| Show from the journal of 0 an american officer in the worth north pacific squadron t r chinese cormorant fishing As we passed under the massive asive bridge at fou chow fou upon the foaming breast of tile the still ris ing tide and shot out upon the tb river above it w a saw a long low raft of bamboo moored under the tho lee of the heavy pier pier to our right on which were a chinaman a basket and five duck like birds which we w 0 i at once imagined imag ned to be the celebrated fishing cormorants of the east wo we also imagined that this might be bo bur our only opportunity for or witnessing that singular mode of fishing and consequently thought it worth wliilam whilo to rest upon 0 our I 1 ur oars for a moment in the hope that the chinaman would gratify our bur curiosity we were not disappointed scarcely had we rounded to when he reached out his ills hadd hand towards the birds the nearest of whom at once waddled up to tim lim him and stepped into his open palm when wilen he fie smoothed down his feathers with his right hand bent ben this his mouth to his arched neck for a moment and then put him j upon the edge of the raft then tile the bird dipped hig his bill lil in tile tha water once or twice snapped his jihad from side to side eida about the same saine number 0 of times shook his tail spasm spasmodically and ended by diving suddenly into the turbid fatels that washed his jeet feet ta lu in the tiie tima time the four remaining cormorants were huddled together on fhe the far end of the raft d r yin iligir feather feathers switching their a beine belne I 1 cool and comfortable 1 I 1 after be beins I 1 D q doan own about fie en seconds tile alie iab lab int explorer popped suddenly budde out of the tha W burz kurz with nith a quite good sized fish edbis mouth swam lohs iohd malter master gave pave up the prize plize which seemed 64 ready half swallowed and hopped hoppe dupon upon his ills knee kne where he be shook ghook himself while whilo the fish fieh was bein bain being put into the 19 hasket basket his iffe master raster then stroked him down as before much to vie via apparent delight of the successful fi fisherman whispered again in hia his 1 ear elar and mud after a few moments of 1 placed him once more upon the ilia edga edge of the raft agart he lie dove and again im lia brought up a gich fich in hu mouth he then theu underwent a pio plo cese cess pf af cb caressing and ind once more placed atthe attha waters edge now however fortune seemed to have havel left efthim him lle lie had no fish when lie he st at length arose to the surface af after ar a protracted dive and seemed sweed at a loss what to do he turned himself around beveral se eral oral times in the water kee keeping plug ping ills his sharp eyes fixed upon his master a as if asking permission to try it again suddenly the tha latter iatter made a motion with ha hl a band baud and down went tho the bird when he came cama up he brought brough ta a third fish that was quite large echt ht inches jong which struggled violent I 1 ly ae as though surprised at the unusual situation in which he lie found himself heroo he too was put in the basket the proud cormorant was once moro more caressed and then placed gently upon the centre centro of the raft taft instead of upon the tile edge as formerly this seemed to tell him film that his services were no longer required just then I 1 and that he had ad aca acq uit alti ulti with great crall credit for he fie moved off to aki ather other ther end of the raft with the stately step of a conqueror while the next ill in turn advanced to supply his place these birds were wera unconfined by either cage or string and seemed to regulate reg ulata ulala their movements move menta by a nod or motion of tile the hara hand of their metter meeter |
