THE PIKE 91 



been known to carry the eagle under water ; in which 

 case the bird, being unable to disengage his talons, has 

 been drowned. This traveller was informed by Dr. 

 Mellerborg, that he had himself seen an enormous pike, 

 with an eagle fastened to his back, lying dead on a 

 piece of ground which had been overflowed, but from 

 which the water had then retreated. Captain Eurenius 

 informed the same author that he was once an eye- 

 witness of a similar cu-cumstance. In this instance, 

 when the eagle first seized the pike, he succeeded in 

 lifting him for a short distance into the air ; the weight 

 of the fish, however, combined with its struggles, soon 

 carried both down again into the water, under which 

 they disappeared. Presently the eagle was seen at the 

 surface, uttering piercing cries, and apparently making 

 great efforts to extricate its talons ; all, however, were 

 in vain, for after a long-continued struggling, he finally 

 disappeared in the depths of the river. 



The pike is generally believed to be a long-lived fish. 

 Numerous stories are recorded more or less authentic 

 confirmatory of the prevailing opinion ; and there can 

 be little doubt, perhaps, that he will live to a very 

 great age, if well fed and undisturbed. This fish, 

 however, has too many enemies to allow him to survive 

 many seasons, except in stews and private waters, where 

 he can remain secure and uitmolested. 



Many anecdotes are preserved respecting the size 

 which the pike is supposed to be capable of attaining. 

 Wales is said to contain numerous enormous fish in its 

 deep mountain tarns ; and Ireland — that land of exag- 

 geration — boasts of fish of the extraordinary weight of 

 seventy or eighty pounds. In the spring of 1843 a 

 pike was exhibited in London, at a fishmonger's in 

 Piccadilly, which was caught in some private preserve. 

 He was immensely long, and was ticketed to weigh 

 sixty-nine and a half pounds. How far such statements 

 are to be believed one can scarcely determine, because 

 no one seems to have taken the trouble properly to 

 authenticate any remarkable instance. Some time in 

 or about the year 1820, a pike, said to be thirty-six 



