384 A MISSION TO VITI. 



My list contains a hundred and twenty-one species of 

 fish. Some of them are excellent eating ; indeed a great 

 part of the native food is derived from this source. They 

 are secured by nets, spears, fish fences, or stupefaction, 

 by the different plants enumerated above (p. 339). The 

 night is a favourite time for fishing on the reefs, and 

 large parties are made up, chiefly women, who, torch 

 in hand, traverse the reefs laid bare by the ebb-tide, 

 and gather what they can. Such a fishing party is a 

 pretty sight; and when suddenly disturbed from my 

 sleep by shouts and merry laughter, I have often watched 

 the long lines of torches moving along in the depth 

 of night on the shores of Ovalau. The fences made 

 in the sea are constructed with great care, and so that 

 the fish will enter them in large bodies and have little 

 chance of escaping. There were generally some about 

 Lado, and baskets full of their produce were daily sent 

 to us as presents. The fences were not allowed to re- 

 main for more than a few days in the same place, as the 

 natives maintained that the fish become aware of their 

 existence and would not enter them. Besides the edible 

 fish, there are a number of different sharks about the 

 group, and one hears of frequent accidents caused by 

 them. The natives, being excellent swimmers, do not 

 mind being capsized in their canoes, but are in great 

 dread of the sharks. The latter are called collectively 

 " Qio," and nine salt-water and several fresh-water spe- 

 cies are enumerated. One day we encountered a very 

 large one on the reef, where he had been left in a shal- 

 low pool by the receding tide. Our boat being near, an 

 axe was fetched to kill him, but no sooner did he catch 



