SAND LAKE AND SLOUGH LAKE. 13 



Both pickerel and bass are fairly plentiful. This lake 

 is something like Sand Lake in regard to the feeding 

 habits of the fishes. But large catches are often made. 

 It is a good plan after making the round of the lake 

 (which is small) and finding no sport, to leave it and 

 try some other lake. 



There is a very large pickerel in this lake still, for 

 which the late Mr. George Wright offered any angler 

 who could capture it fifty dollars. Although it has fre- 

 quently been seen, no angler ever has been able to 

 induce it to take a bait. 



Two' years ago an Irishman, fresh from the old sod, 

 spending a week's holiday at Wright's house, heard 

 of this big fellow and declared his intention of attempt- 

 ing to catch him. The boys, before he started, in pure 

 waggery, narrated such wonderful yarns as to the 

 length, weight and breadth of this fish that the Irish- 

 man was pretty well prepared to see almost any kind 

 of water monstrosity. 



He set out at five o'clock in the evening, equipped 

 with a clothes prop, ten yards of chalk line treble 

 braided, two chub minnows for bait weighing re- 

 spectively two and three pounds each, and an old 

 shark hook that had been kicking about in Wright's 

 odds and ends box for many years. He returned at 

 5:30 minus his hat, coat and tackle, rushed into the 

 house and incoherently besought Mrs. Wright: 



"For the love of the saints give me a stimulant, 

 quick!" . 



It took nearly all the contents of Wright's medicine 

 chest to fix him up sufficiently to stand, and then all 

 he could do was to yell at the top of his voice: 



"I've seen it! I've seen it! I've seen it!" 



After he had imparted this information for about ten 

 minutes, without varying it, Wright got impatient and 

 shaking him roughly, asked him: 



"What the dickens have you seen, anyhow?" 



"I've seen either the big pickerel or the devil," he at 

 last managed to blurt out, during a lucid interval, and 



