FISHING 121 



sometimes results in large capture of little fish. When 

 the tide is high the bushes along the river bank and many 

 of the drooping branches of the trees are submerged ; 

 the natives approach quietly in their canoes, cautiously 

 push the net under the submerged vegetation, and then 

 with a sudden jerk lift it up out of the water, in this w^ay 

 capturing numbers of small fish which had been sheltering 

 or looking for food among the leaves. 



Another form of fishing net — though there is no 

 netting in its construction — is made of long, thin strips 

 of bamboo tied parallel to each other at intervals of 

 about half an inch, forming a sort of screen or trellis- 

 work, which can be rolled up if necessary. Strong 

 wooden stakes are driven into the mud at the mouth 

 of the creeks w-hich join the river in many places, and 

 at high water the screens are fastened to the stakes 

 in such a way as to touch the bottom and close the 

 entrance of the creek ; the water can run back when 

 the tide falls, but not the fish which are sometimes 

 caught in considerable numbers. 



The larger fish are all obtained by the men, who /" 

 either catch them with a hook and line, or spear them 

 in the shallow water near the river mouth, or along the 

 sea shore. We saw very few hooks ; one or two were 

 made of rough metal, the others were neatly fashioned 

 from fish bones, and all of them were plain without 

 barbs. Now they have a large number of steel fish- 

 hooks, which they greatly value. 



The commonest types of fish-spear are made of 

 thin bamboo or a light wood about ten feet long, and 

 they end in three or four sharp prongs of bamboo or 



