The outfit, consisting of spears and their appurtenances, properly belongs with the kaiak. Of these implements, there are different kinds, depending on the game and the season of the year. As the kaiak is used only during the seasons of open water it is laid aside during the winter.
I remember an instance occurring opposite Fort Chimo. A kaiak had been left until the ice in the river was firm enough to enable the vessel to be brought over on it to the station. One day a woman declared that she could see a wolf tearing the skin from the frame. It was scarcely credited, but in the course of half an hour the wolf started across towards the post. It was met and showed some disposition to attack, but was shot. I watched to see where the men went to look at the kaiak, and when they reached the place I was astounded that the woman could discern even the kaiak at such a distance.
The spear used for white whales and large seals consists of a wooden shaft of 6 or 8 feet in length, having a projection on the side, made of ivory and shaped like the fin of a fish. This fin-shaped piece rests against the forefinger, while the remainder of the hand grasps the shaft. The lower end of the shaft terminates in a piece of bone or ivory of 1 to 1⅓ inches in diameter. ([Fig. 67.]) A socket is made in the end of the bone portion, and the wooden shaft is nicely fitted into it and fastened either by thongs or rivets. At the farther end of the bone head is a thimble-shaped hole gouged out, and into this a short piece of straight bone or ivory is fitted, having the ends so shaped that they will work smoothly into the hole at the end of the bone head of the spear. The farther end of this bone shaft is so shaped that it will work into the bone or ivory portion of the piece into which the spear point is fastened. The point is shown in the accompanying figure ([Fig. 68]) and is not much varied in general shape. There are two joints between the spear point and the bone shaft head. This enables the spear-point to become easily detached when the game is pierced. If this were not so, the bone or ivory would soon break with the violent motions of the animal, and the implement would be rendered useless until repaired. Thongs connect the various parts together, also connecting them with the main shaft of the spear. A long line, usually left lying in a coil just in front of the hunter, gives ample scope for play until the animal is exhausted. If the sea is rough or the hunter unable to cope with the quarry, the float, to be described below, is thrown over and the seal or whale allowed to take its course, the hunter following and endeavoring to harass the animal as much as possible, giving it a stab with the hand spear whenever occasion offers.
In addition to the whale or seal spear, the hand spear, float, and paddle, the kaiaker may have a wooden shaft, on the end of which are three prongs of barbed iron, each prong 8 to 10 inches long, and set in the form of a divergent trident. With this implement, small seals and the white-coated young are killed. Birds, too, are sometimes speared with this trident.
The hand board, or implement with which certain spears are hurled, is a piece of wood of such shape that a description will give but little idea of its form. It is about 14 inches long, flat, and has a groove on one side into which the rear end of the spear shaft rests, and is supported by the three fingers of the hand while the index finger fits into a hole cut through the board, of the shape to accommodate that digit. The tip of the finger rests against the shaft of the spear. Other notches are cut along the side of the board to enable the three fingers to lie in position to give a firm grasp on the end or handle of the board. The thumb turns over so as to lie directly on the spear, to steady it, while the other fingers give the spear the necessary straight motion when the arm is drawn back and raised nearly perpendicularly. When it reaches that position the motion is arrested and the fingers release the implement held along the groove. The hand board or thrower is retained and the spear recovered if the object has not been struck. If the aim was good the spear remains attached to the struggling animal, and the hand board is quickly placed under one of the thongs stretched across the top of the kaiak. The paddle is held in the left hand and ready for instant use.
The paddle is quite heavy and of variable length, having long, narrow blades, which are alternately dipped into the water. The use of the paddle requires some practice before one becomes accustomed to it. When in use the paddle rests on the edge of the hoop, forming the rim of the hatch, and moves along it in the motion of propulsion.
As the paddle dips into the water the dripping often causes the clothing to become wet. To obviate this, these people use a piece of plaited rope or skin to slip nearly to the beginning of the blade. This causes the dripping to fall outside of the kaiak; and in cold weather is very necessary, unless heavy mittens of tanned sealskin be worn.
An implement used for hooking into the body of a sunken seal or whale is made in the following manner: A piece of wood is prepared about 8 feet long and three-fourths of an inch thick, having a width of an inch and a half. The lower end of this has a strong hook made of stout iron set into it. Along the inner edge of the wooden shaft two or three notches are cut. The end near the person has a V-shaped notch cut into it. This is used for all the purposes of a boat hook, and also to retrieve a sunken animal. A weight is attached to near the hook end to keep the shaft perpendicular in the water. A line of sufficient length is attached to it. The hunter has marked the locality, and with the hook “feels” the bottom for the game. When found the hook is jerked into the skin and the object brought to the surface. The staff is very necessary while the kaiak is being moved through narrow channels among the ice fields. It is, in fact, available in many instances where the paddle would, from its length, be useless. The kaiak outfit would be incomplete without the hook.
A young man starts out in life with a gun and ammunition with which to procure game. If he has the energy to become a successful hunter he will soon be able to make a kaiak, and thus procure the marine mammals whose skins will afford a covering for an umiak and in the course of time additional skins for a tent. These possessions usually come in the order laid down, and when they are all procured he is generally able to have others under his direction assist in transporting them from place to place; and thus he becomes the head of a gens or family, including his brothers and sisters with their husbands, wives, and children. These usually move in a body wherever the head may dictate, and all their possessions accompany them on the journey. Brothers often live together and own the tent and umiak, the remainder of the household affairs being considered as individual property and not to be used by all without permission.
Some of the men are too improvident to prepare these skins when they have the opportunity, and thus they are unable to own a kaiak, which prevents them from providing themselves with the umiak and tent. These persons must live with others or dwell by themselves and pass a miserable existence, scarcely noticed by their fellows even during a season of abundance.