INDIAN HUNTERS. 349 



ing a bunch of seals asleep on the water he does not remove his paddle 

 from the water, but dexterously and noiselessly moves it in the water, 

 because the least sound would awaken the seals. The hunter who uses 

 a gun not only disturbs the seal he shoots, but awakens and disturbs 

 the others, who then make their escape. 



The spears with which my people hunt seals almost exclusively is 

 similar to the harpoon used by us in killing* whales, 

 only it is smaller. It has a handle about 14 feet Peter Brown, p. 378. 

 long, that will come off when the harpoon sinks 



into the seal, and the iron head is secured to the boat with a line about 

 70 feet long. In throwing the spear we use both hands, and if we hit 

 are almost sure to get him. 



I hunted with shotgun aud rifle, but mostly j a8 . L. Carthcut, p. 409. 

 with shotgun. 



I never hunted seals with a gun ; neither have Charlie, p. 305. 

 I been in the Bering Sea. 



In early days the spear was used in taking seal, Simeon Chin-Jcoo-tin, p. 

 but now the shotgun and rifle are used exclu- 256, 

 sively. 



In spearing seals I use a harpoon with either one or two barbs, simi- 

 lar, but smaller than that used in taking whales. 



The harpoon has a handle about 12 or 14 feet long, j as . Claplanhoo, p. 381. 

 and a strong hue, about 70 feet long, is attached 



to the barb, the other end of which is fastened to the canoe. We throw 

 the spear at a seal with both hands, and when the spear or harpoon hits 

 a seal the barb becomes detached from the handle but is securely fast- 

 ened in the body. The handle floats upon the water and is afterwards 

 secured and is used again. I lose but very few seals that I hit with 

 the harpoon. 



When I was a boy spear was used ; now a shot- Charlie Dahtlin, p. 278. 

 gun and rifle are exclusively used for taking seal. 



It was while the seals were asleep on the water, as a rule, that the 

 Indian hunters succeeded in capturing them 

 with the spear, aud this is the reason they lost j a s. Daigarduo, p. 364. 

 but very few of what they killed. 



I have always hunted in canoes and with spears, and years ago would 

 kill a great many seals. I was up in the Bering 

 Sea sealing in 1889 and have not been there since. Frank Davis, p. 383. 

 All the other years I have been seal hunting 

 along the coast between Grays Harbor and Barclay Sound. 



Have hunted seal off Prince of Wales Island in the spring. In 

 former years I used so catch seals with a hook by 

 paddling up close to them when they were sound Eehor,p. 279. 

 asleep and hooking them. Can't use the hook now 



as the seal have become very wild since they are hunted so much by 

 schooners. ISTow I use the shotgun exclusively for taking seal. Very 

 seldom I lose one, as I always shoot them close to the boat. 



