Among' the Tronts of the Pacific Slope 



directly back of the house. We jour- 

 neyed up stream about a mile, where 

 the boy was "dead sure of gittin' 'em." 

 On reaching the river, however, we 

 found it terribly riley from the dis- 

 charge of an irrigating ditch which ran 

 through the Manhattan ranch, owned 

 by New York people, whose barley is 

 grown and malted on the premises. 



I saw at once that fly fishing was 

 useless ; but the boy, going to a favorite 

 spot under an overhanging rock, event- 

 ually threw out a beautiful ^ lb. fish, 

 the first I had ever seen. What strik- 

 ingly handsome little fellows they are, 

 with their enormous dorsal fins striped 

 in variegated colors, and spotted and 

 striped sides. Singular in shape, too, 

 and with such very small mouths. 

 While they call this Thyinalhis ontar- 

 iensis niontanus^ I infer it is the same as 

 the TJiyviallus ontariensis of Michigan. 



Having determined to get above the 

 disturbing ditch, we procured a wagon, 

 and in the afternoon went in search of 

 clear water. After driving about three 

 miles, and crossing the offending water- 

 way, we tied up the nag and proceeded 

 to the river. 



Wading in about thirty yards from 

 the shore at the tail of a long rapid, 

 with a nice pebbly bottom, where we 

 saw fish breaking, I cast my flies, and 

 soon had another novelty to inspect' — a 

 white fish — a variety of those so well 

 known in our great lakes, with large 

 fins and the most comical little square 

 mouth imaginable. Quite a fighter, too, 

 and a most active riser to the fly. I 

 was glad to see the stranger, but wanted 

 grayling. Nor had I long to wait for, 

 presently, a big-finned little beauty 

 rose and, being hooked, pranced around 

 in charming playfulness, soon to find 

 himself in my hand, and thence to the 

 creel. It was like dealing with child- 



like little comedy after the ponderous 

 tragedies of the Williamson; and the 

 change was at once picturesque and 

 amusing. I took perhaps a dozen, with 

 many whitefish, none of them running 

 over ^ lb., but all bright, merry and 

 pleasant. On the following afternoon, 

 I killed a considerably larger number, 

 the whitefish rising in the proportion 

 of four to one of grayling. I had pro- 

 vided the boy with a casting line and 

 some flies, and by whipping them out 

 in the quick water, he succeeded in tak- 

 ing quite a number of fish, and de- 

 clared it to be better than "rootin' for 

 grasshoppers." Grayling are seldom 

 caught in the river of a greater weight 

 than I lb. to i ^ lb. Three quarters of 

 a pound was the heaviest I took. It is 

 beautiful sport, however, and the river 

 and its surroundings most charming. 

 We found no trout, as they were said, 

 at this season, to be higher up the 

 river, which finds its source in the 

 Galatin range of mountains on the 

 south-west side of Yellowstone Park. 

 The variety habituating these waters 

 is the cutthroat. 



Leaving Logan, I went on to Livings- 

 ton for a tour of the Yellowstone 

 Park, and was not in the least dis- 

 appointed in its wonders. 



Discouraged by the bad accounts of 

 the fishing in the Fire Hole river, I 

 did not try it. Since, I have regretted 

 it ; for I might have tempted even a few 

 of the European brown trout and Loch 

 Leven varieties, with which it is stocked. 

 Like many observing anglers, I was 

 considerably mystified by the mention 

 in the guide books of the "celebrated 

 Von Baer trout." Really an old friend 

 under a new name ; in fact, the Salino 

 fario, most feelingly written about by 

 the ancient Ausonius, and none other 

 than the trout of Isaac Walton. It is 



