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 bimgalows. 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 



