A FISH-DRIVE. 153 



Alang Abdullah went up-stream another mile or 

 two to a spot which he had selected. Here he and the 

 men who were to drive spent the night. His men 

 disposed themselves to sleep as soon as they had 

 finished their evening meal ; but he spent most of the 

 night in burning censers full of fragrant resin, and in 

 making small offerings to the Jins of the Water and 

 of the Forest. He promised them further offerings of 

 rice, and eggs, and limes should the drive yield a good 

 catch of fish, and implored that they would assist him, 

 and save him and his party from harm and mischief. 



The next morning the men were astir early, and 

 when they had had their morning meal Alang Abdullah 

 drew the relap out from his boat. It was merely a long 

 line of native rope ; at intervals of about a foot strips 

 of thin yellow palm-leaf were threaded into the line at 

 right angles to it, and that was all. When the line 

 was dragged through the water the palm-leaves whirled 

 madly round, like windmill arms, and the unnatural 

 appearance and weird glitter that were due to the 

 sparkle of the river and the rapid revolution, were 

 well calculated to strike panic into any fish. 



With his final invocations, Alang Abdullah gave 

 one end of the relap to his eldest son, and sent him 

 with it to the opposite bank of the river. 



He himself remained with the other end under the 

 nearer bank. The line with its bright streamers thus 

 stretched from bank to bank, a distance of some two 

 or three hundred yards. Special men were then told 

 off in boats to take poles and splash and thrust under 

 the river-banks where the trees overhung the water, 

 and where the line could not therefore be dragged. 



