102 ANGLING FOR OUANANICHE 



spots, wears a more splendid armor than thy russet and silver mot- 

 tled with black, but thine is the kinglier nature. His courage and 

 skill, compared with thine, 



"Are as moonlight unto sunlight, 

 And as water unto wine." 



" The old salmon of the sea who begat thee long ago in these in- 

 land waters became a backslider, descending again to the ocean, 

 and grew gross and heavy with coarse feeding. 



"But thou, unsalted salmon of the foaming floods, not land- 

 locked, as men call thee, but choosing of thine own free will to 

 dwell on a loftier level, in the pure, swift current of a living stream, 

 liath grown in grace and risen to a better life. 



"Thou art not to be measured by quantity but by quality, and 

 thy five pounds of pure vigor will outweigh a score of pounds of 

 flesh less vitalized by spirit. Thou feedest on the flies of the air, 

 and thy food is transformed into an aerial passion for flight, as thou 

 springest across the pool, vaulting towards the sky. Thine eyes 

 have grown large and keen by peering through the foam, and the 

 feathered hook that can deceive thee must be deftly tied and deli- 

 cately cast. Thy tail and fins by ceaseless conflict with the rapids 

 have broadened and strengthened, so that they can flash thy slen- 

 der body like a living arrow up the fall. As Launcelot among the 

 knights, so art thou among the fish, the plain-armored hero, the 

 sunburnt champion of all the water-folk." 



From an article in the American Field by Mr. E. J. 

 Myers, of New York, we take the following : 



"Of all the finny tribes that possess game qualities, ounce for 

 ounce and inch for inch, the ouananiche outranks them all and 

 affords the keenest sport. I do not exclude any denizen of the 

 deep ; for, without boasting, I have killed the Atlantic salmon 

 Salmo salar on the Newfoundland and Labrador rivers ; striped 

 bass, in the ocean breakers ; speckled trout, at Virgin Falls, on the 

 Nipigon ; black bass,_ at Pine Lake, Ontario, and over all I place the 

 ouananiche the landlocked salmon of the country north of Lake 

 St. John ! 



"I take my salmon - fishing with honest devotion to the game 



