384 A MISSION TO VITI. 
My list contains a hundred and twenty-one species of 
fish. Some of them are excellent eating ; indeed a great 
part of the native food is derived from this source. They 
are secured by nets, spears, fish fences, or stupefaction, 
by the different plants enumerated above (p. 339). The 
night is a favourite time for fishing on the reefs, and 
large parties are made up, chiefly women, who, torch 
in hand, traverse the reefs laid bare by the ebb-tide, 
and gather what they can. Such a fishing party is a 
pretty sight; and when suddenly disturbed from my 
sleep by shouts and merry laughter, I have often watched 
the long lines of torches moving along in the depth 
of night on the shores of Ovalau. The fences made 
in the sea are constructed with great care, and so that 
the fish will enter them in large bodies and have little 
chance of escaping. There were generally some about 
Lado, and baskets full of their produce were daily sent 
to us as presents. The fences were not allowed to re- 
main for more than a few days in the same place, as the 
natives maintained that the fish become aware of their 
existence and would not enter them. Besides the edible 
fish, there are a number of different sharks about the 
group, and one hears of frequent accidents caused by 
them. The natives, being excellent swimmers, do not 
mind being capsized in their canoes, but are in great 
dread of the sharks. The latter are called collectively 
“ Qio,” and nine salt-water and several fresh-water spe- 
cies are enumerated. One day we encountered a very 
large one on the reef, where he had been left in a shal- 
low pool by the receding tide. Our boat being near, an 
axe was fetched to kill him, but no sooner did he catch 
