SERGEANT FRANK NEAVILLE. 255 



see just what I mean. There is pleasure to the sports- 

 man in cleaning and caring for his rod and gun; he has 

 a feeling of companionship for it he gets to love it for 

 the memories it brings, and to throw it aside after a fish- 

 ing or shooting trip would be base ingratitude. There 

 is a high and noble affection for old companions in the 

 forest and on the stream, and the man who truly loves the 

 sport for sport's sake, and not for the amount of meat he 

 gets, cherishes the implements which aided him. Even 

 a savage will ornament his pipe and his war club but 

 my pen is straying again, and has led me off from the 

 story of this particular fishing trip. Let it go ; the editor 

 will probably "blue pencil" all the extraneous matter, 

 and so we get back to the mouth of Grant River, Wis., 

 in the spring of 1856, with the Neaville boys. 



Henry watched the boat after it was launched and 

 seemed satisfied with its balance in the water, and we 

 rowed off to one of the islands which are so numerous 

 along the great Mississippi at this point. When we 

 pulled up on the island Henry asked: "Where do you 

 want to fish? Here you can get swift water or still 

 water, just as you want it." A bend where water plants 

 were just struggling to get to the top of the water caught 

 my eye, and it looked like a good spot for pike, so I 

 replied: "I've got some small minnow hooks, and if we 

 stop right here and get about fifty small fish, we may get 

 some good pike over in that bend among the weeds." 

 The result was similar to that recorded in the sketch 

 entitled, "The Brockway Boys." Skittering for pike or 

 pickerel was a new thing, and all new methods are dis- 

 trusted. The old woman who saw a patent machine for 

 milking cows looked at it and declared, "The old- 

 fashioned way is the best;" and in this case she was 

 right. Henry did not say a word against it, but, like 



