262 MEN I HAVE FISHED WITH. 



more in diameter. These limbs I crossed and twisted, 

 making a loop big enough to go over Henry's shoulders, 

 and lashed them firmly together with strips of bark at 

 several points. With this around him and the grip of his 

 hands, together with the use of his legs, we pulled him to 

 solid ground, the mud being plowed up by his shirt collar 

 so that his clothing was filled inside and out. I remained 

 to get breakfast, while Frank went with Henry over to 

 the cleaner waters of the sloo, where he washed himself 

 and his clothes, while Frank returned for breakfast for 

 himself and brother. When we reached him his gar- 

 ments were all hung in the sun, but he was shivering, 

 for the morning was cool. Frank gave him his trousers 

 and sat in his drawers, and I loaned a coat. 



After he had some hot coffee and breakfast he said: 

 "The hogs gobbled all our fish last night, Frank's big 

 pike and all," and we found it to be so. Hogs' tracks 

 were numerous in and about our pool, and portions of 

 fish were scattered about. Frank said: "Well, I'll be 

 durned! That pike would weigh about forty pounds, 

 and was bigger than one Bill Patterson shot up in Grant 

 River last fall." 



"Yes," said Henry, "Bill's fish weighed eleven and a 

 half pounds on Mallet's scales; I saw it weighed, and if 

 yours weighed forty pounds there was a little difference 

 of twenty-eight and a half pounds ; not much, to be sure, 

 but still a difference." 



"Don't you think my fish was as big as Bill's?" 



"Not quite," said Henry. "I think your pike would 

 weigh nearly as much as his if you fed him half a dozen 

 pounds of shot when no one was looking." 



Frank appealed to me. I replied : "I am not as good 

 a judge of the weights of fish as Henry is, and I didn't 

 see Bill Patterson's pike. I am of the opinion, how- 



