EASTWARD HO! 69 
to the right along the Matura Road, which here dwindled to 
an Indian trail covered in parts with burnt clay. Two miles 
along this track and we reached the Government Rest-house 
where we stopped for breakfast. I should here mention for 
the benefit of tourists, that although they are nearly always 
sure of getting accommodation at the different island rest- 
houses, it is advisable before leaving Port of Spain, to get 
a letter from the Director or Assistant Director of Public 
Works recommending them to the courtesies of the district 
road officer who has direct charge of those bungalows. The 
Matura Rest-house was at this time in charge of an East 
Indian Creole of Demerara and his wife, who evidently kept 
all the appointments of the establishment in capital con- 
dition, and served us up meals which were irreproachable as 
to quality, plain but good. After breakfast down to the 
village, where I secured a henchman of mine, a one-armed 
Creole fisherman, but a man who even with the loss of one 
member, was a great deal more useful than many who had 
the normal complement. Thence to the beach near the 
mouth of the Matura river, and here we could tell by the 
clouds of sea-birds squawking and hustling to and fro that 
fish were to the fore. The sea was calm, two light shell 
boats with pair oars, fresh mackerel bait, and away; “ Kain- 
tuck” in one with a rod and trolling gear, myself in the other 
with hand-lines and 22 brass wire, the ordinary Monos equip- 
ment. We had not gone more than a couple of hundred 
yards, before “Kaintuck’’ was into a fine mackerel which 
he duly put into the boat. I lost several baits from the 
mackerel and king-fish poaching the part below the hook, 
playing “coquin’’ as the Creoles term it; and as a matter of 
fact we neither of us got anything of consequence until 
reaching Matura Point and there we had some glorious sport, 
especially near the rocky islets off the headland. Here we 
were kept busy, as the water simply teemed with king-fish 
and mackerel, some of the former being of great size, as they 
played “the cat and banjo” with “Kaintuck’s”’ tackle, and 
smashed three or four wires for me. On several occasions 
we only retrieved the heads of the fish, some patriarchal 
barracoutas having relieved us of the body. There was no 
