SALMON FISHING IN LABRADOR. 187 



intense delight waded into the stream. "Careful, boy ! 

 be cautious ! " But all was thrown away ; he made a 

 grab at the fish with the gaff, as a sailor would with a 

 boat-hook, but fortunately dragged the fish in water too 

 shoal for swimming. Jock saw he had made a bungle, 

 and was determined to retrieve if possible his lost 

 reputation ; he threw himself on the struggling salmon, 

 and after a groping match of some minutes, with im- 

 minent danger to my tackle, proudly walked ashore, 

 wet from head to foot, with the prize tightly cuddled 

 up in his arms. Although at first tempted to anathe- 

 matise the young scamp, I enjoyed a hearty laugh at 

 the nonchalance with which the monkey treated his 

 ducking. 



Moving down the water, I recommenced opera- 

 tions and rose two good fish ; soon I got fast to a third, 

 which gave me ten minutes' splendid sport, then he 

 sulked, and after two or three futile attempts to escape, 

 succumbed. I was surprised at obtaining so easy a 

 victory, but this was explained by finding a piece 

 cut out of his back, in front of the first dorsal fin, 

 upwards of an inch in width, and two or three long. 

 In trout fishing, I have once or twice taken fish 

 similarly wounded, and as there were no gill nets at 

 either place, the only satisfactory reason I can attribute 

 is, that either a seal or an otter was the perpetrator. 



