Told of the Red Indian Whalers 21 



One can appreciate the work of the red whalers, 

 however, only after a consideration of some de- 

 tails of his weapons. On the Atlantic coast the 

 Indians had stone-headed arrows and stone- 

 headed spears. The arrow-heads were about two 

 inches long; the spear-heads four or five. Some 

 were made longer than the dimensions here given, 

 but the average weapon of each kind was no 

 larger. These weapons were used on land for 

 killing deer and other animals found in the 

 forest. For the land animals they were efficient 

 enough. Deer, moose, elk, and bears were all 

 killed with such weapons easily, though always 

 at such short range that the Indian was almost 

 within touch of his prey. The white man, with 

 his repeating rifle that fires a bullet through a 

 quarter of an inch of iron plate, may well won- 

 der at the ability of the Indian to strike down the 

 moose with stone-headed arrows. 



To secure the whale, the Indian had to go 

 afloat upon the sea, and it was during the winter 

 season that whales were found in greatest num- 

 bers along the Atlantic coast. In modern days 

 we praise the courage of our life savers who go 



