FLESH OP FISHES. 97 



bottom close to me for a little time; but, when 

 I started to wade in after it, was away like a 

 dart up stream to the shelter of a log. All fish 

 which lie on or close to the bottom of a stream, 

 especially in any kind of a current, always 

 keep their heads up stream. Those which swim 

 freely about at different depths, as bass, sun- 

 fish, etc., rest with their heads in any direction. 

 The meat of the log perch when fried is very 

 white, firm, sweet and comparatively free from 

 small bones, which is as much as can be said of 

 any fish. Another fish whose meat I tried for 

 the first time at supper was the horny-head or 

 river chub. 37 Its flesh was also excellent being 

 harder than that of most minnows, especially 

 that of the common chubs 38 whose meat is soft 

 and, according to Thoreau, "tastes like brown 

 paper salted/' 



On reaching the farm house I divided my 

 catch with J. M., and especially for Mrs. M. 

 who, when I told her that J. did not get a bite 

 while I caught over twenty, exclaimed, "You 

 ought to have thrown him in the creek." 



For supper I had fresh fish, fried bacon, 

 bread, butter and blackberry jelly, stewed cher- 

 ries, graham crackers and hot water a feast in 

 the wilderness, highly seasoned with the sauce 

 of hunger. For nearly forty years I drank 



37 Hybopsis kentuckiensii Raf. M Fishes of the genus Semotilug. 

 7 B28 



