THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 



289 



Emmons Collection. Fig 137, Plate xxix, represents a flat steel spear 

 head, a, with detachable wooden fore-shaft, b. A line attached to the 

 head is also fastened to the end of the spear shaft, allowing several feet 



Fig.l37e. 



Bone Spear-head. 



(Tlingit. EoinioQS Collection.) 



Fig. 149a 

 Salmon Gig. 



(Tlingit. Emmons Collection.) 



drift. This type is adapted to the capture of other kinds of fish and 

 even the sea-otter, but one better for all purposes of hunting and fish- 

 ing is that shown in Fig. 150, Plate xxx. A detailed description of the 

 spear complete may not be out of place, as it is the general coast Indian 

 type from Puget Sound to Cape St. Elias. Such a spear consists of three 

 parts, the shaft, fore shaft, and head. The shaft is a light cedar pole, 

 having in the outer end a socket, and served on that end with a wrap- 

 ping of cedar bark fibre or spruce root to prevent its splitting. The 

 general type of fore-shaft is that shown in Fig. 1376, Plate xxix. It is 

 of cedar wood, about 8 to 10 inches long, and pointed at both ends, that 

 at c being a flat leaf-s^haped expansion fitting into the socket in the end 

 of the shaft. The point d fits into a socket in the butt of the spear head. 

 The usual type of spear head as now found is that shown in Fig. 150, 

 Plate xxx, consisting of a barbed arrow-shaped head of steel with a socket 

 at the butt formed by two pieces of bone lashed to the end of the steel tip. 

 The lashing tapers, and is usually covered with spruce gum so as to 

 ojBfer no obstruction to the whole head entering a fish, seal, or other vic- 

 tim. The lashing also secures the end of a laniard about 2 feet or more 

 long, the other end of which goes to the end of the shaft and is there 

 lashed. In other words, the detachable head is really attached to the 

 spear shaft by a very stout cord. The two bone barbs at the butt of 

 the spear head form the socket for the end e of the fore-shaft. When 

 the game is struck the fore-shaft comes away from both the spear shaft 

 and spear head, but the head is secured to the spear shaft by its lan- 

 iard, and a harpoon line is bent to the spear shaft, so that the capt- 

 ured animal is on one end of a continuous line of which the other is 

 fi. Mis. 142, pt. 2 19 



