162 ANECDOTES OF INJUKED ANIMALS. 



A large trout has been captured while feeding as 

 voraciously as ever with half a dozen hooks embedded 

 in his jaws, from which he did not seem to suffer the 

 slightest inconvenience. I have taken a small trout of 

 six inches in length with fly, having a large half-healed 

 wound in its side, through which I could insert the tip 

 of my finger into its abdomen, probably produced by 

 the fangs of a pike from which it had escaped. It is 

 recorded that a gentleman once accidentally hooked a 

 perch by the eye, and tore it out on the point of the 

 hook. As an experiment, he returned the line to the 

 water just as it was, and in the course of a few minutes 

 brought to land the identical fish, thus caught while en- 

 deavouring to swallow its own eye thinking, no doubt, 

 he had the best right to it. I have seen a pike taken 

 by night-line on the Saturday evening struggling as 

 savagely as ever on the Monday morning, though all 

 this time a large double pike-hook was buried in his 

 stomach, which was nearly inverted by his struggles. 

 I have seen the body of a frog completely divided 

 through the middle by a reaping-hook, which at the 

 same time cut off the right fore-leg, while the animal 

 seemed perfectly unconcerned, and gave no indications 

 of distress whatever, save some ineffectual attempts to 

 leap away, which its mutilated members did not enable 

 it to accomplish ; and in this condition continued as 

 vigorous as ever for upwards of an hour, during which 

 time I remained watching its motions ; and how long 

 after I do not know, as I then left poor paddy to his 

 fate. 



