117 



the best of workmanship to the hull ; they must needs ornament 

 it, which they do with equal success to that characterising the 

 rest of their work. Indeed there is a distinct and well marked 

 sense of the artistic developed in these islanders ; beautiful and 

 often most intricate geometrical patterns in black and white 

 adorn their boats and often their house doors, while their grave- 

 stones, made from a dense, fine grained coral sandstone quarried 

 on the beach, bear further witness, many being exquisitely 

 sculptured and bearing inscriptions in beautifully chiselled 

 Arabic lettering. The accompanying figure No. 22 show 

 some of the patterns used to decorate the poops of their boats. 

 1 should mention that these designs are drawn freehand and 

 are not stencils. 



121. Fishing is not pursued vigorously, although all the 

 methods operated at Chetlat aad Kiltan are known and in use 

 here. Lining on the great bank to the south-west (on which 

 we dredged the day previously) is the chief source of their 

 fish-supply. Mainly this consists of ttdeost species characteris- 

 tic of hard bottom Lethrinus, Lutjanus, Serramts, etc., which 

 may appropriately be called " rock-fishes." Sharks and rays 

 are also taken on the bank. All these are taken by hook and 

 line during the day. At night lights are frequently used to 

 attract fish to the neighbourhood of the hooks ; harpooning is 

 also employed when the fish attracted are of large size. 



Sword-fish, sharks, plough-fish (RJmiobatidcv), large rays, 

 turtle, large seer and bonito are all taken by harpoons during 

 the day. The chellal or "grains " is employed both to catch 

 flying-fish and ribbon-fish (Tnchiurus savala) at night, attracted 

 round the boats by the light of torches. 



122. Sometimes fishing parties go to Bitra and the other 

 great parts, but as everybody is busy with the coconut harvest 

 and the preparation of copra for two to three months of the 

 fine weather season, it may be readily understood that in this 

 island where every yard of land is given over to the coconut, 

 the fishing resources of the sea around the island are largely 

 neglected ; indeed dried mackerel and sardines are actually 

 imported from Mangalore, as it • pays better, oris a less labo- 

 rious calling, to make copra than to catch fish. This seems 

 a great pity for fish are to be had in plenty round the island ; 

 we saw numbers when at anchor here and plenty of rock-fishes 

 (Lutjanus gibbus and others) and of file-fishes (Balisies) w 7 ere 

 taken by the crew by means of hook and line. 



123. Bonito is said to be plentiful at times, audi extracted 

 an entire one, recently swallowed, from the stomach of a sword 



16 



