The Opelousas courier., 1901-06-01
A r
Curious Custom of Japanese Fishermen In
Hawaii,

Curious Custom of Japanese Fishermen In
Hawaii.
Where several years ago the fishing
for the supplying of the Honolulu mar.
ket was done almost exclusively by
the natives in their canoes and a few
Cinnamon now the bGik of the work is
done by the Japanese, who are at it
in great numbers.
The boats which they use are built
here after patterns used in Japan, and
once in a while an Oriental steamer ar
irving from the West brings an import.
ed fishing boat, which the fishermen
think is superior to those of local
manufacture. The boats are of a Pc
culiar shape and are of different sizes,
some able to accommodate but three
men, which is an ordinary crew, and
others are large enough for seven or
eight men.
Now that the fish are getting scarcer
1t Is necessary for the fishermen to go
farther for their catches than was
formerly necessary and very often
these apparently frail and cranky-look-
ing boats go nearly to Molokai and
Mokapuu Point, where the fishing is
good. Only the larger boats are used
for the deep-sea fishing, as they are
sometimes out several days and must
have roc to carry the fish caught and
provisions necessary for the trip.
Notwithstanding the frail appear
ance of the boats, they are strongly
constructed and good sea boats, and
as a usual thing are fast sailers.
On Punchbowl street, in Kakaako, a
great many Of the boats are built, and
the launching of one of the larger kind
is always an event of a great deal Of
interest to an on1ooker and of great
importance to the men who are to
operate the boat. When the boat is
completed the owners and builders
and their friends decorate her with
Japanese flags, lanterns and flowers.
Then they take her to the water, into
which she glides amid a great shout
ing and halloing by the crowd.
Up to the time that the vessel is
launched there is no captain selested
for the boat. The choosing of this i'm
portant factor in every case is left
until the boat is in the water. It is
known who the members of the crew
are, and from them the captain is Sc
lected. A knowledge of seafaring is
not apparently necessary for a man
to be'a captain of a Japanese fishing
boat, as the following will show:
When the boat is in the water and
moored securely the members of the
crew, who are generally the owners of
the boat, strip themselves and get into
the boat. Then the fun of making the
selection of. the commander begins.
There is nc voting or drawing of lots
to settle the matter. At a given signal
from one of the crowd on shore, who
are watching, the men in the boat be-
gin with all their might to try to throw
each other out into the water. Each
man is against the other, and so the
struggle as a usual thing lasts a long
and is remarkably exciting.
All the time the play goes on the
friends of the contestants yell words
Of cheer to the struggling men in the
boat and throw buckets of water on
them and into the boat, seemingly
with the idea of making the battle
ground more slippery as well as re-
freshing to the men at work. AS soon
as a man Is thrown out of the boat he
must stay out, but may assist with
water if he so desires. The man who
stays in the boat longest, or rather
who is able to put all the others out
of the boat, has by his proWess shown
himself competent to be captain, and
so he is greeted with much applause
and showered with congratulations at
the termination Of the scufle. There
is nc appeal from the selection SO
made, and the man SO chosen con-
to be captain until he volun-
tarily retires or sells out his share in
the boat.
This novel way Of getting a skipper
seems very satisfactory to the fisher
men, and it certainly affords a great
deal of amusement to strangers who
to be about during the selec-
ton of a commander.-Honolulu Re-
publican.