81 



is cut off obliquely and the bone or ivory foreshaft fastened to it 

 with sinew. The iron arrowpoint is set into the bone foreshaft 

 and riveted in some specimens (see Figures 23 and 24). In others 

 the foreshaft and point are hammered out of one piece of iron. 

 Another variety has a blunt ivory or iron point, probably used 

 for stunning birds and small game. 



The Labrador bow and arrow is not so formidable a weapon 

 as types in other sections, and probably was used more for 

 hunting than as an offensive weapon. The bow and arrows 

 with which they fought the Montagnais and other tribes may 

 have been of a larger and stronger type. The shape of the 

 present wooden bow is similar to the three-piece antler 

 bow of Baffin island (see Boas, Figure 440) and the Labrador 

 Eskimo may have used this material, as well as wood, although, 

 as mentioned above, there is no definite information at hand 

 on this point. I did collect from old village sites some for- 

 midable bone and stone points which would seem to require 

 greater motive power than given by the present bow. One of 

 these much resemble_s the deer arrow mentioned by Murdoch as 

 in use among the Point Barrow Eskimo, which is not fastened 

 to the shaft but comes loose from its socket and remains 

 in the wound after the shaft is shaken out. It eventually 

 results in the death of the animal. It appears to be a carrying 

 over of the harpoon idea into smaller weapons. Plate XVI h 

 shows a Labrador bow with the ends bent outward. This is a 

 much more powerful bow than the type described above, and 

 similar to the large bows used by the Western Eskimo for 

 hunting large game and for fighting. 



The Bow-case (Plate XVII a). 



The bow and arrows are carried in a case consisting of two 

 parts which are joined together in the middle; one part for the 

 bow and one for the arrows. The two parts are made of one piece 

 of deerskin sewn at the edges with an overhand stitch.' The 

 bow projects slightly from the end of its cover to admit of quick 

 handling. The case is tied together with a thong at the end, 

 and slung over the back. The bow cases are roughly made of 



