382 MODERN SEA FISHING 



right away to Norway in hopes of making a haul of those very 

 large and handsome Norwegian mackerel which in America 

 fetch a high price. Owing to bad weather, only fifty-nine 

 barrels of fish "were captured. The return voyage, a distance 

 of 4,400 miles, was made in twenty-two days. American 

 fishermen have even visited the coast of Africa in search of 

 mackerel ! 



There are some very tall stories related by old writers about 

 mackerel. According to ^Elian, the fishermen of his time used 

 to train them to act as decoys, just as a little dog is trained to 

 lead wild ducks into the hoop nets of the wildfowler. These 

 remarkable fish would head a shoal and lead it into the nets 

 which were ready spread. More than this, the progeny of 

 these decoy scombers inherited the same remarkable powers. 

 Then there is another story of a Norwegian sailor who went 

 bathing, when a shoal of hungry mackerel surrounded, and 

 nibbled and worried until by gentle persistence they worked 

 him some distance out to sea. Assistance came in the shape of 

 men in a boat, but it was with some difficulty the poor fellow 

 was lifted on board, and he was in such a state of exhaustion 

 from loss of blood that he soon died ! 



Another charming story, of the nature of so many found in 

 popular natural histories, was once told by Lacepede, who 

 quoted Admiral Pleville-Lepley as his authority. On the 

 coast of Greenland are certain shallow bays which are almost 

 land-locked. The water is clear, and the bottom of mud. 

 There, throughout the winter, thousands of mackerel might 

 be seen with their heads stuck in the mud and their tails 

 pointing skywards ! As might be supposed, when they first 

 resumed the vertical position at the advent of summer, their 

 eyesight was affected, and they were netted without difficulty ; 

 later on they were caught with hooks and lines. I love these 

 old stories which writer after writer repeats so carefully, each 



