162 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Sept. i, xgoo. 
The Weed that Catches Fish. 
In the Vaiala Reef there is in particular one pool that 
attracted me from its first discovery. It is easy to find, 
for the bearings are plain. Stand on the beach in front of 
the Consulate, in which for j^ears this country has tried 
vainly to find some rhyme or reason in the affairs of 
Samoa, Set your back against the tall flagstaff and wait 
until the one clear spot in the outer fringe of breakers 
shows the false passage which has more than once been 
mistaken for the entrance to Apia harbor, a mistake which 
even a rowboat cannot afford to make. Then wade out 
in the warm water of the lagoon along that line and about 
two-thirds of the way to the barrier reef the pool will 
be found; in fact it is the first really deep water. 
My first experience with it w^as accidental. Wading 
at first, and then swimming when the coral would permit, 
I suddenly found myself floating where the water was 30 
feet deep. It was as clear as crystal, blue as the corn- 
flower, and my downward gaze saw cA-ery detail on the 
white sandy bottom and on the coral walls. 
I swam across the pool and took a position where I 
could study its detads. 
Experience alone can yield any faintest conception of 
the marvelous beauties of these pools in South Sea reefs; 
mere words of description Avould seem turgid, and no one 
would venture to put on canvas the brilliant colors which 
alone could do justice to the oceanic garden. The corals 
are ^bvered with vivid colors such as the rainbow alone 
can match, the tip of every stony spray and twig in this 
submarine shrubbery is as gay as the brightest flowers in 
'longshore gardens, and the gentle flow of the water gives 
them a semolance of motion such as they would possess if 
they were really plants instead of stalks of solid lime- 
stone that cut and tear whatever is dashed upon them. 
In and out among the trunks and branches, the water 
seeming almost a sort of atmosphere, fly schools of 
painted fish, which in their thousand hues rival the 
brightest birds and butterflies of the upper air. 
It was the fish tliat most attracted me in this pool. I 
had become familiar with the bright colors and odd 
shapes of these denizens of the tropical sea, but never 
before had I seen fish exactly like these, which seemed 
to have a monopol}'^ of this basin, and I seldom saw 
them elsewhere in the same waters, and then only singly 
and not in schools as they were here. The pool was 
about 60 feet in diameter and roughly circular in its 
. outline. Of just how many of these fish were in it I 
should hesitate to express an opinion, but there were at 
■ least half a dozen distinct schools, and in each school 
were many individuals. They were shaped like the 
.mackerel, almost uniformly less than a foot in length, in 
color a brilliant violet, with a quieter shade doAvn the 
backbone and on the fins and tail, Avhich Avere a 
dull drab; gill coA'ers, bright scarlet, the «ame color 
appearing on the rays of the fins and in a series of 
smoothly circular spots along the median line of each 
side graded from one as large as a cent just behind the 
gills to a mere pin head at the tail. 
The name of the fish I never learned. We have no 
museums or works of ichthyological reference in Samoa 
:to help me out. I described the fish with painstaking 
accuracy of detail to Tanoa Avhen I returned to shore, but 
his only reply Avas that he did not knOAV it. Then I 
made him AA^ade out Avith me to the pool, and gave him an 
exhibition of the living animals. He looked Avith much 
care at them, then he soused his head into the pool to get 
a better view under the surface. When he came dripping 
to the surface he gravely pronounced that they AA-^ere 
"i'a sa," which meant no more than that they Avere fish 
tabooed for the benefit of the chiefs, and that he Avas 
not high enough in rank to knoAV anything about them. 
I fear that this was a A-ain delusion, for the density of 
the ordinary Samoan ignorance on the most common 
questions of natural history is seldom illumined by a 
single ray of comprehension. 
- Not satisfied Avith Tanoa' s general ignorance nor con- 
tent with the mere looking at this living picture of one 
of tropical nature's OAvn aquaria, I could not rest until 
I had caught some of the fish themselves. The first 
day was confined to observation. I Avaited until the aiarm 
of the school at my sudden and terrifying appearance in 
their zenith had subsided, then worked around to a 
stem of coral on Avhich I could rest Avithout casting a 
shadoAv into the pool. From this incouA^enient perch I 
watched them feeding Avith an eye to learning Avhat bait 
would most attract them. 
In Avaters so crowded Avith animal life of the loAver 
orders, it Avas by no means easy to see just Avhat these 
gaudy violet and scarlet fish Avere feeding on. Clearly 
they Avere not bottom feeders, for each of the schools 
was hovering in the middle depth, ncA^er sinking to the 
sands, and only rarely making rapid dashes to the sur- 
face; it Avas equally clear that they did not feed on the 
corals, and in general it seems that the coral pulp is dis- 
pleasing to all the South Sea fi.sh, although the crustaceans 
find much of their sustenance in the living tissue of 
the reef-forming corals. So far as I could observe the 
food of these fish, it seemed to be the small jelly fish 
and the zoea stage of the crustaceans. It Avas observed 
that all the feeding was done from beloAv upAvard; no 
amount of food beloAv the school attracted any atten- 
tion, but anything above the school Avas followed upward 
to the surface or until the animals dodged beloAV their 
finny pursuers and there found immediate safety. Later 
on I found that there Avas an anatomical reason for this 
upAvard feeding. Under each eye Avas a ridge or shelf of 
hard bone or cartilage Avhich served as a blinder to cut 
off all the vieAv doAvnward — in fact, the fish could not 
look OA'er their loAver eyelids, and Avere necessarily blind 
to all that was soing on in depths below them. lii addi- 
tion to the purely marine food supply any small bright in- 
sect that floated on the surface caused a wild rush of all 
the fish, and in most cases the insect, unless it Avas one of 
the hard-shelled beetles, AA'as snapped up. 
This seemed to give me all the necessary information 
as to the taking of violet fish Avith scarlet trimmings, even 
though they Avere held under a taboo for the high chiefs 
for I had my own opinions as to the relative rank of 
cofi^ee-colored magnificences and the American Avoman 
in fgct, the best wgs not a \yfiit too goo4 for me if onlv 
I could catch it. This may not be altogether in harmony 
with the general ofiicial instructions that my husband had 
receivetl to pay strict attention to native ideas of rank 
and the pomp of circumstance so long as they did not 
affect our foreign relations, but the diplomacy does not 
exist which shall interfere Avith the rights and privileges 
of the American Avoman Avho would go fishing. Tanoa 
had instructions to collect a bait can full of young jelly 
fish and another of the zoea stage of the crustaceans. JVIy 
OAvn more scientific task Avas to Avhip up a feAV flies that 
should suggest the gorgeous brilliancy of the native but- 
terflies. It Avas not difficult to get the materials — a stone 
thrown Avith the skilled aim of any Samoan boy would 
bring out of the leafy coronet of the nearest cocoanut 
palm a native parrot, gay Avith all the shades of red and 
blue and green that one could desire. My supply of 
crewels furnished all the rest of the chromatic scale, and a 
good long dip in cocoanut oil Avould fix the silks so that 
the contact of the salt water Avould not change their 
colors or soak them into a soggy tangle. Fitrthermore, 
Samoan experience argues that the cocoanut oil is a good 
lure in itself for the fish of the islands. My lightest 
rod and strong silk line completed the equipment. For 
the rest I needed no more than my bathing suit, for in 
the neighborhood of the reef barrier there Avas no telling 
Avhen some larger Avave might leap over the coral Avail and 
set me afloat. To my preparations I added a much Avorn 
camp stool, for the coral is not a comfortable seat, and I 
preferred to take no chances. 
I must record that all these preparations Avere in A'ain. 
I tried the rainboAv fish with jelly fish and Avith young 
crustaceans. The bait was attractive enougli to the rain- 
boAV fish. As soon as it reached the Avater, they rushed 
for it immediately, but they Avere AA'ise enough to see the 
hook, and with a derisive Avhisk of their tails they shoved 
the lure aAva}' and returned to something less dangerous. 
When I found that this Avas useless, I tried chumming. 
The fisii gobbled up the bait as it sank through the 
Avater, and the little that did reach the sands Avas Avithout 
effect, for chumming can never be of any good Avith fish 
that have brackets imder their eyes AA'hich cut off the vieAV 
doAVUAvard. 
Next I tried my gorgeous flies. It is not a little hard to 
cast under the steady blast of the trade Avind, but I 
felt that I Avas sifting my confections of crewels and 
parrot feather on the surface of the Avater in much the 
same style as a fluttering insect Avould SAvamp itself in 
the foreign element. The fish seemed to think the same, 
for they came rushing to the surface in what seemed 
eagerness to snap up the pleasant food. But again the 
little glint of Kirby blue shoAved the falseness of the 
pretense, and the rainboAvs flashed away. Probably AA'hen 
the schools Avere in safer depths some Avise old fish quoted 
to them sage finny proA'erbs such as "All's not fly that 
flutters," and "Beware the good meal that has a string 
tied to it." I do not knoAV that Samoan fish haA-e such 
proverbs, but from my experience I suspect it. At any 
rate, bait and fly proved absolutely useless. 
By this time I Avas not alone. All children are curious, 
and the Samoan youngsters are no exception. One can 
hardly blame them for v-Avanting to see Avhat Avas going 
on. It does excite attention that cannot be avoided if the 
marine landscape presents .such a prominent picture as 
that of a Avoman in a bathing suit sitting three-quarters of 
a mile out in the Pacific Ocean on a camp stool Avith a 
green-lined Avhite sun umbrella over her head. Without 
being a saA^age, almost anybody Avould Avonder Avhat such 
a spectacle might mean. Accordingly I found half a 
hundred of the little children of Vaiala wading out to 
me, content to sit quietly on the coral blocks and Avatch 
Avhat might happen. In a general Avay I had come to 
recognize long since that my movements provided these 
small and laughing savages Avith their closest approxima- 
tion to the juvenile delights of the circus. 
Having all these spectators, I put them to use. I 
recognized that rod and line Avould serve me not at all in 
this tide pool so provokingly crowded Avith these gay 
fish that scorned the hook, no matter hoAv cunningly con- 
cealed. But I had some hope that a net Avould prove 
effective. Therefore, I dispatched some of the children 
to shore to borrow nets for me. They brought back a 
magnificent assortment, for I had not followed all the 
niceties of the language in describing just AA^hat sort of 
net I needed. There is a single word for all this sort 
of fishing gear, and that Avas the word I used, not remem- 
bering that each variety of net has its own name, and 
that no Samoan ever knoAvs enough to use the slightest 
particle of common sense in aid of one Avho is not adept 
in the niceties of their language. 
I had asked for fishing gear, and it Avas fishing gear they 
brought me — gear of eA^ery sort that they kncAV. Here 
came a youngster packing out a length of rope covered 
with tassels_ of cocoanut leaves, a thing that could be 
of no imaginable use in my deep pool. Next was a 
quartet struggling Avith a Avooden hand barroAV heaped 
high Avith a hundred-fathom seine, of Avhich the meshes 
Avere so large that it would hold nothing smaller than a 
codfish. Others carried small dip nets, Avhich could be 
used only in the shalloAvest pools. I had asked for nets 
and it Avas nets that they had brought me, according 
to the best of their lights. Some had even brought out a 
stock of fish traps of basket Avork, but they Avere of no 
more service than the nets. Yet from the mass of ma- 
terial placed at my service, and for Avhich I knew I .should 
have to rcAvard each youthful bearer, J did manage to put 
together a purse net that would fit Avithin the pool. With 
the assistance of the children I succeeded in setting this 
in the pool, but, of course, all the fish had been frightened 
into the safe seclusion of the coral forest. After the 
net Avas set I Avaited for the fish to come back. It Avas 
altogether useless. The fish SAvam up to the outside of 
the net and looked at the meshes, then they SAvam back 
under the coral and told the others that there was 
something wrong. At every twig of coral I could see a 
fish gazing curiously at the pool and its treacherous 
contents, but not one Avould venture out where I might 
gather it in. 
The stir on the reef and the errand of the children on 
the shore had interested Talolo. He did not knoAV what 
I was doing, but that I was doing something Avas enough 
to bring him to me. I explained that I had been trying 
to catch these rainbow fish Avith bait and with the fly. His 
first comment Avas that fish of this sort were forbidden 
to all but chiefs. That Avas a thing I knew already, for 
Tanoa had told me, and anyway, I «xplained that it made 
no difference to me in the least, for I Avas entitled to the 
best there Avas going. Then he explained that they 
Avould not take the hook under any circumstances. I 
thought I kncAV this already by dint of experience. Next 
1 shoAved him my purse net, only to be told that it was 
impossible to net these fish, a truth of Avhich I was 
rapidly becoming convinced. 
"What shall 1 do, Talolo?" I asked, "If you and the 
rest of the chiefs eat these fish there must be some way 
of taking them, and you must show me hoAV," 
There Avere few things that Talolo liked better than 
bossing a job, and particularly Avhen by so doing he could 
give me a ncAV demonstration of his theory that I had no 
business to tackle the natural history of Samoa Avithout 
his guidance. To the crew of small children he delivered 
a set of positiA^e orders, Avhich set them at work collecting 
the nets, including the purse that I had set in the 'pool. 
With surprisingly little delay they lugged their gear back 
to shore, and to one of the more trustAvortliy youngsters 
my rod and appurtenances Avere intrusted, AAdth direc- 
tions that he wake Tanoa up from his afternoon nap and 
tell him to dry it carefully, because, Avhile it was no 
.good in Samoa, I might Avant to use it some time in my 
own home. 
Then Talolo found a seat in the water alongside of my 
camp stool and proceeded to tell me stories. He told 
me hoAv much he loved me, but by this time that was a 
Avell-Avorn fiction and was understood to be no more than 
a preliminary step to the request for the satisfaction of 
his manifold wants. From this he branched off to the 
solemnity of the taboo that existed over these fish, and 
the dreadful happenings that Avere bound to make them- 
seh-es felt in the insides of any man or woman who 
should venture to eat them Avithout being to the manner 
born. Even the one method Avhich Avould catch them was 
forbidden to those of Ioav estate under most unpleasant 
penalties. After all, he was of the opinion that my 
rank -and station v»as sufficiently high to admit me to 
share in these fish, and my goodness of heart tOAvard him 
Avas so great that he Avas sure that I would bestow on 
him some slight gift in recognition of his services in my 
aiisistance. 
By the time this harangue Avas finished and Talolo had 
received assurances that he would not go unrcAvarded. the 
children came Avading back, and each one bore a back 
load of green vines with large round leaves. The plant 
Avas in a general Avay familiar to me. That is to say. I 
bad often noticed it groAving on the beaches just above 
high-Avater mark. But I never had seen it in floAver, nor 
did I knoAv of any reason Avhy it should be held above 
any beach Aveed. It was not at all ornamental, and I 
Avas unaAvare of the fact that it Avas useful. 
The children built up a platform of coral blocks on the 
reef and carried it above the level of the water. On this 
platform the back loads of vines Avere deposited and each 
carrier set at Avork making them up into tight bundles a 
yard or so in length and about a foot thick, tied around 
carefully every feAV inches. When the bundles were aU 
made up, one of the children gave Talolo a stout stick, 
with AA'hich he beat each bundle several smart blows. 
Then tying to one of the bundles a fcAV sinkers of coral 
rock, he cast it into the pool as near the center as pos- 
sible. The same was done Avith the others, and a con- 
siderable area of the sandy bottom Avas cOA^ered Avith 
these green fagots. 
Of course the very first bundle frightened all the fish 
aAvay to iheir hiding places in the coral thickets, but as 
soon as the last bundle had made its splash the schools 
of fish returned to their feeding ground. We sat on the 
brink of the pool to aAvait developments. For fully five 
minutes nothing happened. The vines Avere anchored at 
the bottom, the fish sAvam above, and I Avas ready to vote 
Talolo's efforts as great a failure as my. own. But then 
a chan.ge began to make itself manifest in the deepest 
school. Instead of sAvimming lazily the fish began to 
dart hither and thither on irregular courses and then 
to swim hurriedly to the surface, where they clustered 
nearly straight up and doAvn, with their mouths out of 
Avater and gulping air. The surface current and the 
breeze drifted these fish to the edge of the basin, where 
the children picked them up and put them in my creel. 
In a fcAV moments another school floating a trifle higher 
Avas similarly affected, and came stupefied to the sur- 
face, and Avas caught. 
It Avas clearly one of the vegetable fish poisons of 
which I had heard as being extensively in use in the 
South Sea islands. The clubbing which the bundles of 
Aveeds received set free the actiA^e sap, and it gradually 
mixed Avith the water at the bottom and thence extended 
upAvard in the still basin. This could Avell be the case, 
for at the bottom the coral walls were practically 
solid, and whatever current of the moving tide there 
might be was confined to the upx)er levels. The stupefy- 
ing influence of the Aveed seemed to extend actively up- 
Avard for 10 feet — at least above that depth the fish Avere 
not sufficiently affected to bring them to the surface. I 
noticed also that in the case of fi.sh Avhich Avere brought 
to the surface the effect of the poison seemed to wear off 
in about fiA^e minutes, and after their recoA-ery they 
seemed to suffer no ill effects, but SAvam about placidly in 
search of food. 
Talolo convinced me by actual test upon himself that 
the weed is harmless to the hitman system. I nibbled 
one of the stems and found nothing but a slightly sweet 
sap, which reminded me more of the juice of a water- 
melon than anything else. But on taking some salt 
Avater into my mouth Avith the sap I foitnd the taste, 
changed to a shai'p and pungent acid. It is probably 
that sea change that acts upon the fish. 
By the time my creel Avas filled to overfloAving,; and 
the last fcAv fish had been strung on a stem of the AveeH 
that caught them, the seat of my camp stool Avas aAvash. 
I gave the Avord for the return to shore, for. I never 
could feel at ease with my broAvn kindergarten in deep 
water, even though I knew full well that every smallest 
baby of the lot could s<. m before it had learned to Avalk 
on dry ground. It ahvays brought me into sympathy - 
with the clucking Dorking that has hatched out a clutch ' 
of ducklings. Accordingly, I gave the word for the 
long Avade back to the glistening beach. But Talolo 
would not have it so at all. Even if I Avere forgetful, he . 
kncA^' that there were several things yet to do. With a 
national facility at speech-making, he harangued the 
small tribe, and laid down the law to them with all the 
authority that a chiefs sop cou](3 exercise. Immediately 
