ABORIGINAL CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS OF NEW YORK 75 



FISHING AND STONE NET SINKERS 



One very important article in the food of the American aborigines 

 was fish. The accounts which early travelers and colonists give of 

 the abundance of all descriptions of fishes in lakes and rivers, seem 

 wonderful now, when we are trying to restore them to some degree 

 of their early condition, and yet they are harmonious and well sup- 

 ported. The only difficulty the indian had was to preserve and store 

 up this abundant supply for hours of need. In Canada and New 

 York, eels were taken in vast numbers, and were easily preserved by 

 smoking. It does not appear that this was usual with fish of other 

 kinds. Salt they did not use, and it was distasteful to them. The 

 Iroquois now ascribe their degeneracy and lack of manly vigor, to 

 using salt meat, instead of obtaining all its fresh juices, as their 

 ancestors did. 



It becomes a matter of interest to know how they took the fish 

 which swarmed in every stream, for certain relics have direct refer- 

 ence to this. In doing so, however, bare allusion will be made to 

 harpooning, for the harpoon of colonial times was made of bone or 

 horn, and sometimes of wood and iron, thus lying outside of those 

 chipped stone implements to which this paper relates. Only inci- 

 dentally will angling be touched upon, for the same reason. 



In the account of Champlain's voyages, that great discoverer told 

 of Huron customs. ' The men make the nets to capture fish in 

 summer as well as in winter, when they generally fish, reaching their 

 prey even below the ice, either with the line or the seine.' This winter 

 fishing was described by others as well as Champlain, but he mentions 

 the fact which is of importance here, that the net ' sinks to the bottom 

 of the water by means of certain small stones attached to the end.' 

 While Sagard describes the making of Huron nets and their use, he 

 says nothing of these weights, for the one was a necessity of the other. 

 He does, however, allude to one fact in angling, which is important 

 if we substitute the curved and slender stone drill for the piece of 

 bone. He said, ' We found in the bellies of several large fishes, 

 hooks made of a piece of wood and a bone, so placed as to form a 

 hook, and very neatly bound together with hemp.' A figure has 

 been given of a New York stone perforator, suitable for this use. The 



