Otis T. Mason - Throwing sticks in the National Museum
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Otis T. Mason >> Throwing sticks in the National Museum
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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.
THROWING-STICKS IN THE NATIONAL
MUSEUM.
OTIS T. MASON,
_Curator of the Department of Ethnology_
From the Report of the Smithsonian Institution, 1883-'84,
Part II, pages 279-289, and plates I-XVII
WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1890.
I.--THROWING-STICKS IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM.
By Otis T. Mason.
Col. Lane Fox tells us there are three areas of the throwing-stick:
Australia, where it is simply an elongated spindle with a hook at the
end; the country of the Conibos and the Purus, on the Upper Amazon,
where the implement resembles that of the Australians, and the
hyperborean regions of North America.
It is of this last group that we shall now speak, since the National
Museum possesses only two specimens from the first-named area and none
whatever from the second.
The researches and collections of Bessels, Turner, Boas, Hall, Mintzner,
Kennicott, Ray, Murdoch, Nelson, Herendeen, and Dall, to all of whom I
acknowledge my obligations, enable me to compare widely separated
regions of the hyperborean area, and to distinguish these regions by the
details in the structure of the throwing-stick.
The method of holding the throwing-stick is indicated in Fig. 1 by a
drawing of H.W. Elliott. The Eskimo is just in the act of launching the
light seal harpoon. The barbed point will fasten itself into the animal,
detach itself from the ivory foreshaft, and unwind the rawhide or sinew
line, which is securely tied to both ends of the light wooden shaft by a
martingale device. The heavy ivory foreshaft will cause the shaft to
assume an upright position in the water, and the whole will act as a
drag to impede the progress of the game. The same idea of impeding
progress and of retrieving is carried out by a multitude of devices not
necessary to mention here.
The Eskimo spend much time in their skin kyaks, from which it would be
difficult to launch an arrow from a bow, or a harpoon from the unsteady,
cold, and greasy hand. This device of the throwing-stick, therefore, is
the substitute for the bow or the sling, to be used in the kyak, by a
people who cannot procure the proper materials for a heavier
lance-shaft, or at least whose environment is prejudicial to the use of
such a weapon. Just as soon as we pass Mount St. Elias going southward,
the throwing-stick, plus the spear or dart of the Eskimo and the Aleut,
gives place to the harpoon with a long, heavy, cedar shaft, weighing 15
or 20 pounds, whose momentum from both hands of the Indian, without the
throw-stick, exceeds that of the Eskimo and Aleut darts and harpoons,
with the additional velocity imparted by the throwing-stick. It must not
be forgotten, also, that the kyak is a very frail, unsteady thing, and
therefore not much of the momentum of the body can be utilized, as it is
by the Northwest Indians in making a lunge with a heavy shaft. The
throwing-stick is also said by some arctic voyagers to be useful in
giving directness of aim. Perhaps no other savage device comes so near
in this respect to a gun barrel or the groove of a bow-gun. Its greatest
advantages, however, are the firm grip which it gives in handling a
harpoon or dart, and the longer time which it permits the hunter to
apply the force of his arm to the propulsion of his weapon. Having
practiced with a throwing-stick somewhat, I have imagined also that
there was a certain amount of leverage acquired by the particular method
of holding the stick and straightening the arm, as in a toggle joint.
That implement, which seems so simple, and which is usually mentioned
and dismissed in a word, possesses several marks or organs, which help
to distinguish the locality in which each form occurs, as well as to
define the associations of the implement as regards the weapon thrown
from it and the game pursued. These marks are:
1. Shape, or general outline in face and side view, and size.
2. Handle, the part grasped in the hand.
3. Thumb-groove or thumb-lock, provision for the firm and comfortable
insertion of the phalanx and ball of the thumb.
4. Finger-grooves, provision for each finger according to its use in the
manipulation of the implement.
5. Finger-pegs, little plugs of wood or ivory to give more certain grip
for the fingers and to prevent their slipping. The devices for the
fingers are the more necessary where the hands are cold and everything
is covered with grease.
6. Finger-tip cavities, excavations on the front face of the implement,
into which the tips of the three last fingers descend to assist in
grasping and to afford a rest on the back of these fingers for the
weapon shaft.
7. Index-finger cavity or hole, provision for the insertion of the index
finger, which plays a very important part in the use of the
throwing-stick.
8. Spear shaft groove, in which the shaft of the weapon lies, as an
arrow or bolt in the groove of a bow-gun.
9. Hook or spur, provision for seizing the butt end of the weapon while
it is being launched. These may be ridges left in the wood by
excavation, or pieces of wood, bone, ivory, &c., inserted. The size and
shape of this part, and the manner of insertion, are also worthy of
notice.
10. Edges: this feature is allied to the form and not to the function of
the implement.
11. Faces: upper, on which the weapon rests; lower, into which the index
finger is inserted.
The figures illustrating this article are drawn to a scale indicated by
inch marks in the margin, every dot on the line standing for an inch.
By the presence or absence, by the number or the shape of some of these
marks or structural characteristics, the type and locality can be easily
detected. The Eskimo have everywhere bows and arrows for land hunting,
the former made of several pieces of bone lashed together, or of a piece
of driftwood lashed and re-enforced with sinew. The arrows are of
endless variety.
It should also be noticed that the kind of game and the season of the
year, the shape and size of the spear accompanying the stick, and the
bare or gloved hand, are all indicated by language expressed in various
parts of this wonderful throwing-stick.
GREENLAND TYPE.
The Greenland throwing-stick is a long, flat trapezoid, slightly ridged
along the back (Fig. 2). It has no distinct handle at the wide end,
although it will be readily seen that the expanding of this part secures
a firm grip. A chamfered groove on one side for the thumb, and a smaller
groove on the other side for the index finger, insure the implement
against slipping from the hunter's grasp. Marks 5, 6, 7 of the series on
page 280 are wanting in the Greenland type. The shaft-groove, in which
lies the shaft of the great harpoon, is wide, deep, and rounded at the
bottom. There is no hook, as in all the other types, to fit the end of
the harpoon shaft, but in its stead are two holes, one in the front end
of the shaft-groove, between the thumb-groove and the finger-groove,
with an ivory eyelet or grommet for a lining, the other at the distal
end of the shaft-groove, in the ivory piece which is ingeniously
inserted there to form that extremity. This last-mentioned hole is not
cylindrical like the one in front, but is so constructed as to allow the
shaft-peg to slide off easily. These holes exactly fit two ivory pegs
projecting from the harpoon shaft. When the hunter has taken his
throwing-stick in his hand he lays his harpoon shaft upon it so that the
pegs will fall in the two little holes of the stick. By a sudden jerk of
his hand the harpoon is thrown forward and released, the pegs drawing
out of the holes in the stick. At the front end of the throwing-stick a
narrow piece of ivory is pegged to prevent splitting. As before
intimated, this type of throwing-stick is radically different from all
others in its adjustment to the pegs on the heavy harpoon. In all other
examples in the world the hook or spur is on the stick and not on the
weapon.
UNGAVA TYPE.
One specimen from Fort Chimo in this region, southeast of Hudson Bay,
kindly lent by Mr. Lucien Turner, is very interesting, having little
relation with that from Greenland (which is so near geographically), and
connecting itself with all the other types as far as Kadiak, in Alaska
(Fig. 3). The outline of the implement is quite elaborate and
symmetrical, resembling at the hook end a fiddle-head, and widening
continuously by lateral and facial curves to the front, where it is thin
and flat. A slight rounded notch for the thumb, and a longer chamfer for
three fingers, form the handle. Marks 5 and 6 are wanting. The cavity
for the index finger extends quite through the implement, as it does in
all cases where it is on the side of the harpoon-shaft groove, and not
directly under it. The shaft groove is shallow, and the hook at the
lower extremity is formed by a piece of ivory inserted in a parallel
groove in the fiddle-head and fastened with pegs. It is as though a
saw-cut one-eighth inch wide had been made longitudinally through the
fiddle-head and one-half inch beyond, and the space had been filled with
a plate of ivory pared down flush with the wood all round, excepting at
the projection left to form the hook or spur for the harpoon shaft. This
peg or spur fits in a small hole in the butt of the harpoon or spear
shaft and serves to keep the weapon in its place until it is launched
from the hand. The Ungava spear is heavier than that of the western
Eskimo, hence the stick and its spur are proportionately larger. It is
well to observe carefully the purport of the spur. A javelin, assegai,
or other weapon hurled from the hand is seized in the center of gravity.
The Greenland spears have the pegs for the throwing-stick sometimes at
the center of gravity, sometimes at the butt end. In all other uses of
the throwing-stick the point of support is behind the center of gravity,
and if the weapon is not fastened in its groove it cannot be hurled.
This fastening is accomplished by the backward leaning of the peg in the
Greenland example, and by the spur on the distal end of the
throwing-stick in all other cases.
CUMBERLAND GULF TYPE.
The Cumberland Gulf type is the clumsiest throwing-stick in the Museum,
and Dr. Franz Boas recognizes it as a faithful sample of those in use
throughout Baffin Land (Fig. 4).
In general style it resembles Mr. Turner's specimens from Ungava; but
every part is coarser and heavier. It is made of oak, probably obtained
from a whaling vessel. Instead of the fiddle-head at the distal end we
have a declined and thickened prolongation of the stick without
ornament. There is no distinct handle, but provision is made for the
thumb by a deep, sloping groove; for the index-finger by a perforation,
and for the other three fingers by separate grooves. These give a
splendid grip for the hunter, but the extraordinary width of the handle
is certainly a disadvantage. There are two longitudinal grooves on the
upper face; the principal one is squared to receive the rectangular
shaft of the bird spear; the other is chipped out for the tips of the
fingers, which do not reach across to the harpoon shaft, owing to the
clumsy width of the throwing-stick. In this example, the hook for the
end of the bird-spear shaft is the canine tooth of some animal driven
into the wood at the distal end of the long-shaft groove.
FURY AND HECLA STRAITS TYPE.
In Parry's Second Voyage (p. 508) is described a throwing-stick of
Igloolik, 18 inches long, grooved for the shaft of the bird-spear, and
having a spike for the hole of the shaft, and a groove for the thumb and
for the fingers. The index-finger hole is not mentioned, but more than
probably it existed, since it is nowhere else wanting between Ungava and
Cape Romanzoff in Alaska. This form, if properly described by Parry, is
between the Ungava and the Cumberland Gulf specimen, having no kinship
with the throwing-stick of Greenland. The National Museum should possess
an example of throwing-stick from the Fury and Hecla Straits.
ANDERSON RIVER TYPE.
The Anderson River throwing-stick (and we should include the Mackenzie
River district) is a very primitive affair in the National Museum, being
only a tapering flat stick of hard wood (Fig. 5). Marks 2, 3, 4, 5, and
6 are wanting. The index-finger cavity is large and eccentric and
furnishes a firm hold. The shaft-groove is a rambling shallow slit, not
over half an inch wide. There is no hook or spur of foreign material
inserted for the spear end; but simply an excavation of the hard wood
which furnishes an edge to catch a notch in the end of the dart. Only
one specimen has been collected from this area for the National Museum;
therefore it is unsafe to make it typical, but the form is so unique
that it is well to notice that the throwing-stick in Eskimoland has its
simplest form in the center and not in the extremities of its whole
area. It is as yet unsafe to speculate concerning the origin of this
implement. A rude form is as likely to be a degenerate son as to be the
relic of a barbaric ancestry. Among the theories of origin respecting
the Eskimo, that which claims for them a more southern habitat long ago
is of great force. If, following retreating ice, they first struck the
frozen ocean at the mouth of Mackenzie's River and then invented the
kyak and the throwing-stick, thence we may follow both of these in two
directions as they depart from a single source.
POINT BARROW TYPE.
Through the kindness of Mr. John Murdoch, I have examined a number from
this locality, all alike, collected in the expedition of Lieutenant Ray,
U.S.A. (Fig. 6). They are all of soft wood, and in general outline they
resemble a tall amphora, bisected, or with a slice cut out of the middle
longitudinally. There is a distinct "razor-strop" handle, while in those
previously described the handle is scarcely distinct from the body.
Marks 3, 4, 5, and 6 are wanting. The index-finger hole is very large
and eccentric, forming the handle of the "amphora." The groove for the
harpoon or spear-shaft commences opposite the index-finger cavity as a
shallow depression, and deepens gradually to its other extremity, where
the hook for the spear-shaft is formed by an ivory peg. This form is
structurally almost the same as the Anderson River type, only it is much
better finished.
KOTZEBUE SOUND TYPE.
The Kotzebue Sound type is an elongated truncated pyramid, or obelisk,
fluted on all sides (Fig. 7). The handle is in the spiral shape so
frequent in Eskimo skin-scrapers from Norton Sound and vicinity, and
exactly fits the thumb and the last three fingers. Marks 5 and 6 are
wanting. The index cavity is a _cul de sac_, into which the forefinger
is to be hooked when the implement is in use. Especial attention is
called to this characteristic because it occurs here for the first time
and will not be seen again after we pass Cape Vancouver. From Ungava to
Point Barrow the index-finger hole is eccentric and the finger passes
quite through the implement and to the right of the harpoon or
spear-shaft. In the Kotzebue type the index finger cavity is subjacent
to the spear-shaft groove, consequently the forefinger would be wounded
or at least in the way by passing through the stick. The spear or
harpoon-shaft groove is wide and shallow and passes immediately over the
index cavity. The hook is of ivory and stands up above the wood. It
needs only to be mentioned that this type, as well as those with
eccentric forefinger perforations are used with the naked hand.
In the quarto volume of Beechey's Voyage, page 324, is mentioned a
throwing-stick from Eschscholtz Bay, with a hole for the forefinger and
a notch for the thumb, the spear being placed in the groove and embraced
by the middle finger and the thumb. This last assertion is very
important. When I first began to examine a large number of the
implements, I could not explain the cavities for the finger-tips until
this note suggested that the shaft rides outside of and not under the
fingers. To test the matter I had a throwing-stick made to fit my hand,
and found that the spear could get no start if clamped close to the
throwing-stick by all the fingers; but if allowed to rest on the back of
the fingers or a part of them, and it is held fast, by the thumb and
middle finger, it had just that small rise which gave it a start from
the propelling instrument.
In the national collection is a specimen marked Russian America,
collected by Commodore John Rodgers, resembling in many respects the
Kotzebue Sound type. The handle is of the same razor-strop shape, but on
the upper side are three deep depressions for the finger-tips. In
several of the objects already described provision is made for the tips
of the last three fingers by means of a gutter or slight indentations.
But in no other examples is there such pronounced separation of the
fingers. In very many of the Norton Sound skin-dressers, composed of a
stone blade and ivory handle, the fingers are separated in exactly the
same manner. These skin-dressers are from the area just south of
Kotzebue Sound. The back of the Rodgers specimen is ornamented in its
lower half by means of grooves. In its upper half are represented the
legs and feet of some animal carved out in a graceful manner. The
index-finger cavity is central and is seen on the upper side by a very
slight rectangular perforation, which, however, does not admit the
extrusion of any part of the index-finger. The upper surface is formed
by two inclined planes meeting in the center. Along this central ridge
is excavated the groove for the spear-shaft, deep at its lower end and
quite running out at its upper extremity. The hook for the end of the
harpoon-shaft in this specimen resembles that seen on the
throwing-sticks of the region south of Cape Vancouver. The whole
execution of this specimen is so much superior to that of any other in
the Museum and the material so different as to create the suspicion that
it was made by a white man, with steel tools (Fig 8).
EASTERN SIBERIAN TYPE.
The National Museum has no throwing-stick from this region, but
Nordenskjoeld figures one in the Voyage of Vega (p. 477, Fig. 5), which
is as simple as the one from Anderson River, excepting that the former
has a hook of ivory, while the latter has a mere excavation to receive
the cavity on the end of the weapon. Nordenskjoeld's bird-spear
accompanying the stick has a bulb or enlargement of the shaft at the
point opposite the handle of the throwing-stick, which is new to the
collection of the National Museum. Indeed, a systematic study should now
be made of the Siberian throwing-sticks to decide concerning the
commercial relationships if not the consanguinities of the people of
that region.
PORT CLARENCE AND CAPE NOME TYPE.
The specimens from this area are more or less spatulate in form, but
very irregular, with the handle varying from that of the razor-strop to
the spiral, twisted form of the Eskimo skin-scraper (Fig. 9). On the
whole, these implements are quite similar to the next group. A section
across the middle of the implement would be trapezoidal with incurved
sides. In two of the specimens not figured these curved sides are
brought upward until they join the upper surface, making a graceful
ornament. The handles are not symmetrical, the sides for the thumb being
shaved out so as to fit the muscles conveniently. Places for the fingers
are provided thus: There is an index-finger cavity quite through the
stick indeed, but the index-finger catches in the interior of the wood
and does not pass through as in the eastern Arctic types. The middle
finger rests against an ivory or wooden peg. This is the first
appearance of this feature. It will be noted after this on all the
throwing-sticks as the most prominent feature until we come to Kadiak,
but the Unalashkans do not use it on their throwing-sticks. Cavities for
the three last finger-tips are not always present, and the hooks at the
distal ends for the extremities of the weapons are very large plugs of
wood or ivory and have beveled edges rather than points for the
reception of the butt end of the weapon to be thrown.
NORTON SOUND TYPES.
These types extend from Cape Darby around to Cape Dyer, including part
of Kaviagmut, the Mahlemut, the Unaligmut, and the Ekogmut area of Dall,
and extending up the Yukon River as far as the Eskimo, who use this
weapon. The characteristics are the same as those of the last named
area, excepting that in many specimens there are two finger-pegs instead
of one, the first peg inclosing the middle finger, the second the
ring-finger and the little finger (Figs. 10-13). A single specimen
collected by Lucien Turner at Saint Michael's has no index cavity, the
forefinger resting on the first peg and the other three fingers passing
between this and the outer peg (Fig. 14). Another specimen of Nelson's,
marked Sabotinsky, has the index-finger cavity and one finger-peg. The
finger-tip cavity on the upper surface of the handle forms the figure of
a water-bird, in which the heart is connected with the mouth by a curved
line, just as in the pictography of the more southern Indians.
The Yukon River Eskimo use a throwing-stick quite similar to the Norton
Sound type. The characteristics are very pronounced. Thumb-groove deep,
index-finger cavity so long as to include the first joint. The hook for
the spear-end formed by the edge of a plug of hard wood. The middle
finger is separated by a deep groove and peg. The ring and little finger
are inclosed by the peg and a sharp projection at the upper end of the
handle.
NUNIVAK ISLAND AND CAPE VANCOUVER TYPE.
In this region a great change comes over the throwing-stick, just as
though it had been stopped by Cape Romanzoff, or new game had called for
modification, or a mixing of new peoples had modified their tools (Figs.
15-17). The index-finger cavity and the hole for the index finger are
here dropped entirely, after extending from Greenland uninterruptedly to
Cape Romanzoff. The handle is conspicuously wide, while the body of the
implement is very slender and light. The thumb-groove is usually
chamfered out very thoroughly so as to fit the flexor muscle
conveniently. There are frequently finger-grooves and finger-tip
cavities in addition to the pegs. The cavity for the index finger having
disappeared, provision is made for that important part of the hand by a
separate peg and groove. The middle finger is also pegged off, and the
last two fingers have to shift for themselves. The hook for the shaft of
the weapon has a fine point like a little bead, the whole implement
being adapted to the light seal-harpoon darts. Mr. Dall collected a
large number of two-pegged sticks from Nunivak Island and four
three-pegged sticks labeled the same. Mr. Nelson also collected four
three-pegged sticks, but labels them Kushunuk; Cape Vancouver, on the
mainland opposite Nunivak (Fig. 17). In these three-pegged sticks the
ring-finger and the little finger are inclosed together. This should be
compared with Mr. Turner's Saint Michael specimen, in which the last
three fingers are inclosed together (Fig. 14). It remains to be seen and
is worthy of investigation whether crossing a narrow channel would add a
peg to the throwing-stick. One of these Nunivak specimens is
left-handed.
BRISTOL BAY TYPE.
The throwing-stick from Bristol Bay resembles in general characteristics
those from Nunivak Island and Cape Vancouver. In outline it has the
shape of the broadsword. Its cross-section is bayonet-shaped. It has no
distinct handle beyond a slight projection from the end. The
thumb-groove is shallow and chamfered on the lower side to fit exactly.
There is a long, continuous notch for the four fingers, in which the
index finger and the middle finger are set off by pegs. There is a
depression, more or less profound, to receive the tips of the fingers.
The groove for the harpoon or spear-shaft is at the lower extremity and
runs out entirely near the index finger. The ivory plug at its lower
extremity is beveled to receive a notch in the end of the spear or
harpoon shaft (Figs. 18-19).
A freshly-made implement, looking as if cut out by machinery, resembling
closely those just described, is labeled Kadiak. The constant traffic
between Bristol Bay and Kadiak, across the Alaskan peninsula, may
account for the great similarity of these implements. Furthermore, since
the natives in this region and southward have been engaged for more than
a century in fur-sealing for the whites, there is not the slightest
doubt that implements made by whites have been introduced and slightly
modified by the wearer to fit his hand.