ON THE NORTH-WESTEBN TRIBES OF CANADA. 565 



made of tlie fibre of d'qkofla'Jcpis. For liooks to catch small fish the 

 spines of a species of gooseberry called hisyl'tin were sometimes em- 

 ployed. 



Fishing through the ice was practised thus : Over a bole cut in the 

 ice was laid a branch or stick of wood, upon which was let down a branch 

 having two prongs, the ends of which were tied together, and from them 

 hung the hook and line of d'qlc6tla'l-/pis. This method of fishing was 

 termed nd'usdntlu'ktluhwd'tsene. 



Another mode of obtaining fish in the winter time was to pound on the 

 ice with a club or heavy piece of wood, and so drive the fish into the 

 shallows near the shore, where repeated blows stunned or killed them. 

 This was called gd'Tcpalci' toivi! Ieqo' motl. 



Gaffing (giid'kdmi't'wuink-o'mo) by means of a large hook attached to 

 a slender branch or pole is now much practised by the Indians, who are 

 very skilful at it. 



The Lower Kootenays, depending upon fish as a chief source of their 

 food supply, have certain devices for obtaining them in large quantities. 

 The chief of these are the dam or weir and the basket-trap. 



The first of these (dqli'wu'hQu) is a sort of dam of sticks and wicker- 

 work built across a stream or at the entrance of a ' slough,' so as to pre- 

 vent the escape of the fish when the water falls. Attached to these dams 

 are often wicker-work traps, cone-shaped, sometimes 10 feet long by 

 3,feet wide, into which the fish fall and are caught. Fishing by means 

 of this is called wd'fkd'tlik. 



The basket-trap (yd'ka) is of wicker-work and cone-shaped (often as 

 large as 10 x 8 feet) : within it is ingeniously placed or worked another 

 cone, called d'qkitlivl'is yd'ka ('the heart of the yd'ka'), or yd'ka na'na 

 ('little yd'ka^), which effectually prevents the exit of the fish, while 

 affording them an easy entrance. Along one side of the yd'ka are placed 

 rings of bark, generally three in number ; to these are attached stout 

 strings, which are held by three or four Indians. To fish with the yd'ka 

 is nd'witskd'eiie. 



There are three kinds of fish sjjears in use amongst the Kootenays. 

 The first, called dqktla' Qa, closely resembles the spear of the Eskimos ; 

 the second, d'qkinu'kmdk', has three fixed points like a trident ; the third 

 has a point of wood, headed with metal, shaped like an arrow-head, to 

 which is attached a string, so that the point is released when a fish is 

 struck and canjbe retrieved. The third sort is used for salmon and other 

 large fish. To spear fish is called gu'dk'o'mo. 



Fig. 3. — Head of fish-spear called uqJctla'Qa. The original is 18^ inches long by 2^ 



inches at widest part. 



The Lower Kootenays dry immense quantities of the fish called md'ti I 

 and opd't" for use during the winter. The fish are dried (Jci' tkani' tltlitV) 

 on stages called d' cjkuwd' sko, which are erected near the lodges. 



