

MASCALLONGE. 165 



some fish have on their sides dark spots on a light grey- 

 ish ground. 



The name of this fish is derived from Masque allonge^ 

 long snout, which is a translation from the Canadian 

 Indian dialect, of Masca-nonga, words which have the 

 same signification ; and from corruptions of these two 

 designations arise our numerous names. I took great 

 pains to ascertain precisely how the Canadian boatmen, 

 who are a cross of the Indian and Frenchman, pro- 

 nounced this name, although, in their French patois, he 

 is ordinarily called Srochat^ and the best my ears could 

 make of it was Mas- or Muscallung^ the latter syllable 

 being guttural. But as the most sonorous, expressive 

 and appropriate name is Mascallonge, it is desirable that 

 all sportsmen should employ it. 



There is a dispute as to the size and weight that these 

 fish attain, and while some writers claim for them a fabu- 

 lous size, others entirely underrate them. Mr. S. D. Johns- 

 ton, the proprietor of the "Walton House, at Clayton, a son 

 of Mr. Johnston, who was a prominent man in the Cana- 

 dian rebellion, and for many years forced to hide among 

 the Thousand Isles and live by his hook and spear, said 

 that the largest fish he ever saw was taken by his father, 

 who, in one night, speared two Mascallonge weighing 

 respectively sixty-three and forty-two pounds. There is 

 plenty of authority to prove that there was taken near 

 Clayton, in the year 1859, a mascallonge that measured 

 five feet seven inches in length, and weighed fifty-one and 

 three-quarter pounds, that it was poor and thin, and in 

 good condition would probably have weighed over sixty 

 pounds. One fisherman caught in a single year twelve 



