Bidarkis 



fatigued that it can be knocked on the head and 

 so secured. This was the old and original way 

 of hunting these animals. I understand now, 

 however, that this ingenious but primitive method 

 has been superseded by shooting the animals 

 with rifles. In any case the poor brutes have 

 been so persecuted that it is only a question of 

 a few years, unless they are most stringently pro- 

 tected, before they are doomed to complete ex- 

 tinction. The bows and arrows, therefore, have 

 a considerable interest in themselves, and the 

 Indians, I was told, would not part with them 

 under any circumstances. However, the chief, 

 who lived near Kenai, sold me all he owned him- 

 self and others he collected for me for one 

 dollar each, and as I understood that this sum 

 or its equivalent was paid by the users to the 

 expert Indians who made them, my obtaining 

 them at this price was somewhat of a bargain. 



The bidarkis are wonderful boats ; they weigh, 

 when empty, about forty pounds, and will carry 

 quite a lot of stuff stowed away between decks, 

 in addition to the crew. Each man is provided 

 with a waterproof jacket and hood in one piece, 

 a sample of which I was fortunate enough to 

 obtain ; when in use it is tied with a draw-string 

 beneath the chin, around the wrists, and around 

 the wooden ring which surrounds each of the 

 holes in the deck of the boat in which the men 

 sit. These jackets are called "kamalinkas," and 



235 



