COMMERCIAL FISHERIES OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 405 
Mr. J. S. Emerson, of Honolulu, furnishes the following account 
of a fishing expedition he made with a native, using a bag net some- 
what similar to the two just described. 
We started at sunrise from the shore in a little canoe capable of holding two per- 
sons. The native had only a malo (breech clout) for his dress. He had with him 
some of the candlenut (kukui). This he chewed up in his mouth and spat the 
chewed material on the surface of the water. This produced a film so that he could 
look down from the now calm surface of the water to adepth of 6 fathoms or more 
and locate the little caves and holes in the coral where the fish were. When he had 
discovered the proper location of these fish holes, he iaid his paddle down in the boat 
and took a hand net in one hand. The bag of this hand net was like a purse. There 
were two sticks to hold it open and these were upon two sides of a triangle; the 
mouth of the net was tied to the sticks. In the other hand he had a fish brush, a 
rude fly brush about 3 feet long, composed of a stick to which were tied bits of 
bark, etc., to make a brush to drive the fish. He sprang into the water—in one hand 
the net and in the other the fish brush. I noticed sometimes he had it in one hand 
and sometimes in the other, it apparently did not matter which. He dove down, 
propelling and guiding himself entirely with his feet, with his eyes wide open, and 
approached the spot at the bottom, 6 or 8 fathoms deep, with the brush in one hand 
and the net in the other, ready for work. Then with the one hand he stirred up 
the fish from their resting-places and drove them into the net as one would drive 
little chickens. Having secured all the fish from that particular spot he closed his 
net, held the net and brush in the same hand and used the other hand to paw his 
way to the surface. On arriving there he blew the water out of his mouth and nose, 
threw his head back and got into the canoe. He remained below the surface about 
two minutes. There were in the net 3 or 5 fishes about 6 or 7 inches in length. He 
then chewed up some more of the nut and proceeded for a few rods ahead, spat out 
the nut on the water, looked down, and went through the same operations again, 
finding a few more fish there. This he did for several times, say possibly at a 
dozen places. 
Certain methods of bag-net fishing which were in vogue years ago 
have been entirely abandoned, or at most are but rarely used. Among 
these is Lau Kapalili, which was called the ‘* Fishing of Kings,” as they 
only could command a sufficient number of canoes, men, and lau. The 
late Kamehameha V, whose favorite residence was at Waikiki, fre- 
quently ordered it. The following is a description of this fishery: * 
Lau Kapalili is the use of a large bag net, smaller than the kolo but larger than 
the ohua or iiao net,*but of the same general shape, and called a papa. Two rope 
laus of 300 or 400 fathoms in length, with ki leaves attached, the same as in lau 
ohua, and generally the lau of two or more ohua nets joined, are piled on to a 
large double canoe, which is taken out 2 or 3 miles from shore, attended by a fleet 
of from 60 to 100 single canoes. The head fisherman always goes on the canoe 
containing the net and lau. Arrived at the proper distance, which must be just 
opposite the final drawing-place, the end of one rope is joined to that of the other, 
and two canoes, manned by 8 or 10 strong men, take the other end of the rope or 
lau, one each, and start in opposite directions and exactly parallel with the shore, 
whilst the double canoe remains stationary till all the lau is paid out. In the mean- 
time the rest of the canoes have divided into two companies and follow the leading 
canoes, stationing themselves at certain distances on the lau and helping to pull it. 


* Hawaiian Fisheries and Methods of Fishing, with an Account of the Fishing Implements used by 
the Natives of the Hawaiian Islands. By Mrs. Emma Metcalf Beckley. Pp. 18, 19. 
