are spread. The
poor man whom we interrogated had himself passed the whole night in this
painful toil. His red, swollen eyes and his drawn face clearly indicated
that it was long since he had enjoyed adequate rest. "Just now," he
said, "we have a great deal of work upon our hands; there is no time to
be lost if we wish to make any money of the business. The fishing season
is very short; at the outside not more than three months; and a few days
hence we shall be obliged to withdraw. The Paga-Gol will be frozen, and
not a fish will be obtainable. You see, Sirs Lamas, we have no time to
lose. I have passed all the night hunting the fish about; when I have
drunk some tea and eaten a few spoonfuls of oatmeal, I shall get into my
boat, and visit the nets I have laid out there westward; then I shall
deposit the fish I have taken in the osier reservoirs you see yonder;
then I shall examine my nets, and mend them if they need mending; then I
shall take a brief repose, and after that, when the old grandfather (the
sun) goes down, I shall once more cast my nets; then I shall row over the
water, now here, now there, beating my drum, and so it goes on." These
details interested us, and as our occupations at the moment were not very
urgent, we asked the fisherman if he would allow us to accompany him when
he went to raise his nets. "Since personages like you," answered he, "do
not disdain to get into my poor boat and to view my unskilful and
disagreeable fishing, I accept the benefit you propose." Hereupon we sat
down in a corner of his rustic hearth to wait until he had taken his
repast. The meal of the fisherman was as short as the preparations for
it had been hasty. When the tea was sufficiently boiled, he poured out a
basin full of it; threw into this a handful of oatmeal, which he
partially kneaded with his fore finger; and then, after having pressed it
a little, and rolled it into a sort of cake, he swallowed it without any
other preparation. After having three or four times repeated the same
operation, the dinner was at an end. This manner of living had nothing
in it to excite our curiosity; having adopted the nomad way of living, a
sufficiently long experience had made it familiar to us.

[Picture: Fishing Party]

We entered his small boat and proceeded to enjoy the pleasure of fishing.
After having relished for some moments the delight of a quiet sail on the
tranquil water, smooth and u