268 SPORTING ADVENTURES 



of every description, from sharks to sprats ; 

 our seining party had capital sport, getting 

 enough fish to last us for a week. 



From the numerous tracks, it was evident 

 that there must be many deer on the island, so 

 all our sportsmen who could muster a gun or 

 rifle landed in search of them. Ascending the 

 mountains in different directions, we hunted in 

 all the likely places, but with very poor success, 

 several deer were seen, but only one bagged, 



by . The heat was terrific, and the labour 



very severe, owing to the total absence of 

 water, the heavy sand, and the mountainous 

 character of the island. In the afternoon I ran 

 down in the gig, and landed at another place, 

 where, after toiling for several hours, I killed 

 another small deer. 



Some years ago deer were far more nume- 

 rous on San Joseph than they are at present ; 

 but immense numbers were slaughtered by an 

 American professional hunter, or rather butcher, 

 for the sake of their hides. I was told, by the 

 man who bought the skins, that this individual 



