THE INDIANS OF CAPE FLATTERY. 



23 



Halibut hook. 



some fifteen or twenty miles west from Tatooche light. The depth on the banks 

 varies from twenty to thirty fathoms. The lines used in the halibut fishing are 

 usually made of the stems of the gigantic kelp {fucus gigatitea), and the hooks 

 of splints of hemlock. A line attached to one of the arms of the hook holds it in 

 a vertical position, as shown in Fig. 9. The bait used is the cuttlefish or squid 

 (octopus tuber culatus), which is plentiful and is taken by 

 the natives by means of barbed sticks, which they thrust 

 under the rocks at low water, to draw the animal out and 

 kill it by transfixing it with the stick. A portion of the 

 squid is firmly attached to the hook, which is sunk by 

 means of a stone to the bottom, the sinker keeping the 

 hook nearly in a stationary position. To the upper portion 

 of the line it is usual to attach bladders, which serve as 

 buoys, and several are set at one time. When the fish 

 is hooked, it pulls the bladder, but cannot draw it under 

 water. The Indian, seeing the signal, paddles out ; hauls 

 up the line ; knocks the fish on the head with a club ; re- 

 adjusts his bait ; casts it overboard ; and proceeds to the 

 next bladder he sees giving token of a fish. When a number of Indians are 

 together in a large canoe, and the fish bite readily, it is usual to fish from the canoe 

 without using the buoy. This hook is called che-bud, and the club, sometimes 

 fancifully carved, is called ti-ne-t'hl. 



When the fish are brought home, they are first landed on the beach, where the 

 women wash and wipe them with a wisp of grass or fern. The entrails are taken 

 out and thrown away, and the rest of the fish carried into the houses. The heads 

 are taken off first to be dried separately, and the body of the fish is sliced by 

 means of a knife of peculiar construction, somewhat resembling a common chopping 

 knife, called ko-che-tin (Fig. 10). The skin is first carefully removed, and the flesh 

 then sliced as thin as possible to facilitate the drying ; and 

 when perfectly cured, the pieces are wrapped in the skin, 

 carefully packed in baskets, and placed in a dry place. The 

 heads, the back bones, to which some flesh adheres, and the 

 tails, are all dried and packed away separately from the body 

 pieces, AVhen eaten, the skin, to which the principal portion 

 of the fat or oil of the flsh adheres, is simply warmed, or 

 toasted over the coals, till it acquires crispness. The heads, tails, and back bones 

 are boiled. The dried strips from the body are eaten without further cooking, 

 being simply broken into small pieces, dipped in whale oil, and so cheAved and 

 swallowed. It requires a peculiar twist of the fingers and some practice to 

 dip a piece of dry halibut into a bowl of oil and convey it to the mouth without 

 letting the oil drop off, but the Indians, old and young, are very expert, and scarcely 

 ever drop any between the mouth and the bowl. In former times, dried halibut 

 was to these Indians in lieu of bread ; oil in place of butter, and blubber instead 

 of beef or pork. When potatoes were introduced, they formed a valuable addition 

 to their food, and since the white men have become more numerous, the Indians 



Fig. 10. 



Halibut chopper. 



