124 Indians Obtaining Game. 



the Eskimo in a peculiar manner, which is also practised by the 

 Eskimo north of Hudson's Bay. A piece of whalebone about eight 

 inches long, and of the size of a flattened lead pencil sharpened at 

 both ends, is soaked in water until it is thoroughly softened. It is 

 then bent on itself in folds about an inch long, and is tied in this 

 position until it is thoroughly dry. The cord is then removed and 

 the coil retains its position. It is then covered about an inch thick 

 with tallow and laid out for the wolf to find. The latter picks up 

 the morsel of fat containing the whalebone, and not being able to 

 chew it, gulps it down entire. In a short time the juices and warmth 

 of the animal's stomach act upon the whalebone and it slowly straight- 

 ens out and the sharp points transfix the stomach, and if they do not 

 enter the heart and lungs and produce death at once they cause the 

 animal such agony that he lies down and becomes an easy prey for 

 the hunter who follows his trail." 



There is an Alaskan bird sling in the Academy collection which is 

 quite similar to a form described by Wood, Knight, and others. It 

 consists of ten small pieces of ivory, each of which is pierced and 

 fastened by a string about thirty inches long. On the other end ol 

 each string is a slender quill five or six inches long, and all of the 

 quills are bound together with sennet. 



The above, though it does not exhaust the subject, proves that 

 the Indians of this coast were very ingenious in capturing birds 

 and animals, and some of them were equally ingenious in catching 

 fish. The Washoe Indians are very successful is spearing trout 

 when the fish run up stream to spawn. They build huts of boughs 

 over brooks, the fisherman being able to see the fish just below him 

 from the dark interior of the hut, while the fish cannot see the fisher- 

 man. About forty years ago, when the writer was in Bering Straits 

 and the Arctic Ocean, the favorite recently adopted harpoon of 

 American whalemen — the so called toggle iron — was modelled after 

 an Eskimo bone harpoon used by the natives about the Straits. 



The white water lily mentioned in the Botany of California as 

 occurring about the head-waters of Eel River has been definitely 

 located by Mrs. E. C. Campbell, who obtained roots from a Mr. 

 Crabtree, living a {q.\\ miles from Bartlett Springs. No flowering- 

 specimens have yet been seen by botanists. 



