Forming Themselves Into A Large Semicircle In The Water, They All Dive Down, Simultaneously, With Their Weapons, Accompanied Sometimes By A Young Man, A Few Yards In Advance Of The Middle Of The Party, And Without A Spear.

For a considerable time they remain under water, and then, if successful, gradually emerge, and deliver the fish that have been speared, to their friends on the shore. If unsuccessful they swim a few yards further down, and dive again with their weapons.

And thus they frequently go on for a mile or two, until they are either tired or satisfied with their success. I have known a party of thirty natives kill seven or eight fish in the course of an hour, none of which were under fifteen pounds, whilst some of them were much larger.

The regularity with which they keep their relative positions, notwithstanding the current of the river, and the dexterity and order with which they dive under the water, are truly surprising to a person who witnesses them for the first time.

At the period of floods, and when they have nearly attained their height, and the young reeds and rushes begin to shew themselves above the surface of the water, near the bank of rivers or of lagoons formed by the floods in the alluvial flats behind, another method of spearing fish is practised from a canoe (mun) made out of a solid sheet of the bark of the gum-tree (eucalyptus).

To these reeds the fish are very fond of resorting, probably to feed upon the insects that are found upon the tender leaves; in moving about from one place to another they strike against the reeds, and produce a vibration in the tops above the water; this indicates to the native, who is sailing stealthily along in his canoe, the exact place where they are passing, and suddenly raising his arm with great energy he strikes forcibly among the reeds with his spear, without letting it go out of his hand. If the first blow does not succeed, it is rapidly repeated, and seldom fails in securing a prize. When a large fish is speared, it is pressed downwards to the ground, and the native leaps out of his canoe and dives to the bottom to secure it. The spear (moo-ar-roo) used in this method of fishing varies from ten to sixteen feet in length, and is made of pine, pliant, and of nearly a uniform thickness; it is about an inch and a half in diameter, and has two short pointed pieces of hard wood lashed to one end, projecting about five or six inches, and set a little apart, so as to form a kind of prongs or grains. This instrument is also used for propelling the canoe.

It is used too for spearing fish by night, which is by far the most interesting method of any.

Having previously prepared his canoe, straightened his spear, and hardened and sharpened the points of the prongs, the native breaks up his fire-wood in small pieces, and loads his canoe with a stock calculated to last the time he intends to be absent.

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