A GAME ADVERSARY. : 369 
sure you success. Almost a hundred yards of line have 
passed through the heated rings, the strain commences to 
tell upon the foe, and second by second the pace decreases, 
till ultimately the adversary changes the route he pursued, 
enabling the fisherman ‘to recover many a yard of the tough 
line. The battle is not yet finished ; a movement frightens 
the prey, and a second dash is made for freedom, but it is 
a feeble effort, and unworthy to be compared to the first; 
still, it is the last struggle made for life, and the giant pike 
is drawn within reach of the gaff, and soon flounders in 
the bottom of the skiff. It is a splendid fish, dark bronze 
upon the back, white as mother-of-pearl along the vent, 
well-made and handsome but for the alligator-shaped head. 
For a member of the family to which he belongs, he is 
wondrously game; for a salmon of the same proportions, 
he is a wondrous cur. 
It is beyond a doubt that muskallonge have been cap- 
tured exceeding eighty pounds, but such leviathans are 
very scarce, their average weight being from fifteen to 
twenty-five. 
For edible purposes they are much superior to the pike, 
for they are firm and not insipid in taste. In fact, I can 
recall on more than one occasion, when they have been 
roasted in wood-ashes by our camp-fire, that they have giv- 
en so much satisfaction, possibly resulting from the pro- 
verbial hunter’s appetite, that it would have puzzled the 
most celebrated cook to have produced any thing that 
would have been more enjoyed. 
PIKE. 
This species is very abundant throughout all the waters 
of the Northern United States and Canadas that are suited 
for its residence. However, the familiar name which heads 
this chapter is almost unknown in the Western Land, its 
16* 
