Page:The Boy Travellers in Australasia.djvu/118

94 islands the fishermen dive into the shark caverns while the monster is asleep, and pass a noose around his tail; then the man rises instantly to the surface, and his companions haul up the ugly creature tail first, stunning him with a club or hammer as he comes over the side of the boat."

"But suppose," said one of the youths, "that after the diver has entered the cave the shark should change his position and get across the door-way."

"In that case," replied the guide, "his only mode of escape will be to tickle the shark so as to induce him to move aside. He can only do this when its tail is towards him; if he has turned the other way the man's fate is practically sealed."

Fred concluded that he would never indulge in diving for sharks as a means of livelihood, and Frank fully agreed with him.

Then the guide told them of the stingaree, or sting-ray, which is not unknown in American waters, but grows to a much greater size here than on the coast of the United States. Its tail has a sharp, barbed point, which generally breaks off when struck into the flesh; the point is serrated on both sides, the teeth pointing backward, and so it works its way inward like the quill of a porcupine. Other dangers of the water were described; but it is time to return from the reef, and so we will leave them there.

On their return to Papéiti our friends visited the market, going first to the section where fish were offered for sale. Here is Frank's note upon what they saw there:

"There were fishes of all sizes and kinds: bonito, rockfish, eels, clams, oysters, mussels, turtle, salmon from the rivers, prawns, crabs, and a great many varieties of finny and scally things that have no name in English. The natives are fond of raw fish, and we saw them swallowing little fishes whole and slices of big ones just as we would dispose of a basket of strawberries. One of the first persons we saw in the market was a pretty girl of eighteen or twenty who was crunching live shrimps, or letting them wriggle down her throat as readily as she would swallow so many sugar-plums.

"Some European residents have acquired the taste for raw fish, and they say it is delicious. We have not ventured upon it, though we take clams and oysters raw according to the practice of our own country. The tropical bivalves are not so good as those of temperate regions, and I believe this is the general testimony of travellers.

"The market is well supplied with chickens, turkeys, pigeons, and