264 FIELD-NOTES FOR THE YEAR. CH. XVIII. 



gigantic tree, with all its roots and branches, and 

 it seemed certain that he must be swept away at 

 once. He was given up by all the spectators, and 

 they turned away their eyes, not daring to look 

 at this last act of the scene. However, the very 

 moment when the danger seemed the greatest was 

 that of his deliverance ; for the tree, in consequence 

 of its great size and weight, grounded when within 

 a yard of the man. He managed to scramble on 

 to its branches, and to maintain his position until 

 the waters subsided. 



What becomes of the trout during these sudden 

 floods it is not easy to say, unless, warned by 

 instinct of the approaching danger, they retire to 

 the deep holes and recesses under the banks, where 

 the force of the water cannot reach them. It is 

 very seldom that, on the receding of a flood, fish 

 are found on the land, though certainly it occa- 

 sionally happens that they are bewildered, and are 

 either left high and dry or in the small pools at 

 the sides of the river. When, also, the same cause 

 that has made the stream overflow has filled the 

 water with clay and dirt, the trout become sick 

 and weak, and are unable to contend with a force 

 of current which they could easily have withstood 

 in clear water. 



As the flood decreases both trout and eels take 



