ESKIMO ETHNOLOGICAL MATERIAL ^3 



the piles of the other bird arrows in the material from which it 

 is made, and that the tang is wedge-shaped. No. 10,965 is of 

 greyish shale, 1.2 inches wide, and 2.2 inches long. No. 10,966 

 is of dark indurated shale, 2 inches long, .8 inch wide, with a 

 a broad tang. 



Harpoons. Eight harpoon heads were collected at Herschel 

 Island; these are of walrus ivory and heavy bone. Owing to 

 the presence of the whalers throughout the year, there is little 

 need of such weapons, and they, with other articles of Eskimo 

 manufacture, are going out of use. 



Bird Darts. These are used in capturing large birds, such as 

 geese and ducks, and are especially effective when the birds 

 are unable to fly during the moulting season. They are pro- 

 vided with a long heavy head and a set of three prongs near 

 the middle of the shaft, the object of which is to catch the neck 

 of the bird if missed by the head of the dart. They are thrown 

 by means of a throwing stick, of which no specimens were 

 obtained. 



No. 11,032 furnishes a good example of the common type. 

 The shaft is of spruce, 53.5 inches long and .5 of an inch in 

 diameter; it is enlarged at the insertion of the prongs to a 

 diameter of .8 of an inch; the butt is hollowed slightly to fit a 

 projection on the throwing stick; the head is of walrus ivory, a 

 foot in length; it is trihedral, with one sharp edge in which are 

 cut seven barbs, extending to within 3 inches of the point; the 

 tang is wedge-shaped, and secured by a whalebone pin and 

 strong lashing of sealskin line; another line passes through a 

 hole in its base and is made fast near the butt of the shaft. 

 The prongs are of walrus ivory, attached 2 inches above the 

 middle of the shaft; they are sunk in slits and bound at the 

 base with braided sinew, an inch forward of this is a hole in 

 each, through which the line from the head passes and secures 

 the prong with two hitches around the shaft; two of the prongs 

 have two barbs each on the inner edge, the third has a barb on 

 each side, so that it would be of service only in piercing and 

 not by holding the neck of a bird against the shaft. 



No. 11,033 is somewhat smaller; its line is of two-ply twisted 

 sinew; the prongs are directed forward until parallel with the 

 shaft, and have four barbs each on their outer edges, making 

 them effective as piercing weapons only. 



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