288 



REPORr OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1900. 



The head and contiguous parts of a small 

 toggle harpoon (Cat. No. 37380, U.S.N.M.) 

 for seal, from Chalitniut, collected by E. W. 

 Nelson, is shown in lig. 83. The bod)- of the 

 head is of ivory, somewhat rectangular in cross 

 section, but carved and flattened on both sides 

 in parts of threes. The blade is set into a saw 

 cut at the tip of the head and not held by any 

 rivet. The socket for the loose shaft is a slen- 

 der cone truncated within, the front end of the 

 loose shaft being sawed off. The butt end of 

 the bod}" is beveled out. A long slope and 

 three barbs are formed at the hinder edge of 

 this bevel and ornamented with concentric 

 circles and lines. The line hole passes straight 

 through the body, as in many other examples 

 of this type. The loose shaft is a spindle- 

 shaped piece of bone, longer on the front slope. 

 The hinder end is sharpened to lit into a groove. 

 In the end of the foreshaft a hole is bored 

 through the thick portion of the loose shaft, 

 and through this hole and around the leader or 

 line is formed a grommet of sinew cord. The 

 two ends of the leader are overlapped and 

 vuiited b}' a notch. 



A small toggle harpoon (Cat. No. 37395, 

 U.S.N.M.) of the Alaskan Eskimo, at Chalit- 

 niut, on the north of Kuskokwim Bay. is shown 

 in fig. 84. It is a tvpe of the region and is 

 made with a great deal of artistic skill. Blades 

 are nowadays of brass, copper, and other met- 

 als, often of slate, inserted into a small toggle 

 head of ivory transversely to the plane of the 

 barbs, the plate intersecting the barb, which 

 is bifurcated and sometimes trif urcated. The 

 body is also ornamented with graceful lines, 

 herring bone patterns, and circles. Into the 

 socket of the headpiece is inserted the point 

 of a small bone loose shaft, which fits by 

 its lower end into a shallow socket of the 

 foreshaft. Through the line hole of the head 

 is a loop of rawhide, the ends neatly spliced 

 together b}' a frapping with sinew string. 

 The loose shaft is kept from being lost by a 

 little grommet, made of sinew passing through 



