THE THOUSAND ISLES. 197 
considerable force, but generally I held the least possi- 
ble strain on him. Finally, he made one grand rush, was 
foiled, allowed himself to be drawn alongside, and was 
neatly gaffed by the boatman. 
He was an immense fish, a triton even among pickerel 
of ten ponnds. Beauty he certainly did not possess, bnt 
grandeur and ferocity marked every lineament. His 
huge head, immense jaws, and terrible teeth, his long, 
narrow body, large fins, and broad tail, and above all, his 
fierce, gleaming, savage eye, marked him as the undis- 
puted master of the fresh waters. His enormous size and 
prodigious strength, the latter exemplified by his nearly 
sj^ringing over the gunwale, indicated that he had no 
match even in our extensive lakes, while his merciless 
ferocity, that would spare neither large nor small, friend 
nor foe, was but too apparent. His weight, as afterward 
ascertained, was thirty-five pounds, and his length was 
excessive proportionally to other fish. Although he 
fought well, he had not exhibited in the water the vigor 
he did out of it. Now that his fate was sealed, he lashed 
about, struggled and flounced as though his capture had 
just commenced, and scarcely showed an intimation of 
approaching death or surrender. It appears to be a 
peculiarity of the pickerel family that they exhibit their 
courage and strength too late, waiting till they are man- 
acled before they fairly rouse themselves to the emer- 
gency. Their efi'orts consequently afibrd little pleasure 
to the sportsman or profit to themselves. 
Having captured the master spirit of the stream, we 
did not wish any of his smaller brethren, and while he 
was dying we wound up the hand- line and removed the 
