346 METHOD. 



INDIAN HUNTERS. 



Page 189 of The Case. 



Akatoo, p. 237. Have always taken seal with spear and shot- 



gun; never used a rifle. 



There are two methods of taking seal in the water practiced on the 

 Northwest coast; white men employ firearms ex- 



A. B. Alexander, p. 352 clusively, while the native Indians generally use 

 spears. The most expert of these spearmen are 

 the Neah Bay Indians, and as seal hunters they surpass all others. An 

 expert white hunter, even with the best of firearms, can not compete 

 with them, for when he approaches a group of sleeping seals, all in 

 close proximity to one another, he can not expect to get more than one 

 of the number. The noise of his gun will startle all others within a 

 radius of a quarter of a mile or more, thereby destroying all chance of 

 catching another seal asleep. It sometimes happens, however, that a 

 skilled hunter will capture two or three out of a group, but such cases 

 are exceptions rather than the rule. It is different with an Indian 

 hunter who uses a spear; he silently approaches the sleeping victim 

 and noiselessly hurls his spear at it with a deadly aim, and the only 

 thing heard is the hard breathing and slashing of the seal as it fights 

 for liberty. 



The spear which the Neah Bay Indians use is double pronged, which 

 in their hands is a formidable weapon. The shaft is 12 feet long, and 

 made of cedar; the prongs are hard wood, one 30 and the other 18 

 inches long, about 1 inches apart attheends, and pointed. The prongs 

 and shaft are scarped together and held in place by a serving of small 

 cotton line. The long prong is a continuation of the shaft, but the 

 short one projects off -at a slight angle. The spearheads are made of 

 bone and steel, with a single barb at the sides and a socket in the butt, 

 into which the ends of the prongs are fitted. In the middle of the 

 spearhead is a hole, into which is bent a lanyard made of whale sinew, 

 which is sewed with cotton twine to prevent it from chafing. To the 

 lanyard is fastened the spear rope, which in early years was also made 

 of whale sinew, or other durable material, but now cotton line is used 

 as a substitute, it being much easier procured, and answers the purpose 

 equally as well. The spearheads are held in position by the spear rope, 

 which is hauled taut and fastened to a wdialebone becket at the end 

 of the shaft. In throwing the spear, two fingers of the right hand are 

 placed over a small flat handle, the other hand acting as a rest upon 

 which the spear is balanced. When the spear is thrown the long 

 prong is held uppermost. The reason for this is that if it should pass 

 over the back or head of the seal the short prong will be sure to strike 

 it. As soon as a seal is struck the spearheads slip from the prongs 

 and the rope from the becket. No notice is taken of the shaft, as it 

 can be picked up after the prize has been secured. 



As an illustration of this method of taking seals, I give in detail one 

 of my experiences: On the afternoon of April 23 I went out in one of 

 our canoes, managed by two Neah Bay Indians, father and son. The 

 weather being pleasant and sea smooth, sail was set, and with the as- 

 sistance of paddles we made good speed in a southwesterly direction. 

 Two men usually go in a canoe; one handles a spear and the other a 

 steering paddle. No great importance is attached to the man who 

 steers, as it requires no special skill to keep the canoe on the course de- 



