The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1905-08-18

by the Light Of Blazing Pine.
The origin Of cormorant fishing In
Japan Is lost In a very remote antiqui-
ty. At least thousand years ago 1t
Ia known to have fourisi.ed. and there
Is a tradition Of its existence upward
Of 200 years ago. Much romance and
history are connected with the fishery
Ia the early days, and the names Of
some Of Japan's greatest warriors and
statesmen are associated with 1t. While
a commercial enterprise, 1t does not,
however, give employment TO many
people and Is not conducted In many
places. 1t Is confined to rivers, and
the most extensive, interesting and ia
nous fishery Is that In the Niagara riv-
rant fishing villages Is in the outskirts
of the large city of Gifu.
At the time OF my visit the chief cor
morant fisherman, whose ancestors for
many generations had engaged In this
fishery In the same locality, attired
himself In the peculiar dress Of the
profession for the purpose OF exhibit
ing his birds and the methods Of han
ding them. Later he and all the other
fishermen on the river went to a rem
devious and gave a practical demon
stration Of cormorant fishing.
The cormorants are controlled by
means Of slender cord which passes
around the birds breast and Is tied In
the middle of the back The cord Is
made Of woody fibers Of the cryptome-
ria tree, with the exception Of a short
section next to the bird, which con-
sists Of whalebone. There Is a supple
mental cord tied around the neck at
the lower end Of the gullet for the pur-
pose Of preventing the fish from pass
Ing so far that they cannot be recov-
cred. The tying Of this cord Is a dell
cate operation, for II too tight 1t may
injure the bird, and If too loose 1t will
allow the fish to be swallowed.
The fishery Is conducted from boats
which are Of special type, being long,
narrow dugouts, propelled primarily
by paddles, but when en- route to the
fishing grounds often provided with a
sail. Each boat has a crew OF four
men and complement Of sixteen cor
morants Late In the afternoon the
boats start for place In the river
where fishing will begin. the cormo-
rants belrt slowed away in pairs in
bamboo bs$ets The fishing grounds
cover many miles, and operations are
confined to successive sections Of the
river nightly. In accordance with law.
Stretches several thousand yards In
length are set aside as imperial pre-
serves, on which no fishing Is permit
ted.
AS soon as darkness prevails blaZ-
Ing fire Of pine wood Is kindled in the
iron basket overhanging the bow Of the
boat, and the boats drift downstream
together sometimes In a mixed group,
sometimes In line extending across
the river, each guided and propelled by
two men. The captain, standing near
the bow, manages twelve cormorants
and his assistant four, the cords being
held between the fingers and frequent
ly shifted as the birds move about.
With the cormorants diving and dart
Ing In all directions. those Of different
boats often mingling, II Is wonder
that they do not soon become inextri-
cably tangled, but so skillfully are they
managed that the lines rarely become
fouled. In short time the cormo-
rants outlets begin to bulge with ayu
When they are well filled the birds are
pulled up to the gunwales one by one
and their catch Is gently squeezed into
baskets. This continues for several
hours, and each cormorant may fill Its
gullet fifteen to twenty times.
Spectators usually 60 to the fishing
grounds In kind Of barge, Illuminated
by lanterns, and eat their dinner on
board while waiting at a convenient
point for the fishing boats to arrive.
During the evening when l witnessed
the fishery the seven boats In whose
operations l was particularly interest
ed averaged 700 to 500 fish apiece, and
the aggregate catch was worth $50, a
very respectable sum to Japanese fish,
ermen.
The fishery Is prosecuted with enthu-
siasm by both men and cormorants,
and the shouts Of the fishermen, the
hoarse croaking Of the birds, the rush
Of the mountain stream. the splashing
and creaking Of the paddles, the hiss
Ing Of the embers as they fall into the
water, the weird lights and shadows
combine to make performance which
a westerner Is not likely soon to for
get.-National Geographic Magazine.