m a willow (_jaria_) about six inches long,
left in its natural state except for the flattening of one end on one
side. The spear is held in the left hand, the stick in the right. The
flat part of the latter is placed against the end of the spear, which
is slightly flattened on two sides, while the end is squarely cut
off. By pressing one against the other, the throwing-stick is bent,
and sufficient force is produced by its rebound to make the spear
pierce small fish. Many a Tarahumare may be seen standing immovable
on the bank of a streamlet, waiting patiently for a fish to come, and
as soon as he has hit it throwing himself into the water to grab it.

But a more profitable way of catching fish is by poisoning the
water. In the highlands a kind of polygonum is used for this
purpose. It is pounded with stones and thrown into the small
corrals. When the fishing is to be done on a somewhat extensive scale,
two species of agave--the amole (the soap-plant) and the soke--are
used, and many households join in the sport. First of all maguey plants
have to be collected, and wine made, as this is indispensable to the
success of the undertaking. At the place selected for the fishing
the people assemble, and two managers are appointed, one for each
side of the river. It is their duty to see that everything is done
in the right and proper way and all the requisite ceremonies are
observed. The women are a couple of hundred yards back cooking herbs
and making pinole for the men to eat. No pregnant women are allowed
to be present, as then the fish would not die.

Half-circular corrals of stone are built to intercept the fish that
drift along, irrespective of any private traps that may be found on
the place. Fish caught in the latter belong to those who put up the
traps. While constructing these corrals, the men catch a few fish with
their hands, between the rocks, open them in the back and give them to
the women, to broil. When they are done, the men pound the fish to a
pulp, mix it with pinole, and roll the mass into a ball two or three
inches in diameter. One of the managers then goes down stream, below
the corrals, and places the ball in a water pool. It is a sacrifice to
the master of the river, a large serpent (Walula), which makes an ugly
noise. Every river, water-hole, and spring has its serpent that causes
the water to come up out of the earth. They are all easily offended;
and therefore the Tarahumares place their houses som