ABORIGINAL AMERICAN HARPOONS. 



289 



speci- 



p? s- = "^ 



it and around the rawhide loop. The whole work of all these 

 mens is very neatlj" done. Length of head. If 

 inches. Collected by E. W. Nelson. 



Catalogue No. 37955 is a toggle head of seal 

 harpoon. The parts of this specimen which are 

 attached are the head, with its loop or leader, and 

 the loose shaft, with its runner or grommet of 

 rawhide passing over and inclosing the leader of 

 the head. 



The body is of Ijone or ivory in the form of a 

 flattened cone. The spur is beveled and curAcd 

 up at the point. Two delicate barbs are parallel 

 on the outside and divided by a furrow along the 

 back. Blade of iron, triangular, with convex 

 edges, inserted in the blade slit and riveted. 

 Plane of the blade parallel with the line hole. 

 Shaft socket in the spur narrow and deep. Line 

 hole transverseh' through the body. Line grooves 

 extended to the end of the barbs and ornamented 

 with engraved lines. Leader of rawhide, neatly 

 spliced by seizing at the ends, and the space be- 

 tween lashed with double hitches passing between 

 the rawhide ends. A narrow seizing holds the 

 two elements close to the toggle head. It may be 

 questioned whether the peculiar curves of back 

 and belly give the head a start in toggling itself 

 in the wound, 



Foreshaft of bone, spindle-shaped, and attached 

 to the loop of the toggle head b}" a small running 

 loop or grommet of rawhide. 



Length, 'd-k inches, Eskimo of Sfagamute, north 

 of Bristol Bay. Cat. No. 37955, U. S. National 

 Museum. Collected liy E. W. Nelson. 



The illustration in Plate 10 shows the construc- 

 tion of the larger Bering Sea harpoons (Cat. Nos. 

 43840 and 153727), cast from the hand, and used in 

 killing large seals, walrus, and white wdiales. They 

 have stout wooden shafts, from 4 to 7 feet long, with 

 a hand rest near the center made of bone or ivor\', 

 neatly titted on and, held in place by a lashing of 

 baleen, rawhide, or sinew cord. The foreshaft is of 

 bone and ivorv, neatly fashioned, fitted to the end 

 of the shaft by a tenon and socket, and held firmly 

 bj' a seizing of baleen. The foreshaft is pierced 

 near its base for the line which holds all the parts 

 together, and has a socket on top for the loose shaft. At the butt end of 



