538 AMERICAN ANGLER'S BOOK. 



delicious, resembling the Shad somewhat in flavor, but not so 

 bony. I have seen the Indians take twenty or thirty in an 

 hour ; sometimes two at a single dip of the net. 



" Soon after my arrival at St. Mary, I made the acquaint- 

 ance of Louie Leponts, a half-breed Indian, in a long swallow- 

 tailed blue coat, who I found was addicted to whipping his 

 wife, getting drunk, and going a fishing. I profited by Louie's 

 acquaintance, and engaged him and his brother as my ' voy- 

 ageurs,' in going up and down the rapids on my fishing 

 excursions. The ascent and descent of the Sault is no child's 

 play ; nothing but long practice, a quick eye, great skill in 

 the use of the paddle and pole, and steadiness of nerve can 

 accomplish it. 



" On my first day's fishing, Louie held a pole of fifteen feet, 

 with which he did great execution, catching two to my one. 

 He is as good a specimen of a natural angler as I ever met 

 with ; and, considering his rough tackle, casts a large fly (and 

 none other should be used here) with considerable skill. The 

 fly, which he made himself, was on a rough Kirby hook, size 

 00, a piece of red flannel tied around the shank, and a tuft of 

 feathers bunglingly fastened at the head. On our second trip 

 I was lucky enough to break the small end of his rod in 

 getting into the canoe, thus monoplizing the sport ; and in 

 our excursions afterwards prevailed on him to leave it behind. 

 I also fished the Little Falls, two or three miles down the 

 river, near the Methodist Mission, and had great sport, my 

 largest fish weighing about three pounds, and most of them 

 were from fourteen to sixteen inches in length. My first trip 

 up and down the Sault produced thirty-five fish. On the 

 second day I had more sport, catching them mostly with the 

 fly, but when they would not rise, used an artificial minnow, 

 or the ' Kill-devil,' or a strip of the belly of the fish. After- 



