Balata

“ Sometimes, when we could get bait, we enjoyed a sport even more thrilling than bonito-fishing—trolling along the reef at daybreak for tunny, barracuda, and the giant cavally of the Pacific. A silvery species of mullet proved the best lure for the fish that lay in wait in the caverns along the outer edge of the reef, and many of our afternoons were spent in mullet-catching. First of all we prepared a mass of paste, made of flour or arrowroot, and with this for bait, we paddled to a place in the lagoon where the water shoaled to three or four feet over a coral bottom. ”

“ Let us now look a little more closely at the history and the fauna of the Baltic and the adjoining lakes, in order to gain additional information as to the geographical changes which have had such lasting influence on the peninsula of Scandinavia. The Baltic is a shallow sea covering an area of 184,496 square miles, and its waters are decidedly brackish. The fauna is a poor one, being too salt for the purely freshwater species and not salt enough for the typical marine forms. ”

“ Higher up in lighter and warmer water swims the handsome but profound thinking perch, perhaps the most characteristic fish of the Baltic Sea, well built and steady but still somewhat clumsy as a Koster boat, bearing the peculiar blue-green color of the Baltic and a Norseman's temper, part philosopher part pirate, a sociable hermit, a superficial creature who likes to seek the depths, and sometimes reaches them, idle and eccentric. ”

“ Then I gave the rod to Anders to hold, and, taking the gaff with me, I went sulkily up the river, and again taking to the water, made my way to the head of the gravel-bank, over which I walked slowly, oppressed in spirit, and weighed down by those abominable boots which had once more filled to overflowing! Water-proof boots are worse than useless for this sort of work. But happily this is not the usual style of thing that one experiences in Norwegian fishing. It is only occasionally that one enjoys a treat of the kind. ”

“ Bathala was very angry at this disobedience. Without saying a word, he seized his big inkstand filled with black ink and threw it at the crow, which was immediately covered. Bathala then turned to the dove, and said, “You, my dove, because of your faithfulness, shall be my favorite pet, and no longer shall you be a messenger.” Then he turned to the crow, and said, “You, foul bird, shall forever remain black; you shall forever be a scavenger, and every one shall hate you.” ”

“ The brig floated on the bosom of a perfectly calm lake of several miles in width, the bottom of which, with its bright sand and brilliant coral-beds, could be distinctly seen through the pellucid water. This lake was encompassed by a reef of coral which swelled here and there into tree-clad islets, and against which the breakers of the Indian Ocean were dashed into snowy foam in their vain but ceaseless efforts to invade the calm serenity of the lagoon. ”

“ The Balate is a species of sea worm, which, likewise, is sold in China at a high price. The Siguey, is a small shining shell7, which forms the current money of the Malays. The Tabon, is a bird, which lays eggs similar to those of the turkey, burying them very deep in the sand on the sea shore, and when hatched by the heat of the sun, it tears away the sand that covers them, and the young come out. ”

“ At the time of the formation of these mounds, the Baltic was a true sea, or an arm of the ocean, and these mollusks were taken from it. Now the Baltic has not the character of a true sea, but is merely brackish, and the oyster does not occur in the Baltic except at its entrance into the ocean. ”

“ Fragments of basalt, large enough to be called islands, are studded along the shore, the outlines fanciful and strange as beating waves and winds can make them, while, here and there, in some deep-creviced bay, the water flows in with long and measured sweep, and, at each moment retiring, leaves a trace upon the strand, fleeting as the blush upon the cheek of beauty ”

“ I was using a ballyhoo bait hooked by a small hook through the lips, with a second and larger hook buried in the body. R. C. was using a strip of mullet, which for obvious reasons seems to be the preferred bait from Palm Beach to Long Key. And the obvious reason is that [Pg 97] nobody seems to take the trouble to get what might be proper bait for sailfish. Mullet is an easy bait to get and commands just as high a price as anything else, which, as a matter of fact, is highway robbery. With a bait like a ballyhoo or a shiner I could get ten bites to one with mullet. ”

“ In sheltered estuaries and bays where the tide does not run strongly or swiftly, or during the stages of slack water, the most suitable tackle consists of a black-bass bait-rod and reel, one hundred yards of fine braided linen line, a three-foot leader, and Sproat hooks, Nos. 1 or 1-0, on stout gut snells, the leader being connected with the line by a brass box-swivel or swivel-sinker of small size. Where the rush of the tide is greater, a natural bamboo chum rod or the Little Giant rod is appropriate, as a heavy sinker must be used to keep the bait near the bottom. ”

“ The Baltic Herring yields the largest quantities and the anadromous Salmon and katadromous Eel are the best paid fishes in the market. Among the fishes which belong to the Baltic relict fauna, only Cottus quadricornis is used for food, but of course being a small fish it is of little value. The fishes of the Caspian Sea seem mostly to belong to the freshwater fauna or to that of brackish water; true marine types are scarce. ”

“ Under the ledge of the inner reef, if you get there before the sun is too far to the westward, so that your eyes are not blinded by its dazzling, golden light, you will see, as you drop your line for the yellow and purple mullet which swim deep down over the fine coral sand, some of the strangest shaped, most fantastically, and yet beautifully coloured rock fish imaginable. ”

“ Next to man’s houses, the blatta, as he is scientifically called, loves his ships; but the variety that is found in vessels, especially in those trading with the East, is a larger, uglier, and in every way more repulsive creature than his English cousin. Once on board—and there is scarce a ship afloat into which he has not smuggled himself—he is there to stay, and short of sinking the vessel, or of fastening down the hatches and suffocating him with the fumes of sulphur, there is no way of getting rid of him. ”

“ In the immediate neighbourhood of Upsala, in Sweden, I had observed, in 1834, a ridge of stratified sand and gravel, in the midst of which occurs a layer of marl, evidently formed originally at the bottom of the Baltic, by the slow growth of the mussel, cockle, and other marine shells of living species, intermixed with some proper to fresh water. The marine shells are all of dwarfish size, like those now inhabiting the brackish waters of the Baltic ”

“ The ravages of man are as nothing to the ravages and exactions of marine nature, and both count for little in the immense populousness of the ocean. Fishing on a large scale is most effectively carried on by the Baltow system or one of its modifications. ”

“ That, and the Moros who infest these seas cause the harvest of nests involuntarily to be abandoned. However, if the above circumstances do not prevent, the third excursion is not lacking. All the crags are not accessible, and where those furtive assaults cannot be made, the number of those industrious little birds is prodigious.”14 [290]
4. The beaches are protracted into very extensive shoals and reefs. There the excellent balate is very abundant. This is a shellfish,15 which when cooked and dried in the smoke is preserved dry. This product is highly relished by the Chinese or Sangleys. ”

“ Batavia, built almost in a swamp, surrounded by marshes in all directions, trees and jungles, which prevent the exhalations being carried off by a free circulation of air, is peculiarly obnoxious from this cause. Opposite the mouth of the river, and extending a great way to the westward, is a mud-bank, which, in many parts at low water, is uncovered by the sea, and is daily accumulating from the quantities of mud and animal and vegetable matter carried down by the river during its reflux. ”

“ The fish inhabiting the delectable pool were all big ones, except for a few scattered young fry which dwelt precariously in the extremest shallows where the big ones could not come at them. And the fish were of just two kinds, the trout and the suckers. The suckers, lazy, pig-like, inoffensive beings, congregated over the stretch of mud, from whose fat surface their small, round, defenseless, downward-opening mouths sucked up their sustenance incessantly. ”

“ Nothing had been done for days in any of the Ballater waters, or indeed in any part of that brawling river Dee. The few anglers who had gone out had religiously kept to the orthodox salmon rod, salmon gut, and big flies, and had caught nothing. When I got out of the dogcart and put up my little rod I noticed a smile upon the river keeper's face, but nothing daunted thereby, I followed him down the slopes to a beautiful pool below. ”

“ In the upper waters of the Baltic, marine and fresh-water Mollusca flourish side by side. So complete is the intermixture, that an observer who had lived on no other shores would probably be unable to separate the one set of species from the other. [18] Thus between Dagö and Papen-Wiek [19] Mytilus edulis, Cardium edule, Tellina balthica, Mya arenaria, Littorina rudis, and Hydrobia balthica are the only true marine species; with these live Unio, Cyclas, Neritina, Limnaea, and Bithynia. ”

“ The absence also of oysters, barnacles, whelks, scallops, limpets (ostrea, balanus, buccinum, pecten, patella) , and many other forms abounding alike in the sea near Uddevalla, and in the fossiliferous deposits of modern date on that coast, supplies an additional negative character of the greatest value, distinguishing assemblages of Baltic from those of oceanic shells. Now the strata containing Baltic shells are found in many localities near Stockholm, Upsala, and Gefle, and will probably be discovered everywhere around the borders of the Bothnian Gulf ”

“ The temperature of the lake varies greatly, in a manner resembling that of the sea, and many connect its origin with a sea of the Miocene period, the waters of which are said to have covered the Hungarian plain. About fifty streams flow into the lake, which drains into the Danube and is well stocked with fish. It often freezes in winter. Lake Balaton is of growing importance as a bathing resort. ”

“ But if it is difficult to attack Batavia by land, it is utterly impossible to attack it by sea: For the water is so shallow, that it will scarcely admit a long-boat to come within cannon-shot of the walls, except in a narrow channel, called the river, that is walled on both sides by strong piers, and runs about half a mile into the harbour. ”

“ It is fed by numerous streams and springs, and discharges its superfluous waters through the Sió, the Kapos River, and the Kapos Canal into the Danube. The southern bank is low, while the northern is bounded by vine-clad hills. The lake abounds in fish. ”

“ Balaton-Füred is not only a seaside place but has wonderful alkali springs and baths which are excellent as cures. There are many excursions to 57be made. Steamers run the whole length of the lake. The walks and drives are innumerable. For other interests there are yacht races and fishing. In winter the lake freezes easily because of its general shallowness, and then the whole of the 600 square kilometres are available for skating and winter sport. ”

“ The balsas were slender rafts of very buoyant logs spiked together with heavy pins of black palm; they had a rough bow made by the crooked center log, which turned up in a snout-like projection, giving the affair a curiously animal-like and amphibious expression. For the return voyage three of these balsas were lashed 178 side by side with cross-logs and strips of the inner bark of some tree. The callapo, as this combination is called, is entirely submerged and except for the cargo platform and the turned-up snouts, nothing is visible above the muddy river. ”

“ Bass fishing on the Bay of Quinte is famous for its excellence. Not only is there abundance of fish, but they are exceptionally gamey. Their vigour and eagerness to be caught is illustrated by the member of this tribe that jumped into our boat. Every one has heard of the Florida mullet that, attracted by the light in a boat at night, came jumping over the sides in such numbers that they sank the boat and imperilled the lives of those on board. But a bass is no such fool fish as a mullet. If they do any jumping it is usually away from the boat, not towards it. ”

“ While the Baltic serves to show on a large scale what happens to a marine fauna which is gradually subjected to fresher and fresher water until it passes through brackish conditions to entirely fresh ones, there is another type of brackish water, the estuary, which is often said to have a fauna of its own. An estuary may be defined as the drowned lower portion of a river in which twice daily there is a change in the water from fresh to marine and back again as the tide comes in and goes out. ”

“ The rod bent like a hoop and finally began to crack, so I was compelled to let him go.
At the lower end of the pool there was a sort of dam, along which I ran, but soon came to the end of it, where it was impossible to reach the shore owing to the dense bushes which overhung the stream. But the fish was now in the rapid and was forced down by the foaming water. Being very unwilling to break the line or lose the fish, I went slowly into the rapid until the water reached the top of my long wading boots—another step and it was over them, but that salmon would not—indeed could not—stop. ”