736 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
to put in the boat a can filled with inflammable material and covered with oil, row to 
a desirable place, and set fire to the fuel. The fish are fascinated or dazzled by the 
light and may easily be struck with a stick. 
SNARING. 
The use of the snare in fishing seems to be confined to Hawaii, its use on the 
other islands not being reported. Puhi (eels) and ula (crawfish) are the species 
usually taken in this manner. 
In snare fishing for puhi (ahele puhi) the apparatus is a long stick with a noose 
arranged at the end, the string which works the noose reaching to the end of the 
pole. A bait made of almost any kind of pounded fish or crab is thrown into the 
water, especially around rocks, where the puhi lives in holes and crevices. The 
noose is slipped up close to one of these holes and when the puhi thrusts its head 
through in order to reach the bait, the line in the hand is pulled, drawing the noose 
tight to the end of the pole and choking the fish to death, after which it is drawn to 
the surface. 
In fishing for ula (ahele ula), a long pole, to which dead bait has been tied about 
3 inches from the bottom, is put down in the water in front of a hole in the rocks. 
As the ula comes out of its hole to get the bait another pole, with a crotch or fork at 
the end to both arms of which a noose is fastened, is slipped ' under its tail and 
suddenly jerked, tightening the noose, so that the animal can be brought to the 
surface. 
FISHING WITH THE HANDS. 
The native men, women, and children are perfectly at home in the water, 
spending a good portion of their time there, and they are exceedingly expert in 
diving and swimming. Frequently they catch various inhabitants of the water with 
their hands, and in some places this method of fishing has become quite an important 
source of revenue to them. It is a common sight, in the less densely inhabited 
regions, to see a stark-naked native man or woman crouching down in the shallow 
water and feeling around the coral and lava rocks for fish, papai (crabs), and opae 
(shrimp). Some of the fishermen dive to the haunts of certain species, and, thrusting 
their arms into holes or under rocks, bring out the fish one by one and put them into 
a bag attached, for the purpose, to the malo, or loin cloth. Opae, oopu (gobies), and 
gold-fish are frequently taken by women fishing with their hands in the fresh-water 
streams and taro patches, and form a considerable part of the food supply. 
In fishing for hee (octopus) the native dives to the bottom, and, with a stick, 
pokes around in the small holes in which the animal lives. When he touches one it 
■seizes the stick and allows him to draw it out of the hole. On reaching the surface 
the native seizes his captive with his hands and bites into its head, thus killing it. 
The ula also is frequently taken by the diver with his hands. The fisherman 
first provides himself with a small bag, which he attaches to his malo. His right 
band he carefully wraps up in a bag or a long piece of cloth, to prevent the ula from 
biting him, and, diving to the bottom, he feels around in the crevices and holes 
among the rocks, pulling out the ulas he finds and putting them in the bag, return- 
ing to the surface whenever necessary. Frequently he will bring up two or three 
