24' OTTER VILLAGE 



bait whatever, and with a bamboo buoy, in which there 

 is a bell, at the further end. The fish coming down the 

 stream are caught in quantities (hooked foul, of course), 

 and if one of special size is hooked, its struggles set the 

 bell in the buoy ringing, and the boatmen proceed out 

 to secure it. Sometimes they have the misfortune to 

 lose the whole line through the hooking of a fresh-water 

 cetacean which inhabits the river, and which is much 

 too strong for such gear as they use. 



This river porpoise grows to a weight of about 1,000 

 lbs., so that it was useless to think of trying to send a full- 

 grown specimen home. After some little trouble I pro- 

 cured one of about 150 lbs., and even then had great 

 difficulty in finding a vessel large enough to contain it. 

 At last I o'ot a wine cask from the Franciscan Brothers, 

 and half filling it with the native spirit called samsliew, 

 distilled from Indian corn, placed him in it with my 

 other collection of fishes, then heading the cask up and 

 filling with spirits, it was consigned home, and, I am 

 glad to say, reached there safely. 



Situated on the opposite bank of the river to the 

 town is a small village, known to the Europeans as the 

 ' Otter Village,' from the fact that the natives there make 

 use of otters for fishing. These otters may be seen any 

 day tied up in the bows of the sampans, and appear to 

 be quite tame. 



