172 BOONEVILLE TO SARATOGA. 



wheu caught were cut in pieces and scattered in deep 

 water about the ancliored stone attaclied 1)}' a long rope to 

 a floating stick or buoy. After a day or two, we baited our 

 large, strong hooks with live minnows and angled for the 

 salmon trout which had found these places good feeding 

 grounds. They took the bait ver}^ gently and deliberately, 

 a sudden pull fixed the steel in their strong jaws, and then 

 such a commotion! Hand over hand we jiuik^d tliem right 

 up to the surface and flopped them into the boat without 

 giving them an inch of line or an instant to meditate a 

 counter movement. It was the only safe way to deal with 

 them. There was a certain sort of sport in this fishing, but 

 it was chieflj' a matter of brute force and a good breakfast. 



After baiting the buoys, and thus ampiv providing for 

 our table wants thereafter, and with a soldier's wisdom pro- 

 tecting the line of a possible retreat, we opened the real 

 fishing campaign at "the marsh." A cold stream winds 

 its sluggish current through aswami)on the southeast side 

 of First Lake, that 5^ears ago was and still is liooded by the 

 dam at Old Forge. We cast our flies in the clear, deep 

 pools, occurring here and there in the course of the stream, 

 and surrounded b}' ghostly dead trees that still resist decay, 

 and by graceful but troublesome lily-pads. The lad had 

 never fished with the fly Ijefore. and after some minor 

 disasters readily consented to take his first lessons in open 

 water. In a few minutes I took fifteen trout, most of them 

 small, and, these being all we wanted for diiuier, we 

 returned to camp. The remainder of the day was charm- 

 ing, out under the trees; and as we were content to fake 



