Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology

During a collecting trip for the Field Columbian Museum of Chicago in 1902, John W. Hudson acquired gear used by the Achumawi and Atsugewi for fishing. In 1986-87 the Pit River Tribal Council and the California Department of Parks and Recreation collaborated to protect the unique stone fish traps or weirs at Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park in northeastern California. This paper, describing the fishing equipment collected by Hudson, is supplemental to information on Pit River fishing practices compiled from ethnographic sources and recent interviews (Evans 1987; Dreyer and Johnson 1988). As the Chicago collections are not easily accessible, emphasis is on unpublished material rather than literature review.