148 FISH HARVESTING. 
life-buoy, marking the fish’s whereabouts. The 
halibut, finding his reception anything but agree- 
able, tries to descend again into the lower regions, 
a performance now difficult to accomplish, as the 
bladder is a serious obstacle. Soon reappearing 
on the surface, another spear was sent into him, 
and so on, until he was compelled to remain 
floating. During all this time the paddlers, 
aided by the line-man, followed all the twistings 
and windings of the fish, as a greyhound courses 
a doubling hare. 
For some time the contest was a very equal 
one, after the huge fish was buoyed and prevented 
from diving. On the one side the halibut made 
desperate efforts to escape by swimming, and 
on the other the Indians, keeping a tight line, 
made him tow the canoe. Evident signs of 
weariness at last began to exhibit themselves, 
his swimming became slower, and the attempts 
to escape more feeble and less frequent. Several 
times the canoe came close up to him, but a 
desperate struggle enabled him once more to 
get away. Again and again we were all but 
over; the fish, literally flying through the water, 
sometimes towed the canoe nearly under, and at 
others spun it suddenly round, like a whipped 
top; nothing but the wonderful dexterity of the 
paddlers saved us from instant shipwreck and 
