One of them, Ivan, it is claimed, made $3,000 in one
day. The amount paid a native is $200 or more for each sea otter pelt.
They are much larger than a land otter, a good skin measuring six feet
in length and three feet in width when split and stretched.
When fishing is allowed from schooners, the natives leave Kadiak for the
grounds early in May. Each schooner carries thirty or forty baidarkas
and twice as many men. Otters are often found at some distance from
shore, and can be seen only when the water is quiet. The natives prefer
the bow and arrow to the .40-65 Winchesters the company have given them,
even claiming that otter are scarce because they have been driven from
their old grounds by the noise of firearms. The bows, four feet long,
are very stout, and strongly reinforced with cords of sinew along the
back. The arrows, a little under a yard in length, are tipped with a
well-polished piece of whalebone. A sharp and barbed piece of whale's
tooth fits into a hole bored in the end of the bone, and a cord of
considerable length is tied to the detachable arrow head, the other end
of the cord being wound around and fastened to the middle of the shaft.
Pages:
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262