38 ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 



CHAPTER IV 



Fishing expedition — Herd of elephants — A ' rogue ' — Monkeys 



Tame elephants are one thing, wild ones quite another. 

 Once when we were out on a fishing expedition an adventure 

 befell me with the latter which seemed to me at the time 

 enough to upset any one ; but that was not the view taken 

 of it by my husband, who thought, and said, that his sport 

 had been spoilt for nothing ! 



He was fishing for mahseer, the Indian salmon, which is 

 of a silvery grey colour, and the flesh white instead of pink. 

 It attains a great size, F.'s patience being rewarded one day 

 by a beauty which, after cleaning, turned the scale at ninety- 

 six pounds ! This record specimen was mounted and 

 presented to the Madras Museum. Clearly it was no light 

 thing to interfere with such sport. 



The place had been previously baited with boiled rice 

 and various pastes. F. and his people had settled them- 

 selves on one bank of the river, meaning to sit there till they 

 should get a bite, no matter how long, time being nothing 

 to fishermen. In perfect silence they watched for a pull 

 on their lines, which were fastened to large wooden reels on 

 spikes stuck into the bank, and furnished with cog-wheels, 

 which would make a clicking sound to let them know (in 

 case they should get drowsy) when anything was nibbling 

 at the bait. Not a word was said ; the people knew better 

 than to so much as whisper amongst themselves at these 

 times, though silence is not their strong point ; the fish were 

 shy, and must be coaxed ; a very little would scare them 

 away. 



