Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 249, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 November 1917 — INDIANS USE A GRABHOOK [ARTICLE]

INDIANS USE A GRABHOOK

Have Unique Outfit Which They Use In Pishing for Salmon-Poles Are Twenty Feet Long.

The Indians for salmon with a “grab-hook,” a large iron hook fastened to a pole by a loose cord three or four feet long. A hole at the blunt . nd of the hook that slips over the tip of the pole keeps it in place until 'he fish is hooked. Then the hook is pulled off the pole and the cord gives ,he fisherman a chance to play his fish if necessary before dragging it ashore, says the Southern Workman. The hooks are made by the blacksmith. but the poles, about 20 feet In length. the Indians make themselves of red fir. Taking a rough piece of ’ dry wood of the required length, they patiently work at it with drawshave and knife until it is the right size and tapering to suit the workman. Then it is usually hardened in the coals before putting on the cord, which they braid themselves. If a pole breaks, as often happens, the broken parts are lashed together with string, pitch is smeared over and melted by being rubbed with a hot stone, which makes the' pole as strong as before. The Indians generally fish from the bank or from platforms Aiullt over the water. They thrust the long pole out across the river as far as they can and let the current carry It down and into the bank, trusting to chance and a quick jerk to hook the fish if they feel one in the water.