ABORIGINAL AMERICAN HARPOONS. 



249 



and interesting, being formed, not ])v a sloping ciivity, l)ut by moans 

 of a drill. The socket at the base is also eonieal. opening into the line 

 hole, and two bar))s of equal size are formed by cutting away the 

 material of the back. This l>ifurcation is found on man}' Greenland 

 specimejis. Those who are ac([uainted with the Eskimo handicraft 

 in localities where steel tools do not alnjund are interested to note 

 what free and varied use these natives make of drills of different 

 sizes. There are twenty examples of boring on this little toggle 

 head, for the rivet, for the line hole grooves and socket, and })esides 

 for mending a crack in the material. For this last purpose we have 

 not only perforations for the sinew mending, but gutters bored one 

 twenty-fourth of an inch deep, into which the cord was countersunk. 

 This will be better seen bv an examination of the illustration. 



Fig. 3-1. 



OJ,D TOGGLE HEAD. 



North Greenlaud. 



(Jif t of ( 'i>iH'nhatren Museum. Cat. No. iT>9il. I'.S.N.M. 



The point of a barbed harpoon (Cat. No. 03938, U.S.N.M.), from 

 Greenland, nmst be mentioned. The point is arrow-shaped, s3'mmet- 

 rical, with two barbs. The tang is spindle-formed, with a cone at the 

 l»utt end and pierced in two places for the insertion of the line connect- 

 ing with the shaft. Length, .5i inches. Gift of Governor Fenckner. 



Similar to this is Cat. No. 63937, U.S.N.M., an old specimen from 

 the same locality. The.se examples have their counterpart in the 

 numerous points of the small barbed seal harpoon of the western 

 P^skimo. 



An old barbed and toggle harpoon head (Cat. No. t)3940, LT.8.N.M.) 

 from west Greenland, the gift of Governor Fenckner, is shown in Hg. 

 35. The material is })one. The blade is wanting, and the blade slit 

 has been cut awa}'. There are three rivet holes, and one of them, 



