CHAP. xi. Shooting a Rapid. 153 



find some, for the river is nearly as full of them as the world is.* What 

 should we do if it wasn't ? 



These fish take the catkin blossom of the Indian willow very freely. 

 It is in flower at Christmas time. They congregate under it. Drop a 

 fly among them to give them a chance of a change of diet. 



Kuti says he has seen a fish rise just about a yard below that bough. 

 Depend upon it he is right. He never takes any notice of those little 

 bits of fish which are too small for our present flies, the Chela argentca, 

 say silvery chilwa (Tamil, Vellachi, Hindustani Chilwa), and he will 

 tell you like a European whether the swirl is that of a good fish, or of a 

 smallish one. 



This same . Kuti is no chicken. He and I were in a boat ap- 

 proaching a rapid, only half of which could be seen from the pool 

 above, and that half was anything but prepossessing, as the river went 

 roaring down the steep incline, which was so long that you could not 

 see the end of it, and could not therefore see, or even guess, how it 

 behaved itself at the far end. I confess I did not like the look of it, 

 and I asked suggestively. " Will the boat go ? " He would not take 

 the hint, but answered with perfect indifference, " Don't know," letting 

 the boat glide on the while. " Have you never been here before ? " 

 " No." " Are you going to try it ? " " Yes." It was a case of sit 

 well down in the bottom of the boat, and hold on to the edges, so as 

 not to be overbalanced, for in another moment the basket-boat was in 

 the middle of it, being tossed about like a feather on the waves, and 

 flying down at great speed, while Kuti jockeyed it with consummate 

 skill, and cool collectedness, taking in intuitively, from the shape of 

 the water, the position of each submerged rock, deciding whether to 

 ride over this, or dodge that, and all with such rapidity and such power 

 of paddle. And how the little boat obeyed him ! Now and then it 

 would seem as if it must be all U P. But the fellow was as cool as a 

 cucumber, and the next moment we were past the danger, still riding 

 rapidly on, and after having had ample opportunity for fully appreciating 

 the advantages of holding on tight to the edges of the boat to avoid 

 being pitched out, there was a flop, and we had taken a drop into the 

 pool. Kuti promptly gave three or four vigorous paddles, and was out 

 of the main current, the little boat riding quietly on the still water close 



* Carlyle says tersely I quote from memory " There are thirty millions in Great 

 Britain, mostly fools." 



