206 SALMON FISHING IN CANADA 



jny rod by a heavy salmon taking under the boat in which 

 I was fishing, and that is the whole amount of my accidents. 

 I killed the greatest number of fish, and have to thank you 

 and H. H. K. for all I know of the noblest art in the 

 world my number of the eighty-four fish being thirty- 

 nine : so much for your pupil. But the party all maintain 

 that I had great luck ! ! ! I never pretended to skill, but I 

 dare say I shall learn. 



"Having determined to leave the Groodbout for the 

 Kiviere du Loup, we started and ran all night with an 

 easterly wind, which changed early in the morning to the 

 west, blowing very hard indeed, and we crossed over in the 

 hope of reaching Metis. We failed, and ran for Matane, 

 where our pilot in running over the bar into the river got 

 frightened, completely lost his head, gave contradictory 

 orders, played the devil, and ran us ashore on a sandbank 

 where, in five minutes we were full of water, and the sea 

 dashing over us in all directions. We got our boat out 



and attached a rope to it, and T d and I with the 



seamen agreed to try and get on shore, from which we 

 were distant about sixty yards. We started amongst the 

 breakers, but the rope would not pay out and our rowlocks 

 were gone ; so that after several ineffectual attempts to push 

 to the beach through very heavy breakers with one oar 

 only, we saw that our only course was to swim for it ; so in 

 we dashed, and after a pretty severe struggle, the tide 



