trout of several varieties fairly swarm ; in a region fifty 

 miles from a wagon road and where I never saw sight 

 of other white men. In spite of the fact that the river 

 was full of trout there were times when they would not 

 rise, so we often wanted trout when we could not 

 get them. Therefore fishing did not become monot- 

 onous, as we all know that, the uncertainty is one 

 of the greatest charms of the sport. 



So it was on the occasion of which I am about to 

 relate. The trout had not been rising through the 

 day, and I spent several hours endeavoring to get 

 trout enough for supper and the following breakfast. 

 It was growing late in the afternoon, and the sun 

 had disappeared behind a lofty spur of mountains. 

 The "salmon flies" were beginning to feel the chill 

 of the evening and were helplessly dipping down on 

 the rapid surface of the water. This proved too much 

 for the sly old trout and they began to rise. I had 

 Creeled a half dozen or so nice ones, and feeling 

 comfortably about having secured the necessary "pro- 

 vender" was taking chances on losing a good one 

 which I had hooked, and who was making a very 

 determined fight for liberty. The water in which I 

 was standing was nearly waist deep and swift, while 

 a few steps below was a very deep pool, and it was 

 in thpwater that my fish was doing his acrobatic 

 stunt, some twenty-five yards from where I stood. 

 So suddenly that I was dazed for a moment, a great 

 eagle swooped down like a flash and seized my captive 

 just after he had made one of those beautiful breaks, 

 so characteristic of his species. Seeming entirely 

 unmindful of my presence, or the strain on the line, 

 he settled upon a big rock which reared up out 

 of the river. My efforts to pull the fish away from 



no 



