THE ANIMAL LIFE OF THE GROl^P. 343 



fishermen of today. One ni.-iii with a small calahash of dried .shi'iiii|» \\;is Id't <iii 

 shore while the rest of the party look a seine with ycvy fine mesh jiiid ]);id(lle(l 

 their canoes out a few yards from the shore. The man Avitli the hjiit then 

 walked alon^' the beach a short distance, and .ifter chewing' up a few shrim{), 

 would select a promising place and throw the morsal as far out to sea as possible. 

 If small fish come up immediately the net was cast about the spot and a draw 

 made in which all hands participated. If the bait was unmolested new bait was 

 prepared and thrown out as before at what appeared to be a more favorable ])lace. 

 By this little trick, the fisherman was saved not only the time emphned in mak- 

 ing unprofitable hauls, but the chagrin of finding nothing, not even bait in his 

 net. when it was landed. 



Shark Fishing in Ancient Times. 



In the capture of shark the ancient Hawaiians, especially the chiefs and 

 alii, found much sport — and since the use of human flesh as bait was in great 

 vogue among them, the method then employed is of more than ordinary 

 interest to us; of course, the flesh of other animals has been substituted in these 

 latter days. 



The human body used was usually that of a slave, or at least some one out 

 of standing Avith the royal fishermen. The person to serve as bait was killed 

 two or three days in advance of the anticipated fishing expedition. The flesh 

 of the victim vras then cut up. placed in a container and left exi)ose;l to the air 

 to decompose. 



With the bait loaded on the outrigger of the canoe in such a manner as 

 to admit of its leaving a dripping trail of blood and od on the surface of the 

 water, the fishing party Avould row their canoes out to where sharks were 

 plentiful. Large bone or wooden hooks, some of them a foot loiiLi. wi-re 

 baited with the tempting morsels and lowered to the eager prey. Great skill 

 and courage was shown l)y the members of the i-oyal ])ar1\- on such occasions 

 in roping and landing the captured shark. 



Every part of the bone and skin of one of these savage animals was sup- 

 posed to confer unflinching bravery on its ])Ossessor. For this reason Kame- 

 hameha I. was especially proud and jealous of his title as the great shark-fisher. 

 He kept his victims penned up near the great heiau-' of ]\lookini. near Ka- 

 waihae, Hawaii, so there was always a supply of bait on hand. 



In the olden times the capture of a shark was really a great event, but it 

 has been more than one hundred years since the last human being was made to 

 figure in the preliminary plans of a day's aquatic sport, llowevei-. shai-k iish- 

 ing is indulged in as a sport today, but the motoi- boat, the th'sh of a horse for 

 bait, and the use of rifles has done much to dull the heroic setting shark fish- 

 ing must have had in days that are gone. 



While the Hawaiians recognized bu.t live species of sharks and ga\-e to 



3 Temple. 



