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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



*14-j. 



Photograph by II. C. Mann 



THE cape henry light was sighted by thi- "carnegie" early one morning in 



NOVEMBER, AETER AN ABSENCE OE 25 MONTHS 



The lighthouse in the foreground has superseded the one in the background, which was the 

 first light built by the United States and which served as a beacon to ships sailing into port 

 between Cape Charles and Cape Henry for more than a hundred years. 



walk along, poking into the holes in the 

 reef. When they strike a soft object and 

 the water turns a dark bluish black, they 

 begin to jab and twist the stick until the 

 long tentacles armed with suckers come 

 stealing out of the hole and up the stick 

 to fasten themselves on the arms of the 

 native. 



Finally the cuttle-fish comes out of his 

 hole ; the woman seizes it in both hands 

 and, with one strong bite of her powerful 

 teeth on the head of the fish, its tentacles 

 relax and the catch is dumped into the 

 basket carried over her shoulder. 



Another native was fishing in the shal- 

 low water near the shore with a long 

 three-pronged spear, wearing goggles to 

 enable him to see under water and stoop- 

 ing below the surface to spear the fish 

 which would gather for the bait scattered 

 about. When he would succeed in spear- 

 ing a fish, he would stand up and, with a 

 quick twist, throw it off the point on to 

 the beach, where his small son would pick 

 it up, string it on a forked stick, and place 

 it in the water to keep fresh. 



Sometimes all the women of the village 

 would journey to the shore, carrying a 

 large net on their heads, and with much 

 sociability and shouting wade out into the 

 deep water, set the net, and drive the fish 

 into it. 



This reminded us of other methods we 

 had seen the natives use to snare the 

 harmless, unsuspecting, yet necessary, 

 fish. In the earlier days we had seen the 

 native sailing across Colon Bay in his 

 small dugout canoe, reclining at ease in 

 the stern, steering with one hand and 

 managing the sail with the other, with his 

 foot resting on the gunwale, while fast- 

 ened to his great toe was a trolling line 

 which he trailed astern. The wiggling of 

 the toe served to give the hook the jump 

 necessary to attract the fish. 



At St. Helena the natives fish at night 

 with a lantern at the stern of the boat. 

 The idle hook, resting in the midst of the 

 fish, which flock to see the light and stop 

 to pick up the scattered bait, is suddenly 

 jerked through the group, snaring the un- 

 lucky one which happens to be in the way. 



