18ii2-93.] 



NOTES ON THE WESTERN DENES. 



75 



I did not mention the sturgeon (Accipenser transmontaniis, Richard- 

 son), because, although it is a welcome visitor to our lakes, its visits are 

 too rare and far between to entitle it to serious consideration in this 

 connection. It is caught in large meshed nets.* 



To join the two extremes, I will add to the sturgeon, the largest of 

 our fresh water fishes, the thc'/m^k,^ a very small fish which I think is not 

 known to Ichthyology. It frequents a few little lakes only, and is 

 taken with scoop-nets during the few mild days which usually interrupt 

 the severity of our winters. The quantity of that fish brought home 

 after one single afternoon's absence from the village is sometimes really 

 enormous. 



To be complete I should have noticed among bone implements serving 

 fishing or trapping purposes, the 9te,X or ice-breaker. This is, however, 

 a mere pointed cariboo horn, which tends to disappear as a working tool, 

 being gradually replaced by a piece of iron or steel, whenever this can 

 be obtained. 



There is a horn wedge which, even at the present day, serves to split 

 the slender rods of which are made the 'kuntzai or fish baskets, which 

 shall be described in the chapter devoted to wood implements. As in 

 most implements requiring hard material, cariboo horn is chosen to 

 make these wedges. 



Fiii. 62. 



size. 



The above figure requires no explanation. A glance at the horn ladle 



* The Carrier name of the sturgeon is le-tto, "big-fish." 



t A root of the second category, the first syllable of which refers to the lake bottoms from 

 which these" fishes seem to suddenly emerge. 



i^r/t' means " horn," and is used to designate even steel ice-breakers. The ancient name for 

 them is tzontzii in Carrier wliich is evidently idi^ntical with the present izorontzii of the 

 Tsi[Koh'tin. 



