Page:Here and there in Yucatan - miscellanies (IA herethereinyucat00lepl 0).djvu/20

 smacks from Cuba frequent those waters, and the captains make the bay their headquarters, as the pirates did at the beginning of this century. These smacks are generally handsome schooners, of thirty to seventy tons burden, divided in three compartments. The central one forms a large tank whose sides are perforated with hundreds of holes, through which the sea water passes freely in and out. As soon as caught the fishes are bled by piercing them behind the right fin with a thin, hollow, cylindrical tube, then thrown in the tank, to be transferred to other large cages, also perforated, that are anchored near shore; these are closed with a padlock. When enough fish are caught to almost fill the vessel's tank, they are taken to Havana to be kept in other tanks till required for the market.

In case of stormy weather or laziness, the captains remain at Mugeres Island for days together, never in a hurry to leave; for if in Spain they have one family, here also there are blue-eyed children to climb on their knees and call them "Papa." This state of affairs does not seem to be out of the way there; it may be that few have preserved the right to point the finger at their neighbor.

Besides the schooners from Havana, there are coasting sloops that carry on considerable