A FAVORITE FLY. 297 
exploring had led me the day before, the water tumbled 
over some rocks, making a fall of six or seven feet, and 
then expanded into a broad, sullen pool, with a disturbed 
but slow current down its centre covered with patches of 
foam. Soon my rod was together and an old favorite fly 
added to my stretcher, whose performance was frequently 
on previous occasions satisfactory. This fly has no name 
that I am aware of; in fact, I go so far as to imagine my- 
self the inventor; but, whether my title is good or not to 
this honor, I will give its description, pro bono publico: 
Wings from the wing-feathers of the bustard (a bird now 
to be found in quantity only on the steppes of Southern 
Russia or Tartary; in plumage and color it much resem- 
bles the wild turkey, whose feathers, I have no doubt, 
would answer equally well), with a few strands of the 
scarlet macaw or ibis mixed with it. Body of two colors, 
equally divided; upper portion of dark blue mohair, lower 
of gingery red, a red hackle round the lower portions of 
the body, and a black round the upper. A band of silver 
tinsel if for a bright day, and gold if for a dark one, wrap- 
ped carefully and regularly between the hackles; the whole 
terminating with a scarlet tail, either of ibis or worsted— 
the latter I prefer. To'say that this fly has not been tried 
previously might be deemed presumptuous; but this I will 
say, that when I first made it I had no pattern, neither did 
I try to copy any thing Thad seen. I have used it in many 
waters, and invariably with success, although I am aware 
that frequently what is found most deadly on some streams 
is totally ineffective in a neighboring one. 
My fly being on, and the cast well stretched, I commenced 
operations, and at the third throw rose a heavy fish without 
pricking him. However, I thought I would move down and 
return when I had got to the bottom of the pool, and offer 
his excellency another chance. At the fifth throw I rose 
13* 
