678 NORTH AMERICAN BOWS, ARROWS, AND QUIVERS. 



" The Kutcliin still retain the bow, which is of the same shape 

 through all the tribes, with the exception of the small guard in the 

 Hong-Kutchin bow, mentioned before. The quiver is the same, and 

 worn under the left arm; it is furnished with two small loops to hold 

 the bow, thus leaving' the hunter both hands free to use his gmi. The 

 arrows are i)laced in the quiver with the notch downwards. The Kut- 

 cliin are not expert with the bow; uo doubt they were better shots 

 before firearms were introduced among' them. The bowis made of willow 

 and will not send an arrow with sufficient force to hill a deer more than 

 from rA) to (!0 yards. The arrows are luade of piue.''* 



Father Morice says that " the ouly])ursuit for which our l^ene may be 

 said to have been amply provided with homemade implements was 

 war and its allied occupation, hunting-. The offensive weapons in use 

 among them were arrows, sjiears, lances, and cas.se-tetcs. 



"The only really polished stone implement of Dene manufacture 

 was the Cia'IJt or cas-sr tcie. The specinuMi illustrated is of a hard gran- 

 ite stone. A variety of that weapon, similar in form, but more elon- 

 gated (being' at least twice as long) was usually made of cariboo horn. 



"Apart from the common arrows, the Carriers made use of two other 

 varieties of missiles of Sekanais origin. The heads of both kinds were 

 made from cari1)oo horn. The first of these, called lir<ich(U'nl:ic((elh (cut 

 arrow) by the Carriers, was conical in form and not less than (> inches 

 in length. The broader extremity thereof was hollowed out to receive 

 a wooden shaft which served to dart it off from the bow like a common 

 arrow, with this difference, however, that when in motion the horn ]>oint 

 detached itself from the shaft. This ]m>jectile was deadly, and intended 

 only f<n- use against an enemy or for killing' huge game. To shootsmaller 

 game, such as grouse, rabbits, etc., they ha<l recourse to a curiously- 

 wrought trii)le arrow head consisting' of three flat pieces of bone or horn 

 triangular in shape and not unlike the feathers on a sea-otter arrow. 

 These plates were seized to the arrow shaft in several places by sinew 

 passing' through the i>lates and around the wood. The manner of fast- 

 ening to the sliaft was similar to that delinerited in ^Nlorice's tig. 14.'' 



The knives were ordinarily made of the conunon arrow-head tlint, but 

 those of beaver teeth were more esteemed. 



'' Their arrow, common arrow heads, a\ ere of two kinds, bone and 

 Hint. The first were nmde of the front teeth of the beaver, reduced 

 by scraping' to the required shape. They were reputed the most effec- 

 tive. Flint arrow-heads were of diiferent sizes, forms, and material. 

 They are produced in Morice's paper for the sake of comparison with 

 those used by the moniid-bnildeis of Illinois and other States of the 

 American Union Mith which they will be found identical in shape and 

 material, though a distance of at least L*,()0() miles separate the Abori- 

 gines who made them. He says the 'two marked A and I> may be 

 described as the typical arrow-heads of the Western Denes, and are of 

 the blackish resonant Hint, generally used in the falnication of alxn-i- 

 ginal Mcapons. C and D are comi)osed of a semi translucent bluish 

 variety of siliceous stone not so common and consequently more i)rized 

 thai: tlie ordinary arrow-Hint. E represents the most beautiful of all 

 the Dene arrow-heads in my possession. It has been ingeniously 

 chipped from a hard cryst;illine species of dint, and its form and finish 

 display evidences of, I should say, exct])ti()nally good workmanship. 

 Some are also formed of a whitisli siliceous pebble; but the points 

 made therewith are, as a rule, of a rather rough description.' " 



' * Jones, S. h'., 1866, p. 324. 



