Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 April 1894 — ESKIMO WEAPONS. [ARTICLE]

ESKIMO WEAPONS.

Expert Use of Them by the Natives of the Far North. To the interesting collection of curios gathered by Capts. Edwards and McDermott, United States Inspectors of Hulls and Boilers, during the last few years, have lately been added a number of weapons used by the Eskimos in the hunt and chase, and other articles and relics, presented by various persons in the Northwest and British Columbia. The Eskimos’ weapons were presented to the Inspectors by the widow of the late Oapt. John M. Olsen of Astoria, Master of the sealer Polar Boar, in accordance with a request which he expressed before his death. The most interesting of these curios is a spear with a poisoned arrow head, which is the most effective of all the weapons used by the inhabitants of the “land of the midnight sun.” The spear entire is about, five feet long. It is made of wood, mounted with bone, In which are finely carved all the fantastic designs characteristic of the Eskimos in this line of work. The arrow is made in three nieces, two parts wood, and the third, which is the head, of bone dipped in poison. The three pieces are held together by a leather thong, butr with a slight movement of the hand these can be disengaged, leaving the head, when it strikes the animal, curved in its body in such manner that, it is Impossible to disengage it without cutting the skin.

When the weapon is used on whale, seal, or other water animal a floater, made of the bladder of a seal, is attached to the end of the spear, so that the hunter may trace its course and locate his game. The Eskimos have a peculiar way of “shooting” this weapon. The hunter holds in his right hand, high above his head, a short stick, or “gun,” with a notch near the top, where the end of the spear fits snugly. Taking alm at his game, he moves his right hand swiftly forward, propelling the spear with lightning speed, and invariably with unerring aim at the mark. Instances have been recorded where a hunter brought down his game at fifty yards, and one or two Alaska story tellers, who have no fear of being discredited by the rising generation, say that animals have been slain at 100 yards’ distance. But all agree that the average Eskimo is a marksman who never fails to hit his mark, and who, when so disposed, always provides plenty for his family with his primitive weapons. Sometimes to this spear is attached a rope of leather, one end of which is securely fastened to the hunter’s arm, so that he may keep hold of his game. But this is only done on short-distance shots. A weapon used in hunting birds is a tripod-shaped spear. This is thrown in the same manner as the poisoned spear. The hunter sneaks within distance of his covey of ptarmigan or other birds, and lets fly his weapon. If he be lucky, three birds are the reward of his skill; if not, one or two. The inspectors have weapons of the above kinds of several sizes, but all used for the same purpose. Among the other articles are a belt and a pair of leggings finely ornamented with beads, made and worn by the Eskimos, and which they sell to curio seekers for $25; also, a water bag, made of sealskin, a lariat, and several varieties of the well-known harpoon. Next to the weapons, the skull of a Palouse Indian woman commands attention, for several reasons. The principal one is because her skull is shaped wholly unlike that of the common Palouse, and it is thought that she was a person of high degree —probably a princess, or at least a woman of high birth. From the earliest time in the recollection of the oldest inhabitant—who is still in existence —the Palouse Indians have continued the habit of their forefathers of flattening the rear part of the cranium of their female children of low birth. This was done so that they might be distinguished from the high-born natives. This ws>man had a full back head, but a low and retreating forehead.—[Oregonian.