THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 137 



mule drew him out of the water, and by that accident the owner 

 of the mule angled out the pike. And the same Gesner observes, 

 that a maid in Poland had a pike bit her by the foot as she was 

 washing clothes in a pond. And I have heard the like of a wo- 

 man in Killingworth pond, not far from Coventry. But I have 

 been assured by my friend Mr. Seagrave, of whom I spake to 

 you formerly, that keeps tame otters, that he hath known a pike 

 in extreme hunfrer fiiiht with one of his otters for a carp that the 

 Otter had caught, and was then bringing out of the water. I have 

 told you who relate these things, and tell you they are persons 

 of credit ; and shall conclude this observation, by telling you 

 what a wise man has observed, '' It is a hard thing to persuade 

 the belly, because it has no ears." 



But if these relations be disbelieved, it is too evident to be 

 doubted, that a pike will devour a fish of his own kind, that shall 

 be bigger than his belly or throat will receive, and swallow a 

 part of him, and let the other part remain in his mouth till the 

 swallowed part be digested, and then swallow that other part that 

 was in his mouth, and so put it over by degrees : which is not 

 unlike the ox and some other beasts taking their meat, not out of 

 their mouth immediately into their belly, but first into some place 

 between, and then chew it, or digest it by degrees after, which is 

 called chewing the cud. And doubtless pikes will bite when 

 they are not hungry, but, as some think, even for very anger, 

 when a tempting bait comes near to them. 



And it is observed, that the pike will eat venomous things, — 

 as some kind of frogs are, — and yet live without being harmed 

 by them : for, as some say, he has in him a natural balsam, or 

 antidote against all poison ; and he has a strange heat, that, 

 though it appear to us to be cold, can yet digest, or put over, any 

 fish-flesh by degrees without being sick. And others observe, 

 that he never eats the venomous frog till he have first killed her, 

 and then, — as ducks are observed to do to frogs in spawning time, 

 at which time some frogs are observed to be venomous, — so 

 thorough washed her, by tumbling her up and down in the water, 

 that he may devour her without danger. And Gesner afiirms 

 that a Polonian gentleman did faithfully assure him, he had seen 

 two young geese at one time in the belly of a pike. And doubt- 



