312 NIMROD OF THE SEA; 



feathered lure the same distance into the circle of wavelets 

 left by a rising trout. When we examined the beautiful 

 hooks of these islanders, we found they were not finely 

 pointed, and the barb was ill fitted to hold a fish securely; 

 so they could not allow their game to play and exhaust it- 

 self before it was landed. The practice of our angler was 

 simply to convert the rush by which the hook was taken 

 into a leap of forty feet, directly from the water to the 

 hand of the fisherman. The people are so expert that few 

 fish are lost that once take the hook. Indeed, they are con- 

 sidered very skillful fishermen, whether with the rod, the 

 deep-sea troll from the canoe, or with the nets. Fish is a 

 favorite dish with all classes, either cooked or raw, the latter 

 being preferred. 



Tired with our interesting ramble, and fairly wolfish in 

 appetite, we returned to the town. At the outskirts we 

 found our hosts awaiting the party. They conducted us to 

 the oven, which was now uncovered ; the still warm stones 

 were carefully removed, and the potatoes and yams were 

 placed in a deep calabash and covered with fine grass, to 

 keep in the heat. The outer wrappings of the animals were 

 charred and brittle. These were removed until the inner 

 leaves were reached, and the latter were next placed in 

 broad, flat gourds, surrounded by some of the hot stones 

 from the bottom of the oven, and covered closely with grass. 

 A gourd filled with the milk of cocoa-nuts, and an acid 

 drink of limes or lemons, completed the preparation. It 

 had been determined that we should all dine at the house 

 of Chips's host, that being the largest and most commodi- 

 ous. Our friends, with the assistance of some attendant 

 Kanakas, therefore mounted the dishes on their heads, and 

 proceeded in single file to the appointed place, each of the 

 guests following next to his special entertainer. And as we 

 filed through the streets, our hosts, in recitative, in part un- 



