WHALING AND BEAR-HUNTING 173 



and there we managed to get one into it, then the second, 

 and we lurched half-seas over ; the tunny was kicking up a 

 smother of foam all the colours of the rainbow ! Then with 

 the gaffs we pulled its head out of the water up to the gun- 

 wale, and banged it twenty times with a wooden thing like 

 an Indian club till it was still, or only quivered, then a 

 lurch from a blue sea seemed to help to get half of it on 

 board, and a big heave and it all came in, and we lifted a 

 seat and put it along the bottom and raised ourselves and 

 waved our hats. It was quite as good fun as any salmon- 

 fishing I have ever had, and nearly as exciting as whaling ; 

 that is, during the actual playing, but the previous waiting 

 was trying beyond words, you get roasted by the sun and 

 bitten by salt spray and stiff and cramped you ." chuck 

 and chance it," and chuck but once in half-a-day and may 

 have to wait days and days before you catch your first 

 tunny. 



Getting all the lines clear again took a long time and neat 

 and patient handling ; we did not help at that, we were 

 rather tired. But we watched the iridescent colours of 

 the tunny fade ; in half-an-hour its brightest blues and 

 shimmering pinks and silver were almost gone, and 

 changed to dark green on the back and dull silver below. 

 Fifty-four kilos we made it out to be five feet three 

 inches long, with enormous girth. Unfortunately I lost 

 its chest measurement, but think it was four feet three 

 inches. The three-hundred-pound tunny we saw caught 

 close to us was worth 3 at the present market 

 value. 



At four we gave up. The everlasting rolling in hot sun 

 on tossing sea, however beautifully blue, as you lie drifting, 

 becomes very trying in a small boat; besides, the native 

 fishermen themselves all knock off between three and four. 

 But we must try again, and some day, when we thoroughly 

 know the ropes, we will get a small sailing craft and try the 

 business single-handed, for there is a lot of fun, in my opinion, 

 to be had fishing so, for trout or salmon to play your own 

 salmon and gaff it, or manage your boat and trout and land 

 it, say a five-pounder on fine tackle, is excellent, but to land 



