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 got a wine cask from the Franciscan Brothers, 
and half filling it with the native spirit called samshew, 
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. 
