HERRINGS VISITING KILL ALA BAY, CO. MAYO. 107 



had all the earnings, for his crew was composed of his sons, so all 

 the money came home. A boatman in a small way told me that 

 he made £50 ; in fact all the boats, small or large, did very well. 

 On the 9th of November I had a most amusing encounter 

 with some large schools of Herrings as I was returning from 

 Bartragh in my shooting punt. When I got to Goose Island I 

 was surprised at seeing a lot of Gulls and Cormorants dashing 

 into the water and diving at the mouth of a little narrow "gut," 

 or channel, running from Koserk Island between the sands and 

 the shore of the mainland. On hastening up, I found the Gulls 

 very excited, and saw the water at the mouth of the "gut" at 

 times quite broken by the masses of Herrings rushing madly 

 about as they passed down. I landed on the bank, and waded 

 out as far as my long boots allowed, right in the middle of 

 the Herrings, school after school passing down and striking my 

 legs as if stones were hitting them. The little channel looked 

 as if paved with Herrings, and the cause of the commotion among 

 them when they rushed about so madly was the fish on the out- 

 side of the schools forcing those next the bank into the shallow 

 water. These, unable to force their way at once into the deep 

 water, plunged furiously about in all directions, even some- 

 times on to the dry sand, and eventually floundering out to the 

 deep water again. I got a few, but if I had had a landing-net, I 

 might have filled my boat while they were passing. 



