THE FISH POT OF THE CAEIBBEAN SEA. 203 



to twenty-five fathoms ; if other and mixed fish then the depth will 

 vary and run down to fifty and sixty fathoms according to the 

 nature of the bottom and the principal fish sought. They are 

 almost invariably set without bait of any kind^ but in some localities 

 some bait, such as dead sprats, viscera, and salted herrings (enclosed 

 in fine netting), are attached to some part of the inner pot. 



The cables to which the pots are attached are arranged as follows. 

 Should the depth of water be thirty fathoms the cable is made to 

 measure one fourth more, or forty fathoms. Two thirds of the 

 depth, above the pot, a matured piece of bamboo, about six feet 

 long, is securely fastened and floats suspended in mid-water, and 

 this buoy keeps the lower portion of the cable continually taut. The 

 upper end of the cable is attached to a similar piece of bamboo, and 

 this is allowed to swing and play about, serving for a mark to identify 

 and recover the pot when it is visited for the purpose of examination. 



Under favorable conditions a pot will last for months, appearing 

 bi-weekly or tri-weekly, as shall be required, at the surface, to have 

 its contents transferred to the bottom of the dug-out ; but — and it 

 sometimes happens — a storm may carry away the upper and identify- 

 ing bamboo and the pot is lost for ever, for the fisherman seldom 

 tries to recover except in shallow water. An unusually strong 

 current will perhaps carry the whole structure away, and in this case 

 it is sometimes recovered. Should the pot not be visited for a week 

 or more, its finny contents accumulating the while, some member 

 of the shark family may utterly destroy its wicker sides to feast 

 upon the enclosed captives, or a devil-fish will sever the bamboo 

 buoys and leave the pot below unconnected and irrecoverable. 



When set the fish pot is visited usually every other day, some- 

 times twice, occasionally only once a week. When this longer in- 

 terval occurs some reason may be assigned for the delay. If the 

 pots were visited daily they would yield a larger harvest, but then 

 the Carib fisher believes in " letting to-morrow take care of itself,'* 

 and carries out his belief. A pot made of matured bamboo will 

 withstand the action of the salt water and the worm, and remain 

 serviceable for from six to eight months and in some cases a month 

 longer ; one made from the wild cane four to six months longer 

 than the bamboo. The silver-thatch cable, like the withes, will in- 

 invariably outlast the pot. 



When a pot is hauled, as it is termed, it is brought to the surface 

 by means of the cable, and when alongside the canoe it is turned 

 on end, the fish shaken into one corner from which they are ex- 

 tracted by the hand, through a small gate or gap left purposely for 

 that purpose. When all are transferred to the canoe the gate is 

 closed, refastened, and the pot returned to its watery home. It is 



