122 The Complete Angler 



evident to be doubted, that a Pike will devour a 

 fish of his own kind that shall be bigger than his 

 belly or throat will receive, and swallow a part of 

 him, and let the other part remain in his mouth till 

 the swallowed part be digested, and then swallow 

 that other part that was in his mouth, and so put 

 it over by degrees ; which is not unlike the Ox, and 

 some other beasts taking their meat, not out of their 

 mouth immediately into their belly, but first into 

 some place betwixt, and then chew it, or digest it 

 by degrees after, which is called chewing the cud. 

 And, doubtless, Pikes will bite when they are not 

 hungry ; but, as some think, even for very anger, 

 when a tempting bait comes near to them. 



And it is observed, that the Pike will eat venom- 

 ous things, as some kind of frogs are, and yet live 

 without being harmed by them ; for, as some say, 

 he has in him a natural balsam, or antidote against 

 all poison. And he has a strange heat, that though 

 it appear to us to be cold, can yet digest or put 

 over any fish-flesh, by degrees, without being sick. 

 And others observe, that he never eats the venom- 

 ous frog till he have first killed her, and then as 

 ducks are observed to do to frogs in spawning-time, 

 at which time some frogs are observed to be venom- 

 ous, so thoroughly washed her, by tumbling her 

 up and down in the water, that he may devour her 

 without danger. And Gesner affirms, that a Polon- 

 ian gentleman did faithfully assure him, he had 

 seen two young geese at one time in the belly of a 

 Pike. And doubtless a Pike in his height of hunger 

 will bite at and devour a dog that swims in a pond ; 

 and there have been examples of it, or the like ; for 

 as I told you, " The belly has no ears when hunger 

 comes upon it". 



The Pike is also observed to be a solitary, melan- 

 choly, and a bold fish; melancholy, because he 



