The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1877-08-30
Fishing i'm the Samoan Islands.

Courier-,Jour7aal writes: The fresh wa
ter fishes of Samoa are not varied; the
kind mostly taken are species of club,
a game little fish about ten inches long. |
In the rivers are also found an enor-
nous crayfish, very much like lobster,
and good eating when boiled in salt
water; then a smaller sized one called
the fresh-water shrimps. Sea-fishing is
very fine, vet the fish taken are not
nearly as edible as the same species
taken farther north. They have dis
agreeable phosphorus taste, though the
sport is very fine among the coral reefs.
The variety is almost endless, and OF
every conceivable color, varying from
two or three inches to four or five feet.
Now and then a shark may be hooked,
which to the uninitiated causes some
little excitement. The natives are fond
of shark-catching, and sometimes have
regular battle with the monsters.
They are remarkably ferocious around
this group. There was a courageous
native at Manua, the easternmOst island
of the group. who went out by himself
to have little quiet sport. He did not
have to wait long for a chance to take
one. By throwing bait into the sea by
the side of his canoe, a number of ugly
looking customers came swimming
around him, eating the food as fast as
he could throw it overheard. lie
watched his chance and soon managed
to slip moose over the tail of the larg
est, but the rope broke with the
strain on it, and left the larger part still
fast to the shark. Without hesitation
he jumped overheard and dived down
among whole school of the monsters,
caught the rope and swan up with it to
the surface, and hauled his prize along
side, and pummeled it to death with his
club. Many such instances are related
by the natives. 1t is remarkable fact
that native may dive down sometimes
among these sharks and will not be at
tackled, but just let the white skin of
European glisten in the water and
rush is made for the unhappy mortal IN
stantly. There is Tonga man here who
lost both his arms in a fight with one of
these monsters.
Bonita-fishing is as risky almost as
shark-fshing, when they are carried
away with the excitement of the sport.
The natives start off at daylight and
paddle far out to sea, and if any birds
are observed to hover over any particu-
lar spot they make for it. There they
find the beautiful bOnitas, and they trail
their hooks over the stern of the canoe
and take fish after fish, padding all the
time to troll the line, needless of the
brewing storm, which sometimes strikes
| them with full force and carries them
out to sea, out of sight of land, when
! they have to feed on raw fish, or some
times fast for days. Their only hope Of
! life is to fall in with some vessel, or lin
ger on until thrown upon some island.
Fishing by torchlight is another
agreeable pastime. You wade out to
the reef, or near it, and have native
to hold the torch, made of cocoanut
/ fiber, soaked in candle-nut oil. Here,
standing up TO your middle in water,
you amuse Yourself by hauling in the
fish, and sometimes your flesh creeps and
your hair has a tendency to rise when
you see only a couple of yards from you
the greedy and wicked eyes of shark
watching you quietly. You very soon
make sign to the native to bring up
the canoe, and you quietly slip into it
not from fear, oh! no; only you don't
want to hurt the poor shark. The ma
tives are very fond of blowing them up
with giant powder when they can get it,
and | believe | should prefer that mode
of fishing for them myself.
Turtle-hunting is another Samoan
sport. These large fellows are frequent
" seen summing themselves on the
beach, Slipping up quietly to them
whilst asleep, you suddenly turn them
over on their back, and they are pow
erless. But the large ones are not so
very easily turned over. One ofthe ma
tive modes for taking them is to find one
resting on the surface OF
the water taking nap; the native
slips overheard and dives down to rise
under the turn, and suddenly seize it by
the large fippers; then the struggle is
to hold him until assistance arrives
Crab-catching on the sandy flat neal
this town is native pastime. The large
land crabs are very numerous, and theil
enormous claws are very formidable
weapons of defense and offense. One
can imagine their power when they as
cend the cocOanut trees and tear off the
cocoanuts with their claws. AT every
full moon they leave their holes in thu
mountains and march down to the Sc;
by thousands. They take a dip and re
, turn. On these occasions the youn!
boys and girls have gala time. Wit
clubs and sticks they attack them ant
waylay them by the hundreds. 1t is
time of excitement, and the noise ant
confusion make one believe he is il
! Bedlam. The scene is very pretty view
ed from the water-the naked forms @
the natives are Swallowed by the brigh
rays of the moon in its tropica
brilliancy against the cocOanut trees, o
reflected along the white sand of tn
7 beach that stretches out on either side
So much of the existence of the So
o means is passed in the water that the
+, become as much at home on the sea a
on dry land. You see little babe
scarcely able to toddle along by itsel
+ padding away in water up to its nect
all alone, and perfectly at home. | don
suppose you can drown the little imp
: IT'S amusing to see the little fellow
dive down four or five fathoms after