THE DUSKY GROUSE. 149 
fastening the lamp, with its fishing reflector attached, to 
the bow of the raft, we could see the movements of the 
trout thirty feet below us, owing to the transparency of 
the water, but the lake was so deep in some parts that 
the light only revealed a seeming cloud of inky black- 
ness. In striking at trout, a person is quite liable to 
miss them, owing to the very deceptive manner in which 
the light is reflected by the water; hence he has to make 
a careful allowance for the shadows or he will only cap- 
ture a fish by mere accident, and that the one not aimed 
at. The spears we used were purchased from the Indians, 
who had visited us, for about two dollars each, or that 
equivalent im tobacco and tea and sugar. The handles 
were about fifteen feet long, and the iron heads were in- 
serted in such a manner that they came out of the sock- 
ets whenever a fish that was struck with them attempted 
to escape, but as they were attached to the handles by 
means of cords made of deer sinews, which were passed 
through a hole, it was impossible to lose them. The 
great advantage which this weapon possesses over others 
is, that the fish has no leverage on which to work, so 
cannot extricate itself, and that the long line attached to 
the end of the handle enables a man to play with his 
capture as he pleases, and to tire it out, if it is a large 
one, by a judicious system of angling, not unlike that 
used in landing a heavy salmon. Our highest catch with 
the spears in one night was three dozen, but we could 
have caught that number in an hour with a hook and 
line during the day. We preferred the excitement of 
the more uncertain method, however, to the assured 
success of the other, as we wanted amusement more than 
food. 
The whole of the time we spent on the shores of the 
lake passed in the most delightful manner, for when we 
were not shooting or angling we were exploring the sur- 
rounding region or watching the actions of birds or ani- 
