Described p. 101-102 in Brown, James Temple. 1883. The whale fishery and its appliances. Washington: Govt. print. off.: "Harpoon And Laniard. Harpoon and line attached to pole and seal-skin buoy, showing the manner in which the apparatus is rigged when used. Headpiece of sheet brass. Laniard, whale-sinew, served with twine made from the fibers of the nettle. Makah Indians, Cape Flattery. James G. Swan. The harpoon is not permanently fastened to the staff; it is, however, connected with the buoy by means of a laniard. When the harpoon is thrust into the whale, the staff is withdrawn and taken into the canoe, and the animal is incumbered with the buoy. A harpoon with one buoy attached is thrown into the head of the whale, but the harpoon thrown into the body has as many buoys as can conveniently be tied on; and, when a number of canoes join in the attack, it is not unusual for from thirty to forty of these floats to be made fast to one whale, which, of course, cannot sink, and is easily dispatched by the spears and lances. The Indians did not acquire the art of whaling from white men; it has been handed down through countless generations. The same kind of apparatus has also been in use for many years."

FROM CARD: "WITH BEDDING PADS FOR COMPRESSING THE HEAD & SHADE TO COVER THE EYES. SHOWING THE METHOD OF COMPRESSING THE HEAD. #1043: CRADLE A TROUGH RUDELY HEWED OUT OF A CEDAR WOOD. A LOW BRIDGE IS LEFT ACROSS THE TROUGH TO STRENGTHEN IT. SLATS ARE PUT ACROSS TO LEVEL OF HEIGHT OF BRIDGE. THE BEDDING IS MATS OF CEDAR BARK. ON LOWER END OF CRADLE IS A HANDLE. AROUND THE SIDES ARE FASTENED STRINGS. THE COMPRESS IS FASTENED TO HEAD OF CRADLE. IT CURVES OVER AND IS TIGHTENED BY MEANS OF CORDS TO SIDES OF CRADLE. IT IS WOVEN OF ? AND STUFFED TIGHTLY WITH CEDAR BARK. IN CRADLE IS A WOODEN MODEL OF BABY UNDERGOING THE PROCESS OF HEAD FLATTENING. COVERING A CEDAR MAT. L. 26", W. MIDDLE 8 3/4", L. END 5" UPPER 6 1/2", DEPTH 4 1/4". L. HEAD COMPRESS 10" W. OF STEM 3" EXPANDED END 3 3/4".Originally, catalog numbers 1043 and 1044 together comprised a cradle and a wooden figure to go in the cradle for display. As of 2009 (and probably for many years prior to that) the cradle itself is missing, and what remains is a wooden figure, apparently representing the baby that would have gone with the cradle for "showing the method of compressing the head". The card describes the cradle itself as catalog number 1043, which means this figure might have originally been 1044? It is currently marked with number 1043 in an ink that does not appear old enough to be the original number. However, a 19th or early 20th century exhibit label describing the cradle as # 1044 is stored with the card.The cradle (and apparently the wooden figure) were illustrated, under # 1044, on p. 91 in Rhees, William Jones. 1880. Visitor's guide to the Smithsonian institution and National museum, Washington, D.C., Part 3[Washington]: Judd & Detweiler. https://books.google.com/books?id=L5ZJAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA91#v=onepage&q&f=false . Speculatively, ET15954 may possibly be the cradle E1044? (it currently includes the later addition of a plaster baby mannequin head for display purposes.)