238 



THE POINT BARROW ESKIMO. 



It is always cut off very obliquely at the base, and the part in front of 



the line hole is contracted to a sort of shank, as in Fig. 234 (No. 

 89747 [1044]), a head with slate blade (broken) and 

 bone body. This represents a very common form 

 in which the shank is four-sided, while ba&amp;lt;;k of the 

 middle the outer face of the barb rises into a ridge, 

 making this part of the body five-sided. The edges 

 of the shank are sometimes rounded olf so as to 

 make this part elliptical in section, and all the 

 edges of the body except the keel, on the outer 

 face of the barb, are frequently rounded off as in 

 Fig. 235, Xo. 89745 [1044], which has a slate blade 

 wedged into the bone body with a bit of old cloth 

 and a wooden wedge. Fig. 235fr, No. 50002 [157], 

 from Utkiavwin, is a head of the same shape, but 

 has a brass blade and a body of ivory. This blade 

 is wedged in with deer hair, but the other brass- 

 bladed harpoon, Xo. 56G01 [137], has a single rivet 

 of whalebone. 



The blade slit, and consequently the blade, is 

 always in the plane of 

 the barb, which position, 

 as I have said before, cor 

 responds to the last step 

 but one in the develop 

 ment of the harpoon-head. When the blade is 



of flint and inserted with a tang, the tip of the 



body is always whipped with sinew braid, as in 



Fig. 212, Xo. 89748 [928], from Xuwuk. This 



specimen is remarkable as being the only one 



in the series with a double point to the barb. 



These bodies are sometimes ornamented with 



incised lines, in conventional patterns, as shown 



in the different figures. A short incised mark 



somewhat resembling an arrow (see above, Fig. 



234, Xo. 89747 [1044] ) may have some signifi 

 cance as it is repeated on several of the heads. 



Harpoon-heads of this peculiar pattern are to 



be found in the Museum collection from other 



localities. As we should naturally expect, they 



have been found at the Diomede Islands, St. 



Lawrence Island, and Plover Bay. It is very 



interesting, however, to find a specimen of pre 

 cisely the same type, from ( J-reenhmd, where the 



modern harpoons are so different from those 



used in the west. 



That the line connecting the head with the float line is not always so 



FICI. 234. Body of whale 

 harpoon head. 



FIG. 23&quot;&amp;gt;. Whale harpoon heads. 



