148 NOVEL FISHING. 



Wlien the elephants had traversed the pool twice, some large heada 

 appeared for an instant on the surface, then vanished. " Give them another 

 turn " I shouted to the men, and I shortly joined the line on my pad-elephant. 

 Large fish now came to the surface in sad strait, unable to stand the stifling 

 mud, and glided gloomily about with their nostrils above water. 



Now the fun began in earnest. The elephants separated as their 

 mahouts gave chase to particular fish, and generally very soon transferred 

 them to their baskets after chopping their heads off with their daos. Having 

 a spear with a sharp blade nine inches long I bagged more than any one else^ 

 as I could strike the fish further off : they sometimes sank just as the men 

 got witliin reach with their shorter blades. Their heads could be taken off 

 with one slice with the spear, when they invariably floated at once ; but if 

 struck in the middle they sank, owing to the air-bladder being cut. A sort 

 of cod-looking fish (one of the genus Silurus, I beHeve, scaleless, thin, deep,. 

 and silvery, with long feelers) which I cut in two behind the shoulders, 

 closed its jaws upon the mahout's finger when he put it into its mouth to 

 pick up the head portion, and hung on lilce a bull-dog for some seconds. 



In following fish that, though in distress, were sufficiently conscious of 

 danger not to let us get very near, the elephants exhibited much sagacity, 

 abstaining (of course at a hint from their mahouts) from blowing under water 

 or making any splashing. They enjoyed themselves immensely. My men 

 were very noisy over their share of the sport, and it was highly amusing to 

 watch the chases by several elephants at once of any particularly fine fish that 

 was in a bad way. The men stood up on their elephants, and often several 

 darts were made at once at an unfortunate fish, which one would triumph- 

 antly hold aloft, impaled through and through. Several men feU off and 

 were half-choked in the mud, which, when dried, coated them over like 

 whitewash. I believe, at least I hope, that had the shade of old Izaak 

 watched us he would have forgiven us under the circumstances. 



In getting into the pool at a new place where the water was deep and 

 the bank straight my elephant entered carelessly. One elephant had just 

 gone in before, but by kneeling and sKding in, whilst " Neelmony " stepped 

 boldly over. In putting down her fore-feet she nearly turned a summer- 

 sault ; her head went right to the bottom I think ; the mahout was under- 

 water, and I was up to my knees, with the elephant's hind-quarters some- 

 where about the back of my head ! 



The best fish I bagged was 7 lb. in weight ; the generality were under 

 2 lb. ; my total bag was 7 2 lb. I found that not one of the large pike- 

 like fish that we had seen basking near the surface, and which the men. 

 called gajdl, had been bagged. They evidently escaped by burying them- 



