344 



The Primitive Fish-Hook. 



AN ALASKAN FISH-HOOK. 



called "poke-hooked"; and accordingly, when the representative 

 of the Neolithic period fished in that lake in the valley of the 

 Somme, all the fish he took must have been poke-hooked. A bone 

 hook, excellent in form, has been found near the remains of a 

 huge species of pike (Esox). Hooks made of the tusks of the 

 wild boar have also been discovered with Lacustrine remains. 



In commenting on the large size of the bone hook figured in 

 Wilson's work, its proximity to the remains of large fish was noticed. 

 When the endless varieties of hooks belonging to savage races are 

 subjects of discussion, the kind of fish they serve for catching should 

 always be cited. In the examples of hooks which illustrate works 

 of travel, a good many errors arise from the simple fact that the 

 writers are not fishermen. Although the outline of a hook be accu- 

 rately given, the method of securing it to the line is often incorrectly 

 drawn. 



In the engraving at the top of this page, an Alaskan halibut- 

 hook is represented. The form is a common one, and is used by all 

 the savage races of the Pacific ; but the main interest lay in the 

 manner of tying the line to this hook. Since the fish to be caught 

 was the halibut, the form was the best adapted to the taking of the 

 Hippoglossus Americanus ; but had the line been attached in any 

 other way than exactly as represented, this big fish could hardly 

 have been caught with such a hook. 



In the drawing, the halibut-hook hangs but slightly inclining 

 toward the sea-bottom, the weight of the bait having a tendency to 

 lower it. In this position it can be readily taken by the fish ; but 



