176 DAYS IN THE OPEN 



carried out the line, and then allowed himself to 

 be coaxed gently toward the boat. When the 

 Preacher fancied that the fight was well over and 

 the great fish could be seen plainly but a few feet 

 from the boat, there was another rush, and this 

 straight down. There were one hundred and fifty 

 feet of line on the reel, and the old warrior took 

 out every inch of it. Where did he go ? To China 

 for aught the writer knows but he came back. 

 Slowly and reluctantly he yielded to the steady 

 strain, and at last lay in the bottom of the boat, a 

 dream of beauty. Three pounds and a quarter! 

 The biggest rainbow trout caught in the Kootenay 

 this summer; so the Nelson fishermen aver! 

 Hooray ! ! ! 



By this time, the members of the gentler sex 

 are saying, " It must have been deadly clull for 

 the ' girls.' ' Far from it. Ask the Preacheress, 

 and she will tell you that every moment of every 

 day was full of happiness. That you may have a 

 glimpse at some of the experiences which helped 

 to make the hours pass pleasantly, Irsten to the 

 tale of the chipmunks. The whole family looked 

 at us askance when we first tied up near their home. 

 Just a hurried scamper along the logs, and then 

 away they fled with a warning chatter. Two days 

 had not passed before they were eating crumbs 

 thrown out for them. On the third day their sus- 

 picions were so far allayed that they ate from the 

 hand of one of the party. After that, not a day 



