8 Recreations of a Sportsman 



The next morning, not much later than the 

 time this display was visible, Pinchot started 

 with Mexican Joe in quest of swordfish. The 

 Governor and I were discussing breakfast two 

 hours later when we heard cheers and ribald 

 musical sounds and a few moments later saw 

 the game, a splendid swordfish which tipped 

 the scales at one hundred and eighty pounds 

 or thereabouts, and which leaped by actual count 

 over fifty times before it was brought to gaff. 



It was a fine specimen and it fought the angler 

 nearly two hours. To have it mounted it was 

 placed on the big launch and sent to Avalon, 

 and here comes in my unimportant part as wit- 

 ness of Pinchot's greatest catch; spectacular to 

 me at least, as I vainly attempted to keep him 

 in sight one dark night, not ram him, and run 

 a snorting, bucking engine, that I knew nothing 

 about, and at the same time steer the launch. 

 Pinchot had his angling appetite whetted to a 

 nicety by the morning swordfish, and in the 

 afternoon he again went out with Mexican Joe 

 in the eighteen-foot launch. He fished from a 

 skiff towed behind the launch which was run 

 by the twelve-year-old boy, Joaquin Arce, the 

 Governor's bait carrier, altogether one of the 

 brightest and pluckiest small boys it has been 

 my good fortune to know, who became my part- 

 ner in the night chase after Pinchot and Mexican 

 Joe; in fact, the main stay of the standing-by 



