166 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [eth.ann. 18 



a bomb gun which they had obtained from some whaler. While on a 

 summer cruise on a whaling ship some of the men had learned the use 

 of this gun and they took the earliest opi)ortunity to obtain one; in the 

 fall it was planted on the ice near the entrance to the bay, and as the 

 whales swam slowly along the narrow lead that remained open in 

 midchannel the bomb lances were fired into them without any lines 

 attached. This was always done while tlie whales were heading up the 

 bay, so that they might swim as far as possible toward the head of the 

 bay and die under the ice; a few days later the gases would inflate 

 their bodies to such an ex^nt that the carcasses would burst through 

 the ice and indicate their position to the people, who would at once cut 

 them up, using> the blubber for food and keeping the whalebone to be 

 traded to the whalers in the spring. The people at Point Barrow have 

 also used a whaling gun for some time. 



The walrus is found on many parts of the coast, but is rarely seen 

 near St Michael; about Nunivak island and the coast of the adjacent 

 mainland it is caught during fall and spring. N^ear the mouth of the 

 Kuskokwim the hunters endeavor to surprise herds of walrus in the 

 shallow bays along the coast. When they succeed, they form a line of 

 kaiaks between the animals and the sea, and by shouting and striking 

 the sides of the kaiaks with their paddles, so alarm them that they are 

 driven ashore, where they are easily killed. In the fall of 1879 thirty 

 of these animals were captured by a drive of this kind just south of 

 Cape Vancouver. This method, however, can be employed only where 

 the water is very shallow, so that the walrus can not escape by diving 

 and passing beneath the kaiaks. 



Although spears and lances are still used in ^alrus hunting, as fire- 

 arms become more plentiful among the natives many of these ani- 

 mals are shot with rifles, which are used in addition to the old-style 

 weapons for killing the beluga or white whale. This animal is some- 

 times stranded at low water and is then easily killed. These whales 

 are treated with great respect by the Eskimo, and when one is taken 

 certain ceremonies must be observed to avoid ofieuding it. At St 

 Michael I saw the hunters haul a recently killed beluga ashore, and 

 before it was completely dragged out of the water one of them poured 

 some urine in its mouth and then addressed several sentences to its 

 shade in propitiation for having killed it. At Point Hope one was 

 killed during the visit of the revenue cutter Corwin to that place in 

 the summer of 1881, and while it was being drawn ashore the people 

 gathered on the beach and sang a song of welcome such as is used in 

 the kashim during certain dances. 



HUNTING BAGS AND HELMETS 



Hunting bags are made in various forms and are worn by a strap 

 over the shoulders; in them the hunters carry their powder, bullets, 

 cap boxes, and other small articles needed in the chase. Bags of this 

 kind made from the skins of wolves' heads are highly prized. 



