THE PIKE. 105 



victim, and, like the tiger springing from the 

 jungle, he rushes forth, seldom indeed missing 

 his aim. 



Of the daring and ferocity of this fish many 

 authenticated instances are on record. Walton 

 says: " Gesner relates, that a man going to a 

 pond (where it seems a pike had devoured all 

 the fish) to water his mule, had a pike bite his 

 mule by the lips, to which the pike hung so 

 fast that the mule drew him out of the water, 

 and by that accident the mule angled out the 

 pike. And the same Gesner observes, that a 

 maid in Poland had a pike bite her by the foot, 

 as she was washing clothes in a pond. And I 

 have heard of the like of a woman in Killing- 

 worth pond, not far from Coventry. But I 

 have been assured by my friend, Mr. Seagrave, 

 who keeps tame otters, that he hath known a 

 pike in extreme hunger fight with one of his 

 otters for a carp that the otter had caught, and 

 was then bringing out of the water." Dr. Plot 

 states, that at Trentham, Staffordshire, a pike 

 seized the head of a swan, as she was feeding 

 under water, and gorged so much of it that 

 both fish and swan perished ; the keepers, per- 

 ceiving the swan fixed with its head under 

 water for an unusual time, took a boat to go 

 to the bird's assistance, but it was too late. 



