222 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MITSEUM, 1900. 



harpoon (1877. p. ',iH>). No otlun- rco-ion in America illu>;tratos more 

 aptly svliat has ))0(mi pre\M()usly said about the doponcUMico of culture- 

 projfress on tho bount}' of nature. The Tulare women are amono- 

 the most skillful l)asket makers in the world, and their ware is sought 

 far and wid(\ The material is at hand. But the Tulare men have 

 reduced the harpoon to its lowest terms, for two reasons — the animals 



requiring a better perfected implement are 

 not at hand, and the materials for con- 

 structing the weapon are not forthcoming. 

 The Indians of the Sacramento Valley, 

 in California, not l)eing subjected to the 

 prohibition of the game laws, are allowed 

 to capture game at any season of the }■ ear, 

 and when the salmon are in the river to 

 spawn they take them by means of toggle 

 harpoons, one of which is nearly 25 feet in 

 length. 



The Sacramento near its head is very 

 swift, and in its passage across different 

 ledges of various degrees of softness exca- 

 vates large pools or holes in its bed, each 

 having a small fall, and there is a rapid 

 beyond. The water in these holes, which 

 are often very large, is comparatively still, 

 and they make welcome resting places for 

 the tired salmon before they attempt the 

 passage of the rapid above. The water is 

 ))eautifully cold and clear, and the fish can 

 be seen crowding together on the bottom. 

 The Indians repair to one of these holes to 

 the number of twenty or more. Some sta- 

 tion themselves at the rapids above and 

 below; others wade out to an isolated rock, 

 or a log projecting into the stream. All 

 hold their harpoons in readiness, and at a 

 signal from the leader strike. At the first 

 onslaught each manages to secure a fish, 

 which is detached from the harpoon head 

 The harpoons, having toggles of steel which 

 become detached from the stock when they enter the fish, and being- 

 attached to the shaft by cords, turn fiat against the fish's side and make 

 escape impossible when the salmon is pierced through. Sometimes 

 three or four hundred are thus harpooned from one pool. ^ The Wintun 



^i 



\m 



m 



Fig. 15. 



TURTLE HARPOON. 



Seri Indiaii.s. 



C«llections of the Bureau of Ethnology. 

 .\fter W .) MoGee. 



and thrown on the bank. 



' Hallock, Forest and Stream, VI, June 1, 1876. 



