256 NORTHERN ZOOLOGY. 



Common flounder, halibut, plaice, and sole, as inhabitants of the American seas 

 generally. The halibut and two others exist on the Greenland coast, and two 

 species have been observed on the arctic coast of America. Four were noticed by 

 Mr. Collie in the bay of Awatska, " one, allied to the pleuronectes platessa of Lin- 

 nseus, having a spinous line extending from the posterior part of the eyes to the 

 hinder and upper part of the operculum, the remainder of the head being smooth ; 

 another, noted as a variety of the last, but having the head covered with roughly 

 projecting tubercles; the third, the pleuronectes stellatus of Pallas, and the fourth, 

 supposed to be the pleuronectes hippoglossus. (?) Eschscholtz, speaking of the 

 natural productions of Norfolk Sound, on the north-west coast of America, says 

 that there is no great variety of fish, but the individuals are numerous. In his 

 short list he includes a pleuronectes several feet long, probably the halibut, which 

 is found abundantly in the same neighbourhood. " While we lay here," says 

 the author of that voyage, " the natives supplied us very plentifully with halibut, 

 which we bought of them for beads and small toys. The place where these halibut 

 were caught is in the offing round the point of land. Our whale-boat was one day 

 sent to this place with seven hands on a fishing party, but their success was greatly 

 inferior to that of two Indians, who were fishing at the same time, which is rather 

 extraordinary, if we consider the apparent inferiority of their tackle to ours. Their 

 hook is a large simple piece of wood, the shank at least half an inch in diameter ; 

 that part which turns up, and which forms an acute angle, is considerably smaller, 

 and brought gradually to a point : a flat piece of wood, about six inches long, and 

 near two inches wide, is neatly lashed to the shank, on the back of which is rudely 

 carved the representation of a human face. They bait their hook with a kind of 

 fish called by the sailors squid (cuttle-fish), and having sunk it to the bottom, 

 they fix a bladder to the end of the line as a buoy, and should that not watch suf- 

 ficiently, they add another. Their lines are very strong, being made of the sinews 

 or intestines of animals. One man is sufficient to look after five or six of these 

 buoys ; when he perceives a fish bite, he is in no great hurry to haul up his line, 

 but gives him time to be well hooked ; and when he has hauled the fish up to the 

 surface of the water, he knocks him on the head with a short club, provided for 

 the purpose, and afterwards stows away his prize at his leisure : this is done to 

 prevent the halibut, which sometimes are very large, from damaging, or perhaps 

 upsetting, his canoe in their dying struggles. Thus were we fairly beat at our 

 own weapons ; and the natives constantly bringing us plenty of fish, our boat was 

 never sent on this business afterwards." Dixon also observed another flat-fish 

 which is frequently mentioned in the account of the voyage under the name of 



