262 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1900. 



holo in the loose shaft, and down to the lower right-hand hole in the 

 shaft, through and back through the lower left-hand hole in the shaft, 

 half waj' round the shaft, and gathered in a loose knot through the 

 lower bend of the thong on the front side of the shaft. This ingenious 

 joint deserves especial attention. It is put in place while wet or green, 

 and by its shrinking forms a close hinge for holding the loose shaft in 

 the socket of the foreshaft. When a large animal is struck and the 

 loose shaft rammed into its body, the violent motion, instead of break- 

 ing the brittle ivory, unbends the ball and socket joint, 

 the thong serving as a hinge. 



The toggle head (tokang) is of walrus ivory, tiat on 

 one side and obtusely angular on the other. On this 

 same side are two large angular cuts, forming a perfo- 

 ration entirely through but not piercing the Vjack. 

 Barbs, two. 



The line (alirn) is of stout rawhide bent through the 

 hole in the toggle head, and the end is joined to the 

 standing part by being sewed together, and also seized 

 or wrapped at either end of this sewing. On the alirn, 

 at a point exact!}' corresponding to the hand rest, is 

 sewed or run the teliqbing, which is a somewhat flat 

 piece of ivory, having five holes for the stitching or 

 braid of sinew and a quadrangular hole cut in the broad 

 part to fit over the ivory peg on the side of the shaft, 

 which draws the line perfectly tight and holds the toggle 

 head on the tip end of the loose shaft. The line mav be 

 continued to any length, where it terminates in a loop, 

 and one or more bladders (avatang) may be attached to 

 it. Length of shaft, 41 inches; loose shaft, 16 inches; 

 tokang, 5 inches. 



The head (Cat. No. 25e)54, U.S.N.M.) of a whale har- 

 poon from Hudson Bay is shown in fig. 55. It is made 

 of walrus ivory, and probably by machinery. The U. S. 

 National Museum possesses a large number of harpoon 

 heads of this type. The angle on the back is sharp and the front is 

 hexagonal. The specimen conforms to a model or type as if made in 

 large numbers for trade with the Eskimo. 



The blade is of iron and neatly fitted into a socket in the bluntly 

 pointed tip end of the body. At the upper inner corner of the blade 

 is a perforation for the reception of a small line of sinew, which 

 serves to retain the blade if it becomes detached from its slit. The 

 socket is a shallow conical cavity, made to fit on the outer end of the 

 loose shaft. The butt end is a long bevel, slightly incurved. The line 

 hole is made with great care, being a large triangular opening with 

 ample grooves on either side for the play of the line. The material is 



Fig. 55. 



HEAD OF WHALE 

 HARPOON. 



Hudson Bay. 



Collected by J. H. 

 Bartlett. Cat. No. 

 256M. U.S.N.M. 



