NELSON] USE OF BOLAS — BIRD IMPOUNDING 135 



distance, he swings the balls around his head once or twice and casts 

 them, aiming a little in front of the flock. When the balls leave the 

 hand they are close together, the cords trail behind, and they travel 

 so swiftly that it is diflScult to follow their flight with the eye. As they 

 begin to lose their impetus they acquire a gyrating motion, and spread 

 apart until at their highest point they stand out to the full extent of 

 the cords in a circle four or five feet in diameter; they seem to hang 

 thus for a moment, then, if nothing has been encountered, turn and drop 

 to the earth. While in the air the cords do not appear to interfere 

 with each other, but when the sling reaches the ground the cords will 

 be found to be interwoven in a perfect network of entanglement; if a 

 bird is struck it is enwrapped by the cords and its wings so hampered 

 that it falls helpless. 



It is curious to note the quickness with which this implement 

 changes its course if one of the balls encounters any obstruction. At 

 Cape Wankarem 1 saw the Chukchi capture many eider ducks by its 

 aid, and frequently saw one of the extended balls or its cord touch a 

 duck, when the other balls appeared as if endowed with intelligence; 

 their course was rapidly changed, and the bird enwrapped as com- 

 pletely as if it had been struck squarely by the sling. Owing to the 

 space covered by these implements they are very effective when cast 

 among a flock of birds. They are used mostly on low points over which 

 waterfowl fly at certain hours of the day. 



The Eskimo of the Yukon delta and the low country to the southward 

 make drives of waterfowl on the marshes during August, when the old 

 birds have molted their wing-feathers and the young are still unable 

 to fly. Salmon nets are arranged by means of stout braces and stakes 

 to form a pound with wings on one side; the people form a long line 

 across the marsh and, by shouting and striking the ground with sticks 

 as they advance, drive the birds before them toward the pound. As they 

 approach it, the line of people converge until they reach the wings, and 

 the birds, thus inclosed, are driven in and killed with sticks. Thou- 

 sands o|^downy young are thus slaughtered and thrown away, while 

 umiaks are filled with the larger or adult birds. One of the fur traders 

 told me that he witnessed a drive of this kind where about a ton of 

 young birds were killed and thrown aside, while several umiaks were 

 loaded with the larger birds, among which were many varieties of ducks 

 and geese. Thete drives and the constant egg gathering that is prac- 

 ticed every spring are having their effect in rapidly diminishing the 

 number of waterfowl in this district. 



SEAL SPEARS 



The ordinary types of weapons used for spearing seals from a kaiak 

 vary from 4 to 4^ feet in length. They have a light wooden shaft, 

 rounded or slightly oval in cross section, of about the same size from 

 butt to point, with a long, rounded head of bone or ivory having a 



