THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 289 



outside. At this juncture a few persons go into the 

 circle with a canoe, and beat tlie surface of the water 

 violently with long white sticks, making as much 

 commotion as possible. The fish, alarmed, dart away 

 toward the rafts, and leaping out of water endea- 

 vour to clear them ; but, striking against tlie per- 

 pendicular fence, they fall on the raft, and are 

 gathered into baskets, or into canoes prepared on 

 the outside of the circle. 



From the seeds of some of the native plants, a 

 liquor is prepared, which has the property of in- 

 toxicating fishes, and rendering them insensible. 

 The mixture is frequently poured into the water 

 in narrow places near the shore, or upon the reef; 

 soon after which, the fish come out of their retreats, 

 and float in considerable numbers on the surface 

 as if dead, when they are caught without resist- 

 ance. 



Sometimes tlie long leaves of the cocoa-nut are 

 tied up in bunches, and affixed along a line, which 

 being carried out and dropped into the water, the 

 two ends are towed in two canoes towards the shore. 

 This rude apology for a net drives many fishes 

 into tlie shallows, whence they are taken out with 

 hand-nets, or speared. Nets, however, made on 

 the same principle as our own, are manufactured 

 by them, and are exceedingly well made. They 

 are of various kinds : a casting-net is used with 

 much dexterity, being thrown from the hand over 

 a shoal of small fishes, as the fisherman walks alon" 

 the shore. Salmon-nets are made forty fathoms long, 

 and are very effective ; stones tied in bags of matting 



