HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
2G9 
rounded a large plain, and then either shot the animals, or 
received them on the point of the spear. 
The tamer pursuit of fishing is occasionally followed 
in many parts of the island; rarely, however, by angling ; 
sometimes line and hook is used, but the rod seldom, if 
ever; they take several kinds of fish by means of nets, 
others by snares of cords ; frequently they take eels of 
a very large size, often grasping them with their hands. 
Fishing is much more frequently resorted to as a means 
of obtaining a supply of food, than for amusement; in the 
former case it is chiefly followed by the women. 
The superstitious opinions of the natives in reference 
to the crocodile, have been already adverted to. In some 
parts of the island these seem to have been less general or 
powerful than in others. 
Drury describes a mode of killing alligators, which con¬ 
stituted a favourite amusement of a young prince or chief¬ 
tain with whom he resided. The weapon used for this pur¬ 
pose was a harpoon, with a head fixed upon it, and a rope 
fastened both to the steel and the staff. “ Being thus fur¬ 
nished,” he observes, “ they paddle along the water towards 
the alligator, which they generally espy at a distance, as 
they are accustomed to keep their noses above water, and 
appear like a floating mass of earth or matted weeds. When 
they come within ten or a dozen yards of the animal, he 
sinks to the bottom, and crawls a good way before he stops; 
but his course is discovered by bubbles that rise, and where 
these remain they strike, for the alligator will lie flat on its 
body at the bottom of the stream, with its sides pressed out,, 
when it hears a noise, so that they are often pierced through 
with the harpoon; though, should the harpoon strike upon 
their backs or their heads, it will make no more impres¬ 
sion than it would upon a rock.” Drury further states, that 
