Cuar. VII.] FISHING CORMORANTS. 109 
the fish-catcher following his profession in these 
places. He is literally amphibious. He is to be seen 
perfectly naked, half walking, half swimming ; now he 
raises his arms and hands above his head, and, bring- 
ing them down, strikes a sharp blow upon the water, 
making a loud and splashing noise. His feet are 
not idle: they warn him that a fish is at hand, and 
they are now feeling for him amongst the mud at 
the bottom of the pond. The next moment the 
fisherman has disappeared: he is now under water, 
and he remains so long that you think something has 
happened to him. There is, however, no cause of 
fear ; a few seconds more and he appears, rubbing 
his face and eyes with one hand, and in the other 
triumphantly holding up the poor little fish which 
he has just captured. It is immediately placed 
safely in his basket, and the work goes on as before. 
The surface of the water is struck and splashed, 
as I have just described, in order to frighten the 
fish which are swimming amongst the feet of the 
Chinamen. Being frightened, they dive immediately 
to the bottom amongst the mud, where they are 
felt by the feet, and are soon taken by these ex- 
pert divers. 
But the most singular of all the methods of 
catching fish in China is that of training and em- 
ploying a large species of cormorant for this pur- 
pose, generally called the fishing cormorant. These 
are certainly wonderful birds. I have frequently 
met with them on the canals and lakes in the 
