HUKOOOH.J 



HARPOONS. 



219 



j,- IQ o 07 _ 



longer diameter, while the upper side is produced into a long, four- 

 sided spur, the barb. Tlie Una hole is a round hole about one-fourth 

 inch in diameter, a little back of the middle of the body, at right angles 

 to its longer diameter. From this, on each side, run shallow line grooves 

 to the base of the body, gradually deepening as they run into the line hole. 

 In the middle of the base of the body is the deep, cup-shaped nhtift- 

 aocket, which fits the conical tip of the shaft or fore shaft. In 

 the tip of the body is cut, at right angles to the longer diam 

 eter of the, body, and therefore at right angles to the plane of 

 the barb, the narrow blade slit, 1-1 inches deep, into which fits, 

 secured by a single median rivet of whalebone, the flat, thin 

 blade of metal (brass in this case). This is triangular, with 

 curved edges, narrowly beveled on both faces, and is !!) inches 

 long and 1 broad. 



The body is sometimes cut into faces so as to be hexagonal 

 instead of elliptical in section as in Fig. 207 (No. 80701 [873]), 

 and intermediate forms are common. When such a head i s 

 mounted for use a bight of the line or leader, a short line for 

 connecting the head with the main line, runs through the line 

 hole so that the head is slung in a loop in the end of the line. The tip 

 of the shaft is then fitted into the shaft socket and the line brought 

 down the shaft with the parts of the loop on each side resting in the line 

 grooves and is made fast, usually so that a slight pull will detach it from 

 the shaft. When the animal is struck the blade cuts a wound large 

 enough to allow the head to pass in beyond the barb. The struggles of 



the animal make the head slip off the tip of 

 the shaft and the strain on the line imme 

 diately toggles it across the wound. The 

 toggle head of the whale harpoon is called 

 kiafron, of the walrus harpoon, tuk&amp;lt;c, and of 

 the seal harpoon, naulu. They are all of 

 essentially the same pattern, differing chiefly 

 in size. 



There is in the collection an interesting 

 series of old harpoon heads, showing a num 

 ber of steps in the development of the modern 

 pattern of harpoon head from an ancient form. 

 These heads seem to have been preserved as 

 amulets; in fact one of them is still attached 

 to a belt. They arc not all of the same kind, 



Fio.20^. Ancient bone hflrpoon hoiid. i ,1 T&&amp;gt; j. i i A- i 



but since the different kinds as mentioned 



above practically differ only in size, their development was probably 

 the same. The earliest form in the collection is No. 89382 [1383], Fig. 

 208, from Nmviik, which is evidently very old, as it is much worn and 

 weathered. It is a single flat piece of fine-grained bone 3 inches long, 

 pointed at the end and provided with a single, unilateral barb. Be- 



