ON A GLASS ROOF 135 



can deny that he is a very handsome fish, symmet- 

 rical in form, and, when first taken from the water, 

 of beautiful mother-of-pearl hues; but as to his 

 goodness opinions differ. The flesh is rather soft, 

 and has its share of bones, but is of rich flavor. 

 When he bites he comes close to the surface for the 

 morsel of fat pork or bit of his brother's belly that 

 is offered him, with a constant, gentle motion. 

 When he is seen to take the bait, the angler strikes 

 at once, or it is spit out. He is very shy, perhaps 

 through being a stranger in strange waters, and 

 will fly from the fisherman's shadow or sudden 

 motion. 



The ideal angler has quiet ways; and, observing 

 that my third and last fellow-fisherman — if I 

 had a right to claim such fellowship — kept to his 

 post as steadfastly as an Esquimaux to a seal-hole, 

 never wasting a motion, I was attracted to him. 

 He proved to be a Waubanakee of Saint Francis, 

 plying the gentle art here in the warpath of his 

 ancestors. One fishing here two hundred years 

 ago would have needed to keep at least one eye 

 open for something more than fish, but both his 

 little black ones were intent upon his line. From 

 our low standpoint the rough, indented shore of 

 Split Rock Mountain showed only as a straight 

 ice-line, and it seemed as if a war party might slip 

 by, unseen, behind the round of the world. Over 

 there passed many a one, to and fro, in the old days 



