236 



THE POINT BARKOW ESKIMO. 



(a jyufi). This is 6 feet 11 inches in length when rigged for use. The 



shaft is of pine, 5 feet 8 inches long, 

 with its greatest diameter (14 inches) 

 well forward of the middle and ta 

 pered more toward the butt than 

 toward the tip, which is chamfered 

 off on one side to fit the butt of the 

 foreshaft (igimu), and shouldered to 

 keep the lashing in place. The fore- 

 shaft is of whale s bone, 11 inches 

 long, three- sided with one edge 

 rounded off, and tapers from a diam 

 eter of 1 inch to a tapering rounded 

 point 1J inches long, and slightly 

 curved away from the flat face of the 

 foreshaft. It will easily be seen that 

 the shape of this tip facilitates the 

 unshipping of the head. The butt is 

 chamfered off on the flat face to tit 

 the chamfer of the shaft, and the 

 whole foreshaft is slightly curved in 

 the same direction as the tip. It is 

 seciired to the shaft by a stout whip 

 ping of seal thong. The head is 7 

 inches long, and has a body of wal 

 rus ivory, which is ornamented with 

 incised patterns colored red with 

 ocher, and a blade of dark reddish 

 brown jasper, neatly flaked. This 

 blade is not unlike a large arrow 

 head, being triangular, with curved 

 edges, and a short, broad tang im 

 bedded in the tip of the body, which 

 is seized round with sinew braid. 

 The body is unusually long and slen 

 der and is four sided, with a single 

 long, sharp barb, keeled on the outer 

 face. The line hole and line grooves 

 are in the usual position, but the 

 peculiarity of the head is that the 

 blade is inserted witli its breadth in 

 the plane of the body barb. In other 

 words, this head has not reached the 

 last stage in the development of the 



Fio. 231. -Model of whale harpoon with floats, toggle-head. The line is of stout 



thong (the skin of the bearded seal) and about 84 feet long. It is passed 



