IN A FISHING COUNTRY 



gests itself; but how, and why, among co- 

 equals, is the bent acquired? Is every trout 

 a potential cannibal? Is the ill-fed failure 

 in life merely deficient in native vigour? 

 Does he say, contemplating his murder- 

 ous brother: — 'But for the grace of circum- 

 stance there go I?' Fain would I hand over 

 the problem to any who can throw light 

 upon it. 



Malloch gives two methods of redress- 

 ing such a situation as we encountered, — 

 severe fishing, or a curtailment of the 

 spawning-beds. The latter being imposs- 

 ible, we attempted the former. As fish can- 

 not be thrown away, someone may enquire 

 what we did with the many hundred trout 

 v^hich could not be used on the spot. They 

 were smoked : now a lightly-smoked trout 

 will keep for weeks, is of high merit upon 

 the breakfast-table, as entree or savoury, in 

 the homely fish-pie. The procedure is 

 quite simple: Remove the head, split down 

 the back, clean with as little washing as 

 possible, salt with a free hand, and lay out 

 to dry for a few sunny hours. Make your 

 smoke of punky aspen or poplar, (Indians 

 will use nothing else where these are to be 

 had), hang the fish in couples by the tail, 

 well above the smudge. Twenty-four hours 

 90 



