. Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian Institution. Archives; Discoveries in science. ABORIGINAL AMKKICAN HARPOONS. li2U The Makahs. accordinu' to Swiui, aro not active in vocations or pur- suits other than tishini^- and wlialin^, and obtain some of their supplies by barter from neigh))orino- tribes and white men. Thev devote very little time to agricultui'al pursuits or to the capture of land animals. })ut excel in the management of canoes, makino- long voj^ages from land for fish, and fearlessly attacking the whale. They m
. Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian Institution. Archives; Discoveries in science. ABORIGINAL AMKKICAN HARPOONS. li2U The Makahs. accordinu' to Swiui, aro not active in vocations or pur- suits other than tishini^- and wlialin^, and obtain some of their supplies by barter from neigh))orino- tribes and white men. Thev devote very little time to agricultui'al pursuits or to the capture of land animals. })ut excel in the management of canoes, makino- long voj^ages from land for fish, and fearlessly attacking the whale. They manufacture their own fishing apparatus, and take es})ecial pains with their har- poons and lances, for which instruments they have the greatest regard. The principal implements used by the Makah whalers are harpoons, lances, ropes, and ])uoys. The harpoon heads were formerly made of shell. V>ut at present are of sheet copper or steel, with ])arbs of elk or deer horn, tighth' seized to the blades by cords or strips of bark, the whole being covered with spruce gum. The lanyards attached to the harpoon are made of the sinew of the whale twisted into a rope and served with fibers of nettle. The lances are of metal, with sockets for the ends of the poles. The poles for the harpoons and lances are. Fig. 21. SEALSKIN FLOAT. Makah Indians. Washington. Collected by James G. Swan. heavy and unwieldy, but durable and strong. The l)uoys are of sealskin with the hair inside, infiated when used, and attached to the harpoon lanyards. These buoy's are used for the double purpose of impeding the progress of the whale, so as to enal)le the Indians to kill it. and to prevent the animal from sinking when dead. All whaling implements which have been used in the capture are regarded with especial favor and handed down from generation to generation, and it is deemed unlucky to part with them. These Indians did not acquire the art of whaling from white men, and still employ the apparatus and proces
Size: 3057px × 817px
Photo credit: © Library Book Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorsmithsonianinstitutio, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840
