NORTHERN OCEAN 315 



unless some or all of these be fastened to the net, they will not 

 attempt to put it into the water, as they firmly believe it would 

 not catch a single fish. 



A net thus accoutred is fit for setting whenever occasion 

 requires, and opportunity offers ; but the first fish of whatever 

 species caught in it, are not to be sodden in the water, but 

 broiled whole on the fire, and the flesh carefully taken from 

 the bones without dislocating one joint ; after which the bones 

 are laid on the fire at full length and burnt. A strict obser- 

 vance of these rules is supposed to be of the utmost importance 

 in promoting the future success of the new net ; and a neglect 

 of them would render it not worth a farthing."""' 



When they fish in rivers, or narrow channels that join two 

 lakes together, they could frequently, by tying two, three, or 

 more nets together, spread over the whole breadth of the 

 channel, and intercept every sizable fish that passed ; but 

 instead of that, they scatter the nets at a considerable distance 

 from each other, from a [330] superstitious notion, that were 

 they kept close together, one net would be jealous of its 

 neighbour, and by that means not one of them would catch 

 a single fish. 



The methods used, and strictly observed, when angling, 

 are equally absurd as those I have mentioned ; for when they 

 bait a hook, a composition of four, five, or six articles, by way 

 of charm, is concealed under the bait, which is always sewed 

 round the hook. In fact, the only bait used by those people 

 is in their opinion a composition of charms, inclosed within a 

 bit of fish skin, so as in some measure to resemble a small fish. 

 The things used by way of charm, are bits of beavers tails and 

 fat, otter's vents and teeth, musk-rat's guts and tails, loon's 



* They frequently sell new nets, which have not been wet more than once 

 or twice, because they have not been successful. Those nets, when soked in 

 water, are easily opened, and then make most excellent heel and toe netting for 

 snow-shoes. In general it is far superior to the netting cut by the Southern 

 Indian women, and is not larger than common net-twine. 



