124 
Wild Life in Southern Seas. 
might foul or break in its dying struggles. 
At last, drawing back his brawny right arm, 
the man deals the fish a heavy blow upon its 
bony head. There is a terrific splashing and 
leaping of foam, the pala, half-stunned but still 
strong, describes the segment of a circle in 
his dying flurry, and his broad, crescent-like 
tail strikes the water with resounding smacks. 
For a minute or so he lies quiet, and then, 
with a last, short struggle, gives up the fight, 
and is hauled alongside. 
Often a pala is of such great length and 
weight that he cannot be either put into the 
body of an ordinary small canoe or placed upon 
the platform of the outrigger without great 
danger of upsetting the craft. In such a case 
he is either cut in halves and lifted into the 
canoe, or towed alongside the canoe. The 
latter course is not unattended with danger 
from sharks, who, rushing at the fish, either 
carry it away bodily, or stave in the canoe in 
their efforts to do so. 
The Tia Kau Reef, a few miles from 
Nanomaga, which is alluded to elsewhere in 
this work, is without doubt one of the best 
fishing grounds in the South Seas. It is a 
