Amazon Caiman Spear

© 2009, 2010 Albert A Rasch and

The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles

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My friend and fellow Blogger Todd Hill over at Primitive Point, lived and grew up in the Amazon. He and his father visit on a regular basis, and Todd recently forged a set of spear points for his friends in Brazil. Todd also is a founding member of The Backyard Smithy a sort of OBS of Neo-Tribal Bladesmithing. So for those of you interested in forging and bladesmithing his sites are good places to start.

Coincidently, I received this several years ago as a gift from a gentleman who runs a local gunshop. He traveled frequently to the Amazon basin and had adopted a small village. Perhaps they had adopted him, I not too sure of the initial start of his relationship with them, though I seem to remember that his father first brought him there a couple of decades ago. We spent several hours in conversation that day, and he graciously offered me this caiman spear as a parting gift.

The design is such that the wrapped cord holds the barb and the head in place against the foreshaft. When a fish or caiman was speared, the cord unfurled and the shaft floats to the surface allowing the hunters a better chance at retrieval.

The wood of the foreshaft and head is a dark, heavy, hard, and oily wood. The foreshaft is cylindrical with both ends tapered; sort of a long narrow barrel. The shaft, I was told, is from a flowering stalk.

The barb or spear point is made from 3/16" bar or nails hammered out by hand on a simple charcoal forge.

Here are the dimensions:

OAL 7’ 7”

Barb 6”

Head 4.75”

Foreshaft 11.5”

Shaft 6’ 3”

Cord 6’

Depth of hole in head ¾”

Regards,

Albert A Rasch
The Hunt Continues...

The Perfect Shot by Todd Hill

The Perfect Shot

We threaded our way silently through the jungle, following the way of least resistance, around vines and tree trunks, pushing softly through bushes. Every so often Parara (our Amazonian guide) would stop to listen. We stopped too, listening for the sounds of potential game.

As we walked my senses drank in my surroundings. Each plant was familiar, each sound, even the earthy, loamy smells. I felt alive there in the jungle.

Suddenly we sensed activity up ahead. Parara grew very alert. We stepped forward quietly and then froze. In a blur of motion, Parara raised his bow, nocked an arrow, and let it fly into the jungle ahead of us.

We followed our friend forward about 25 yards where we saw his heavy metal-pointed arrow pinning an agouti to the ground at the very entrance to its hole. One half second later and it would have been safe. The arrow had cut an inch wide hole through its lungs, killing the animal almost instantly.

My brother and I exchanged admiring looks, marveling at the incredible performance we had just witnessed.

Todd Hill

Primitive Point

The Amazon

A fellow Blogger, Todd Hill, ( Primitive Point ) has graciously forwarded a couple of adventures from his time in the Amazon. It has always been fascinating when I have had the opportunity to be with indigenous peoples to observe their incredible skills.

I made the comment to Todd that many years ago, when I was on the northern border of Costa Rica, the uncanny skill the children had with nothing more than a one inch round river stone. If a fowl or iguana was sighted, the kids unerringly launched a stone that would knock the creatures head almost off. Meal collected they went on their merry way doing what all kids do: looking to get into something.

I have asked Todd to consider putting together a series of stories from his time in the rain forests. I know that there are bound to be fascinating annecdotes that we would all love to hear and learn!

Regards,
Albert A Rasch
The Hunt Continues...