ABORIGINAL AMERICAN HARPOONS. 



201 



TAKTS OK TIIK TO(i(;i,K II A lU'i )()X. 



T(></(/l< he(u1. — In do.scTil)iiii>" :i togtifle har})oon head it is necessary to 

 orient it, not that the Eskimo is known to have held any portion of 

 the apparatus uppermost hal)itually, l)ut for the 

 sak(> of convenience in comparing ditt'erent types 

 and styk^s. However, Captain Ilerendeen in- 

 forms the author that so far as his personal 

 observation i>-oes the barb of a togo-le harpoon 

 head, like the cock feather in an arrow, is held 

 uppermost. (See tig, 1.) 



To orient a toggle it must })e placed with the 

 barb or spur at the rear end uppermost, the 

 point awa}^ from the observer. It will then be 

 possible to speak of the top, ))ack, or upper side; 

 of the ])ottom, bell}-, or under side; of the right 

 margin and the left margin; of the front or 

 point; and of the butt end or rear. In those 

 large examples, wherein there are right and left 

 barbs in the rear, with the blade in the plane 

 of the widest diameter of the bod}' (Cat. Nos. 

 4.5947, 63948, 539.50, figs. 34-50), the top may 

 be distinguished from the bottom by means of 

 the line hole, which runs in a bent course 

 through the body. 



The parts of a toggle head have been discussed 

 by Mr. John Murdoch.^ 



When the toggle head is oriented it will be 

 seen that it is possible to speak of the following 

 parts: Body, blade, blade slit or kerf, line hole, 

 line grooves, barbs (side and rear), socket for 

 loose shaft, butt or rear end of the body, loose 

 shaft, blade line, loose-shaft loop or running- 

 loop, head line or leader, ornamentations, and 

 owner marks. Each one of these parts should be described and 

 even its absence noted. The characteristics of these parts are as 

 follows: 



Body. — Its material, shape in outline and section, and dimensions. 



Blade. — Its material, shape, relation to the body, whether a part of 

 it oi'not; orientation, whether vertical or horizontal in the plane par- 

 allel with the line hole or across it. 



Blade sJlf or I'erf. — Whether saw cut or coarse; its orientation. 

 The blade cover is frequently a case or cover for the entire toggle 

 head. 



Fig. 1. 



TYPE FORM OF TOGGLE HEAD. 



Hudson Bay. 



Collected by Liidwig Kumlieii. 



Cat. No. 2.')6.')4, U.S.N.M. 



Ninth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology. 



