MCGEE] TOLERATION OF THE PELICAN 191* 



vivacity awakened in the Seri bystanders by their spokesman's frequent 

 interlocutions with them during the recital. Unfortunately the account 

 was not clear as to the seasons selected, though the expressions indi- 

 cated that the feasts are fixed for times at which the young are fully 

 Hedged. It would seem inconceivable that the Seri, with their insa- 

 tiate appetite for eggs and tender young, should consciously respect a 

 breeding time or establish a closed season to perpetuate any game; yet 

 it is probable that the pelican is somehow protected in such wise that 

 it is not only not exterminated or exiled, but actually fostered and cul- 

 tivated. It is certain that the mythical Ancient of Pelicans is the 

 chief creative deity of Seri legend, and its living representative the 

 chief tutelary of one of the clans; it is certain, too, that this Heshly 

 fowl, sluggish and defenseless as it is on its sleeping grounds, would 

 be the easiest source of Seri food if it were hunted indiscriminately; 

 and it is no less certain that the omnivorous tribesmen would quickly 

 extinguish the local stock if they were to make its kind, including eggs 

 and young, their chief diet; yet it survives in literal thousands to 

 patrol the waters of all Seriland in far-stretching liles and vees seldom 

 out of sight in suitable weathei-. On the whole, it would seem evident 

 that an interadjustment has grown uj) between the tribesmen and their 

 fish-eating tutelary during the centuries, whereby the fowl is protected, 

 albeit subconsciously only, during the breeding seasons; and in view 

 of other characteristics of the tribe it would seem equally evident that 

 the protection is in some way eti'ected by means of ceremonies and 

 tabus. 



Somewhat analogous, though apparently less ceremonial, expeditions 

 are made to Isla Patos and other points in search of ducks, and to Isla 

 San Esteban, and still more distant islands in search of eggs (prefer- 

 ably near the hatching point) and nestlings; while the abundant water- 

 fowl of the region are sought in Eada Ballena and other sheltered bays, 

 as well as in such landlocked lagoons as those of Punta Miguel and- 

 Punta Arena. This hunting involves the use of bows and arrows, 

 though the archery of the tribe jjertains rather to the chase of larger 

 laud game, and apparently attains its highest development in connec- 

 tion with warfare. No specialized fowling devices have been observed 

 among the Seri; and their autonomous recitals, the facies of their arti- 

 facts, and the observed habits of the tribe (especially the youth) with 

 respect to birds, all indicate that ordinary fowling holds a subordinate 

 place in Seri craft — i. e., that it is a fortuitous and emergency avoca- 

 tion, rather than an organized art like turtle-fishing and water-carrying. 

 Ooncordantly, culinary processes are not normally employed in connec- 

 tion with waterfowl, and the customary implements used for incising 

 the skin and severing other tissues are the shell-cup, which is carried 

 habitually for other purposes, the cane-splint, which appears to be im- 

 provised on occasion and never carried habitually, and the ubiquitous 

 hupf. 



