1 68 THE SALMON 



having been taken by water-bailiffs or keepers from 

 marauders taken red-handed, it numbered several hun- 

 dred exhibits. Among these were quantities of spears 

 or leisters, with every number of prongs from nine to 

 two, some with barbs and some without. But the 

 favourite poaching weapon was shown to be the gaff or 

 ' cleik,' which is easier to carry and conceal than the 

 leister, and quite as effective. The collection contained 

 no less than two hundred and forty of these implements, 

 all seized along the Usk and Ebbw. Some of these had 

 as many as eight barbed hooks upon them, and one, 

 used in the River Cleddy, had a handle 25 feet long. 

 There were also a large number of snatches, or rake- 

 hooks, one of which, shown from the Derwent River, 

 was worked by a rope between two men, and had an 

 oyster-shell at the end to attract the fish. A number 

 of lamps, from the most primitive dark lanterns to 

 an elaborate naphtha torch with a metal case, which 

 could be flared up, darkened, or extinguished with 

 great rapidity, formed part of the same interesting 

 collection. Several of these exhibits were figured and 

 described in the Illustrated London News of Aug. 18, 

 1883. 



A poacher may sometimes be a friend in need. 

 My brother, Colonel C. Gathorne- Hardy, was once 

 fishing the Blackwater from a garden terrace, when he 



