A NICE PREDICAMENT 231 



of the rod snapped short off. A nice predica- 

 ment a big salmon hooked, all alone, and 

 a broken rod ! Yet this was no time for moral- 

 izing. Action of some kind had to be taken, 

 and at once ; so I grasped the upper part, 

 about 5 feet, and held it with my right, while 

 with the left hand, I unwound a lot of line, 

 coiling or tiering it along the bottom of the 

 boat. 



Up to this time the fish had not moved 

 from the spot where he was hooked ; so, 

 feeling pretty confident of my fighting ability, 

 the line was tightened with the right hand, 

 while the rod was held in the left. He soon 

 commenced to shake his head and started to 

 run past the boat up the river, and jumped 

 out just above me. I saw he was a fine one, 

 which made me all the more desirous to 

 capture him. He sailed around a lot, but 

 did not attempt a second jump, which made 

 me very hopeful. Now he showed signs of 

 exhaustion, and must be brought to the boat 

 while able to help himself ; so I gathered the 

 line with my right and checked it with the 

 left, holding the rod with the same until he 

 was a little above me. The gaff had been 



