NiiLsciN] THROWING STICKS 153 



weapon struck in the middle of the circle on the water where the bird 

 had gone down. Bird spears are generally cast overhand, so as to 

 strike from above, but if the birds are shy and dive quickly, the spears 

 are cast with an underhand throw so that they skim along the surface 

 of the water. I have seen a hunter throwing a spear at waterfowl on 

 the surface of a stream when small waves were running ; the spear 

 w^ould tip the crests of the waves, sending up little jets of spray, and 

 yet continue its course for 20 or 25 yards. This method is very confus- 

 ing to the birds, as they are frequently struck by the spear before tliey 

 seem to be aware of its approach. When throwing spears into llocks 

 of partly fledged ducks or geese that are bunched together, two or 

 even three are sometimes impaled at once upon the triple points. 



Hunters in kaiaks are able to follow a seal or a diving waterfowl in 

 calm weather by the lines of bubbles which rise from the swimming 

 animal and mark its course beneath the surface. On one occasion I 

 amused myself for nearly half a day with two Eskimo companions in 

 kaiaks by i)ursuing half-fledged eider ducks in the sea off the end of 

 Stuart island. After a little instruction from my companions I was 

 surprised to see how readily the birds could be followed, for when they 

 came to the surface they were always within easy range of a cast of 

 the spear. 



In using the throwing stick for casting the spear in a curve through 

 the air by an overhand motion, the throwing stick is held pointing 

 backward; the end of the spear shaft is laid in the groove on its upper 

 surface, resting against the ivory i)in or other crosspiece at the outer 

 end; the shaft of the spear crosses the fingers and is held in position 

 by grasping with the thumb and forefingefi aroundthe throwing stick. 

 The under side of the spear rests upon the extended end of the third 

 finger, which lies along a groove in the throwing stick. This gives the 

 outer end of the spear an upward cant, so that when it is cast it takes 

 a slightly upward course. If the cast is to be made directly forward 

 with a vertical motion of the hand, the spear is held with the groove 

 upward; but in throwing the spear along the surface of the water the 

 throwing stick is so held that the groove faces outwardly. In using 

 throwing sticks that have pins set along the side for finger-rests, the 

 spear is held in position by the thumb and second finger instead of 

 with the thumb and first finger, as is usual with other throwing sticks. 

 In the case of the three-peg tlirowing sticks the spear rests upon the 

 tnrned-in ends of the first and third fingers, while the thumb and 

 second finger hold it in position from above. 



Tlie throwing sticks used by the Unalit Eskimo are made of a length 

 proportioned to the size of the person who is to use them; this is 

 determined by the measurement of the forearm from the point of the 

 right elbow to the tip of the outstretched forefinger. Throwing sticks 

 used with the spears for hunting white whales are made longer by the 

 width of the forefinger than those used for seal and bird spears. 



The ordinary length of (he seal spears uSed with throwing sticks by 



