86 CRUISE OF THE STEAMER COKWIN. 



WEAPONS AND IMPLEMENTS OF THE CHASE. 



In the course of iny investigatious I observed five forms of spears and three of arrows ; the 

 description and uses of which are as follows : 



Spears : 



(1) Reindeer; Thrusting.— Shaft of spruce or larch about five feet long, slightly tapering, 



with head of chipped flint, ivory, or, rarely, jade. 



(2) Projectile. — Light wooden shaft three and one-half to four feet in length, with short 



chipped flint or iron head, shot from a bow. 



(3) Throicing. — Sliaft four and one-half to five feet long, smaller than (1), with barbed 



ivory or bone head two and one-half inclies long, darted at fish or small game. 



(4) Bird spear. — Light wooden shaft like (3), with barbed ivory or boue head, rarely 



curved, and with three ivory or boue prongs fastened in the middle. 



(5) Bear spear. — Shaft larger than deer spear, with iron or chipped flint head, rarely 



obsidian or jade. 

 Arrows : 



(1) Reindeer. — Shaft two and one-half feet long, with long ivory, bone, or chipped flint 



and, rarely, obsidian head. 



(2) Bear or other dangerous game. — Shaft larger than (1), with short, sharp-pointed iron or 



chipped flint head. 



(3) Bird. — Liyht shaft feathered at small end, with blunt bone or, rarely, stone head. 

 The bow used by the natives is about five feet loug, made of larch and re-enforced with raw- 

 hide or sinew. In order to increase the propulsive power of the arm in throwing spears a flat 

 board is used eighteen inches long and two and one-half inclies wide, having a hole through one 

 end for the finger and its upper surface grooved to steady the weapon. 



Bird slings. — Made of several oblong i^ieces of ivory one and one-half inches long by one inch 

 thick, having holes in the ends, to which are attached thongs of rawhide or deer-sinew. In practice, 

 the thongs being knotted together so as to leave the pieces of ivory suspended freely at a distance 

 of about two feet from the knot, a kind of "bulas" is formed, which is thrown into a flock of birds 

 with the intention of entangling their wings and rendering their capture easy. _ 



Snow spectacles. — In order to protect the eyes from the glare of the snow, wooden blinders or 

 spectacles are worn. They are made of soft wood hollowed out to tit over the eyes, and a narrow 

 slit is made in each pair large enough to look through. 



Traps.— Tha ordinary steel spring trap of commerce is used by all of these tribes, and forms 

 one of the staple articles of trade between them and the traders on the coast. Besides these the 

 natives employ a number of means of capturing animals and birds, some of which are common to 

 all hunters and others which are peculiar to this region. Bear traps are made of very heavy logs, 

 which are so arranged as to fall on the animal when an attempt is made to take the bait. They 

 are clumsy affairs, and the natives confess that they are not very successful in capturing this 

 animal by means of these traps. For smaller game, such as foxes, lynx, beaver, etc., steel traps or 

 figure of- four traps of native make are used. Deer are sometimes driven into the snow-choked 

 gorges of dry river beds and into pits over which a light covering of brush and snow has been 

 laid. Along the sandy beaches of the river I frequently saw a row of small stakes or bushes 

 Bet up, and on inquiring their use was informed that the geese which breed here would not attempt 

 to force their way through this line of stakes, but would follow it uj) until an opening was found, 

 and here a trap would be set. The boys use loops and snares made of deer-sinew fastened to 

 small trees bent down and so arranged that any disturbance of the bait will cause the tree to be 

 released and fly violently upward. By this means hares, ermine, rauskrat, grouse, etc., are taken. 



SnoiD traps are made of scpiare pieces of snow arranged like a dead-fall. In nearly all these 

 cases the bait is not put into the traj), as the animals soon learn to shun them, but into little snow 

 houses, and the trap is set and concealed in or near the door. Among the articles which come 

 under this head are looi)S of sinew used for catching fish instead of using a hook. In the clear 



