One of the baskets that you will find in our exhibit on Outer Banks natives is this exquisite eel basket. Eel was a staple food for tribes along waterways and these baskets, usually made from willow bark, were the most effective way at catching these slippery creatures. At first glance, the basket looks like an unfinished tube, but it’s got a secret!
How Did it Work?
At one end of the basket is an inverted cone. Because eels are naturally curious creatures, bait didn’t even have to be used all of the time to lure them into the dark cave made by the basket. Though a tight fit, the eels could easily slip in the funnel but would have a very difficult time coming back out.
The splints of the basket would be left raw on the inside of the funnel so the eels could easily push past to enter, but wouldn’t have an easy hole to exit out of. They also couldn’t back out once they started to enter as the basket splints would be uncomfortable and compress on their bodies if they attempted. Think of it like a woven finger trap toy in a way!
But if the basket prevented the eels from getting out… how did they harvest them?
The narrow end of the basket would be tightened or some would attach another kind of stopper. Some tribes would even have a second basket chamber with a funnel that held bait!
This end would be opened as the basket would be held over a large catch basket so they would fall out into the secured container.
Lastly, the basket was thrown and gathered by securing a heavy rope to the basket splints. It could be held or tied to an anchor point and tossed into the calm waters where eels flourish.
When it’s time to harvest, the rope is used again to pull the basket to shore
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