FISHING. 273 sticks the reel into the mud, and the bell-stick close alongside it, baits the hook with a lump of meat, takes a half-hitch round the bell-stick, throws the line into the river, and goes to sleep. If a fish gets hung on the hook, its struggles set the bell going : our friend wakes up, hauls in the fish, and repeats the process. The only difficulty about it is bringing the fish to land, and that is mainly a question of strength, for the Nile fish runs to an immense size.

There seem to be only two varieties, one nastier than the other for eating purposes. The first rejoices in the Arabic name of " baggah " and looks like a big bream he is good as kedjeree, but not otherwise.

The other one is a sort of silurus, thick-skinned, black and slimy, with a big flat mouth, and sort of antennae on his nose he is simply beastly to eat, specially at High Nile, when he tastes like solid mud.

We caught several of these brutes with night-lines, and would have caught some more, only our tackle always got stolen by some prowling nigger during the night. So we gave up that amusement in a very short time, and took to riding again.