The Material Culture of the Eskimo in West Greenland. 175 



which has previously been mentioned and illustrated (Fig, 25, C). Here, 

 naturally, the bladder, which only impedes its use, is dispensed with. 

 The other extreme characteristic is that the point is not fixed to the 

 shaft, but, by the aid of a long line, to a float which varies in form; 

 in the majority of cases it takes the shape of a great bladder, which 

 with the line lies by itself on the kayak. 



The Greenland kayak lance, on the other hand, which occurs 

 also with other tribes, the Central Eskimo for instance, has the blade fixed 

 into the foreshaft (ipuligaq, 108) and is in a way a further development 

 of Fig. 27, h, 1 with the barbs omitted and the fastening of the shaft 

 altered. The loose lance point has, on the contrary, here become a 

 reserve implement, an accessory to the harpoon shaft (see Fig. 24). 



Arrows shot from a bow at birds on land are generally blunt, 

 as the shock alone is sufficient to kill or stun the game. But for shooting 

 sea-fowl the bow is unsuitable, and the arrow is replaced by the bird- 

 dart. For this no bladder is needed, as even the lightest shaft affords 

 sufficient resistance to the diving ability of a bird. As the hunter is 

 always close by in the easily movable kayak, and as in this case he incurs 

 no danger in approaching his prey, the main object of this dart is only 

 to hold the prey fast, and its effective radius is increased by the lateral 

 branches. 



On firm ground, from the ice, the bladder no longer has any signi- 

 ficance, whether the animal be pursued at the edge of an opening in the 

 ice or under it. Here it is far safer for the hunter to hold on to the 

 line, because here he is in his own element and his superiority over the 

 marine animal is so overwhelming that even such a colossus as the wal- 

 rus can be caught by a single hunter (see e. g. the excellent figure in 

 Parry, p. 172). Also the movable foreshaft for the thrusting harpoon 

 is a hinderance, and the shaft can be altered for other purposes, 

 especially as a support for the indispensable ice implement the toq. 



Should the prey be smaller and weaker, namely a moderately sized 

 fish, the line may even be dispensed with. The point is made fast to 

 the pole and the prey hauled up with this. Here we have the principle 

 of the fish spear, the effective radius of which is increased by doubhng 

 or trebling the point. But if the fish is too large and strong, e. g. Som- 

 niosus microcephalus or Hippoglossus vulgaris, thrusting harpoons with 

 lines must also be used. 



In considering the development of these types of weapons we have 

 had only the technological view in our minds: adaptation to pur- 

 pose and use. Here no attempt will be made to explain the chrono- 

 logical development of the implements. It is possible that this has 

 sometimes gone in the same direction, sometimes in the opposite, but 

 as to this we can probably never get any reliable information. All the 

 extreme points mentioned here are practically speaking of the same age 

 and all have been in use at the same period, though not in the same 

 LI. 14 



