152 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [ETH.ANX.IS 



The most curious bird spears are those with a long point of bone, 

 ivory, or deerhoru, serrated on one or both sides, inserted in the end 

 of the wooden shaft. Set in the shaft, at about one-third of the dis 

 tance from the butt, are three points of bone, ivory, or deerhorn, which 

 are lashed in position with their sharp points extending obliquely out 

 ward, forming a triangle. These spears are from 4 to G feet in length 

 and frequently have handsomely made points. 



Figure 8, plate LIX, from Nuuivak island, is one of these spears with 

 a bone point triangular in cross section and 22 inches in length. It is 

 grooved along all the angles, which have serrations along them in 

 pairs, at intervals of an inch or more, with a series of coarsely made 

 serrations near the butt. The points on the shaft are triangular in 

 cross section and are barbed along their inner edges. This specimen 

 is without feathering at the base of the shaft. 



Figure 9, plate LIX, represents a spear obtained by Mr L. M. Turner 

 at St Michael. It has three cormorant feathers on the shaft and 

 three barbs, on two of which the serrations face outward and on the 

 other they are inward. The point is of ivory, hexagonal in cross 

 section, and barbed on two sides. 



Figure 7, plate LIX, from St Michael, has an ivory point, roughly 

 oval in cross section, with two sets of barbs on the edges; three 

 barbs on the shaft are of deerhorn serrated along their inner edges. 



Figure 11, plate LIX, from Kazbinsky, is a large and heavily made 

 bird spear, with a strong point of deerhorn and three heavy points 

 on the shaft. 



Figure 10, plate LIX, from St Michael, is another spear of this 

 description, having the point set in a slit at the upper end of the 

 wooden shaft and secured by a rawhide lashing. Three bone points 

 are lashed to the shaft near the butt. 



Bird spears are used for capturing waterfowl, particularly during 

 the late summer and fall, when the geese and ducks have molted their 

 wing-feathers and are unable to fly; also for catching the young of 

 various water birds. The object of the three prongs on the shaft is 

 to catch the bird by the neck or the wing when the point may have 

 missed it. In using the spear but little attempt is made to strike the 

 bird with the point, but it is thrown in such a manner that it will 

 diverge slightly to one side as it approaches the quarry, so that the 

 shaft will slide along the back or the neck and one or more of the 

 points will catch the neck or the wing. 



THROWING STICKS 



The Eskimo are very expert in casting spears with the throwing stick. 

 The small, light spears used in hunting seals are cast from 30 to 50 

 yards with considerable accuracy and force. I have seen them practice 

 by the hour throwing their spears at young waterfowl, and their accu 

 racy is remarkable. The birds sometimes would see the spear com 

 ing and dive just before it reached them, but almost invariably the 



