THE PACIFIC SALMON. 6/ 



way; there comes a clang on the gong; the angler shouts his 

 thanks to the kind-hearted, white-haired old captain on the 

 bridge, and with a waving of handkerchiefs on the bow that is 

 answered from the shore, the steamer glides swiftly away 

 from the island. 



The angler is evidently an old camper. Almost instantly 

 the tent is raised; the camp-bed is set up, the various bundles 

 are unpacked, and the tent assumes a home-like aspect. Soon 

 a fire leaps into view at the tent door, and soon after the 

 aroma of coffee is spread like balm on the atmosphere. The 

 table is spread, a great can-like torch is lighted and hung on 

 the branch of a tree some distance away, from whence it 

 sends a bright, flickering light, making the surrounding objects 

 look weird in its uncanny light, beyond the circle of its blaze. 

 A pair of shining eyes are seen, and soon the hoot of the barred 

 owl rises, tremulous in its sad cadence. 



But the angler and his wife are used to such sounds; so the 

 quivering, jarring voice of the owl has no unpleasant effect on 

 their nerves. As soon as supper is ended, the angler lights a 

 lantern, takes a spade, and walks along the rocky shore until 

 he reaches a sandy cove. Here he sets his lantern down 

 and begins to dig in the sand. At every spadeful he stops 

 and throws a dark-looking object to one side. When he has 

 secured a dozen of these objects he returns to the tent, first 

 placing the objects in the canoe. Then from a box he takes 

 his tackle and views it closely. It is common tackle, too — 

 a long, thick cod-line, on one end of which is a broad copper 

 spoon. This is of rude construction. At a glance an 

 angler would see that it was home-made, being nothing but a 

 piece of copper cut out of a sheet with a tinner's shears. 

 This is attached to the line by a swivel. At the other end a 

 hole is punched in the spoon. To this end, through the hole, 

 a strong cod-hook is attached by a piece of cod-line an inch 

 long. Two feet from the spoon, in a loop, a sinker weighing 

 ten ounces is fastened. 



