TROUT-FISHING IN SWEDISH LAPLAND. 83 



The wind and rain came in through the broken win- 

 dow, but no one seemed to mind. The following day 

 there came a heavy gale from the south-west with 

 fresh torrents of rain. Kivulets rushed down the 

 mountain sides. The violence of the wind made it 

 impossible to continue the journey, for the Swedish 

 and Norwegian row-boats are of peculiar build, and 

 in a wind are perfectly unmanageable. If the boat is 

 evenly weighted, the wind drives it broadside. If the 

 bow or stern is highest, that end of the boat is driven 

 round to leeward. I therefore passed my time in 

 fishing, where the Umeo leaves the first of the two 

 great Umeo lakes, and wonderful was the sport. Just 

 as I reached the spot, two large ospreys, fish hawks, 

 or sea-eagles, were hovering over the water, when 

 suddenly one made a dash downward like a stone into 

 the pool, struggling up again instantly with a fish in 

 its talons, whose orange belly showed it to be a char. 

 The bird flew away over the lake with its prize, closely 

 pursued by the other and by a raven, the trio making 

 a great noise. 



Beguiled by such scenes as this, only to be seen in 

 wild, lone lands, the time passed swiftly and pleasantly 

 away, until the gale abating allowed the journey to be 

 resumed. 



Meanwhile I applied myself to catching fish with a 

 couple of large flies, and throwing the line over a big 

 pool, soon landed thirty-one trout and four splendid 

 char weighing exactly a pound apiece, which took 

 the fly in a manner that was very different to the dash- 

 ing rise of the trout. 



G 2 



