FISH-HOOKS OF WOOD.
301
of bone and wood. From Arctic America we have a large
variety of most primitive hooks, of bone, wood, walrus-ivory, &c,
with the introduction, here and there, of stone and scraps of
metal, in the shape of copper boat nails and fragments of hoop
iron : in Alaska a gorge formed of a piece of bone pointed at either
end is in ordinary use; whilst in the Hudson Bay district,
stone gorges were in actual use for fishing in the present century.
These recent stone gorges seem to show considerable light upon
the probable "modus operandi" of the many mysterious flint
flakes, pointed at both ends, so abundant in our museums.
Interesting illustrations occur, not only in the South Pacific,
but also in the Arctic area, of the sudden transition of man from
the stone to the iron age.
Frequently the iron wire used by European travellers for
binding wood cases, &c., is eagerly sought after by the natives
and converted into fish-hooks, and it often happens that such
wire is actually adapted to a shank of shell or bone. In the
Arctic regions, the use of boat-nails, scrap iron, and even the
metal of tins for preserved foods show the keen appreciation
of metal in localities where the precious material has hitherto
been unknown.
The fish-gorge above referred to is' somewhat similar to
the needle used in the present day for catching eels : in fact,
Allcocks, of Redditch, actually still make steel gorges. The
earliest known gorges are undoubtedly of flint, and date back to
the Neolithic Period. The more recent are of bone, used on the
shores of Alaska.
They consist of a piece of suitable material sharpened at
either end like a "tip-cat," and tied round the middle with the
fishing line. When baited, the gorge is placed on the same
plane as the line, and covered with the bait, whether it be a
worm or a piece of seal or whale fat. When the fish swallows
this, which it can easily do, a sharp jerk on the line by the
fisherman, or even a movement to escape on the part of the fish,
brings the gorge at right angles to the line, and the sharp-
pointed ends enter the side of the gullet and naturally secure the
fish.
Having thus briefly glanced at the primitive history of the
Fish-hook, I think we may conclude that one of the most
remarkable facts connected with this interesting appliance is,
that whilst the Bronze-age deposits of the Swiss Lake Dwellings