166 
THE TliOt'iCAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept. 2, 190l. 
of a spider made use of ia conjanction with a kite 
affords a novel and successful method of fish 
catching. 
On first visiting these islands, and seeing the 
natives kite flying, 1 thought I had dropped among 
them whilst at play. I was mistaken, for upon in- 
vestigation 1 found they were engaged in fishing. 
On sliore many of tlie trees are covered with 
cobwebs, spun by l)uge spiders. The kite is made 
of the dry leaves of the sago palm, stitched to- 
gether and ribbed. It is furnished with two 
wings, and when flying looks not unlike a good- 
sized bat, To tliis is attached a long tf.il, having, 
at the extieme end, cohweb gathered from the 
trees and rolled into a ball. The native paddles 
out in his canoe against the wind, his kite made 
fast to the canoe, and flying behind him. The 
craft, being propelled gently, keeps the kite flying 
at a certain altitude, and the ball of cobweb, fast 
to the tail, is kept bobbing on the water. The 
fish common in these waters, a long narrow kind, 
not unlike barracouta, or like our garfish, but 
much bigger, and often two or three feet long, 
jump at anything moving. They no doubt take 
the cobweb for a flying-fish, and gettintr their 
teeth into it are unable to withdraw them, and 
so fall an easy prey. The native then pulls in 
the kite and fish together. As the fish are plenti- 
ful, and seldom miss anything they jump at, a 
few hours of this sport well repays the native tor 
his labour. 
About thirty miles from Dawson Straits the 
natives make use of the cobweb in another kind 
of fishing, and catch llying-flsh during certain 
months of tlie year— -from December to March, 
which is the calm season of the year, as you know. 
Coconuts grow in bunches, and, after they are 
plucked, the pliant, tough, elastic stem, with 
perhaps twenty or tliirty shoots along it oa which 
the nuts once grew, is brought into use. A lot 
of these stems are covered with cobweb, and 
thrust into long narrow baskets made out of the 
coconut leaf. A, ,long line is made fast to the 
basket, and after paddling perhaps a mile or so 
from the land the basket is thrown out, and 
allowed to drift astern. The flying-fish, to escape 
from their voracious enemies, which are numerous, 
seek refuge in these baskets, and, once in, the 
cobweb effectually prevents them from coming 
out again. The basket as it gets wet sinks just 
below the surface ©f the water ; then, after ifc 
has been out some time, the native pulls it in, 
empties the contents, and then repeats this 
operation. The craft most used in this part for 
fiying-fish catching is the catamaran, jast three 
lo"9 of cedar, rouj^hly shaped and lashed together, 
ami cut away underneath at the ends, to cause 
less resistance on being driven through the 
water. You may meet them three or four miles 
from the shore when engaged in ihis occupation, 
lazily floating, and going with the tide. 
This sort of fishing appeals to the native mind, 
for there is no real work about it, the only exer- 
tion required being to haul tlie basket in from 
time to time. He is a keen trader, and is always 
willing to do a deal with you tor his flying-fish, 
which are excellent eatitig. The size of tlie fish 
range from a few inches to a foot ; tlie biggest 
one I ever saw was little short of two feet long. 
Their lot is not, 1 should think, a very feappy 
one the big fish driving them up from below, 
and a flock of sea-birds waiting to pounce upon 
ibem as soon as they show above the surface. 
The larger fi?h g\Y¥ tli§m ^o f^st, you caa 
tell the course they are taking by the birds 
which hover about and follow them for miles. 
*rhe flying-fish use their wings when startled 
or in danger, which indeed seems to be their 
chronic state in the day time. Their flight is 
limited to six or seven hundred yards, for, as 
soon as their wings dry, the fish drop into the 
water again, and do not continue their flight 
unless compelled to. The picture shows a party 
of New Guinea men net-fishing. The way the 
natives keep their equilibrium, standing upright 
on the catamaran, is an acrobatic feat only to be 
attained by practice. The confident manner in 
which they move about on their primitive craft 
gives one the impression that it is easy. I thought 
so myself until 1 tried it, but was glad to drop 
gingerly on to my hands and knees until I came 
within reach of something more solid, which in 
this instance took the shape of a thirty-ton cutter. 
When engaged in fishing each catamaran carries 
two men and a pile of netting. This is shot and 
laid out on the water in the -form of a horse- 
shoe. Two catamarans are then paddled up the 
centre of this net, the natives on them beating 
the water with long poles, and making a violent 
noise so as to frighten the fish into their net. 
The mode of fishing in favour with the white 
people in New Guinea, when they do not use the 
ordinary baited hook and line, is quicker and 
more simple than any of the native methods. Ac 
the same time it is more brutal and destructive, 
and the man who makes use of it without absolute 
necessity should be looked upon in the same 
light as a sportsman would regard a person who 
shot at a sitting bird. When a shoal of fish is 
sighted in shore they go out in a dinghy, or 
small boat, the fisherman having a fire-stick in 
one hand and a charge of dynamite iu tlie other. 
Shepherding the fish round for a time until he 
gets them in a favourable position, he touches 
the fuse that is inserted in the dynamite with 
hh fire-stick and throws it in the midst of the 
shoal. The fish, instead of taking fright at the 
splash caused by the cartridge falling among 
them, rush towards it. A dull explosion follows, 
and hundreds of fish rise to the surface, but 
quickly sink again. Some people believe that 
dynamited fish float on the water, but such is not 
the case ; the shock having stunned them, and 
burst their swimming bladders, they immediately 
find the bottom. The natives then dive and pick 
the fish up with both hands, the dynamiter having 
taken care that they were not in more than three 
or four fathoms of water when the charge was 
thrown among them. I fired a charge one day, 
and the boys (natives) had gone down in this 
usual manner to pick the fish up. Looking over 
the side of the boat I was horrified to see five 
or six large sharks quietly picking up the fish 
on their own account, and taking not the 
slightest notice of the boys, who were close 
enough to have touched them with their hands. 
The immunity enjoyed by the natives in this 
respect is remarkable. They are constantly in 
the water, but for one of them to be attacked, 
or bitten by a shark, is almost an unheard-ot 
occurrence. This is explained, I think, by the 
fact that the island shark finds plenty of food 
in the fish which abound, and so is never very 
hungry, A white person, however, does not enjoy 
the same immunity as the native, perhaps because 
the colour of his skin is more attractive. The mid- 
ocean shark, on the contrary, will tackle anything, 
and is oo respecter of persons, blac|t or whitei 
