314 Musings by Catnp-Fwe and Wayside 



It must be admitted that the best night for suc- 

 cessful fire-hunting is dark, warm, and still. If 

 there be a breeze, the ripples rattle against the 

 sides of the boat. If the air be colder than the 

 water, the fog curls up and reflects back the rays of 

 the lamp into the hunter's eyes, blinding him. The 

 boat must carefully avoid rushes, water-weeds, or 

 lilies. One would not perceive the noise they make 

 under any other conditions, but the slender stem of 

 a rush will strike the prow with a thump and be 

 drawn along its side with a resonance of a bass- 

 viol. On the dark night the oarsman listens while 

 the gunman watches, expecting the always startling 

 apparition of two great greenish yellow balls of 

 fire. But in the moonlight fire-hunt the ears must 

 do all the seeking, and they must be able to detect 

 a small sound at a long distance. Any kind of a 

 boat or raft will do for the dark night, but for the 

 moonlight the boat must be small, light, polished, 

 and swift. The two requirements are silence and 

 celerity. The paddle must be short, four feet long, 

 broad, and sharp of edges. The oarsman must 

 know the speed at which the boat is going, and 

 draw his paddle back as it touches the water, so 

 that it will enter as if both were stationary. He 

 must send it straight down till his hand touches the 

 water. Then he puts all the strength he has on his 

 stroke, and there is no noise. With a strong arm 

 and a light, smooth boat, the stroke sends it like a 

 bird. 



