LIFE ON THE RIVERS 135 



the net is gathered up on his right arm, the free end 

 is held in the left hand. Choosing a still pool some 

 two fathoms in depth, he throws a stone into the 

 water a little ahead of the boat, in the expectation 

 that the fish will congregate about the spot as they 

 do when fruit falls from the trees on the banks. 

 Then, as the boat approaches the spot he deftly 

 flings the net so that it falls spread out upon the 

 surface ; its weighted edge then sinks rapidly to the 

 bottom, enclosing any fish that may be beneath the 

 net. If only small fish are enclosed, the net is 

 twisted as it is drawn up, the fish becoming entangled 

 in its meshes, and in pockets formed about its lower 

 border. If a large fish is enclosed, the steersman 

 will dive overboard and seize the lower part of the 

 net so as to secure the fish. 



Or the boat is paddled to the foot of a small 

 rapid ; the fisherman springs out and runs to the 

 head of the rapid, and casts his net in the still water 

 immediately above it where fish frequently congre- 

 gate. 



Or a party takes the same net to the mouth of a 

 small tributary, and, while some hold the net so as 

 to block the mouth almost completely, others run 

 through the jungle to a point some hundred yards 

 up the stream, and then drive down the fish by wad- 

 ing down stream splashing and shouting. As soon 

 as a number of fish come down against the net its 

 upper border is thrown down so as to enclose them. 



Another net, made quite flat and some fifteen 

 yards long by four feet wide, is suspended by wooden 

 floats across a small river so that the fish may 

 become entangled in its meshes. 



Another net is used only by the women. In 

 shape it is like a deep basin ; its wide mouth is 

 attached to a stout circle of rattan, and a wooden bar 

 is tied across the mouth to serve as handle. With 

 this the women catch the sucker fish in the shallow 



