Kodiak Natives Skilled
Hunters
(Concluded)
On© famous whaler of Kodiak, who
desired to flatter Governor Barauoff,
said to him, “When you die I shall
try to steal your body,*’ intending
thus to convey great respect for the
Russian as a hunter. On the occa
sion of the death of some noted whal
er his fellows would out his body into
small pieces each ou*> taking a part
for the purpose of rubbing his spear
head with it. These pieces were dried
or otherwise preserved and were used
as talismans, descending from father
to son.
These observances are no longer In
use, but up to a few years ago there
whs sfill much superstition attached
to a whale hunt and the greatest sec
reoy was observed in regard to these
superstitions, the hunters refusing to
discuss it with the whites A whal
ing captain in Frisco once told the
author that he had occasion to enfer
the hut of a whale hunter at Kodiak
and noticing a woman lying in one
corner covered with bearskins, asked
if the woman was ill. He was told
that the woman’s husband had gone
to hunt whales and that she was ob
liged to remain in this position, pros
trate without food or water until his
return in order to hring him good
look. All these people belong tosome
church, especially the Russian, which
exercises a strong hold upon them.
The sea otter chase, up to the time
the law was passad prohibiting their
being killed for a term of years, was
oonducteu by large parties of from HO
to 100 two hole canoes which assem
bled at t he beginning of May and pro
ceeded to distant, hunting grounds.
It is necessary to await a perfectly
calm day, when every canoe leaves the
beach together forming a long line.
Ah soon as the otter is sighted by one
of the men he levels his paddle as a
signal and a circle is quickly formed
by 10 or 15 canoes around the spot
where the otter is expected to rise.
When the animal is shot at it dives
immediately, but a new circle is
formed and the otter prevented from
escaping until exhausted it finally
falls an easy prey to the hunters.
The sea otter arrow of the Kodiak
natives was a fine piece of workman
ship and consisted of a shaft about
two feet in length with a headpiece
of bone 0 or 7 inches in Length, which
by its weight kept the arrow upright
■in the watei l'h» shaft was secured
to the head by long strings but was
not permanently fired. When the sea
otter was struck the head remained in
the body and the shaft acted as a and
a pointer as to the movements of the
Ruiuial. These points were also
marked by the hunters and as it took
more than one spear to kill the animal
the spear nearest to the head hecanfe
the possessor of the skill.
The «"ti throws upon the shor-s of
Kodiak a so-called sea beau which
formerly was greatly prized by the
hunters and used by them as a luck
pieoe Holm berg states in his history
of the country tLat he once offered a
mars goods amounting to 40 rubles
paper money (about #8 00) for one of
the beans and was refused, the owner
stating that it bad enabled him to
kill many whales and otters when
other hunters had failed.
The spears used for hunting seals
were larger those described and had
inflated bladders tied to the shaft by
a long cord. The bird arrows had
throe or four thin prongs o? bone.