OTHEE FISH AND GAME 353 



trout have been taken in these waters and in others, but this fish 

 would have swallowed any three we had ever before caught. 



" 'What does he weigh ?' was the natural inquiry of each; and 

 we took turns 'hefting' him. But gravity was less potent to us 

 just then than usual, and the fish seemed astonishingly light. 



" 'Four pounds,' we said; but Joe said more. So we improvised 

 a scale ; a long strip of board was balanced across a stick, and our 

 groceries served as weights. A four-pound package of sugar kicked 

 the beam quickly ; a pound of coffee was added ; still it went up ; 

 then a pound of tea, and still the fish had a little the best of it. 

 But we called it six pounds, not to drive too' sharp a bargain with 

 fortune, and were more than satisfied. Such a beautiful creature ! 

 marked in every respect like a trout of six iijches. We feasted our 

 eyes upon him for half an hour. We stretched him upon the ground 

 and admired him ; we laid him across a log, and withdrew a few 

 paces, and admired him ; we hung him against the shanty and 

 turned our heads from side to side, as women do when they are se- 

 lecting dress-goods, the better to take in the full force of the effect." 



It is Still possible to reach Lake Jacques Cartier by 

 the seventy-mile drive from Quebec, through Stone- 

 ham, described in the deliciously fragrant little book 

 from Avhich I have just quoted. But portions of the 

 road are rather rough, for since the construction of the 

 railway to Lake St. John this colonization road, which 

 was built for the purpose of affording its inhabitants 

 an outlet to civilization, has become practically aban- 

 doned, and is only used by sportsmen. It crosses sev- 

 eral rivers, and touches upon a number of lakes, between 

 Stoneham and Lake Jacques Cartier, all possessing 

 splendid attractions for anglers. Prominent among 

 the lakes are Noel's, Traverse, Lac a Kegis, Lac a 

 I'Epaule, Lac des Koches, and Lao Sept Isles. Pot- 

 hunters have done great injury to some of the lakes most 

 easily reached by the colonization road. For many 

 years past these people have been in the habit of visit- 



