45 6 The Wilderness Hunter. 



he greatly enjoyed the excitement of the adventure ; but 

 he went into it as a matter of business, not of sport. The 

 wolf, the last of its kind in his neighborhood, had taken 

 heavy toll of the flocks of himself and his friends ; when 

 they found the deep cave in which it had made its den it 

 readily beat off the dogs sent in to assail it ; and so Putnam 

 crept in himself, with his torch and his flint-lock musket, 

 and shot the beast where it lay. 



When such men lived in long settled and thickly peopled 

 regions, they needs had to accommodate themselves to the 

 conditions and put up with humbler forms of sport. Web- 

 ster, like his great rival for Whig leadership, Henry Clay, 

 cared much for horses, dogs, and guns; but though an 

 outdoor man he had no chance to develop a love for big- 

 game hunting. He was, however, very fond of the rod and 

 shotgun. Mr. Cabot Lodge recently handed me a letter 

 written to his grandfather by Webster, and describing a 

 day's trout fishing. It may be worth giving for the sake 

 of the writer, and because of the fine heartiness and zest 

 in enjoyment which it shows : 



Sandwich, June 4, 

 Saturday mor'g 

 6 o'clock 

 Dear Sir : 



I send you eight or nine trout, which I took yesterday, in that chief 

 of all brooks, Mashpee. I made a long day of it, and with good success, 

 for me. John was with me, full of good advice, but did not fish — nor 

 carry a rod. 



I took 26 trouts, all weighing . . . lylb. 120Z. 



The largest (you have him) weighed at Crokers 2 " 4 " 



The 5 largest 3 " 5 " 



The eight largest i r " 8 " 



I got these by following your advice ; that is, by careful & thorough 

 fishing of the difficult places, which others do not fish. The brook is 



