 54½ inches long, and 0.8 inch in diameter at the
tip, tapering slightly almost to the butt, which is hollowed on the
end to fit the catch of the throwing board. The foreshaft is of white
walrus ivory 5 inches long, and is fitted into the tip of the shaft
with a wedge-shaped tang. This foreshaft, which has a deep oblong slot
to receive the head in the middle of its flat tip, serves the double
purpose of making a strong solid socket for the head and giving
sufficient weight to the end of the dart to make it fly straight. The
head is a simple flat barbed arrowhead of hard bone 2.3 inches long
and one-half inch broad across the barbs, with a flat tang, broadest
in the middle, where there is a hole for attaching the line. This head
simply serves to attach the drag of the shaft to the seal as it is too
small to inflict a serious wound. It is fastened to the shaft by a
martingale made as follows: One end of a stout line of sinew braid 5½
feet long is passed through the hole in the head and secured by tying
a knot in the end. The other end of this line divides into two parts
not quite so stout, one 3 feet long, the other 2 feet 8 inches. The
latter is fastened to the shaft 18½ inches from the butt by a single
marling hitch with the end wedged into a slit in the wood and seized
down with fine sinew. The longer part serves to fasten the foreshaft
to the shaft, and was probably put on separately and worked into the
braiding of the rest of the line at the junction. The foreshaft is
kept from slipping out by a little transverse ridge on each side of
the tang. When the weapon is mounted for use the two parts of the
bridle are brought together at the middle of the shaft and wrapped
spirally around it till only enough line is left to permit the head to
be inserted in the socket, and the bight of the line is secured by
tucking it under the last turn. When a seal is struck with this dart
his sudden plunge to escape unships the head. The catch of the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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