A SULKY SALMON 143 



rod fishermen. He settled on the bottom 

 and sulked as soon as he was hooked 

 a characteristic of big, overgrown fellows. 

 He would not run, nor could he be drawn to 

 me, although all the tension the tip would 

 bear was on him. After half an hour, he had 

 worked into the deepest water in the pool, but 

 hung back, as much as to say, " I am at one 

 end and you at the other, and well see what 

 we'll see." Well, I kept nagging at him, with 

 little prospect of success. When, by raising 

 the kellock, the boat dropped nearly to him, 

 and was stopped, the use of the pole suggested 

 itself, and was tried. He evidently did not ap- 

 prove of the new treatment, for on the second 

 thrust he started at railroad speed down and 

 across the river, in a direct course for a 

 stranded mill log. Unless stopped short of 

 that, it would be " good-bye salmon," so, put- 

 ting my thumb on the running line, I made the 

 drag-out heavier. He had 90 yards now, and 

 was only a few yards from the log, but near him 

 was an eddy. He must be stopped there and 

 then, and worked into it or be lost; so I 

 decided to try this, by making the drag of the 

 line still heavier, almost stopping it. This 



