At last, after about half an hour of
alternate bullying and coaxing, I got him into the shallows, and
Bacheet attempted to manage him; this time he required the
assistance of Wat Gamma, who quickly ran down from the camp, and
after much struggling, an enormous baggar of between seventy and
eighty pounds was hauled to the shore by the two delighted Arabs.
"I never enjoyed the landing of a fish more than on the present
occasion, and I immediately had the flag hoisted for a signal,
and sent the largest that I had just caught as a present to
Florian and his people. The two fish as they lay upon the green
reeds, glittering in silvery scales, were a sight to gladden the
eyes of a fisherman, as their joint weight was above one hundred
and twenty pounds. I caught another fish in the evening something
over twenty pounds, an ugly and useful creature, the coor, that
I despised, although it is a determined enemy while in play.
"October 10.--Set fire to the low spear grass of the valley. The
river is now very low, exposing in many places large beds of
shingle, and rocks hitherto concealed. The water level is now
about thirty feet below the dried sedges and trash left by the
high floods upon the overhanging boughs.
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