New York, Jan. 19, 1914. No. 2 



OPEl 



Published by the contributors to advance the Science of cold- 

 blooded vertebrates. 



RIO GRANDE INDIAN FISHERMEN 



Most of the Southwestern Indians will not eat 

 fish, but the tribes along the Rio Grande have 

 gotten over this prejudice if they ever had it. An 

 explanation for the former non-use of fish is as 

 follows : When the people came up out of the 

 underworld through a lake in the north they wan- 

 dered about looking for good places to live. When 

 they came to the Rio Grande the leader made a 

 bridge of Guacamayo feathers. Those persons who 

 refused to cross are now the nomadic Indians, 

 those who crossed safely are the Pueblo Indians, 

 and those who fell in are the fish. 



The methods of fishing are various, although 

 snares and traps seem to be the most ancient. 

 The snare is made of a horsehair loop tied to the 

 end of a short stick. Lying on the bank the fish- 

 erman maneuvers this snare till it is directly in 

 front of the fish, and then draws it up with a jerk. 

 The fish, startled, shoots straight ahead and is 

 caught. The Indians of Taos Pueblo are very 

 skillful at fishing in this manner. The fish-hook 

 has been acquired from the white man and is 

 called a " pointed fish snare.' 1 Bone ones are 

 sometimes made. H T SPINDEN> 



New York, N~. V. 



