ABORIGINAL AMERICAN HARPOONS. 269 



are the quarters that the seal is seldom missed. The ioe is then brokiMi 

 away and the hole enlarged until the gaino can be removed, this work 

 being" done with the ever-present ice pick. 



The implements used in this method of hunting seal are a harpoon, 

 to the staff of which is attached an ice pick, a line, and a .stool to stand 

 on. The stool serves the purpose of keeping the feet of the hunter 

 dr}", for newly formed ice is alwa3'^s very damp, and the long, patient 

 waiting by the alloos would wet the feet of the hunter, after which he 

 could not remain because of the intense cold, for furs are little protec- 

 tion if wet. At this season open water is formed by the current 

 moving the ice, which presses together, leaving small spaces of open 

 water. Seal passing these spaces will often come to the surface to 

 breathe, and at such times fall an easy prey to the hunter's rifle and 

 retrieving harpoon. 



I am indebted for the information giv(Mi aV)ove to Captaiii Heren- 

 deen, who lived many years at Point Barrow. He also says that whale 

 fishing is carried on in the months of April and May. 



On arriving home from the great spring reindeer hunt, about the 

 1st of April, the Eskimo have a few days of feasting and consultation. 

 The wooden dishes of steaming venison are carried to the council 

 house, "Cuddigon Igloo," where the men are gathered to talk over the 

 coming whale hunt, and the sages tell of the conditions of ice required 

 to make a favorable and successful season. 



The wooden part of everything ^hat is put into the umiak or freight 

 boat is whittled or scraped off' clean and smooth, so that the wood 

 looks bright and new. 



The women prepare the sealskin floats or pokes, as the}' are called 

 by the American whalemen, as follows: A seal is captured and the skin 

 cut around the head near the eyes. When the skin is cut free from 

 the blubber and turned back, and the flippers are reached, they are 

 unjointed near the body of the seal and the process continued until the 

 carcass is removed. The blubber is scraped clean from the flesh side 

 of the skin, and the bones carefulU^ removed from the flippers. This 

 is a delicate piece of work, for to cut the skin would ruin it for a 

 float. After this is accomplished all natural vents to the bodv are 

 closed 1)V tjdng them around an ivory stud made for the purpose. 

 Through one of these a hole is drilled to inflate the poke. The 

 neck is passed over a stick about 6 inches long b}' 1 inch in diameter, 

 then sewed up and the stick brought up to the seam and very flrmh^ 

 lashed with braided sinew. The poke is now blown up and stretched 

 as much as possible by rolling and standing on it. Again it is scraped 

 to remove the oil, and hung up in its inflated state to dry. After a 

 few days it is oiled with the oil from the stone lamp. This dries more 

 quickly than raw oil, and when dried again a coating is formed which 

 is quite impervious to water. The lashing is now removed frona the 



