NOTES ON FISHING METHODS OF THE SOUTH SEAS. 745 
anywhere off the mouth of the harbor bottom fish were plentiful, but 
he probably meant surface fish. Neither the trials with hand lines 
nor with trawl could be considered a fair test of the ground, as tropical 
fish do not bite readily on salt bait, and satisfactory results may rarely 
be expected from using it. 
The boats in use on this part of the island are the canoe and whale- 
boat. The style of canoe has undergone little change for many years, 
except that the large canoe has been discarded for the whaleboat, it 
having been introduced among these people by the early whalers. 
Whaleboats are used mostly for making passages to different parts of 
the island and to other islands, and do the work formerly performed by 
large canoes; they range in length from 26 to 35 feet and are modeled 
from the regular New Bedford boat. These boats cost from $200 to 
$250, according to size and finish. The dimensions of one were as 
follows: Length, 26 feet; width, 53 feet; depth, 2 feet; number of 
thwarts, 6. The mast steps through the second thwart from the bow; 

Canoe, Nukuhiva Island. 
standing platform aft 54 feet long and 2 feet wide on the forward end, 
‘aised 9 inches above the keel. Boat decked over fore and aft, 25 feet 
forward and 4 feet aft; ceiled to the risings. Excellent workmanship 
is displayed in the build and all the fittings. The sails are cotton and 
are cut according to whaleboat fashion; sprit, boom, and high peak. 
Whales and black-fish make their appearance each season, and these 
boats are then most useful. Many of the inhabitants have been engaged 
in the whale fishery, sailing in ships from New Bedford and San Fran- 
cisco, and they capture whales and black-fish by the white man’s 
method. Black-fish entering the harbor are often captured by being 
driven ashore in the same manner as on the coast of New England. 
Nearly every native owns a canoe, varying in length from 12 to 20 
feet. A small one measured 12 feet long, 34 feet across the gunwales, 
and 1 foot wide at bottom; depth, 2 feet. This canoe, like others 
observed, had three thwarts with a hole through the forward one for 
stepping the mast. A majority of the canoes were dugouts, but a 
