62 FORAYS AMONG SALMON AND DEER. 



and laid him in triumph at my feet. And so terminated 

 the severest struggle I myself had experienced, and of 

 which even Donald said, " I dinna mind a graunder 

 fight." The fish had several sea-lice upon his head, 

 thus proving that he was just fresh from the sea : his 

 weight was afterwards found to be rather under fourteen 

 pounds. 



After tendering my thanks to Donald for his timely 

 aid, I sat down and watched him splice the top of my 

 rod. The rain had ceased, and warm as I was from 

 the excitement of the struggle, I did not feel the wet 

 state of my clothes ; and indeed the wind, which had 

 sprung up as the rain ceased, soon blew me, com- 

 paratively speaking, dry again. 



We continued the fishing for two or three hours 

 longer, and returned home with five salmon and a sea- 

 trout ; my share of the spoil being three salmon, 

 weighing altogether twenty-six pounds. Walter took 

 two very good fish, weighing about seven pounds each, 

 and the sea-trout of five pounds. All the fish were 

 fresh from the sea ; one of mine had a large slice taken 

 out of his shoulder, having been bitten, as Donald said, 

 by a seal. He must, therefore, have had a narrow 

 escape. The Redburn, we are told, is in splendid 

 order for fishing, and in my next chapter I hope to 

 record of our success there. 



