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Notes Caper Waukamu

I saw but two old persons in the village here out of about 75 people. These two were both women with gray hair but were both quite active. When we went on shore the native boat accompanied us & owing to the low shore the boats were aground in the wafer & I said the son of the oldest woman take her in his arms & carry her ashore - the first act of the kind I have ever seen among natives. I presume the absence of old men here is from the custom of killing the infirm & aged for not a single person but was active & healthy was seen. 

Flocks of eider ducks are continually flying by the village across the pebble spit. The moment a flock is seen a peculiar cry is uttered & instantly every man & boy rushes out at the same time unwinding from his head the sling which consists of from 5 to 10 sinew cords 3 ft long united at one end & the other ends each with a ball of bone or ivory grasping the united ends in the right hand & the balls in his left he draws the lines taut and repeats the cry heard before while others make a peculiar hollow whistling sound in their hands. If the flock is going by to one side it hears these cries & frequently circles about directly over the heads of the people where each male whirls the sling about his head & lets fly and the balls reach out tentacle like