GAFF VERSUS RIFLE 87 



exceeds pike and Canadian salmon in speed, but the 

 runs are short. By such a method the fight is much 

 prolonged. My captive leaped out of the water a 

 couple of times, and acquitted himself in such sport- 

 ing style that I share the high opinion he has earned 

 amongst anglers. 



It is not easy to play and land a fish from a canoe 

 which is in danger of capsizing if there is more smile 

 on one side of the face than the other, so that when 

 the stage of exhaustion was reached, EUick ran me 

 ashore, and I gaffed the prize. I did not call in the aid 

 of a rifle or revolver to assist in the process. Judging 

 by angling literature and common report, this is the 

 usual method of putting an end to the maskalonge's 

 struggles. It is, to say the least, a most reprehensible 

 one, and those who practise it can scarcely be regarded 

 as true sportsmen. Angling is a pastime, and regu- 

 lated by reasonable rules. To supplement a rod by 

 the aid of a rifle is not playing the game ; it is only 

 using dynamite in another form. 



My captive was over lo lbs. weight, small, no 

 doubt, compared with the monsters to be met with 

 at times, but he was a fair sample of the species, and 

 if those twice the weight play in the same proportion, 

 then the maskalonge is a fish to be respected. 



We camped high up on the bank of the river, 

 Ellick pitching the tent on the borders of a clump 

 of pines. As I watched his sober face in the light 

 of the fire, I wondered at his powers of endurance. 



