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Mouth of the bag being made with two Wings to Spread the river; they place it and lay stones on the lower part to keep it down, they then sweep the river with a Row and bring all the Fry into the Bag; and in this Manner get several Bushells at a haul, in the Mean time the Weomen have their part of the Fishery and each being equipt with a bag & a Basket, form themselves into three or four lines across the river up to their Middle, and keeping the lower part down with their feet hold the upper part in their hands alternately searching it and putting the Fish into their Baskets till they are either tired or Satisfied, when they leave off and go home to Dress them. It is No disgrace for any woman to be thus Employd and if the Queen is present she generally makes one and they are Generaly paid for their labour with Good Sport and plenty of Fish — another method is when the rains are over and the Waters subside, they dam the River up with Stones and Grass, leaving several sluices to which they fix their Bags or Nets, and going to some distance up along the Bank they all plunge in together and drive the Fish before them who flying to the Sluices fall into the Nets, but this Method is not used till the fish grow scarce.
When they angle in the Sea, they generally use Baked bread fruit for Bait, and Stand up to their neck in water, having a long Bamboo for a rod and a Basket hung round their Neck to put the fish in, they Catch in this Manner several fine fish — the White Mullet they catch with hand lines and the red in Small Nets; these latter tho delicate fish are here used as bait for the Albicore and Bonnetta which are Caught thus — they have a Double Canoe carrying Six or Eight men and in the Bow is fixd a long pole like a crane to lower and haul up on a Cross piece or Roller at the heel by means of a Back rope, on the Head of this they fix two pieces spreading like Horns to which they bend the lines, on the top of the Crane they fix a Bunch of long Black Feathers from the Cocks tails the Motion of which when lowerd near the Water attracts the Fish and draws them round the Canoe; between the Canoes they sling a kind of Basket with their Bait which admitting the Water keeps the Fish alive till they are wanted — when they See any fish they paddle toward them till they come round the Canoe and then they keep the Stern of the Canoe to windward and paddle from them; a Man is then placed to throw Water with a Scoop, and make a continual Spray like rain, and the Hooks being baited the Crane is lowered so as to let them Just under the surface. The Man on the
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Indigenous Histories |  |
© Derived from the 1935 Print Edition edited by Owen Rutter, page 156, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/-morrison-024.html