64 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 190 



in the four corners and the others side by side. There were two 

 fires in the house ( S 185 ) . 



Every evening the Indians took the nets a half league or a league 

 onto the lake. At daybreak, they drew in the nets and always brought 

 back many fish, such as assUiendo^ trout, and sturgeon. These they 

 gutted, cutting them open as one did cod, and spread them out on 

 racks made of poles to dry in the sun (S 185-186). The squirrels 

 were chased away from the drying fish by the Indians' shouting, 

 clapping their hands, and shooting arrows at them (S 190). If it 

 rained so that the weather was unfavorable for the drying of meat 

 or fish, they smoked it on frames or poles and packed it into casks 

 to protect it from dogs and mice. This they used for feasts and as 

 a relish for their soup, especially in the winter. Sometimes they 

 boiled the biggest and fattest assihendos to extract the oil from them, 

 skimming it from the top of the boiling mass with a spoon, and then 

 put it into bottles (of the rind of a fruit that comes from a distant 

 country) (S 186). When there was a strong wind, the Indians did 

 not put their nets in the water, although they did if the winds were 

 moderate (S 190). 



In the stomachs of many fish were found hooks made of a bit of 

 wood, with a bone attached for a barb and tied with hemp cord. As 

 the line was too weak, the fish had been lost ( S 189 ) . 



When the fishing was good and there were a number of houses, 

 many feasts were given (S 186) . 



In each house, there was usually a fish-preacher who preached a 

 sermon to the fish. Such men were in great demand, for the Indians 

 believed that they had great power to attract the fish into the nets. 

 One such man preached every day after supper. After first ordering 

 silence and telling everyone to lie flat on their backs as he did, he 

 spoke, saying that the Huron did not bum fishbones and begged the 

 fish to allow themselves to be caught and so be of service to their 

 friends who respected them and did not bum their bones (S 188). 



In order to have good fishing, the Indians sometimes burned 

 tobacco and offered an invocation. They also threw tobacco into the 

 water for certain spirits that controlled the water, or rather to the soul 

 of the water, to allow them to catch many fish ( S 189) . 



After a month or more had passed, the big fish changed their 

 feeding gi'ounds and the Indians returned to their villages (S 190). 



Fishing was important enough to the Huron to warrant other ritual 

 attention : in one ceremony, two virgin girls were married to a net to 

 insure an abundant catch of fish for the season ( JR 17 : 197-201 ; 10 : 

 167 ; "Ceremony of The Marriage of Two Virgins to The Seine," p. 79) . 



