The Ouananiche 



"But the prince of the pool was the fighting ouananiche, the 

 little salmon of St. John. Here let me chant thy praise, thou 

 noblest and most high-minded fish, the cleanest feeder, the 

 merriest liver, the loftiest leaper and the bravest warrior of all 

 creatures that swim! Thy cousin, the trout, in his purple and 

 gold with crimson spots, wears a more splendid armour than 

 thy russet and silver mottled with black, but thine is the kinglier 

 nature. His courage and skill, compared with thine, 

 ' Are as moonlight unto sunlight, 

 And as water unto wine.' 



"The old salmon of the sea who begat thee long ago in 

 these inland waters became a backslider, descending again to the 

 ocean, and grew gross and heavy with coarse feeding. But 

 thou, unsalted salmon of the foaming floods, not land-locked as 

 men call thee, but choosing of thine own free will to dwell on a 

 loftier level in the pure, swift current of a living stream, hath 

 grown in grace and risen to a better life. 



"Thou art not to be measured by quantity but by quality, 

 and thy five pounds of pure vigour will outweigh a score of pounds 

 of flesh less vitalized by spirit. Thou feedest on the flies of the 

 air, and thy food is transformed into an aerial passion for flight, 

 as thou springest across the pool, vaulting toward the sky. Thine 

 eyes have grown large and keen by peering through the foam, 

 and the feathered hook that can deceive thee must be deftly tied 

 and delicately cast. Thy tail and fins, by ceaseless conflict with 

 the rapids, have broadened and strengthened, so that they can 

 flash thy slender body like a living arrow up the fall. As Launce- 

 lot among the knights, so art thou among the fish, the plain- 

 armoured hero, the sun-burnt champion of all the water-folk." 



According to Eugene McCarthy, who has written much and 

 entertainingly concerning the ouananiche, this fish when hooked 

 will jump out of the water 5 or 6 times on an average, and 

 sometimes will jump 10 or 12 times. 



"And such jumps! Two or 3 feet out of the water, often 

 toward the fisherman, then a rush deep down a pause a suc- 

 cession of jerks that would seem to tear the hook loose a wild 

 rush of varying distance, and a run back, almost to the angler's 

 feet. A fish weighing 3! or 4 pounds will make a fight tasting 

 10 or 15 minutes, often longer, and that means hard work for 

 every moment for the fisherman." 



172 



