238 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



they are easily secured by the deadly flight of the Indian's arrow. The others are 

 commonly secured by long lines or traps, constantly to be found along the rivers 

 and creeks, and so arranged as to prevent the fishes caught from being devoured by 

 other fishes and aquatic animals, such as alligators and others. The lines are set by 

 means of long spring rods, which, when the fishes are caught, hoist them well above 

 the surface and out of reach except to the fishing people who visit the lines at intervals 

 and reset them with fresh bait. 



The voracious and predaeeous "perai" are so abundant in certain parts that they 

 may be continuously caught by the mere dropping of the baited hook into the water, 

 with a total disregard of the nature of the fleshy bait. Unless the hook be well secured 

 by a stout wire, the fish generally, however, snaps himself free by a bite from the 

 strong and sharp teeth, which, on account of their strength and sharpness, are made 

 use of by the native Indians for cutting purposes in hunting, the jaw of this fish 

 being always a part of the furnishing of the quiver in which the poisoned (oorali) 

 arrows for the blowpipe are carried. These fishes are the great pests of certain parts 

 of many of the great rivers, wounded and defenseless animals being often the victims or 

 sufferers from their attacks — the armed stingray, even, generally showing a shortened 

 tail and a much damaged fin expausion, owing to the bites from these water tyrants. 



The lucanani and sunfish are almost equally abundant, and in certain places and 

 at certain times of the year they can be caught by the mere cast of a fly, though the 

 larger and heavier ones require much careful playing to secure them. These and 

 many other common fishes readily take a fly and afford considerable sport to the angler. 



There are easy methods in use by which the native people secure all varieties of 

 fishes in almost unlimited quantity. The smaller fishes, like the daree, are easily 

 secured by throwing pellets of the crushed leaves of the conn ami plant (Clibadiitm 

 asperum) into the water. The fishes greedily devour the pellets, and being narcotized 

 float helpless on the surface, and are rapidly picked up by the Indians ere the effect 

 passes off, and are either used for bait for larger fishes or directly themselves for food. 



On a much larger scale enormous quantities can be obtained by poisoning the 

 water by means of the fish poison or "haiari." The haiari plants are cut into short 

 pieces and pounded into pulp, and then mixed with water, so that the milky poison- 

 ous juice might the more readily be dissolved out. By casting this mixture into a 

 stream or channel of the river that has been dammed up to prevent the rapid escape 

 of the water, all the fishes in the immediate vicinity are affected and float after a 

 time, according to their size, either quiescent or struggling on the surface. The 

 linger kinds are rapidly killed or stunned by blows on the head and the desirable 

 ones quickly secured. In this way hundreds of specimens of all sorts maybe secured. 

 It is a very effective but wasteful method, since it leads to the wholesale slaughter 

 of large and small fish, the greater part of which is never secured. 



When the larger fishes, such as the lucanani, the sunfish, the pacu, the tiger fish, 

 the haimura, and others, are secured in very large quantities and of sufficient size, 

 they are preserved for future use by the natives along the rivers by means of the 

 method known as babracoting. This consists in smoking and drying the fish, as is 

 done with other fish, on a wooden stage over the wood fire — the wooden stage being 

 known as the u babracot." Fishes thus preserved can be kept with very little 

 attention for long periods, and babracoted pacu and lucanini can often be obtained 

 on the coast after a successful season in the interior. The common hassar, yarrow, 

 and hoori are often thus cured by the negroes on the coast and kept for future use. 



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