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Ashburton Guardian, Volume 1, Issue 97, 8 May 1880, Page 2

Poaching.— A Napier man shot a hen pheasant a day before the legal season commence:!, and the Magistrate fined him L2 for his “ pot.” A Cat-astrophe. —Some Sunday evenings ago, a Scotch church up North was put in darkness suddenly, the gas going out in a most extraordinary manner. There was some confusion, as may be imagined, but on candles being procured, it was found that an old tom cat, in making a jump, had alighted on the top of the meter, and effectually stopped the light. Men and Fish.— Every time that a steamer anchors at Aden, numbers of little boys swim round the vessel, and dive for the coin pitched over to them in the water by the passengers. Their skill is undoubtedly great, but the fisherman of the Nicobars, and a few amongst the Sea Dyaks of Borneo, arc reputedly the most skilful swimmers in the world. The men of the Nicobars capture fish by the hand. They glide about in their light skiffs, intently watching the translucent water ; when they obtain a favorable opportunity, they take a sudden dive straight down upon their finny prey. The fish are generally so startled that they dart hither and thither, now up and now down, without continuing their swift movements in any one given direction. The diver has, therefore, little difficulty in coining within arm’s length of them. It is, however, esteemed to be but a poor feat to seize and bring up one lish. A man should be able to catch, simultaneously, two fish, one in each hand. This is frequently done, and the best swimmers think nothing of it. If a man wishes to show his prowess in the water, he chases and kills a shark—often twice as long as himself. To many of the fishermen of the coast of Nether India, shark hunting in water is something like what fox-hunting on land is to us in England. —Once a Week.