. The Far East and the new America; a picturesque and historic account of these lands and peoples, with the following special articles: China. ith cormorants, which seems to be the principal vocation ofthe people here, has served to give the place world-wide notoriety. Thecormorant, which figures so prominently in tliis sport, belongs to the web-footed species of birds, of the migratory order, and lives on fish, which itcatches with remarkable dexterity, and devours with an equal is caught by the Japanese when, as a young bird, it lingers on the coastof Owari Gulf on its migration
. The Far East and the new America; a picturesque and historic account of these lands and peoples, with the following special articles: China. ith cormorants, which seems to be the principal vocation ofthe people here, has served to give the place world-wide notoriety. Thecormorant, which figures so prominently in tliis sport, belongs to the web-footed species of birds, of the migratory order, and lives on fish, which itcatches with remarkable dexterity, and devours with an equal is caught by the Japanese when, as a young bird, it lingers on the coastof Owari Gulf on its migration southward from its summer haunts on the JAPAN. 457 northern shores of Hokkaido. This difficult part of the work is usuallydone t)y placing a wooden image of the bird in a conspicuous position,partially covered with leaves, and generously sprinkled with young captive then has to be given a course of training for futureusefulness. This requires great tact and patience on the part of theowner, and the expense of keeping the cormorant through the winter,when no is done, is considerable. There are cases where the owner. JAPAXKSK TKA TR.\UKK. actually deprived himself of needed food in order to keep his prize in goodshape for the summer seasons fishing. Cormorant fishing is generally done by a party of fishermen making upa series of boats, with four men to each boat. The chief or leader of eachstations hijnself in the bow. and has under his management at leasttwelve birds, and sometimes as many as eighteen. The way he and hisfeathered helpers ply tlieir trade is what has given this locality its wide-spread reputation for this j^t^fi^diar employment. This man is distin- 458 THE FAR EAST. guished by his hat from a second fisherman in tlio boat, wlio liandles fourbirds. A third person, seated in the stern, tends strictly to navigatingthe boat, while the fourth, seated in the forepart, keeps up an incessantnoise by striking bamboo sticks together, and in siiouting
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublisherbosto, bookyear1901
