BOAS.J SEAL HrNTIX(;. 471 



HUNTING AND FISHING.' 



SEAL. WALRUS, AND WHALE HUNTING. 



Tlie stajile food of the Ceutral Eskimo is the seal, particularly 

 J>(i(l(iii/tjsf,ifi(hiN. The methods of hunting this animal differ mate- 

 rially at different seasons, as its mode of life dejiends on the state of 

 the ice. 



In the winter it takes to the smooth jiarts of the floe a few miles 

 from the coast, where it scratches breathing holes through the ice, in 

 which it rises to blow. It shuns hummocky ice and floes of more 

 than one year's age. Wherever the edge of the ice is at a great dis- 

 tance from the settlements, the only way of procuring seals is l>y 

 watching for them at these holes. For the pursuit a light harpoon 

 is used, called unang. The shape of this weapon has been somewhat 

 changed since the introduction of rod iron. Formerly it consisted 

 of a shaft having at one end an ivory point firmly attached by thongs 

 and rivets, the point tapering toward the end. The point was slant- 

 ing on one side so as to form almost an oblique cone. Thus it facili- 

 tated the separation of the harpoon head from the unang. On the 

 opposite end of the shaft another piece of ivory was attached, gener- 

 ally forming a knob. The material used in making the shaft was 

 wood, bone, or ivory, according to the region in which it was manu- 

 factured. In Iglulik and in Aggo the narwhal's horn was the favor- 

 ite material for the whole implement, a single horn being sufficient 

 to make a whole shaft "Wherever wood could be procured small 

 pieces were ingeniously lashed together. As the shaft is apt to be 

 ])roken by the struggles of the animal Avhen struck by the weapon, 

 it was strengthened by a stout thong running along the whole length 

 of the shaft. In all other respects the old design corn's] louds to the 

 modern one. Unfortunately I have seen no spiMinicn of 1 liis descrip- 

 tion, Irat a figure may be seen in Eoss II, p. x'T.', in tlie liand of one 

 of the natives. In Alaska a similar harpoon is in use, a specimen 

 of which is represented in Fig. .390. It consists of a wooden shaft, 

 with a stout ivory point at the I'ower end and ,in< ithcr at the iiii}H'r end. 

 Both are fastened to tlie shaft by whalcljoiu' stiin,-s. In tlir npper 

 end a slanting ivory point is inserted, which serves for attachini;- the 

 harpoon head to it. The whole shaft is strengthened by a seal line, 

 as shown in the figure. 



The unang now in use in Baffin Land and on the western shore 

 of Hudson Bay (Fig. :Si)l) consists of a wooden shaft into which an 

 iron rod (itnartenga) is sunk. The latter is pointed at the end (see, 

 also, Fig. 393) in about the same way as the old ivory implement. 

 The socket is secured by a small ivory ring (unaqiuta) or a string 

 wound around the end of the .shaft. In the socket close to the iron rod 



'A glossary of the Eskimo words used throughout this paper will be t'euiul on 

 p. 659. 



