ON A JAMAICAN RIVER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2624, 29 June 1904, Page 78

ON A JAMAICAN RIVER.

(For I lie "ft itn.

■ — Tirp'm-fishing yonv on the Bivc*. —

Th" liv.r was reported to be teeming with fi-,ii ol all ctsscfiiit'ons indue! ng tarpon, calapiva, siook. mullet, and i many oth< i„, so tlut, altliough having" ■ other game in vi. w that day. 1 took ad- ' vantage of the nppoiL unity v. hen gobio; down the rr.%r to noil v. ii.li a couplo of rods in the hope of miking rcquaintance with a ifsioon or o litr Jngo fish. A m-e-dium-si/ed spoon v. as considrtvJ locally to be iiie b^t ban. so with \]-i^ on one rod and wilii a 3^in siher phantom on tiie oiliei. I d : d n\v h'~ -t to lr:e tl.e gcr.i \ but all lo no ptn-jjoo". Xol a single bite d fl I j^t the A ! Lore w .;y down, sojue three miles or so, to the bar; nor was I any niv. Ie sud-o-bldl on the joiu\iiov acres'- th. 1 bay. otlicr two or three miles. A few days prcrioailr I had liooked a small tarpon, o[ abotit 10ib or 121u, on a mediam-sized spoon, but, owing to a defective trace, it broke tnrny after luuning out, 60 or 80 yards of line. While on the lino ie leaped several times clear out of the water, and later on was s.en splashing about i\s if trying to free itself ln.m the grip of the treb'e he ok which it had uken. That there wcie larg? fish in the river could be sc-n from the waka th-y left bthind, and from ihe appearance of a fin above water froii time to time. A day or two before there was a large tarpon, rr rather port of one, °-e°n flmtinur itbout. The tail end bad been cat^n otii, pos-iblv by a crocodile, as high up as the anal fin, but. on ex.mvnation, it vas found that <.\en the remaining part measured sft 9in. When alive Ibis tarpon must have been at least 7ft in length. It li'kl been hooked on a, hand-line, had broken away, and presumably died from the injuiies it had received. Tne houk which we extracted from its mouth was but little larger than the largest-sized salmon hook, pnd was too small to use with such large fish. Th; negroes use the scales of the tarpon for covering baskets and picture frames, or. sell them for making artificial flowers, realising a,bout 4s the pound for them. ,Tli3 calapiva. one of the best table fish in Jnmaica, will not take a bait, and is generally caught in traps or speared. In spearing, the fishermr.n takes up his position en the oveilianging branch of a rcniiiorovt 1 . Trpiting motionless and patient until a fish passes within striking dis-tanc-e. The deep and narrow river had an j almost imperceptible current. Great beds ! of water -hyacinth lay along the sides, or, detached by the win-!, floated slowly in masses down, tli-e stiMin. The bunks were

— Covered With th? Most Luxuriant Foliage. —

Here were clumps of feathery bamboo, often reaching >a height of 40:t or more ; rabbage and other palms wild rubber trees, huge cotton trees, noticeab'c not only for their gigantic size, but also for | the picturesque branching of the boughs. Spurs or extensions of the root reached far up the trunk like buttresses, in some trees surpassing in thickness the main trunk its-elf. Tow-eimg even lusher thnn the cotton tree'- were wild fy trees, bsaring, however, but little resemblance to the cultivated variety, -either in growth or in form of leaf, and yielding only a diminutive fruit. Logwood trees, with slender trunks like so many clustered columns, mingle with dogwood, which latter takes the place of ash with us in England for curt-shafts and foi the rpokes of wheel*. Presently are seen cactus, pimento, or all-spice ; v ild cane growing in the water, and extendtlng far ."•way over the swamp*. Occasionally ther* 1 is a i|limp"C of fctigar-cane. or a cultivated patch of ban-mas, plantains, or yams, round a negro hut : catt'e sheltering under trees from the hot sun. some with the savanna blackbirds perched on their backs and busily searching for ticks. Most frequent of all the vegetable growths, however, are the mangroves, dropping their branches vertically into the water to take fresh hold of the ground, provided the depth ib not too great. White, pink. blue, and purple coiivolvuli import glor.ous colours, and that in masses; cr&epers .-o rank thut they reach far vp — nay. even cover — the highest tree?, the goodly form of which is completely hid ; lianas., w~ith their cordlike "-irais, resembling f-o main* guy-ropes. ; trailing; vines., and cr<Ri>e grass with knifelik° edges which fntlict ugly cuts on the uninitiated. Nowhere, save in the tropics, can such profusion and variety of vegetation be found.

— Tlk- Traffic on the Paver — consists chiefly of uncouth-shaped barges Lulen with logy. cod. and the jn-egro dugout?. These dug-out canoes, madefrom tb.3 trunk of a cctton-Mood tree. are seen, each with its freight of green gryss or mangrove bark, this latter being used for dyeing and for tanning. The crew consists of a solitary ne^ro sitting in the extreme stern, and wielding a single pad He to direct his craft, which, with bow high in air, glides nokelessly along. Other dug-outs follow with women, bringing to market their produce o: fruit, cassava bread, yams, and ca. Though the water traffic is so small, it is sufficient to rtnder the crocodiles shy and even scarce, and only occasionally is one observed sunning itself on the biuk, it mtiy hs with mouth wide open, «>r el*e resting amongst the mangroves with snout and protruding eyes alone visible above water. So it comes that if the shooting of crocodiles be the end in view, the sportsman mu*-t seek hi^ game tn moie secluded spots.

-—Buds of Various Kind«. — arc plentiful, the most so, perhaps, being t]f: common coo', which is met "uitli everyvheie great Hoiks ri-Miig Loin the water ■with a noisy flutter, only to alight again round the first bend of the stream, or behind a clump of canes. One of the mcbt brilliant-plumaged of all the birds in the island is the Cuban coot, smaller than the common variety, and somewhat scarce. It lus a, bright orange bill^ white breast, with

back and wings of a rich maroon, a combination of colours "which shines 1,01 peon's m the clazz'irig sahhght. Kgrcts aie numcious — the American little egret, of delicate form, pure- v, hite ; the little blue cgiet or uab-L i* _-'u"T, oi a slate colovu. ; ;>nd i'-. 11 j tLLd v.u.tiy, of ir.o.e sombze hue. Tnese 'lainty bii'ds. scnich'ng for foci on tin iku'tiny \* fetation or along the ed^-j of t li o i-ti eaijjb m shallow "water, or, {•gain, on .t over-h 'jitjint, branch, acid) to tiij beiuty o: the f-cene, which ib i'uvthtr enhanced by the act-ve canaries, swamp-v-tiblei-Sf-, gi,i«--birds, and savanna bl.ukbiid--. Tiuse L.st aie sirictly protected by the Government, being" included in the lijt of birds vJiich it is not lawful to ■Oioot at any season Tiuy we of much service in n& liiu catth of th<: ticks wiii'h ,ue so pravjutnl. Frcqiriifly the- attention is ■ittrar-ttd by the metallic fheen of a longtaikd h'lmniin^-b.rd hich flashes past. Here, ns in all pins of to" n and country, ai"3 seen tlse vultures, commonly kr.ovni as "John Crovis." the univcr-al se ivcr.gTs. at one time soaring high oveih:ad in the c-Inrd'ltss blue, ci the lookout for carrion or ofi'til, then disputing nmong themselves the possession of some toothsome morsel on the ground. At the mouth of the river a fleck of pelicans i^ calmly lidmg on flu placid sea, their long bills dropp^l upon their breasts, save r* hen one more industrious than its fellows v. ould leisiuelv rise. scanning the soa for small fish. Then came the srdden swoop downwards, with a, great splash on the water, und the speedy il.«e and visible gulp showed that its exertions had not been made in vain. The negroes use the "poaches of these b^rcb for covering drimis, and consider the flesh of the pelican a dainty dish. Far off, one may detect a solihiry man-of-war bird, but j they ore wary, and keep at o respectful J distance from boitn. These birch arc great thieves, and have no scruples in robbing smaller birds of fibh which they have caaohl. We ptiss'.d — A Xegro Fishing Village of Wattle

Huts— beneath cocoanut tree? that fringed the shore. Fish is cheap, lobstei* at, times f ?lling at Is a dozen, other kinds b_ing in proportion. They ore mostly caught in traps, or pots, of pecu'iar shape, made ot bamboo Liccd, or of galvanised wire netting stretched on a bamboo frame. On our let urn later in the day we were stiuck by the animation of the scene at this village, for the shore nas crowded with women v, ho hjd come down from the bills to buy fi-li. Ihese women walk barefooted i"ioni 15 xo 20 miles inland, in some case;, and think nothing of carrying large loaclrd baskets on their licids all the way. On the roads one constantly meets with parties of blacks, each ii:di\idi;al having a basket poised gracefully m the head, and carrying it with tiie gieatc-.st ease, unaided by ihe arms. The negroes are fond ot music, and usually s-ing as they journey, rich, full voiced being far from uncommon.

Our destination was a small river a few miles along the coist from the one we had descended. There being but few boats and canoes on it, crocodiles were &aid to be plentiful, and we hoped to 1 find them le^s shy here. The character of this river was quite distinct from the one just quitted, because nothing was &een :u the way of vegetation save

— Immense Masses of Cane — on both sides, and. beyond them, swamps extending back to the hills We had not gene far up whin we met a dug-out, the negroes in which told us thai a crocodile was lying asleep on a s>pot not far off. On reaching the place indicated, however. O c saurian had disappeared, although h> la-r amongst the car.es v. as plainly enough sten. Proceeding as far up ths river as the dei.se w.iter * weed allowed, we found that the cane was on fire, which of itself wa.s sufiidem to scaie away crocodiles and much el«e, for, however fond they are of the sun's torrid heat, ihey are naturally averse to the high temperature produced by blazing cane. We routed one or two, fired at one. and missed No sooner did they sight the boat or detect the almost imperceptible plash of the paddle than, crashing through the cane, they disappeared into the river or into the swam]) behind. A« we were now on our way down the stivam. I had almost despaired of a further shot, when my man whispered that therw was

— A Crocodile on ihe Swamp. — It had already taken alarm, ami liud moved Towards the "water. For a moment it Imperfectly still before taking the plunge, and although. I coukli get no more vhau a glimpse of a small part of ibe back, my rifle was promptly aimed at where I supposed its lore-part would be. The reptile was badly hit (by a Lee-lletford explosive bullet) jii«."t behind the forearm, and beyond lashing its ta:l a few times and once raising its head, it lay quite lifeless.. To make sure, another ball was fired, -which, however, as proved afterwards, had merely cut the skin on the skull and glanced oiF. I had already stepped out of ths boat on" to what seemed terra iirma, when my man's warning brought me promptly back again, and 1 then perceived that what I hud mistaken for firm ground was only a vegetable growth on the surface of the water. A piactical sounding with the oar showed no bottom, ro that in this case at Ita^t delay was not dangerous. Thinking a negro might be able to negotiate such treacherous toil, a liberal bribe tempted a black whom we fell in -with near at hand lo return and assist in roping our game, v, Inch we had left apparently dead as a cbor nail. By tdkhig the bottom boards out of the boat and placing- one before the other as he advanced, he got near the crocodile and threw the rope end at it, to make sure it was dead. A sufficiently loud giovl, ju^t like a dog's, was the respon.se. He then harpooned and carofully roped the annual, after which we dragged it across thu intervening swamp, and towed it homewards in the wake of the boat. At close quarteis we had given the brute other two shots in the head, yet when we were miking ready to I<>Ui it moie securely for ilie return joiuney, it suddenly

snapped at a, mm viho was poising a rope r'Hind iU head Had ho r.ot be^u cx-lrc-in°lr iit'.i'.e, he vculd have l<>^t hi 3 Innd. which, furlui.ately ior lurn. w a« only; slij.'litly liijiuul by one l.inj. LHer on,' oar qi.aivy stro^glr d iiom time to time, ■swinynifr its tail ,v i aniUp-. in IL3 bod ; coi.=c r |ue'uly <nu voynqe h r r.ic\< aids (ab rat six nnlcv) lo ,i v v . lu ' o ] lolll V tIUO.t IUO .

On e.r, r imir,;{i. «, im. czooidile mcisiirtd O''t lOjii m l^iig'L, vli'n l}i'!^ in a sightly cui-vtd poEHum : vh.it w- exaot iSPclh \tjs when Iv-ily btiet^L^cl <ut ivc vrtic 'unable to ?vy, tl]et I] e faJ. \)i'.it[: thu n-j one v.as at all eauei 1 to do tht stur> : iiu.-. I hav3 been told ihat in.iiiy or i'levi brutes aia mtt With in Jam.uc.t, nicisuriug up to 14ft or 15ft .

I rep rt that o;a - retrrn voyage lid other diti'Liilties b?^-id' s the towing of the (TOLoclile We }<tid barely started w lien a MicMen S'^i lil came fl(\',r/. hiingiug Torrents o!: r.rn, v.-hi.-li soaktd us to the skin, -nh'le all the wv i.omc irequent heavy; shn-weis cl'3«.-enrkd " Luckily we took n'a harm, mul f-o endprl the f-ventful day on whitli I shot mv first ciojydiie

TUAYLLLEB.