Being too shallow for a large fish, all the finny
monsters of the river are compelled to imprison themselves in the
depths of these holes. Here the crocodiles have fine feeding, as
they live in the same place.
With a good rod and tackle there would be capital sport in these
places, as some of the fish run ten and twelve pounds weight; but
I have never been well provided, and, while staring at the
coveted fish from the bank, I have had no means of catching them,
except by the most primitive methods.
Then I have cut a stick for a rod, and made a line with some
hairs from my horse's tail, with a pin for a hook, baited with a
shrimp, and the fishing has commenced.
Fish and fruit are the most enjoyable articles of food in a
tropical country, and in the former Ceylon is rich. The seir
fish is little inferior to salmon, and were the flesh a similar
color, it might sometimes form a substitute. Soles and whiting
remind us of Old England, but a host of bright red, blue, green,
yellow, and extraordinary-looking creatures in the same net
dispel all ideas of English fishing.
Oysters there are likewise in Ceylon; but here, alas I there is a
sad falling off in the comparison with our well-remembered
"native." Instead of the neat little shell of the English oyster,
the Ceylon species is a shapeless, twisted, knotty, rocky-looking
creature, such as a legitimate oyster would be in a fit of spasms
or convulsions.
