342 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHXOLOGY [Bull. 137 



ance. If a stranger comes along at such a time he is taken by the hand and 

 presented with the choicest fish 



In the way of comparison, we find that the Creeks use pounded buckeye or 

 horse chestnuts for the same purpose. Two men enter the water and strain 

 the buckeye juice through bags. The Creeks claim that the devil's shoestring 

 poison used by the Yuchi floats on the water, thus passing away down stream, 

 while the buckeye sinks and does better work. It is probable, however, that 

 neither method of poisoning the streams is used exclusively by these tribes, 

 but that the people of certain districts favor one or the other method, accord- 

 ing to the time of year and locality. The flesh of the fish killed in this way is 

 perfectly palatable. 



It frequently happens that the poison is not strong enough to thoroughly 

 stupefy the fish. In such a case the men are at hand with bows and arrows, 

 to shoot them as they flounder about trying to escape or to keep near the 

 bottom of the pool. (Speck, 1909, p. 24.) 



As will be seen below, Speck is quite right in suspecting that the 

 uses of these poisons were not separated by tribal lines. 



In describing the customs of the Taskigi Creeks, the same writer 

 says: 



They poison the streams to secure the fish by pounding up quantities of 

 horse-chestnuts and throwing them into pools which they have dammed up at 

 different points. Then the men go into the water to mix up the poison, beating 

 around with their arms and stirring up the water so that the fish cannot escai)e 

 by staying near the bottom. The fish are then stabbed with arrows and thrown 

 out to the women on shore who stow them away in large splint baskets. Large 

 quantities of catfish were procured in this way. (Speck, 1907, p. 108.) 



Jackson Lewis informed me that poisoning was usually under- 

 taken among the Creeks in July and August when the water was low. 

 Word was sent around that on a certain date all in that neighborhood 

 would go to a designated pool and spend the day catching fish. Each 

 man was instructed to provide himself with a quantity of the roots of 

 a plant popularly known as "devil's shoestring," which grows on 

 sandy ridges in the woods. He also carried a post, about 4 inches in 

 diameter and 4 feet long, and a wooden mallet. Arrived at the 

 appointed place, the men ranged themselves in a row across the head 

 of the pond and drove their posts into the stream bed until the tops 

 of the posts were almost on a level with the water. Then they pounded 

 up the devil's shoestring with their mallets, allowing the pieces to fall 

 down into the water. If there were any fishes in the pool, they would 

 begin to throw themselves out of the water before the pounding was 

 finished, but no one tried to kill any before that time. Afterward, the 

 men took bows and arrows, spears, and other weapons, and descending 

 into the pool they often killed great numbers of fish, which by now 

 would be floating about on the surface. These they roasted, baked, 

 and fried, and they indulged in a general feast and merrymaking. 

 Jackson Lrewis claimed that the fish were stupefied by a peculiar odor. 

 Instead of devil's shoestring, they sometimes employed the roots of 



