228 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1900. 



elk's or deer's horn are secured, tind the whole covered with a coatinj^ 

 of spruce gum. Formerly the blades were of mussel shell. The 

 shaft is made of yew, in two pieces, which are joined in the middle 

 by a \'ery neat scarf, firmly secured by a narrow strip of bark wound 

 round it very tiohtly. The length is 18 feet; thickest in the center, 

 where it is joined together, and tapering thence to l)oth ends. To be 

 used, the stall' is inserted into the barbed head, and the end of the lan- 

 yard made fast to a buoy, w^hich is simply a seal skin taken from the 

 animal whole, the hair l)eing left inward. The apertures of the head, 

 feet, and tail are tied up air-tight, and the skin is inflated like a blad- 

 der. One example collected by Swan is 3 feet long (iig, 20). 



Fig. 20. 



TOGGLE HEAD AND LINE. 



Makah Iiirtians, Washington. 



Collected by James (J. Swan. 



When the harpoon is driven into a whale the barb and buoy remain 

 fastened to it, but the staff comes out, and is taken into the canoe. 

 The harpoon which is thrown into the head of the whale has but one 

 buoy attached; but those thrown into the body have as many as can 

 be conveniently tied on; and, when a number of canoes join in the 

 attack, it is not unusual for from thirty to forty of these buoys to be 

 made fast to the whale, wdiich, of course, can not sink and is easih' dis- 

 patched by their spears and lances. The buoys are fastened together 

 by means of a stout line made of spruce roots, first slightly roasted in 

 hot ashes, then split with knives into fine fibers, and finalh^ twisted 

 into ropes, which are verj^ strong and durable. These ropes are also 

 used for towing the dead w^hale to the shore. ^ 



^ James G. Swan, Smithsonian Contnlnitions, XVI, pp. 19-21. 



