NELSON] 



TRAPS AND SNARES 



121 



Another man in that region has the scalp and flesh from one side of 

 his head, including one eye, torn away by a stroke from the paw of one 

 of these animals. 



Formerly, after bears had been brought to bay by dogs they were 

 killed with stone or iron-pointed lances, and, indeed, the people of the 

 Siberian shore still kill many in this old fashion. 



Wolves are killed with guns or arrows or are taken with various 

 kinds of traps; steel traps have been introduced by the traders, but 

 the ancient devices are still sometimes used for both wolves and foxes. 



One of the common methods of killing wolves in ancient tunes, which 

 is still practiced to a slight extent, was by the use of 

 spits made of whalebone. A slender piece of bone, 8 

 or 9 inches in length and a third of an inch wide is 

 pointed at each end, and, after being softened, is bent 

 upon itself in folds 1 or 2 inches in length. It is then 

 bound in position by a strip of cord and laid aside until 

 it becomes dry, when it retains the form in which it has 

 been bent. The cord is then taken off and the whale 

 bone is soaked in oil for a short time, then wrapped in 

 tallow, blubber, or sometimes a piece of fish-skin, after 

 which it is placed in a locality frequented by wolves 

 and foxes. 



Discovering this morsel the animal begins to devour 

 it, but finding that it is not easily masticated, swallows 

 it entire, doubtless mistaking it for a piece of gristle. 

 When the whalebone becomes warm and is moistened 

 in the stomach, it straightens out and the pointed ends 

 pierce the beast to death or cause such pain that it 

 is soon found and dispatched by the hunter who has 

 followed its trail. 



Figure 36 shows examples of this implement both in 

 the folded and extended form ; they were obtained at 

 St Michael. Dead falls, used as traps for minks, foxes, 

 and sometimes for larger animals, are made by build 

 ing a small inclosure of sticks driven into the ground, 

 over the entrance to which a heavy log is supported by an ordinary 

 4 -shape device. 



Plate LI, 6, illustrates a bait spit for use in one of these &quot; 4-traps,&quot; 

 which was obtained at Port Clarence by Doctor Dall. It consists of a 

 double-pointed bone spit about seven inches in length, with a notch an 

 inch from one point, against which is fastened the end of another bone 

 spit resting against the notch, and projecting at the other end opposite 

 the point of the first named. 



Near Andrei vsky I saw snares for catching lynxes made by building 

 a dome-shape pile of brush, with one or more narrow openings leading 

 to the bait, which was placed on the ground under the center. At the 



FIG. 36 Game spits. 



