138 The Fox Terrier. 



fisherman. He did not, however, follow on the lines of 

 that other cute American dog (whose owner was a disciple 

 of Izaak Walton), which would sit with a line in its mouth 

 and wait until a tug or nub was felt, when it ran back 

 and dragged the struggling fish which caused that tug to 

 bank. This done, its master re-baited the hook, cast out 

 the line, placed the latter in the dog's mouth, who again 

 waited for the " glorious nibble." Our Columbian friend 

 does not follow this system at all. It just goes into the 

 river, seizes a salmon by the back fin, and drags it ashore, 

 willy nilly poaching rather than angling. Salmon are 

 numerous there ; they jostle each other, and are in shoals 

 as thick as herrings. 



One day in February, 1894 (I must give figures in a story 

 of this kind, otherwise its truth might be doubted), this 

 terrier saw a bigger fish than usual one of i81b. weight or 

 more ; but, nothing daunted, he leaped into the roaring 

 torrent the Columbia river is a roaring torrent at times 

 and seized the salmon by the back. But the fish was fresh 

 from the sea, vigorous and strong, with " sea lice on 

 him," and, although not able to make the dog loose its hold, 

 this lusty salmon almost drowned him, and no doubt would 

 have done so entirely had not human rescuers been at 

 hand. Ultimately Columbia's game and piscatorially 

 devoted fox terrier was lifted out of the stream in an 

 exhausted condition, though his teeth were still fast in 

 the tough skin of his capture. This was a dog salmon 

 (Salmo cam's), but it is so called, not because it is usually 

 caught by dogs, but because it is useless as food. 



So much for the fox terrier as a fisherman, but whether 

 his take, as above related, would entitle him to membership 

 of the Piscatorial Society is another matter. As a British 



