."[170] The palometa is a fish
which weighs two or three pounds. It has fourteen teeth in each jaw so
sharp that the Abipones shear sheep with the jaw.[171] Such cases might
be pursued into great detail. They show acute observation, great
ingenuity, clever adaptation, and teachableness. The lasso, bola,
boomerang, and throw knife, as well as the throw stick, are products of
persistent and open-minded experience. The selection and adaptation of
things in nature to a special operation in the arts often show ingenuity
as great as that manifested in any of our devices.[172] This ingenuity
is of the same kind as that shown by many animals. Intelligent
experiment, however, is not wanting. It is reported of Eskimo that they
invent imaginary hard cases, such as might occur to them, and, by way of
sport, discuss the proper way to deal with the case.[173] Operations
similar to this in play show a mode in which ingenuity must have been
developed and inventions produced. In the higher grades of the hunting
stage, such as are presented by the North American Indians, buffalo
hunting, for instance, calls for the highest organization and skill, and
establishes inflexible discipline.[174]

+123. Fishing.+ Fishing furnishes a parallel case. A Thlinkit fisherman
puts on a cap which resembles the head of a seal, and hiding his body
between the rocks makes a noise like a seal. This entices seals towards
him and gives him opportunity to kill them.[175] The Australians had a
fish spear and a net made of fibers, which were chewed by the women to
make them soft. They had no hooks until they got them from the
whites.[176] Weirs for fishing were built of stone. One is described
which was a labyrinth of stone circles, of which some were connected
with each other. The walls are three or four feet high. The fish get
confused and are caught by hand.[177] Remains of weirs, consisting of
wattled work of reeds or saplings, are found in the rivers of northern
Europe. The device of putting into the water some poisonous or narcotic
substance in order to stupefy the fish is met with all over the globe.
It was employed by the aborigines on Lanzarote (Canary Islands). There
the fish were freshened in unpoisoned waters.[178] It is quite
impossible that this device should have spread only by contact. It must
have been independently invented. It secured a large amount of fish with
very little trouble. The Ainos dam the stream, leaving only a few
openings, opposi