270 CONFESSIONS OF A BEACHCOMBER 



claim to original research or to the possession of any but 

 common knowledge of the race at large. Learned societies 

 and learned men have done and are doing all that is 

 possible to acquire and accumulate information of the fast 

 vanishing race. I merely record odd incidents, which may 

 or may not prove useful and of interest, or which may bear 

 repetition. An occasional gleam of satisfaction is vouch- 

 safed even to casual and superficial students of human nature. 



The supply of bait run out one day when we were 

 fishing off the rocks with throw-lines. Mickie said " We 

 catch 'em plenty little fella fish with wild dynamite." I 

 asked him what he knew about dynamite. " Not white 

 fella's dynamite. Wild dynamite I show you." 



Growing on the blistering rocks, with roots, down in the 

 crevices, was a lowly vine, or rather a diffuse, creeping shrub 

 with myrtle-like leaves and racemes of white flowers. 

 "That fella wild dynamite," said Mickie, as he tore up 

 several strands of the plant and bunched them, leaves and 

 all, in his hand. He made a small bundle, and going to an 

 isolated pool in the rocks in which were small fish he 

 beat the leaves with a nulla-nulla, dipping the bruised mass 

 frequently in the water. In a few minutes the fish were 

 darting about erratically, apparently making frantic efforts 

 to get out of the water. One by one they became stupefied 

 and helpless, floating belly up. Mickie filled his hat with 

 them, and as the soporific effects of the juice of the leaves 

 passed off, the remaining fish recovered and were soon 

 swimming about again as if nothing had happened. Mickie 

 had seen dynamite used to kill fish wholesale, hence his 

 adaptation of the name of the plant known to him as " Pagg- 

 arra," and to botanists as Derris scandens. 



Another method by which the blacks secure fish in 

 pools left by the receding tide is to scrape off the inner 

 bark of the " Koie-yan " (Faradaya splendida) with a shell 

 and spread it evenly on the bottom of a shallow pit in the 

 sand, and place thereon stones made hot in the fire, 

 or they may rub the powdered bark on hot stones. 

 While still warm the stones are thrown into the water, 



