SPORT AMOXGST THE MOUNTAINS 245 



ill the river, adding picturesqueness to the scene 

 and increased danger to the line. 



"Who has not read vivid descriptions of the kill- 

 ing of a salmon ? 



First comes the " rise," no little circling splash 

 like that of a trout, but a rushing boil in the water, 

 hailed with a joyous shout by the angler and his 

 attendant ; then there is a momentary check ; then 

 the merry music of the clicking reel as the fish 

 rushes off, perchance quite slowly at first, not 

 apparently quite alive to the danger of his position ; 

 but when the fact dawns upon him that the little 

 sting in the tail of the fly he snapped at is attached 

 to something that is seriously menacing his liberty, 

 his struggles become exciting in the extreme. Xow 

 comes a swift rush, taking out some fifty yards 

 of line without a check. Now he is seen for a 

 moment — of extreme danger to the tackle — throw- 

 ing himself high out of water, a huge bar of bright- 

 est silver, falling back into it again with a splash. 

 Instantaneous guesses are made at his weight ; then 

 comes a long run, fatiguing for both fish and fisher- 

 man, up and down stream ; then the salmon, 

 getting rather fagged, half turns on his side near 

 the opposite bank, but he is of no use over there. 

 A little later on he comes over to our side, and 

 Sandy or Patsy, as the case may be, " makes an 



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