388 PEAIEIE AND FOEEST. 



game; for a salmon of the same proportions he is a 

 wondrous cur. 



It is beyond a doubt that Muscalonge have been cap- 

 tured exceeding eighty pounds, but such leviathans are 

 very scarce, their average weight being from fifteen to 

 twenty-five. 



For edible purposes they are much superior to the pike, 

 for they are firm and not insipid in taste. In fact, I can 

 recall, on more than one occasion, when they have been 

 roasted in wood ashes by our camp-fire, that they have 

 given so much satisfaction, possibly resulting from the 

 proverbial hunter's appetite, that it would have puzzled 

 the most celebrated cook to have produced anything that 

 would have been more enjoyed. 



PIKE. 



This species is very abundant throughout all the waters 

 of the Northern United States and Canadas that are 

 suited for its residence. However, the familiar name 

 which heads this chapter is almost unknown in the 

 Western land, its place being usurped by the sobriquet 

 pickerel, the same misnomers occurring among fish which 

 are so abundantly applied to the feathered and four-footed 

 game. 



The best pike-fishing I have ever enjoyed in my life was 

 in the Holland River, about thirty miles north of Toronto, 

 near its junction with Lake Simcoe. Here the fish are 

 very large, and if caught in a taking humour, the most 

 greedy for sport will have their appetite abundantly satis- 

 fied. The eye of the connoisseur in piscatorial matters 



