FISH SKETCHES AND FISH STORIES 365 



larities of the ground cause the fallen trees to rest 

 at all angles, and the density of the foliage over- 

 head makes twilight at midday. This, with the 

 dashing waters and the thick beds of moss, pro- 

 duces a weird effect in the wild gorge through 

 which the creek flows. 

 At last we had found 



A SPOT UNCONTAMINATED BY MAN, 



and more beautiful than any of his clumsy attempts 

 at landscape-gardening. About a half mile back 

 from the lake, the stream is a succession of falls 

 whose source is concealed by the thick foliage, pro- 

 ducing a unique effect; it looks as if the water was 

 pouring down from the sky itself. The lichens and 

 moss grow with a luxuriance I never saw elsewhere. 

 In the lake and at right angles to the mouth of this 

 stream a dead and denuded arbor vitae is lodged 

 on the submerged delta, and although the water 

 of the creek could flow under the log, for rea- 

 sons of its own it deflects and flows parallel with 

 the tree. Making the Oregon fast with a withe 

 and a stone, I waded out to the log and cast my 

 flies down the current to a point where the small 

 end of the giant timber was sunk in the deep and 

 blue waters of the lake. 



AS SOON AS MY FLIES SETTLED, 



I had a double strike, and landed a couple of ten 

 or tw T elve-inch rainbow trout, but their size some- 



