Tbe Yellowtail 135 



Men, women, and children were seized with that 

 mad contagion, the desire to fish, and hurried to 

 the beach with lines which were cast with shouts 

 and laughter, and in a short time the shore was 

 a beating, leaping mass of yellow, green, and 

 turquoise. Then the excitement grew fiercer. 

 The man with the rod determined to be a sports- 

 man under all circumstances, and cast over the 

 hand-lines. The fish of one angler ran around 

 the lines of both and into the field of a third, 

 and in a moment the line of fishermen and 

 fisherwomen were engaged in a war of words. 

 Every available boat was soon rowing about the 

 bay in every direction, many of which would have 

 one or two fishes on at the same time, presenting 

 a most animated spectacle. 



The feature of this unusual and remarkable 

 scene, which found its prototype in the "jack 

 beat " of a following chapter, which impressed me 

 most, was the strength and game qualities of this 

 particular school of yellowtails. Nine-tenths of 

 the people were fishing with hand-lines, and so 

 numerous were the boats on the little bay that 

 it seemed impossible to use rods. The lines 

 were of the codfish variety, ropes more or less, 

 yet I doubt if a single member of this fishing 



