SQUID FISHING. 
263 
the interpreter to ascertain the cause of such an 
unusual spectacle. On his return Oudah ” re- 
ported that the maritime will-o’-the-wisps belonged 
to fishing-boat^ hundreds of which, he said, were 
out looking for “Ika-Surame,” an appellation which, 
after some circumlocution, and many elaborate 
attempts at explanation, we ascertained meant 
simply “ squids.” . The lights were produced by 
birch-bark, kindled in small kinds of gratings with 
long wooden handles, machines known among sea- 
faring men by the name of “devils.” The flame of 
the fires is very clear and vivid, and the “ devils ” 
are held over the boats to attract the squids. These, 
I find, are a species of Omniastrephes, a sort of sea- 
cuttle, which is nocturnal in its habits, and which 
swims very rapidly near the surface in immense 
shoals. They are taken by a method which is 
known among fishermen as “jigging.” The “jig” 
is made of iron, and consists of a long shank sur- 
mounted by a circlet of small recurved hooks. 
These cuttles are famous articles of diet both witli 
the Japanese and Chinese, and are carefully dried 
