40 THE INDIANS OF CAPE FLATTERY. 



subjected to a process of roasting or steaming in the ashes, which renders them 

 extremely tough and pliable and easy to split. They are reduced to fine strands or 

 threads with knives, and are then twisted and laid in ropes by the same process as 

 that described for making the rope of sinews. Those that are attached to the 

 buoys have one end very neatly tapered down, as shown in Fig. 4. This is to 

 enable the whalemen to tie the rope with facility, and to pass it readily through 

 the loop in the end of the harpoon lanyard. In making ropes, it is customary for 

 quite a number of persons to assist. They are invited by tha man who wishes to 

 get ready his whaling gear, and each prepares a portion of the roots or sinews, so 

 as to have as much as may be required at once. The next operation is to twist 

 the fibres into threads. Another party, perhaps the same individuals, will meet 

 on another duy and work till the strands are completed. Then there may be a 

 resting spell, probably because the provisions are exhausted and more must be 

 obtained. The operation is often interrupted, and resumed at intervals, conse- 

 quently much time is consumed in completing the work, a rope of thirty fathoms 

 occupying frequently a whole winter in its manufacture. 



Fishing lines, as already described, are made of the kelp stem. This is col- 

 lected by means of two sticks joined like the letter y. At the bottom a stone is 

 secured as a sinker; five or six inches above the stone a knife-blade is fastened 

 between the two sticks, and a line is then fastened to the upper ends. This instru- 

 ment is slipped over the bulb of kelp and lowered to the bottom, and a slight pull 

 severs the stem close to the ground. They usually prefer the kelp growing in ten 

 or twelve fathoms of water ; most of the stems, however, that they procure rarely 

 exceed ten fathoms in length, and many are not over five. The lower portion of 

 the kelp stem is solid and cylindrical, and about a fourth of an inch in diameter. 

 It retains this size for five or six fathoms, and then increases very gradually to the 

 surface of the water, where it terminates in a globular head from four to six inches 

 in diameter, from which float long streamer-like leaves. For more than half its 

 length the stem is hollow, but this section is not taken for lines. The bulbs are 

 frequently used to hold bait, or as water-bottles for fishermen. When a sufficient 

 number of stems have been cut they are placed in fresh water — a running brook 

 being always preferred — where they remain for five or six days, or until they 

 become bleached nearly white. They are then partially dried in the smoke, and 

 knotted together at the ends, and further dried in the sun, after being stretched to 

 their full length, and to their utmost tension. This process reduces the size to that 

 of a cod-line. They require several days' exposure to the sun and air before they 

 are sufficiently cured, They are taken in every night while curing, and are coiled 

 up very neatly each time. When perfectly dry they are brittle, and break easily, 

 but, when wet, they are exceedingly strong, fully equal to the best of hemp cod- 

 lines. The usual length is from eighty to one hundred fathoms, although it is 

 seldom that fishing is attempted at that depth, except for the " he-sM-we''' or black 

 cod; and the probable reason for their being so long is to guard against accidents 

 by which a portion of the line may be lost. When fishing in shoal water, it is 

 usual to untie a portion of the line at the required depth, and lay the remainder on 

 one side, so as not to endanger its being entangled by the fish that may be caught. 



