342 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 
were absent. A resourceful people found a substitute for wood in the reeds 
growing thickly near the rivers; bound together in sufficient numbers, these 
were made into remarkably strong craft which continue even now to serve a 
useful purpose. The ‘‘caballito” (fig. 5, pl. xv) in its simplest form, as now 
used at Pacasmayo, for example, is made of two long bundles of ‘“totora.” 
The reeds are individually weak and flimsy, but the bundle, which is well 
wrapped with twine, is strong and comparatively stiff. Each bundle is about 
a foot in diameter at the aft end; forward it enlarges a little, and then tapers 
to a point at the other end. The two bundles are securely bound with rope, 
and the long tapering ends curve upward in graceful form. At a short distance 
from the stern (about one-fifth of the entire length) the inner and upper reeds 
of each bundle terminate squarely to form the forward end of a small pit, where 
the fish may be kept. The pit, which is about a foot deep at its forward end, 
rises gradually to the top of the caballito near the stern.‘ The craft derives 
its Spanish name of ‘‘caballito” (pony) from the method of its use. The fish- 
erman sits astride, just forward of the pit, with his legs hanging in the water 
or resting on the side of the boat. For a paddle he uses a plain split of bam- 
boo cane, paddling with each end alternately. With its shapely taper and 
upturned pointed end, the caballito, mounted by an Indian fisherman, not only 
presents a picturesque appearance, but is most serviceable for use in the short 
swell near the beach where an ordinary boat would be unwieldy. With his 
caballito anchored just beyond the surf, the fisherman sits just in front of the 
pit and facing astern. Of the three lines in use, two are attached to his belt 
while the third, which is stout and carries a large hook, is secured to the cabal- 
lito. If both hands are busy with one line, the other is held with the toes. 
The fish must be killed with a small stick before being thrown into the pit, 
from which they might easily escape if alive. ; 
The caballito is also used in net fishing. The net is in the form of a very 
large small-meshed bag which when in the water is kept open by gourd buoys 
attached to the top of the mouth on each side and by stone sinkers on each side 
below. ‘The mesh may be 114 to 2 centimeter bar. Extending outward from 
each side of the mouth is a ‘‘brazo”’ (arm) of some 8 fathoms length and of 
very large mesh. To the ends of the arms are attached the hauling lines. The 
fishermen astride of their caballitos haul this net through the water to take a 
school of “‘sardinas”’ or other fishes, all the time making as much noise in the water 
as they can with feet and paddles. The same type of net may be worked from 
canoes or flat-bottomed boats. (Pacasmayo, Chimbote). 
The totora reeds may be bound together to form a much heavier and larger 
craft than the caballito. The ‘‘balsa” of Cerro Azul is made, like a raft, of 
a Dimensions of a caballito: Length, 4.50 meters; width at stern, 0.56 meter, stern to forward 
end of pit, 0.94 meter; depth of pit, forward, 0.30 meter. 
