34 BRITISH COLUMBIA.

lines were therefore anchored in deep water by heavy stone sinkers. “These con-
sisted of thread-like lashings of kelp enclosed in a serving of Indian hemp or other
strong twine, and were so efficient that similar lashings were seen quite recently
in use for tying up sawlogs. Wooden floats, carved to represent aquatic birds,
were attached to these lines, and the outfit was completed by a heavy stone club
to kill the powerful fish before hauling it up into the canoe.

Fish-lines were also made of the twisted roots of cedar or spruce root, the
fibres being twined into several strands, or strengthened in some cases by plaiting
with threads of shredded kelp.

Primitive trawl-lines were used for ocean fishing by the Kwakiutl, consisting
of cedar roots to which barbed hooks of steamed and bent cedar wood were
attached.

The giant kelp so frequently mentioned grows at a depth of from 3 to 30 or
more fathoms. “The root and stem are solid and very slender until the latter
attains about half its total length, when it expands and becomes hollow. ‘The
surface end is surmounted. by a large bulb from which float long trailing
streamers. [he Coast tribes cut the stems close to the root with an implement
formed of a V-shaped branch, across the smaller portion of which they fixed a
knife-blade. This implement was lowered over a kelp-plant, when a sudden pull
of the line to which the cutter was fastened easily divided the stem. ‘The plant
was cured in the sun or by smoke and the fibres were skilfully joined by a special
knot. The solid stem and hollow bulb were soaked in fresh water before being
cured, and the latter then served the purpose of a bottle for keeping or trans-
porting fish-oil and grease.

VARIOUS TYPES OF NET. Vv .

Herring and oolachan, which run in large shoals in the early spring, were
caught with drag-nets or dipped out of the water with loosely woven baskets or
gathered with rakes. “The dip-nets, also used for salmon, were made of Indian
hemp and fastened to triangular or oval frames of forked branches. Similar nets
with V-shaped frames were used for crabs and sea urchins.

A large proportion of the nets in use on the Coast were knotted from nettle
fibres, such as those secured to poles and dragged between two canoes; others
resembled the modern seine-nets, with sinkers below and floats above, these floats
being spaced about 3 feet apart. “The dimensions of these were considerable ;
some in use by the Haida measured as much as 52 feet in length and over 5 feet
in depth.

The fish-rakes in use were made of long thin laths, set along one edge with
sharp spikes of bone or copper. “They were employed to gather fish-eggs as well
as oolachan and herring. ‘The fisherman beat the surface of the water with this
rake, on which fish or their eggs were transfixed by the sharp teeth.

Spawn was secured by sticking branches of pine, to which it readily adheres,
in the sandy bottom. When these were withdrawn and dried the spawn could be
easily stripped off the pine needles and was stored in boxes or baskets for future
consumption.

Fish weirs and traps varied according to the locality and to the size, depth,
and swiftness of the stream where they were erected. Strong stakes were driven
in with heavy stones. Branches were woven in and out of these stakes to form a
rough basket-work, subsequently strengthened with braces. [hese weirs were
spaced a short distance apart, so that after leaping the first the salmon was trapped
between it and the second.