FOREST, LAKE, AND RIVER 



sharp pull was felt. I struck deep and hard, and 

 away went the line, my reel singing its joyous 

 whirr. Now, thought I, a big one has my min- 

 now. But he never seemed to reach bottom, nor 

 anywhere else, and as most of my line had gone, 

 I had the guide stop rowing, and even then, not 

 feeling any decided movement at the end of the 

 line, began to reel in, and after a deal of labor 

 found I had caught, strongly and well, an old 

 water-logged trunk of a tree. It took a long time 

 to get free; but I renewed my bait and started over 

 again. This time I did get a fish. Truth com- 

 pels me to relate that he did go to the bottom and 

 hump himself a bit ; but he was " dead easy " to 

 reel in, to lift into the boat, and to kill. 



I discarded my nightmare of a study in hooks, 

 and my guide constructed a contrivance of three 

 single hooks, that held a live bait securely. I 

 caught togue — had to catch them in order to 

 have food-supply ; but I never found one that 

 gave a decent fight. I grew tired of them ; ate 

 all I could, began to hate them, and had the 

 guide make pan-cakes out of flour as a substitute 

 for them. Once two togue were taken, from the 

 same minnow, each being caught by one of the 

 hooks spoken of, but it was only a haul ; neither 

 had any nerve, and both were pulled by hand 



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