This allows the shaft free play so that it will not break during
the struggles of the victim. Then there is a line attached to the head
itself so that the hunter can handle the struggling animal or fish by
means of it and of the shaft of the arrow. The whole contrivance is
a marvel of ingenuity in meeting the conditions the Amazon hunter is
called on to face. When the arrow struck this particular _pirarucu_,
at close range, he made straight for the shore, hauling the canoe
and its contents after him at considerable speed. We got tangled
among the low branches and fought the fish in considerable danger
of being overturned--and I should not at all care to be capsized on
Lake Innocence.
Finally, we got our prize ashore. I sent the Indian to headquarters,
telling him to go, as fast as he could and bring assistance so that
we could get the fish home. I myself mounted guard over the carcass
to see that neither the turkey buzzards nor the carnivorous mammals
should destroy it. If we had left it alone for even a short time,
we would have found, on our return, little to remind us of its
existence. The Indian returned shortly with two men. They stuck a
pole through the great gills of the _pirarucu_ and in this fashion
carried it to the settlement.
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