In the bow is seen the dark, naked, but
graceful form of the savage, standing firm and erect, and scarcely
seeming to move, as with the slightest motion of his arms he guides the
frail canoe. His spear is grasped in his hand, whilst his whole attitude
and appearance denote the most intense vigilance and attention. Suddenly
you see his arm uplifted, and the weapon descending with the rapidity of
thought, a splash is seen, a struggle heard, and a fish is slowly and
cautiously drawn towards the canoe pierced through with the spear. If it
is a large one, the native at once plunges into the water, still
retaining his hold of the spear, and soon reappears with the trophy in
his arms.
Among the rocks under the cliffs, or among logs or roots of trees, or on
a clayey bottom, large fresh-water lobsters (poo-ta-ron-ko) are procured
in the same way, weighing from two to four pounds each, and of a most
delicate and excellent flavour. I have frequently been out with a single
native, and seen him spear from ten to sixteen of these in an hour or
two.
It has a singular and powerful effect upon the imagination, to witness at
midnight a fleet of these canoes, gliding about in the distance like so
many balls of fire, imparting a still deeper shade to the gloom of
darkness which surrounds the spectator, and throwing an air of romance on
the whole scene.
