304 PRAIRIE AND FORRST. 
Salmon or trout fishing is not alone enjoyable for the 
pleasure of killing fish, but for the scenery and attachments 
which form the necessary adjuncts to the sport. The dis- 
tance from the haunts of fellow-men, the solitude of per- 
haps the surrounding forest, the soft murmuring of the 
descending and rushing water, the opportunity afforded to 
study nature in its unalloyed purity—all tend to enhance, 
to the true lover of nature, this princely sport; the very 
combination of all these e¢ ceteras making the perfection 
which all will acknowledge to belong to fly-fishing. 
I must have been resting some time, when a more for- 
midable attack of insects recalled me to reality; and as I 
raised myself gently, with destructive intent to slaughter 
without compunction those most persevering assailants, my 
eye caught sight of an animal evidently in full pursuit of 
some prey: it was not an otter, for its formation was dif- 
ferent; nor a mink, for the size was much greater; again, 
its gait was different from both. Regularly it hunted to 
and fro, tail erect, nose down like a spaniel, and back arch- 
ed like a weasel, occasionally emitting a peculiar sound, as 
if giving tongue, in the enjoyment of fresher indications 
and more satisfactory proofs of a rapidly-successful termi- 
nation to its exertions. Twice the unknown passed with- 
in thirty paces of my resting-place. Silently I watched the 
chase; and so intent did I become, that both black flies and 
mosquitoes had a splendid harvest, for a far greater amount 
of suffering would have been necessary to cause me to 
make a movement that might prevent my seeing the issue. 
But the termination was near: the stranger made two or 
three short casts, like a pointer, to confirm the information 
that the reward was near, and then with a sudden rush for- 
ward seized a fowl—what kind I could not teli. I was on 
my feet in a moment, either with the intention of sharing 
the spoil or saving life, and rushed for the marauder; but 
