Fig. 454. Ivory fish used as bait in spearing salmon.
a From Repulse Bay. a, c, d (National Museum, Washington. a, 10400; c, 34109; d, 34134.) 1/1
b (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin. IV A 6830.) 1/1
[FISHING.]
The most important fish is the salmon, which is caught in abundance during the summer. When the lakes begin to break up the salmon descend to the sea, following the narrow lead between the land floe and the water. In some places they are so plentiful as to fill the water completely. Here they are speared with the kakivang (Fig. 453). This instrument consists of a handle which widens towards the end; in the center it has a prong of bone or iron, and two larger ones at the sides, made of deer antlers or musk ox horn. These latter diverge and are furnished with a bone or iron nail on the inner side. The elasticity of these side prongs is increased by thongs or strings holding them tightly together. If the salmon are very plentiful no bait is needed and the natives cannot spear them as quickly as they swim along. When the ice is gone they are caught in the shallow rivers falling from the lakes into the sea. The natives stand on the bank or step into the water. A small ivory fish (Fig. 454) (eχalujang), tied by two or three holes in the back to a plaited string of deer sinews, is used as a bait. Frequently bear’s teeth are used for bait. They are attached to a separate line which the hunter continually moves up and down to attract the attention of the fish. When the salmon comes near the bait it is speared with the kakivang. In the left hand the fisherman holds an instrument for stringing the fish (quqartaun), some illustrations of which are given in Fig. 455. It is made of ivory. A thong fastened to the hole of the instrument has a thick knot at the opposite end. As soon as a salmon is caught it is taken out of the nippers (kakivang) and the point of the quqartaun is pushed into the gills and brought out again at the mouth; thus the fish remains sticking until it is dead. Sometimes it is killed by pushing the ivory point of the instrument into its neck. When dead it is pushed on the thong.
Fig. 453. Kakivang or salmon spear. (National Museum, Washington, a, 34087; b, 34086.) ¼
Fig. 455. Quqartaun for stringing fish. c (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin. IV A 6831.)
At some places wears are built, above which the fish are caught. These consist of dikes of stones about one and a half or two feet high, which are piled across a creek some distance below high water mark. The salmon cross the wall at high water, but are cut off from the sea at half tide and are speared while there. In other places the forks of rivers are shut off by dikes, above which the salmon gather.