The evening times., 1899-12-02

! q fearful tragedy occurred on the Tia Kau
| when party of seventy natives. men, ,swo-
men, and children. who were crossing L
| the neighboring island Of Nanonea, wert
attacked by sharks when overtaken on th<
reef by a sQuall at night. Only two es-
capped to tell the tale. y :.
II, however. we meant to try for takuo.
huge variety Of the mackerel tribe. or Ia
he'u, a5magniicent Dream shaped fish. we
| had no need to go SO far as the dangerous
Tia Kau: three or four cable lengths from
| the beach, and right in front Of the village
We could lie in water as smooth as glass.
| and seventy fathoms in depth. Our bait
| was Invariably flying fish, freshly caught.
or the tentacles of an octopus My lines
were of white American cotton. and gen.
orally used two hooks, one below and one
above the sinker, both baited with whole
| flying fish. while my companions generally
used. wooden or iron hooks Of their own
manufacture, and lines made from hibiscus
bark or cocoanut fibre. ~ a.
shall always remember with pleasure
my first iahe'u. was accompanied by the
! native teacher ,aione.s and. we padded on
from the village just after evening service
| and brought to about quarter Of . mile
outside of the reef. The rest Of the island
ers had gone round Ii their canoes to the
weather side of the little island to hsh for
takuo, for we were expecting a malaga, or
party OF visitors from the Island Of Nuku-
fetua, in day or two and unusual sup
plies of fish had to be obtained, 70 sustain
not only the islands record as the fishing
centre of the universe, but the peoples
reputation for hospitality. 1t had been my
suggestion to the teacher that he and /.
who we're unable to accompany the others.
should try what we could do nearer home.
The night was brilliantly starlight-so
smooth that there was not even the faint
est swell upon the reef. The trade wind
was at rest, and not the faintest breath Of
air moved the foliage OF the cocoa palms
lining the white strip of beach. Now and
then splash or a sudden commotion in
the water around us would denote that
some hapless flying fish had taken an aerial
flight from pursuing pala, or that a shark
had seized turtle in his cruel jaws.
Lighting our pipes. We lowered our lines
together according to island etiquette. and
touched bottom at thirty fathoms; then
hauled in a fathom or two Of line to avoid
fouling the coral. In a few minutes my
companion hooked a utu, sluggish fish,
somewhat like barbel in appearance, with
shining silvery scales. and a broad fiat
head. As he was hauling in and l was
looking over the side OF the canoe to watch
1t coming up, l felt sharp, heavy tug at
my own line and, before / could check II,
thirty or forty yards of line whizzed
through my fingers with lightning speed.
A Bite Sure.
''Lahe'u," shouted the teacher hurried
Iy making his own line fast, and whipping
up his paddle, don't give out any more
line, or he will run under the reef and We
shall lose him. / know by the vibration
and hum of the line. as soon as / had it
well In hand, that there was heavy and
powerful fish at the end. Ioane. disregard
ing the utu as being of no importance In
comparison to lahe'u, was plunging his
paddle rapidly into the water, and en-
deavoring 10 back the canoe seaward. into
deeper water. but, in spite OF his efforts and
my own we were being taken quickly in
shore. For some two or three minutes the
canoe was dragged steadily landward. and
! knew that once lahe'u succeeded in get
ting underneath the overhangipg ledge OF
reef there would be little chance Of our
taking him except by diving, and diving Oh
q moonless night under a reef. and freelnk
a fish from jagged branches Of coral. is not
pleasant task, although an Ellice Islander
does not much mind it. Finding that could
not possibly turn the fish. l asked Ioans
what / should do. He told me to let go =
few fathoms Of line. brace my knee against
the thwart, and then trust to the sudden
jerk to cant the fish's head one way or the
other. i did as 1 was told Out few the
line, and then came a shock that made
the canoe fairly jump, lifted the outrigger
clear out of the water. and all but capsized
her. But the ruse was successful, for. with
furious shake. lahe'u changed his course
and started on at . tremendous rate
parallel with the reef and then gradually
headed seaward.
Let him 90, said Ioane who was care
fully watching the tautened- -outI line. and
steering at the same time. 'Tis strong
fish. but he is mau tonu, ttruly hooked)
and will now tire. But give him no more
line, and haul up TO him.
For fully five minutes the canoe went
flying over the water. and l continued to
haul In the line fathom by fathom, until
right ahead, a great iphosphorescent boil
and bubble. Then the pace began TO slack
en-, as the sallan. fighter began to turn
from side to side, shaking his head and
making futile breaks from port to star
board. Bidding me come amidships with
the line, Ioane took in his paddle and pick
ed up the harpoon which We always car
ried on the outrigger platform in case Of
meeting turtle. Nearer and nearer came
the great fish, until. with q splash Of phos-
phorescent light and spray he came to the
u
and bony tail. and stiil trying to get a
chance for another downward run. Then
Ioane. waiting his opportunity. sent the
iron clean through him from side to side,
and sat down and watched. with q thrill
Of satisfaction and a sigh Of relief, his f.
nal furry. In a few minutes We hauled
him alongside, drew the harpoon, and with
some difficulty managed to get him over
the side and lower him into the bottom Of
the canoe amidships. where he lay fore
md aft, his curved back standing up nearly
A foot and a half above the raised gunwale
Although not above four feet in length, he
was nearly three in depth, and about SIX
teen inches thick at the shoulder truly
noble fish.
I'VE have done WE'LL" said the teacher, |
With a pleased laugh, as he hauled in his
OWN line and dropped s-pound utu into
he canoe. There will be much talk over
this tomorrow, for these people here are |
very conceited and think that no one but |
themselves can catch lahe'u and pala. They |
will know better now, when they see this |
,ne." We returned to the shore within |
.wo hours from the time We left, with my |
ahe'u. an utu, and five or six salmon-lfke |
ish called tau-tau, all nocturnal feeders. !
md air highly thought of by the natives, !
specially the latter. The lahe'u we hung |
lp under the missionary's veranda, and at !
daylight / had the intense satisfaction of !
;eeing a crowd OF natives surrounding 1t. |
Ind of hearing their flattering illusions to |
myself as a papalagi masani tonu futi ika- |
| white man who really could fish like a |
native.
-pm,nr,r~ ~ x~r,r a un,ror