The times., 1899-11-26
-Elam ,L- London s-.na.-a-

III rom fHf London Standard
There is stiH a world Of discovery open
10 the ichtuyol0gist who. in addition 20
scientific knowledge. is a lover Of desp-sea
fishing. has some nerve, and is content 10
undergo some occasional rough experiences.
il he elects 10 begin his researches among
The many island groups of the North and
South Pacific ] possessed to some extent
he two latter qualifications. the former
much 10 my present regret. I did not
Nearly tWeDJE-siX years ago the vessel in
which / sailed as supercarEo was wrecked
on Srong's Island, the eastern outline of
the fertile Caroline archipelago. and for
more than twelve months devoted the
greater part Of my time TO traversing the
mountainous island from end TO end or,
accompanied By a hardy and intelligent ma
live, in fishing, either IN the peculiarly
formed lagoon at the south end. OF two
miles or so outside the barrier reef
Without desiring 10 bore the reader with
unnecessary details of my own experiences
in the South Seas. j may say that nine
years after the loss OF Captain Hayes yes
sci on Strong's Island. I was again ship
wrecked on Peru. one of the Gilbert or.
as we traders call them, the Line Isl
ands Here I was so fortunate as 10 take
up my residence with one of the local
traders. a Swiss named Frank EolieIO who
was au ardent deep sea fisherman and
whose catches were the envy and wonder
OF the wild and intraCtable natives among
whom be lived. for he had excellent tackle.
which enabled him 10 FISH al depths seldom
tried by the natives, who have no reason 10
90 beyond sixty or eighty fathoms- I'm the
long interval that had elapsed since my
fishing days ia the Caroliues and my ar
rival al Peru Island / had gained such
experience In my hobby in many ether
parts of the Pacific as falls 10 few men,
and the desire to fish in deep water. and
get something that ast0unded the natives
OF the various islands had become a passion
with me. NOIierO and myself went out to-
pether frequently, and. did space permit
I should like 10 describe the fortune that
attended us al Peru. as well as my fishing
adventures at Strong,s Island.
have before eudeavored TO describe that
extraordinary. nocJurnaI-feeding fish. the
palu, and the manner of its capture by the
MaIayO- -P0lynesiau islanders OF the equa-
torial Pacific and in the present article
shall Try 30 convey 10 my readers an idea
OF deep-sea fishing in the South Seas gen
orally When I was living on the little Isl
and Of NanOmaga, tone OF the EHice group
situated about 500 miles to the EOrthwest
OF Samoa as the one resident trader /
found myself inf I may use the term-a
marine paradise. as far as fishing went
The Native Fishermen.
The natives were one and all expert fish
ermen. extremely Jealous Of Jheir reputa-
uon Of being not only the best and most
zkiuful men in Polynesia in the handling OF
their fran canoes i'm a heavy surf. but also
deep learned in tbs lore Of deep-sea fishing.
Ny arrival al the island caused TO little
commotiou among fhe young bIoods, each OF
I'D. -rr.rH ~TrH Of FrF
heart and being united 10 her by the local
samoan missionary teacher depended in q
great measure upon his ability TO provide
susteLauce Tor. her from the sea. for NaU0-
maEa like the reSt OF the Eliice group. IS
but Iittle more than a richly v5rdursd sand
bank. based upon foundation of coral. ana
yielding nothing 10 its people bUt couoauuts
and a coarse species Of tar0 called puTaEa.
The inhabitants iu rh=ir I0W-Iyirg at0ii,
possess no running streams no fertile soil.
in which as iU the mountainous ISLES Of
Polynesia the bread fruit the yam. and
the sweet potato grow and flourish side by
side with such rich and luscious fruits as
The orange and banana and pineapple-they
have but the beUe6ceut cOCOauuJ and ths
ever giving sea to supply their needs. Auc
The sea is kind 10 them. as nature mzauy
il 10 be 10 her own children The native
missionary al Nsnomaea was a Samoan He
was intended by nature 10 be a warrior a
leader Of men, or-3nd no higher praiss
can ] give 10 his dauntlss5 courag ge-a boat
header on sperm WhaleT Strong OF arm
and quick Of eye he was the very man "a
either throw The harpOOn OF deal the death
giving thrust Of the lance 90 the monarch
OF the ocean world. but fate or circum>
stance had made him q missionary instead
He was good missionary. bur d better
fisherman
Three miles from Nan0maga is sub
merged reef marked on the chart as the
Grand Coral Reef but known 10 the ma
tives as Tia Kau the reef" Il is in real
itg vast mountain Of coral whose bases
lie 200 fathoms deep, with q fauenel sum
NIT Of about fifty acres in extent rising Ia
within Eve fathoms Of the sea. This spoi
is the resort Of incredible numbers OF fsh
both deeD-sea haunting and surface swim
ming. Some OF the latter such as the
pala-s long scsleless, beautifully formed
fish. with head Of bony plates and teeth
like a TipsaW-sre Of great size and afford
splendid sport as they are game fighters
and almost as powerful as the pOTpOise
They run 70 over 100 pounds and yet ar,
by no means coarse fish In the shallow
water on the top Of this mountain rec
there are some eight or nine varieties o.
rock cod none Of which was OF any grea
size, but FAR below, at a depth OF from fifty
10 seventy fathoms, there we're some trul,
monEtrous fish Of this species. and / anC
my missionary friend had the luck TO catch
the four largest ever taken-221 pounds
2es pounds, lis pounds, and III pounds.
had caught when fishing for schuapper il
thirty faJhoms of Camden Haven. on tn,
coast of New South Wales q mOttled bIacI
and grey rock cod which weighed eighty.
three pounds, and was assured bv the sgd
uey Museum authorities that such q weigh
for a rock cod was rare m that part o
the Pacific but that beche-de-mer fisher
men on The Great Barrier Reef had occa.
siouslly captured fish Of the same variety
of double that size and weight
Not having a boat SIC Gsned from q CanO,
"a light bur strong and bGauuuliy con
stTucted craft with tWhaIebacks" FOR,
and aft 10 keep ir from being swampe6 bl
seas when facing OF running from p surf
The outrlgger was formed Of q very Iigh
wood called pua. about fourteen iuche
iu circumference. With the teacher an,
myself there usually went with lbs d thir.
man, whose duty il was 20 keep the caEo
head % wind. for anchoring iu deep wa e
in such q tiny craft was OuJ ol the cues
ton as well as dangerous. should a heayl
fish or a shark get foul OF the oltrigg 7
Capsizes in the daytime We did not mind
hut al night numbers Of gray sharks Wer.
always cruising around, ana they Wer,
then especially savage and daring
Leaving the pretty little village whicl
was emboWered 10 palm grove on the la
side Of the island, we would IF iuteudi
10 fish 0n the Tia Kau. make a start befort
dawn remain there until the canoe wa.
loaded 70 her raised gunWale pieces wi
the weight Of fish, and then return Nigh
fishing On the Tia Kau by single cauo,
was forbidden by the kaupule lhead men