The Material Culture of the Eskimo in West Greenland. 129 



In all harpoons of this type the line hole is situated rather far back. 

 The length of the blade is not reckoned with in the toggling part, there- 

 fore the bone part in front of the hole is comparatively long. 



I am aware that harpoons of this type occur in which the blade 

 is of iron. SwENANDER figurcs опс from Port Clarence, on p. 39, which 

 he thinks is made merely for sale, and states as his ground of argument 

 that the iron blade is not riveted. This is, however, no reason to 

 prevent its being used. I dare not deny that harpoons might be found 

 occasionally with fixed metal blades in the vertical plane, but they are 

 transitional forms of rare occurrence and such harpoons, I admit, 

 are unpractical. 



The material for the bone part of the harpoons is taken by prefe- 

 rence from walrus-tusk or from antlers. The latter material is very proof 

 against breakage and is easier to work ; it is not cold-short nor is it apt to 

 split, but it has the drawback that only the peripheral part possesses the 

 good properties of the material. The core is spongy, and as the shaft socket 

 must be placed there, it may easily happen that the foreshaft can bore 

 itself fast and make its withdrawal difficult. In the case of a thrusting 

 harpoon this is of no consequence, nor is the thrust so violent here; 

 but it is very important in the case of a throwing harpoon. But walrus- 

 tusk is not available everywhere, and it is not the whole of the tusk 

 that can be used. Certain parts of it are apt to split, nor is it very proof 

 against breakage; on the other hand it is imperishable as regards thrust- 

 ing. Here the user must adapt his form to the material at his disposal 

 and to the use he especially expects to make of his harpoon. 



The parts of the harpoon. The bone-piece has no special 

 name; it is the harpoon itself according to Eskimo train of thought. 

 The fore end was often sharpened and pointed; there was, consequently, 

 no special blade. This feature is still to be met with in thrusting har- 

 poons. The blade {ulua, 392) formerly consisted of a chipped and 

 often polished stone — here, at Disco Bay, of chalcedony or jasper 

 {angmâg, 35) — which was set tightly into the slit, without lashing, 

 as this would impede the entrance of the harpoon into the game. In 

 the latter case the blade is inserted in the vertical plane, in order that 

 it shall not break during the rotation of the harpoon in the animal. 

 Tellurian iron has also been used, and, in the absence of anything better, 

 a blade of a harder piece of bone than the rest of the harpoon. After- 

 wards the blade was of metal, iron or steel, and then it was placed in 

 the horizontal plane. At first the material was expensive and difficult 

 to obtain. They economized in the use of it, the blade was small, but 

 as a compensation the harpoon was provided with one or two lateral 

 barbs {akinga, 18). The fore-edges of the latter were sharp and served 

 to widen the wound inflicted by the blade ; on the other hand they were 

 of less importance as a toggling apparatus, as the effective toggling was 

 accomplished by the terminal barb only. Sometimes, but rarely, a 



11* 



