BLACKS AS FISHERMEN 191 



plays when pitted against the smartness and resource- 

 fulness of the black may be related. A large eel, in a 

 moment of indiscretion, showed itself in a fairly deep 

 creek. Bewailing the absence of his wing-net, or "moor- 

 garoo," the boy hunted the elusive fish hither and 

 thither with cunning determination. At last it dis- 

 appeared under a log. In most of his activities the 

 black boy sniffs at conventions. Hastily stripping, the 

 boy dived and when he reappeared the eel was vainly 

 squirming in one of the legs of his trousers which had 

 been knotted below the knee. 



Another boy, a stranger, brought with him traditions 

 which he successfull}" materialised in favour of the 

 employment of several light darts instead of a single 

 heavy spear for fishing. The subject was frequently 

 debated, but none of the camp adopted George's theories. 

 His favourite weapons were the dried stems of an all 

 too common weed, which generally grows straight and 

 true. Into the thick end he would insert a four-inch 

 length of No. 10 fencing wire, sharpened to a delicate 

 point, and with a battery of eight or ten of these he would 

 sally forth. His bag averaged high. Often he treated 

 me to practical demonstrations of the success of his 

 methods. A big flathead reposed in tw^o feet of water, 

 half buried in the sand. George had one of his darts 

 fast in a twinkling, and the fish flashed away, the tip 

 indicating its movement. In a few minutes the hapless 

 flathead was carrying no less than six darts, and as 

 such a handicap was absurd it abandoned the race for 

 Hfe. 



On another occasion he struck a big sting-ray so full 

 of his impish darts that it resembled an animated pin- 

 cushion of monstrous proportions. It, too, realised 

 the futility of kicking against so many pricks. On the 

 other hand, Tom, with his heavy shaft and barbed point, 



