THE INDIAN OCEAN. 861 
fins. On the approach of an enemy, they buried 
themselves in the mud with inconceivable rapidity, 
so that their sudden disappearance seemed to be the 
work of magic. One of the Malays was employed 
in catching them, as they are considered to be a 
great delicacy. He used for the purpose a thin 
plank, four feet long, and one foot broad; on one 
end of which were fixed several sharp-pointed nails, 
the points projecting beyond the end of the plank. 
He placed the plank flat upon the mud, and with the 
Tight knee resting on it, and kicking the mud 
with the left foot, he shot along the surface with 
great rapidity, the sharp-pointed nails transfixing 
the little creatures before they could succeed in 
burying themselves sufficiently deep to avoid it. 
This is a dangerous sport, and requires great skill 
in the fishermen to prevent accidents; for should 
he lose his plank, death would be almost inevit- 
able, the mud not having sufficient consistence to 
support him without the aid of this simple contriv- 
ance.”* : , 
Numberless creatures of the inferior classes, some 
of which are of exquisite delicacy and beauty, float 
on the surface of the Indian Ocean; often in such 
“immense hosts as to cover the sea for miles around. 
The Violet-snail (Janthina fragilis) is one of these, 
whose shell much resembles that of our garden-snail 
in form and size, but is of a pearly-white above, 
and beneath violet. When alive it is covered with 
a slippery membrane. A singular floating appa- 
ratus projects horizontally from the aperture of the 
* Eastern Seas, p. 213. 
2H 
