Above the swathing
of bark a strong line is made fast; the padded end is fitted into the
socket, the line is made taut along the whole length of the haft, and
secured by three or four half hitches about a foot from the thin end. A
neat coil of perhaps 50 yards of line lies in the bottom of the canoe.
Probably each of the blacks will have his fishing-line, for sometimes
the turtle do not rise according to expectations. At high tide these
feed among the rocks close to the shore, at low water out among the
coral on the reef, and the hunters wait and watch and fish silently and
with all passivity. Then, when maybe they have caught schnapper, red
bream and parrot-fish, they drift among the turtle, and the sport
begins.
In sight of the game the sucker which has been adhering to the bottom of
the canoe is tugged off and thrown in its direction. As a preliminary
the disc and shoulders of the sucker are vigorously scrubbed with dry
sand or the palm of the hand, to remove the slime and to excite the
ruling passion of the fish. It makes a dash for a more congenial
companionship than an insipid canoe. The line by which it is secured is
made from the bark of the "Boo-bah" (FICUS FASCICULATA) and is of two
strands, so light as not to seriously encumber the sucker, and yet
strong enough to withstand a considerable strain.
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