FIRE-MAKING
The art of fire-making was known among these people at a very remote time. The earliest method appears to have been through the agency of iron pyrites, called "cozgeen" or "igneen," and from the latter has been derived "ignek," the Tigara word for fire. Two pieces of "igneen," being struck together, would emit a spark; a small-sized heap of tinder being placed on the ground the operator would continue striking the glancing blows until a lucky spark ignited the mass. The operation, to say the least, must have required a great amount of patience on the part of the operator. It was the only method of fire-making known for a great length of time; then the second method was happily discovered.
It had been found that a small round stick with a piece of flint inserted in the end, revolved by hand, would bore through bone, ivory or even stone. Later on some inventive genius introduced the bow and string, to revolve the instrument more rapidly, while a wooden mouth-piece was used to exert pressure and to steady the instrument. It is still in use for boring, a piece of wire having replaced the flint. After the introduction of the bow and string and the mouth-piece, it was found that the rapidly revolving tool excited friction enough to produce fire. That was the second method known, but it did not displace the "igneen" which continued in use until rendered obsolete by the well-known flint and steel. This last is of comparatively recent introduction, iron not having been known in Alaska until the past fifty or sixty years. The domestic match, however, has now almost displaced all the other methods, although the flint and steel are still in use with some of the older smokers.
XIV
INSTRUMENTS
Man is more poorly endowed, both as regards speed and natural weapons of defense, than almost any other member of the animal kingdom. Had it not been for his superior intellect from the first, he would undoubtedly have been exterminated long ago. From the earliest time he has been forced to exercise his ingenuity to make amends for the natural inferiority he labored under in striving for his food, yet he has advanced step by step until he has proved his superiority by subduing all the other creatures of his kingdom, standing to-day without a rival, his only capable adversary being his fellow man.
There was, of course, a very early prehistoric time, at which he was forced to procure his food without artificial aid, the Inupash will tell you; then, as his inventive genius began exercising itself, a stone with a thong attached was employed to dispatch the game he sought. The stick sharpened at one end was probably introduced about the same time, it being the forerunner of the spear, which has proved as useful for small game as it has for the great brown bear. When the animal charged, the hunter quickly placed the butt of the spear on the ground, and the bear, thus coming in contact with the sharpened end, was pierced and killed. The noose also proved of service for bear and deer. If hunting the former, a steep bank, where the creature was known to walk, was chosen and the noose set. On becoming entangled, the bear in its struggle fell over the bank, where it would hang until dead. The sling probably never proved very efficacious, as its accuracy for birds on the wing is too uncertain. It was useful for casting stones into the ocean to frighten and drive the beluga into the nets set for that purpose. The "kalimetown" was a far more effective instrument. It was made of seven small ivory balls, each having a string of deer sinew attached, the strings being joined at the end by a feather. On being thrown into a flock of ducks on the wing, any one of the balls striking a bird would act as a pivot for the others to encircle the victim and bring it to the ground.
Bone or ivory hooks were used in fishing through the ice, the line being made from strips of whalebone or spines from the feather of the gannet. A spear formed from two pieces of bone arranged in the shape of a V proved effective in capturing fish. The net was of service, not only for fish and beluga, but also for ptarmigan and foxes. For the latter, it was set stationary, the hunters remaining hidden in snow shelters constructed for the occasion. On the approach of a fox, the men in hiding jumped up and made a noise, and the frightened creature in its efforts to escape was driven forward into the net. In netting ptarmigan, the only caution necessary is not to frighten the birds, but to keep them walking forward slowly. The meshes of the net are large and of fine sinew; the bird on attempting to pass through, becomes entangled. On the cliffs, during the summer months, the hand-net on a pole is a favorite device for capturing the murres, which fly back and forth among the rocks in immense numbers, making one continuous war night and day. These methods of hunting are all very old, yet all are still in use among the Inupash with the exception of that of netting foxes, the net having been abandoned for the steel trap.
Bows and arrows are of very ancient origin, too remote to trace out their first introduction. The bow was made from selected pieces of driftwood, reinforced by strips of whalebone, and bound with deer sinew. The arrow had two principal forms of head, one of brown flint, the other of deer horn, much longer than the first and nicked on the sides, to make it hold in the wounded game. On being struck, an animal would try to dislodge the arrow, giving the hunter a chance to send a second one, and so it would continue until a lucky shot proved fatal.