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The Long-Clawed Iguana

(37) thus precipitated, the water was sweet Capital sport we had, pulling them out enough and wholesome. The river had often two at a time. looked always, therefore, so unpromising "Hallo! Here's a good un now! I that I had never thought of it as con- don't know if it's a fish or a grand piannected with fishing. ner!" ejaculated Pat Kean, heaving away Well, the next morning found myself at his line as if he were pulling up an and Patrick Kean, my Irish soldier ser- anchor, as a black, ominous-looking snout Patrick Kean , my Irish soldier ser- anchor, as a black, ominous-looking snout vant, on our way to the river. We were made itself visible above the water. armed with a couple of long bamboo "Sure, it's a crokerdile!" said he, letting canes, which the settlers here use for go the rod with a shout. wagon whips, some eighteen feet long. "If it's not a crockerdile, as you call it, A hole drilled in a wine cork, and with a Paddy," said I, "it's the next thing to it; short porcupine's quill passed through it, it's an iguana." the cork being neatly pared down, made "A guaner, sorr! Sure that's what they a capital float. Porcupines' quills were put on the ground to make the whate numerous about here. We found them grow in the ould counthry," said Pat, lying in perfect little heaps here and rising once more to his feet, and securing there on the ground, amongst the low the rod just as it was slipping back into bushes, where that curious animal had the water. shed them. A couple of lengths of silk- "Not guano, Paddy-'iguana.' Don't worm gut, of which I fortunately had a you see there's an 'i' in it?" supply in an old fishing-book, and to "Sure, then, sorr, there's two eyes in it which two small hooks were whipped, for that matther, but never a sign of completed the tackle. Worms were the teeth," said Paddy, looking cautiously great difficulty. The African soil is into the brute's mouth. everywhere so dry that we had to It was a large, unsightly-looking beast, give up the search in despair. On in- some four feet long, and, as Paddy obquiry, however, an old soldier advised served, had no visible teeth. Its body me to try raw meat. This we did suc- was a dingy black, speckled with white; cessfully. its belly a dirty yellow; and its shapeless Behold us, then, armed for the fray. feet were provided with long, sharp claws. Carefully plumbing the depth, we launched "Sure, sorr, this is quare fishin' anyplumbing the depth, we launched "Sure, sorr, this is quare fishin' anyour apparatus into the stream, which ran how. I never see the likes of it in the strong and deep, but here made a capital ould counthry." case. eddy or back-water; just the spot, indeed, Well, the iguana was soon knocked on where a sensible fish would be waiting the head, and afterwards carried home in for any food that the stream might bring triumph; but instead of stuffing it like down to him . Sure enough, after a few the mullet, we stuffed it and put it in a seconds' immersion , off went the floats, bobbing about in a style that gave us the most lively anticipations; and we each pulled up a fish. They were nice silvery little fellows, about three ounces in weight, when another exclamation from my com. After this we pulled out no end of mullet, and the haversack which we had brought to put them in was getting full, evidently a species of freshwater mullet, and afterwards proved very good eating. panion made me look round. "Safety on us!" said he, with a look of 4