THE NORTH AMERICAN FISHERIES. 11 



crustacean is impaled by thrusting the hook through 

 him, from a point above the tail up to his head, so 

 as to leave his claws at liberty. The line is then 

 thrown into the water, and when it has reached the 

 bottom, it is gently drawn onwards by the current, 

 and soon follows the direction of the stream. As 

 soon as a fish bites, the fisherman strikes and draws 

 the line in, and in a twinkling the fish is pulled 

 from his native element and lies panting on the 

 sandy shore. What a lovelj fish ! What silvery 

 scales, variegated with a greenish iridescence ! What 

 brilliant eyes ! This kind of fishing is one which 

 you may soon take a fancy to, and in a couple of 

 hours the fortunate fisherman may catch a hundred 

 weight offish. 



I have mentioned the cray fish, and they deserve 

 a more special description. There are two sorts in 

 the United States; one resembling the European 

 species, and the other a variety which is peculiar to 

 North America. The latter is called the gri-gri, a 

 familiar name bestowed upon it by the negroes of 

 the South, The gri-gri is larger than the fresh- 

 Avater cray fish ; it frequents the land more than the 

 water, and usually digs a hole for itself in the damp 

 soil. It is like an ogre who digs a grave to live in 

 himself, and waits there for the corpse which is to 

 furnish him with a dinner. And this is no figure of 

 speech; it is really the case. The gri-gri digs its 

 hole more or less deep, according to the character 



