304 PRAIRIE AND FOREST. 



Salmon or trout fishing is not alone enjoyable for the 

 pleasure of killing fish, but for the scenery and attachments 

 which form the necessary adjuncts to the sport. The dis- 

 tance from the haunts of fellow-men, the solitude of per- 

 haps the surrounding forest, the soft murmuring of the 

 descending and rushing water, the opportunity afforded to 

 study nature in its unalloyed purity all tend to enhance, 

 to the true lover of nature, this princely sport ; the very 

 combination of all these et ceteras making the perfection 

 which all will acknowledge to belong to fly-fishing. 



I must have been resting some time, when a more for- 

 midable attack of insects recalled me to reality; and as I 

 raised myself gently, with destructive intent to slaughter 

 without compunction those most persevering assailants, my 

 eye caught sight of an animal evidently in full pursuit of 

 some prey : it was not an otter, for its formation was dif- 

 ferent ; nor a mink, for the size was much greater ; again, 

 its gait was different from both. Regularly it hunted to 

 and fro, tail erect, nose down like a spaniel, and back arch- 

 ed like a weasel, occasionally emitting a peculiar sound, as 

 if giving tongue, in the enjoyment of fresher indications 

 and more satisfactory proofs of a rapidly-successful termi- 

 nation to its exertions. Twice the unknown passed with- 

 in thirty paces of my resting-place. Silently I watched the 

 chase ; and so intent did I become, that Tboth black flies and 

 mosquitoes had a splendid harvest, for a far greater amount 

 of suffering would have been necessary to cause me to 

 make a movement that might prevent my seeing the issue. 

 But the termination was near: the stranger made two or 

 three short casts, like a pointer, to confirm the information 

 that the reward was near, and then with a sudden rush for- 

 ward seized a fowl what kind I could not teli. I was on 

 my feet in a moment, either with the intention of sharing 

 the spoil or saving life, and rushed for the marauder ; but 



