54 The American Angler 
My companions were chary of eating their 
fish, as Dr. Steeves and Mr. Blair both wished 
to take as many home as they could, and as we 
had no ice, all the fish were salted at once. My 
idea was, thatthe best use to make of asalmon 
was to eat it, and so out of my catch I al- 
ways gave the camp fire the first fruits. It 
was a proper sacrifice. No one ever gets 4 
taste of salmon at all comparable to the one 
when he is cooked, either fried, broiled or 
boiled, as soon as taken. I boiled the salmon 
for this camp, and if I ever tasted better I 
don’t recall it. 
Taking an early start, we did not get a rise 
till we came to the upper pitch of ‘* Push and 
be Damned,” although it is all superb water. 
There I hooked a fine fish after a beautiful 
play that sent my blood coursing, and, after he 
was killed, in less than three minutes I hooked 
a beauty, who gave me still finer sport than 
the first, and I landed him after a short con- 
test. 
I wanted to fish the famous ‘Slate Island 
pool,” which is two miles above, and pushed 
on to it. It is one of the most lovely pools I 
saw on the river. 
There is splendid water both above and be- 
low the island. 
I whipped both thoroughly and well, and 
went ashore on the island, which is a bed of 
beautiful slate, from which it ismamed. I had 
no luck in either pool, and ran back to camp at 
g A. M. for breakfast. 
At 9.30 the two sets of wardens met at 
our camp. George Scott, Ben Munn (Tom’s 
brother), and Harry Green were on their way 
up to the forks of the Miramichi, and Silas 
Standish and Willie Green were from the 
county line, going down to Burnt Hill. Willie 
Green reported that he saw a fine moose, the 
night before, come down to the river to drink, 
and got a shot at him, but did not kill him. 
I gave some good flies to the latter, and 
showed the letter of Premier Blair, and gave 
the whole crowd breakfast, the wardens also, 
using their camp fires, they taking their grub 
with us. 
Taking them all in all, I regard the pools 
“Push and be Damned” as rather the finest 
on the river. 
There are five pools here, all in easy reach. 
The finest three are small pools, and not re- 
markable for beauty, but the other two are 
something splendid, and in appearance nothing 
1 saw on the whole river excels them. 
The wardens told me these pools belong to 
Dean Sage, of Albany, and his friends. After 
breakfast we broke camp and ran down to our 
old Burnt Hill camp. 
I had good luck at ‘Two-and-a-Half-Mile 
pond,” killing a fine fellow after a lively 
skirmish, making my string for the morning, 
three. I surprised Dr. Steeves, who did not 
expect me till next morning, and who had 
fished my pools at Burnt Hill, but who was 
glad to welcome us. Mr. Blair had left before 
I got back, summoned home by government 
duties. CLARK BELL. 
The Buck-Tail Fly in Foreign Parts. 
Brother Butler, and all other anglers of the 
buck-tail ilk, will enjoy the annexed incident 
related by the author of ‘‘ Woodland, Moor and 
Stream,” and will rejoice over the success of 
their favorite combination, ‘when used on 
the waters of the British Isles. We believe 
that angler Butler uses, at times, the hairs from 
the tail of a calf in the make-up of his won- 
drous buck-tails ; if he does not, perhaps he - 
will get a wrinkle from this man of the ‘ Cri- 
mear.”’ 
I once fished a bit of water well stocked with 
pike; in fact, the pond was full of them — and 
I did not geta run. As I was about to pack 
up, having got impatient over my ill luck, a 
man in the dress of a farm laborer sauntered up. 
‘““Have ye had any sport, master?” he asked. 
‘““Nota run.” ‘J doan’t wunner at it a bit: 
an’ I reckens as ye wunt hev, if ye fishes for 
“em in the fashion ye hey bin.’”’ ‘* Look at the 
live baits. Is there anything the matter?’ 
He looked at them, then said: ‘‘ They there 
gudgeons is the biggest an most prankt ’uns 
as Ive sin for many a day. They never 
cummed out o’ any water round about here, I 
knows. ‘They be too big fur these ’ere parts. 
Nuthin’ wunt ketch them ‘ere jacks but a calf- 
tatleds ty. <A" ‘calf-tailed: fy 27 Wieseal 
mean what I sez. Did ye neversee one o’ that 
‘ere sort?’ I assured him I had never come 
across that rare insect. ‘A fly of that’ere sort 
could soon be got—wery soon; an’ ye can ketch 
as many jack with it as ever ye likes.” ‘And 
where did you make acquaintance with that 
remarkable fly, my friend?” <‘‘Inthe Crimear, 
when I was a-sojerin’. There’s lots o’ fish out 
in them parts. I bin wounded ; I ain’t fit fur 
much now, an’ I ain’t got no pension. Sol 
bides about like best way I ken ; does odd jobs 
like if they ain’t tooheavy.’’ ‘‘What would be 
the price of one of those rareinsects ?”’ ‘‘ Half- 
a crownd, an’ ye ken have it ina couple o’ 
days’ time.”” I gave him the order and marched 
off home, rather out of temper at my want of 
success. At the time appointed I went to meet 
my entomological rustic, and he produced the 
