THE MASCALONGE. 1 99 



getic movements, and then by a quick upward and drawing 

 motion the fish should be gaffed in the throat or breast, 

 taken into the boat, and killed by a smart stroke on the head. 



These instructions apply to the Mascalonge of northern 

 waters, where it resorts to weedy lakes and streams; but in 

 the Ohio and its tributaries the Mascalonge is found in the 

 summer and autumn in the deepest holes of the streams, and 

 they are then taken by still-fishing, the bait being usually 

 suckers of a half-pound or more in weight. After taking the 

 bait, the fish is given time to gorge it before striking or hook- 

 ing. 



It is now, however, a rare occurrence to take a "Pike," as 

 it is called, in these waters; and the fact is talked of long 

 afterward, and the head preserved as a trophy, while the fish 

 itself, being esteemed a great delicacy on account of its great 

 size and rarity, is made the piece de resistance of a formal 

 dinner, instead of being preserved iox -d. piece justificative. 

 For five years I have endeavored to procure a specimen of 

 this rare fish in the Ohio basin, but, beyond the head, my 

 efforts have so far failed. No one who is so fortunate as to 

 capture a "Pike" seems willing to part with it for love of 

 science or coin of the realm. 



THE MASCALONGE IN WISCONSIN WATERS. 



BY A. A. MOSHER. 



The "Great Pike" of the Mississippi system of waters, like 

 its great congener of the St. Lawrence waters, is one of the 

 largest of our fresh-water game-fishes. It, the first named, 

 has its equal in regard to size and game qualities in 

 the "Barred Mascalonge" which, so far as the writer knows, 

 has not been classified, and he would respectfully suggest 



