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A
hunter normally paddles rapidly alongside of the Walrus, Bear or other large
game grasps the lance near the butt,
as he would a dagger, and stabs the animal
with quick multipul thrust.
This spear is called
ka'pun, which in the Point Barrow dialect exactly corresponds to the Greenlandic
word kaput, which is applied to the long-bladed spear or long knife used for
dispatching a harpooned seal.
The word ka'pun means
simply "an instrument for stabbing."
Lance shafts are
normally 6 feet 2 inches long, and tapers from a diameter of 0.8 inch about
the
middle to about one inch at each end.
The tip is cleft to
receive the tang of the head, and shouldered to keep the whipping from slipping
off.
The above lance has a
sinew braid
The shaft is probably
made of a rough, knotty piece of spruce, and is currently 17" in length. The
head is of dark gray chert and is 3.5 inches in length, and 1.9" in width, a
thickness of .37"
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