Among the Trout of Oregon. 



345 



to be swallowed. Fortunately, also, the 

 first fish soon began to resign himself to 

 being hauled about by the second, and 

 then my crushed hopes began to revive 

 .again. I began to get some control over 

 my tandem team ; their rushes became 

 shorter and weaker, and foot by foot I 

 led them up stream toward a smooth, 

 sloping rock that reached far into the 

 water. Finally they submitted to be led 

 into the shallow water, over the edge of 

 the rock, and a long, steady pull slid 

 them safely into a convenient hole in 

 the rocks. They w^ere two of the finest 

 specimens of rainbow trout that I ever 

 saw — out of the water; of course, bet- 

 ter ones got away — and I assure you 

 that when actually engaged in fighting 

 for their lives they weighed a ton. 



To tell of all the ' ' thrilling moments " 

 of a trip over this trail would take too 

 much time in the telling. But all 

 things must come to an end at last, and 

 so must this trip of ours. Down the 

 homeward trail we wend our way, bend- 

 ing under the weight of trophies grand- 

 ly won, and if we are a little weary, and 

 though our thoughts may at times dwell 

 on home-cooked food, still we feel that 

 the trip has been a grand success, and 

 we plan for other trips up the Santiam, 

 or over to "Blow Out," or possibly 

 down to the coast, for a sniff of sea air 

 and for fishing in salt water. The O. 



P. railroad will take i:s directly to 

 Yaquina bay or Newport, where will be 

 found every advantage of a seaside re- 

 sort ; so if one has a mind for variety in 

 an outing, one can easily be suited. 

 Don't you know that there is something 

 wrong about a man who does not want 

 to "go a-fishing " ? 



vShow me a man who will not throw 

 up his hat in anticipation of a fishing 

 trip into the mountains, and I will show 

 you a man in need of regeneration. It 

 may be that he don't know what is good 

 for what ails him, or he may be a knave. 

 Did you ever hear of a man who came 

 home from such a trip and beat his wife 

 or robbed a bank ? I tell you you can- 

 not carry fish in your basket and malice 

 in your heart at the same time. If 

 everybody would go a-fishing, we would 

 need no jails or churches. No man can 

 spend a fortnight in the Cascade reserve 

 and not believe in God, and feel his 

 heart throb in unison with the great 

 heart of Nature in things animate and 

 inanimate. It is better than physic for 

 the body and better than preachment 

 for the mind. 



So here's to the rod, and here's to the reel, 

 And here's to the mountain stream ; 



And here's to the Hfe that fishermen feel, 

 And here's to the dreams they dream — 

 Not to mention the lies they tell. 



