FOOD OF INDIANS 



39 



of the giant kelp, but they still use hooks of primitive form, 

 though now the unwieldy implements are tipped with 

 iron, instead of with bone as in ancient days. Not only 

 do they procure their animal 

 food largely from the sea, but 

 it yields them as well two or 

 three sorts of seaweed, one of 

 which is eaten fresh, while an- 

 other is dried, pressed into 

 cakes, and used as an ingredi- 

 ent of soups and stews. 



The salmon are captured in 

 a variety of ways ; by means 

 of spears and gaffs, but also 

 very largely in traps. These 

 commonly consist of a barrier 

 extending across the stream, 

 but with an opening through 

 which the salmon can pass. 

 Above the opening is a trap 

 from which the fish cannot 

 escape. Sometimes merely a 

 close barrier is built. The instinct of the salmon, when 

 seeking their spawning beds, teaches them to always push 

 onward toward the head of the stream; they never turn 



back. And if a barrier 



is built which prevents 



their working their way 



up against the current, 



they will remain below 



it, always trying to force 



their way through, until 



they die. When captured in large numbers, the salmon 



are dressed and hung on the poles of the drying scaffold, 



exposed to sun and wind, until at last they are dry enough 



TLINKIT DANCE RATTLE. 



TLINKIT HALIBUT HOOK. 



