THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN TROUT. 285 



its jaw it came out again like an arrow, and this time went 

 down stream. It took out the line rapidly, and before it 

 could be safely checked was leaping and cavorting in the 

 lower rapid, threatening destruction to the tackle. 



I shouted to my companion to give him line and run down 

 stream. The parson obeyed, but it took him some time to 

 get over the rocks and logs that environed the pool, and 

 when he did reach the foot of it the fish was seventy or eighty 

 feet below him on the shoal, and still fighting like a wild cat. 

 The parson plunged into the water and started down stream 

 on a run, knowing that the only hope of saving his fish lay 

 in getting him into more quiet water. But he had only taken 

 a few steps, when his foot slipped off a treacherous bowlder; 

 he staggered, and tried to regain his footing, but the more he 

 struggled the more his feet became entangled in the rocks; 

 and at last he lost control of his movements entirely, and 

 went down full length in two feet of icy water. I rushed to 

 his assistance, but before I could reach him he had regained 

 his footing and stood, half-strangled, gasping for breath, with 

 the water running off him in torrents, but bravely hanging 

 on to his rod, though his hat was being whirled away on the 

 angry flood toward Puget Sound. I ran down-stream, waded 

 in and intercepted it, and the plucky parson came staggering 

 along with his fish still under fair control. As soon as it 

 reached the ne.xt deep water, it began to circle, which enabled 

 the parson to take up line as he came on down. He got a 

 firm footing near the foot of the fall, and from that time on 

 the fight was one-sided. The fish soon began to yield visibly 

 to the pressure of the rod. 



The parson handled him with rare skill, and soon had him 

 completely exhausted. I was on hand with my landing-net, 

 but my neighbor courteously declined my services, declaring 

 that he must reserve that pleasure for himself. A few min- 

 utes later he deftly passed his own net under the now almost 

 lifeless Trout and carried him ashore. 



