Fig. 171.—Bag of leather.
[WEAPONS.]
As would naturally be expected from what has been said of the peaceful character of these people, offensive weapons, specially intended for use against men, are exceedingly rare. In case of quarrels between individuals or parties the bows, spears, and knives intended for hunting or general use would be turned against their enemies. Even their rifles, nowadays, are kept much more for hunting than as weapons of offense, and the revolvers of various patterns which many of them have obtained from the ships are chiefly carried when traveling back and forth between the two villages as a protection against a possible bear. We, however, obtained a few weapons which were especially designed for taking human life. One of these was a little club (tĭ´glun) (No. 89492 [1310], Fig. 172, from Utkiavwĭñ) made of the butt end of an old pickax head of whale’s bone, with the point cut down to a blunt end. It is 6.4 inches long and meant to be clenched in the hand like a dagger, and used for striking blows, probably at the temple. The transverse grooves for hafting give a good hold for the fingers. This was the only weapon of the kind seen.
We collected a single specimen of a kind of slung shot, No. 89472 [905] (Fig. 173), made of a roughly ovoid lump of heavy bone, the symphysis of the lower jaw of a walrus, 3⅓ inches long. At the smaller end two large holes are bored in obliquely so as to meet under the surface and form a channel through which is passed a slip of white seal skin about 15 inches long, the ends of which fasten together with two slits, so as to make a loop. This may be compared with the stone balls used by the ancient Aleuts for striking a man on the temple.
Fig. 172.—Little hand-club.
