110 THE WINXEBAGO TRIBE [kth. axn. 37 



hunted, very few animals being tabooed. So fai- as the author 

 knows, the foUowong animals only were not eaten: Skunk, mink, 

 marten, otter, horse, the weasel, gophers of all kinds, crows (northern 

 ravens?), and eagles. 



Bmv. — ^The bow and arrow and traps were used in hunting. The 

 bow is of a very simple type, having ends more or less pointed by 

 rubbing them on stones. In former times the bowstring was made 

 of sinew. 



Arrows. — ^There were five types of arrows, distinguished both by 

 the nature of the arrowhead and by their use: J/a" p'axe'dera, bird 

 arrow; ma'Hantc p'^a^'u", rabbit, or small mammal, arrow; ina" 

 Tc'etc'H'hk calco'k'ere, deer and large mammal arrow; mai" su'ra, or 

 maiHo'lc'ere, used in battle; and the ma^ p'a'^una, also used in battle. 

 The first two and the last were made entirely of wood, generally 

 hickory, the last being merely a pointed stick. The third and the 

 fourth were the only ones that had separate heads attached. The 

 head of the third was, as the name implies, a turtle claw, and that 

 of the fourth a fragment of flint. The Winnebago have no recol- 

 lection of ever having made flint arrowheads and claim that those 

 they used were found in the ground (pi. 31). 



Traps. — One of the ])rincipal traps consisted of a heavy timber 

 supported very slightly by an upright, to which a piece of wood was 

 attached bearing bait at the end. No sooner does the animal — 

 wolf, bear, fox, or raccoon — touch the bait than the heavy timber 

 falls upon his head, killing him instantly. Another trap commonly 

 used for rabbits may be described thus: The head of a post is hol- 

 lowed out to receive the knob-shaped end of a long jiliablo piece of 

 wood that fits into it very lightly. To the latter is attached a noose, 

 so arranged that it draws away the knob-shaped head at the slightest 

 touch. The rabbit must put his head into the noose in order to get 

 at the bait; in so doing he invariably moves the lever, which springs 

 back, jerldng him into the air and strangling him. 



For trapping deer a very ingenious method is used. Taking ad- 

 vantage of the animal's habit of followmg repeatedly the same trail, 

 the hunter at some point of a deer trail piles across it a mass of brush 

 to a height of about 4 feet. Behind this he plants a pointed stake so 

 that it can not be seen by the animal. On encountering the obstruc- 

 tion the deer leaps over it and is impaled on the stake. 



Knowledge of the habits of beavers and otters is utilized in the 

 following way: Many of these animals live along winding creeks, and 

 in proceeding from one place to another, instead of followmg all 

 the meanderings of the streams, they cut across the land. The 

 Winnebago hunter digs deep holes in these cut-offs and covers them 

 with hay. Into these the animals fall and are unable to get out. 



