While we were on the
island (to which I had applied the name of Observation Island), it
happened that a small bird flew near us, when one of the Esquimaux
made a sign of shooting it with a bow and arrow in a manner which
could not be misunderstood. It is remarkable, therefore, that we
could not find about their tents any of these weapons, except a
little one of five or six inches long, the bow being made of
whalebone and the arrow of fir, with a feather at one end and a
blunt point of bone at the other, evidently appearing to be a
child's toy, and intended, perhaps, to teach the use of it at an
early age.
The runners of the only sledge we saw were composed of the right
and left jawbones of a young whale, being nine feet nine inches
long, and one foot seven inches apart, and seven inches high from
the ground. They are connected by a number of parallel pieces,
made out of the ribs of the whale, and secured transversely with
seizings of whalebone, so as to form the bottom of the sledge, and
the back is made of two deers' horns placed in an upright
position. The lower part of the runners is shod with a harder kind
of bone, to resist the friction against the ground. The whole
vehicle is rudely executed, and, being nearly twice the weight of
the sledges we saw among the northern Esquimaux, is probably
intended for carrying heavy burdens.
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