30 BRITISH COLUMBIA.

or human figures, usually seated and holding a bowl. ‘These are stated according
to tradition to have been used in the preparation of charms to attract salmon to
nets and fish-hooks during the early part of a “ run.”

Perforated stone weights for giving tension to thread while spinning were
still used by Salish women a quarter of a century ago. Stone was sometimes
utilized for making spinning-whorls as evinced by a specimen recovered from the

site of a deserted village.

METHOD OF SHAPING STONE TOOLS.

The method used for shaping stone tools and implements is worth recording.
A suitable boulder having been selected, two thin strips of wood were fixed about
one-half inch apart by means of a cross-piece at each end. “This guide was laid
on the surface of the block, and a cutter of sandstone, agate, or rock crystal was
worked to and fro until the groove was deep enough to hold the cutter without
support. Water was freely used to keep the cut clean and open. The sub-
sequent polish was given by rubbing with smooth sandstone or dry dogfish skin,
finishing off with smooth cedar fibres.

PLATE V.
(1) (3) (2)

(4)

Courtesy of Provincial Museum, Victoria, B.C.

Stone implements: (1) Adze. (2) Maul. (3) Smoothing-adze.
(4) War-club. (5) Slate dagger.

In the case of jade tools or ornaments the polishing process might be carried
out by hand, taking mere than a lifetime to attain the perfection desired.

The skill with which the different types of wooden handles were designed is
also worthy of note, directed as it was to increase the efficiency of the tools.

STONE TOOLS IN GENERAL USE.

The diversity of forms and sizes assumed by the tools in use by these people
must be seen to be believed. So effective were they that in many cases their
design has been retained, even since the substitution of iron and steel for stone
and bone.

Adzes and mauls were employed for felling trees, shaping cedar logs, or, with
the assistance of wedges, splitting tree trunks into planks or shaping posts or