Angling in the Dark Continent.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 18 December 1890, Page 2

Angling in the Dark Continent.

A Chat wita Mr Stanley. Mr H. M. Stanley, the celebrated African explorer, was (says the Fhliimj Gazette) in our office the other day, and, after congratulating him on the evident great improvement in his health, wo took the opportunity of asking him how it was his exhibition did not do some fishing. " How was it, Mr Stanley, that you did not get more fish ? If your men had been able to fish you would have had plenty of food." " My dear Mr Marston," said Mr S, " Though you edited all the Fishing Gazettes in the world, and had been with me, I am quito sure you would never have asked me to let you stop to fish. Like the rest of us, you would havo been eager to press on to the gardens and banana plantations. As a recreation, fishing is all very well, but if you wanted your dinner, and had the choice of gettin flit in a Strand restaurant or fishing for it in the Thames — well," said Mr Stanley, smiling, " that's much about as it was with us. And then as though to convey another delic.ite hint that those who fished for their dinners did not always get them, he said : — " I remember on ono occasion seeing Lieutonant Stairs fishing f<r hours from a rock, and he only caught ono or two little fish, yet he had a rod and a hook, and string, and a bait," Mr Stanley emphasized the word bait strongly. " But surely, Mr Stanley, thero were fi.-h in the rivers you met with aud ma relied along?" '• Oh, yes, plenty offish, and fine ones too." And then Mr S. proceeded to tell us a litt'.e. fish story, which take-' the cake this work. " I saw," ho s:aid, " one of our men catch a fish with another fish inside him, and that fish had a big fish inside hi:n also, so he caught three fish at one.-." " Was it a largo fish ?" we said. " Oh, yes, a \>ig ie low." "As big as that trout ?" pointing to a 101 b Thames trout in a glass case which hangs on our office wall. "Larger than that,"' said Mr Stanley. " My dear sir, if we each had fishing rods and lines, instead of losing as many inon as wo did wo should havo lost all." A non-angling friend who was present suggested that a not might have been useful. "Ahl" said Mr S., "If we only had a big net and a big crane fastened over the river, wo should have hid soino big hauls of fish, doubtless." It was no use, wo cou'd not convince Mr Stanley that the ancient art and mystery of fishing — an art as old as mankind — would havo been of any use to him on his expeditions. On thn other hand, wo c.mnot admit that he convinced us that it would not. Mr Stanley's own little fish sfcory proves that largo and voracious fish abound, unless the distinguished traveller, having entered tho Benedictine order, considers that the copper kettle would be a useful addition to his household gods and was competing lor it ; anyway he must havo wanted a big kettle to cook that fish in.