BIRD DART. 



213 



])(, 



ll SI 



sibk' that this patten 

 foriiotteii what thisol 

 a seal spear. 



One of the eight lieads i.f the 

 56592 [284], a gemiiiie one, old 

 whale's l)one, an unusual niateri; 

 Utkiavwiii, an ivory head of a : 



been figured (Fig. 108) to show a common style of onia- 

 nieuting these heads. A narrow incised line, colored 

 with red oclier, runs aloug the base of the barbs on each 

 side for about three-fourths the length of the 

 blade. Tliese heads are sometimes secured by 

 treenails as well as by a simple lashing, as is 

 shown by the holes through the tang of this 

 specimen. 



An imin-ovenient on this style of dart, which 



appears to be less common, has two prongs at 



the tip instead of a sharp head, so that the bird 



may be caught if struck on the neck with the 



point of the spear. No. SD! )(),") [132(;], Fig. l!l!», 



from Utkiavwifi, is one of this i)attern. The 



two prongs are fastened on with a lashing of 



fine sinew braid. The rest of the dart does 



not differ from the one described except in the 



method of attaching the three jjrongs at the 



middle (Fig. 199^). These are tltted into slight 



grooves in the wood and secured by two neat 



lashings of narrow strips of whalebone, one 



just above a little ridge at the lower end of 



p'oLQtfor «iich prong and one through little holes in each 



bird dart, prong at the top of the oblique edge. Each 



lashing consists of si!V(^ral turns with the end closely 



wi'apped around tlnun. Tluu-e is one specimen, No.89242 "I 



[520], in the collection which not only has not the prongs "■ 



at the middle, bnt lacks the enlargement of the shaft to fiu v.io -iiini dart 



receive Ihcm. The head is undoubtedly old and gen- "'""' '' i"'"" 



nine, bnt the shatt and tittings, though dirty, look suspiciously Iresh. 

 I am inclined to i)elieve that this head was mounted for sale by a man 

 who had no prongs ready made, and was in too much of a hurry to get 

 his price to stop to make them. Imperfect or unfinished objects were 

 freipiendy otVered for sale. 



The bird darts used at Point Barrow, and by the western Eskimo 

 generally, are lighter aiul better finished than thosi- nsed in t!u> east. 

 The latter have a heavy shaft, which 

 the prongs are crooked and clumsy.' 



mr-sided in Hafli 



d. and 



'See Crantz's figure referred to abovi 

 19, and Kink, Tales., etc., Fl. opposite ] 



also one in Parry's second voyage, PI. opposite p. 550, Fig. 



