NELSON] FISH TRAPS AND NETS 185 
figure 13, plate Lxx, showing the method of construction. Splints of 
spruce are fastened together in a bunch to form the small end of the 
trap, and are held in position by a rawhide or spruce-root lashing; 
thence toward the mouth they are held in place by a wrapping of 
spruce root, which is wound spirally several times around the circum- 
ference to the mouth, forming a cone-shape basket; the splints are 
fastened to the wrapping by a lashing of spruce root or rawhide, which 
is wound around the crossings of the framework; in the mouth of the 
trap is a conical mouthpiece attached to a square framework of four 
sticks and inserted in the larger end of the trap, where it is fastened by 
lashings on each side. 
By means of traps of this character vast quantities of blackfish are 
taken in the waters of the low country between Yukon and Kuskokwim 
rivers, where they are very abundant, and form one of the principal 
sources of food supply for the people during several months of the 
year. 
After the salmon season, the main trapping for fish is done along the 
lower Yukon and in the adjacent region in autumn, just before and after 
the streams become frozen; at this time the salmon traps are set again 
and vast quantities of whitefish, losh, pickerel, and blackfish are secured 
and preserved by freezing for use later in the season. The traps are 
kept out until midwinter, but the main catch is while the fish are crowd- 
ing in from the small streams. Plate Lxx1, from a photograph, shows 
the method of setting these traps through the ice on the Yukon, near 
Ikogmut (Mission). 
On Norton sound, when high gales blow from the north during Sep- 
tember and October, very low tides ensue, and the women go out among 
the exposed rocks to gather mussels, ascidians, and several kinds of 
fish which are found concealed beneath the large stones off the rocky 
points. 
NETS 
Gill nets for salmon are set usually on a line leading from the shore. 
The inner end of the line is made fast to a stone or a stake, and the 
owner carries the other end out to the proper distance and anchors it 
with astone. At the outer end of the net is fastened a wooden marker- 
float, commonly made in the form of a bird. Rounded wooden floats, 
varying considerably in form, are also strung at intervals along the 
upper edge of the net. A specimen of these net floats, from Ikogmut, 
is illustrated in figure 4, plate LXx. It is fashioned in the shape of a 
loon, with a long, projecting neck, and is made from a single piece of 
wood. A hole runs through it for attaching the cord; two incised 
grooves outline the wings, and a wide, shallow groove extends around 
the edge. Allof these grooves are painted red; the center of the back 
has a greenish tint, but the wings are not colored, 
At Cape Blossom, on the Arctic coast, the people were seen using gill 
nets about 25 feet in length, strung with floats and sinkers in the usual 
