Harpoon Pole
date: label: Accession Date
content: 14 Jun 1876
name: label: Collector
content: James G. Swan
label: Donor Name
content: James G. Swan
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM 19TH OR EARLY 20TH CENTURY EXHIBIT LABEL WITH CARD: "HARPOON-POLE. A HEAVY, UNWIELDY POLE MADE OF YEW (TAXUS BREVIFOLIA), SCARFED IN THREE PLACES, AND SERVED WITH STRIPS OF WILD-CHERRY BARK. ONE END TAPERS TO A POINT FOR THE RECEPTION OF HARPOON-SOCKET. USED BY NATIVES IN THRUSTING THE HARPOON INTO THE WHALE TO MAKE FAST THE SEAL-SKIN BUOYS. LENGTH, 15 FEET. MAKAH INDIANS, CAPE FLATTERY, 1883. 26825 JAMES G. SWAN. AN IMPLEMENT FOR WHICH THE MAKAH WHALER HAS A SPECIAL REGARD. IT IS SELDOM USED WITHOUT BEING BROKEN; IT IS THEN REPAIRED, AND ACQUIRES ADDITIONAL VALUE. I SAW ONE WITH SIX PLACES WHERE IT HAD BEEN REPAIRED, AND THE OWNER WOULD NOT PART WITH IT FOR ANY PRICE. IT WAS DIFFICULT TO GET THE ONE NOW SENT, ALTHOUGH THEY WERE PERFECTLY WILLING TO MAKE ME NEW ONES, BUT HAD NO YEW. SOME OF THESE HARPOON STAFFS WHICH HAVE BEEN IN THE SAME FAMILY FOR MANY GENERATIONS COULD NOT BE PURCHASED, FROM A SUPERSTITION [sic] THAT IT WOULD BE UNLUCKY."
label: Notes
content: Described p. 102 in Brown, James Temple. 1883. The whale fishery and its appliances. Washington: Govt. print. off.. This description was added to the card (see text above.)
label: Record Last Modified
content: 14 May 2024
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Cape Flattery, Washington, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Nootka (Nuu-chah-nulth), Clayoquot (Tla-o-qui-aht)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 76A00110
label: USNM Number
content: E26825-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Harpoon Spear
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 5 m