AND HOW TO CATCH THEM. 71 



This kind of basket, or one constructed on precisely 

 similar principles, appears to have a world- wide use. 

 No country I have ever visited, savage or other- 

 wise, is without its trumpet-mouthed eel basket. 

 Some I found whilst wandering through the jungles 

 of the Bheel country, were most beautifully and inge- 

 niously made from a single joint of bamboo, split up 

 into innumerable filaments, and then woven into the 

 desired shape, leaving the knot unsplit to form a ring 

 through which the bait was put. Fixed wicker baskets 

 of a large size, known as eel bucks, are also used to 

 intercept the larger eels in their autumn migration 

 towards the sea ; and of late, galvanised iron wire has 

 been rendered available for the manufacture of most 

 ingeniously contrived eel traps. 



Eel Spear. 



"Where the bottom is soft and free from stones 

 or large roots, an eel spear may be used at times 

 with considerable success. These spears are trident- 

 shaped, containing a number of tines, which when 

 forced down on an eel open slightly and hold fast 

 by their edges, which are roughened, until the eel is 

 secured. The spear is best used from a boat ; a long 

 light handle should be fitted to it, and when in use 

 should be plunged evenly and regularly up and down in 

 the mud at the bottom, quartering your ground, so to 

 speak, so as to leave as little space as possible untried. 



