iiiAir. in. Tko Sine of Mahseer. 25 



which 4t» lbs. or 50 lbs. is by no means an exceptional weight We 

 hear of captures of fish weighing more or less about loo lbs., and 

 I have in my possession two heads of Mahseer that weighed, 

 approximately, by estimate, i" 1 lbs, and 150 lbs. each. They h 

 always hang in my hall, and numerous friends have asked me 

 their weight, and quoting from memory I have for seven years 

 given them as 150 lbs. and 180 lbs. respectively, and the mistake 

 became so thoroughly impressed on my memory that in a hurried 

 in. 'in, 'in I wrote without verification to the "Asian," 30th September, 

 1879, thai 1 had such heads of such weights. In wading, however, 

 through a fearful bundle of letters, before committing myself to 



mis-statements or loose statements in this 1 k. I have discovered 



my error, and honesty compels me to admit it. The truth must be 

 told in the words of the narrator and donor of the heads, Mr. ('•. 

 1'. Sanderson, author of "Thirteen Fears among the "Wild Beasts of 

 '■ India," a book that eveiy sportsman, old or young, must be 

 interested in. and most, even old hands, may profit from. Young 

 hands should not essay heavy game without having read it. These 

 Mahseer were caught by Mr. Sanderson with a night line in the 

 Oavery River. 



"As to my big fish I put it down at 150 lbs., the other .">() have 

 en added in the telling. I had no means of weighing it, but 

 " I found it was as much as I could lilt a couple of inches from 

 " the ground by hugging it in '">' arms; no one but a big Mussul- 

 " man peon in camp could do as much as this. 1 imagine that 

 " a man of 11 stone should have no difficulty in lifting a man of 

 " his own weight off the ground if lying on his back ; I have since 

 "lifted a man of over 10 stone with greater ease than the fish 

 - A native overseer with me, who was formerly in the Ashtagram 

 " Sugar Works, put it down at 5 maunds (or 140 lbs. Mysore) ; lie 



1 they were accustomed to deal with 5 maund bags, and la' 



knew the feel of them pretty well The measures of the fish 



■■ were : length, including tail. 60 inches ; greatest girth -'is inches ; 



" inside lips when open, circumference 24 inches. The skin and 



" head are in the Bangalore Museum. 



" i >f course my rough estimate of the fish's weight is valueless 

 " as fact, but you may believe that I was not out many pounds. It 

 ■■ was an astonishingly thick and heavy fish tor its short length 

 ' I have caught them 5 It. in., but not much more than SO lbs. 



