STONE OX THE SACRAMENTO SALMON. 211 



diaus, veiy sing-iilarly, j)refer the exbansted and dying salmon for dry- 

 ing to the fresli and prime cues. As soon as a salmon is speared or 

 taken from the trap it is opened — the spawn always being saved as a 

 luxury — and split and limig on a bush or fence made for the purpose, in. 

 the open air. In the dry air of California, the drying i)rocess is suffi- 

 cient to preserve them without salt. The Indians never use salt in pre- 

 serving their salmon, and will not eat salt meat of any description. 

 When the salmon are sufliciently dried, they are tied together in bun- 

 dles, and packed away around the sides of the lodges. These specimens 

 were presented by one of the McCloud chiefs, and, repulsive as they seem, 

 they represent the main support of the Indians during the winter, and 

 are highly valued by them. 



No. 111. A deer-skin, tanned and dressed by the McCloud Indians. 

 Used for making moccasins, and sometimes for clothes. Some of the 

 deer-skins dressed by the McClouds are very white and soft. October, 

 1872. 



]Sro. 112. Deer-skin blanket. Prepared and sewed by the McCloud In- 

 dians. This is the common blanket of these Indians. October, 1872. 



No 113. Heavy buck-skin blanket. Tanned by the McCloud Indians. 

 Large and heavy skins like this are used alone, as blankets. This one 

 is nearly as large as the two sewed together of the last specimen. 



No. 114. Seeds, stalk, and leaf of plant used and highly valued by 

 the Sacramento Eiver Indians, for making thread and nets. It will be 

 observed that it has a good fiber. Near Mount Shasta, October 10, 

 1872. 



No. 115. White-perch. San Francisco Bay, December 2, 1872. 



No. 116. Nuts of the "Digger"' pine. Highly valued by the Indians 

 as food. October, 1872. 



No. 117. Soap-root. McCloud River, November, 1872. Used by In- 

 dians for making brushes. 



No. 118. Stones of which arrow-heads are made by the McCloud In- 

 dians. McCloud Eiver, October, 1872. 



No. 119. Acorns and leaves of mountain live-oak. These acorns, togeth - 

 er with the acorns of other oaks, form the next important staple of food 

 to the dried salmon, among the McCloud Indians.* The squaws gather 

 them in great quantities, and make a kind of paste or soup 'of them, in 

 which foi'm they are eaten, almost exclusively. McCloud River, Octo- 

 ber 7, 1872. Contributed by B. B. Redding. 



No. 120. Parasite on pine-tree. McCloud River, October 31, 1872. Con- 

 tributed by J. G. Woodbury. 



No. 121. Skate. San Francisco Bay, December 2, 1872. 



No. 122, Skate. Bay of San Francisco, December 2, 1872. 



No. 123. Young smelts. {Atherinopsis calif orniensis f) Bay of San Fran- 

 cisco, December 3, 1872. These are universally sold in California for smelts, 

 and the people generally suppose that they are smelts. Three specimens. 



