130 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. 



When engaged in the salmon fishing they ordinarily congregate at 

 the most suitable })lace near their respective villages in order to make 

 and repair in common the barriere or wood pole staking across the 

 stream while the " kuntzi " or cylindrical baskets are individually set 

 by heads of families in the place assigned them by traditional right. 

 In the same way when trout fishing is conducted on a large scale, as 

 is usual when in the fall of the year, they gather their winter supply, 

 each family or aggregate of homogeneous families, has its own parti- 

 cular shot in the rivers or in the vicinity of islands in the lakes from 

 which they are not at liberty to wander in search of a better position. 



Fishing in the winter is a rather uncomfortable occupation. Having 

 previously cut a hole in the ice of about one foot in diameter^ our 

 D^n^ stretches himself thereover on the frozen surface. He then 

 holds up with the left hand a small stick to which is suspended bone 

 imitations of fry (figure 4.) which he gently oscillates in the water, 

 so as to give them a life like appearance. He will patiently wait well 

 wrapi)ed uj) in his blanket for the larger fish to bite, even though it 

 may be 30° or more below zero of Fahrenheit. If fortune favours 

 him, he speedily spears his fish with the bone harpoon already spoken 

 of, wliich in this case is only four times larger than that of figure 2, 

 and fixed in a short handle. 



A more interesting mode of fishing is when, during the cool spring 

 nights, the Carriers lazily glide over their country lakes carrying in 

 their canoes tiaming pine torches which have the efiect of attracting 

 fish of every description, and by dazzling and, as it were, chariuing 

 them, render them an easy prey to the harjjoon. 



The Sekanais disdain fish of any kind and regard fishing as a de- 

 grading occupation unworthy of a hunter. They live almost entirely 

 on moose, cariboo, bear, marmot or Ijeaver meat with lynx and rabbits 

 in their season. 



IX. 



Before the North West Company's advent in the country, there 

 was very little fur-hunting done save what was indispensable to 

 the family's subsistence and clothing, and even then among the two 



1 Foniierly this was done by means of heated stones. 



A 



