LET US GO AFIELD 



ling on this continent, but to that in any quarter of 

 the world. Push it just beyond its natural status 

 of risk and it is no longer part sport but all risk. 



The Rogue River wader for steelhead takes his 

 life in his hands no matter how good a swimmer 

 he is. The water runs from two to twenty feet in 

 depth ; in many places the river is more than a hun- 

 dred yards wide ; while the momentum of the down- 

 coming flood is something enormous. Any man 

 who knows the downthrust of even a small rapid 

 stream will know how to estimate the strength 

 of this tremendous river. 



Moreover, the footing is not always very secure. 

 This is lava country and there are great rifts of lava 

 rock here and there, lying like flat dams almost 

 entirely across the course of the river. These may 

 alternate with what the local men call "smooth 

 rock," which offers at best only slippery, slithery 

 footing for the wader. Now and again there are 

 slant faults or upthrust bowlders of lava which send 

 the water up in foam. Again there are long gravel 

 reaches where deep and silent pools give the river 

 a rest. 



The trout fisher naturally makes toward the rapid 

 water. Knee-deep seems pretty far on some of these 

 white water channels; hip-deep is more than most 

 strangers will care to undertake ; but waist-deep and 



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