Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-02-07
A Weekly Letter From the Orient
FURNISHED BY THE RECORDER s5Pao-
IAL CORRESPONDENT, WHO Is
MAKING A TOUR OF THE EAST
ERN COUNTRIES.
Especial to Rec ,rder)
Especial to Rec ,rder)

If japan is interesting 1t Is all Tor
gotten when one comes lIto no
rpa, | shall have to tell YOU OF the
first thing saw as came up the
river to Seoul. 1t certainly is the
most interesting thing | lave seen
so far. | have often heard Of
fishing with cormornts, but sup
posed it was done with two birds.
[ saw one fisherman handling
twelve, and did it with dexterety
bordering on the marvellous. In
each boat there were four men.
One handled the boat willie Tie
master stood at the bow handling
twelve birds. Amidships stood an
other who handled four birds
while between these two stood an
other who made noise to keep
the birds up to their work. Each
cormorant wears at the base OF the
neck loose ring tight enough to
prevent marketable fish from pass
ing below, but loose enough to
permit small ones to 20 through,
as the ring is never removed
Around the birds body IS a cord
fastnened to bit of wood, and to
this is looped a thin rein If fiber.
twelve feet long, with so little pli'
ancy as to minimize the danger OF
tangling. When the fishing
ground is reached the master low
ers the twelve birds, one by one
into the water, and gathers the
reins in his left hand, manipulate
ing them as OCCASION requires with
his right. The master is now the
busiest man you can imagine. tie
must handle his string so deity
that the lot Of birds dash where
soeyer they will they will neither
tanple nor foul the lines. lie
must have his eyes everywhere aid
/ his hands following his eyes
Specially must he watch for the
moment when any of his flock is
eorged SO he can lift it aboard
force its bill open and squeeze out
the fish and return the bird to the
water without interfering with the
work of the other eleven which are
hustling about in great activity
From four to six good sized hsi
is a fair result of each excursion OF
single bird, and then they have
| to be relieved of them ard started
over again. This makes an aver
ave of about $50 fish an hour fol
each cormorant, or something 1ikt
$50 for the bird for three hours
fishing. Every bird in the tlocE
has and knows its number, and on
of the FUNNY things is to see the
quick jealousy with which they IN
insist in cormorant language ant
pantonimic protest on the obser
vance of the rights attached u
! their particular number. Numb
One is dean Of the corps, owing u
his wears of service, and takes hrs
) rank. His colleagues come ate
him in number according to thel
ages. Number One, or "lchi,' a
he is called, is last to be put in tb
, water and first to be taken out an
, fed. and last to enter the baske
when the work is over. Ichi, wbe
aboard, has the post of honor o.
the bow, and the other, come al
ter him along the gunwale accol
ding to number. If this law G
} pre cedence be violated-if, for in
stance, number be put after nun
! Der 5, or il lumber 8 be put in tn
9 water before mum Der 7, there TO
lows a riot that is a sight to Sc
and a sound to hear
t As each cormorant IS take
8 from the water the master OF I'll
boat can tell from its weigh
wbetherit has eaten enough sma
fish to serve as its supper. 1T
= has not he makes good the DEL
cheney by feeding it with inferi'
fish which are not marketable
!. When the boat has fished over tt
: prearranged course the cormVran
!, are taken aboard, soiemnly rams
Z themselves along the gnnwale a
corliug to their numbers. II
master does not have to place the
. for each knows where he belons
Il and woe be it for the one who pr
sumes to get in the wrong p'a'
for the others unite in pup'shlr
, tVhan