A GAME ADVERSARY. 375 



have been feeding upon the beauties of surrounding 

 nature, when suddenly we are recalled to the fact that 

 we are fishing, by several rapid jerks upon the line, 

 the top of the rod bends towards the unseen adversary, 

 and the reel-handle spins round with unusual velocity. 

 Now comes the test to prove your knowledge of the 

 gentle art. Take and give, never be hurried, or permit 

 excitement to control you, for a worthy foe you have 

 to struggle with, and coolness and nerve will alone 

 insure you success. Almost a hundred yards of line 

 have passed through the heated rings, the strain com- 

 mences to tell upon the foe, and second by second the 

 pace decreases, till ultimately the adversary changes 

 the route he pursued, enabling the fisherman to recover 

 many a yard of the tough line. The battle is not yet 

 finished ; a movement frightens the prey, and a second 

 dash is made for freedom, but it is a feeble effort and 

 unworthy to be compared to the first ; still, it is the 

 last struggle made for life, and the giant pike is drawn 

 within reach of the gaff, and soon flounders in the 

 bottom of the skiff. It is a splendid fish, dark bronze 

 upon the back, white as mother-o' -pearl along the vent, 

 well-made and handsome but for the alligator-shaped 

 head. For a member of the family to which he belongs, 

 he is wondrously game ; for a salmon of the same 

 proportions he is a wondrous cur. 



It is beyond a doubt that Muscalonge have been 

 captured 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 



