THE THOUSAND ISLES. 19? 



considerable force, but generally I held the least possi- 

 ble strain on him. Finally, he made one grand rush, was 

 foiled, allowed himself to be drawn alongside, and was 

 neatly gaffed by the boatman. 



He was an immense fish, a triton even among pickerel 

 of ten pounds. Beauty he certainly did not possess, but 

 grandeur and ferocity marked every lineament. His 

 huge head, immense jaws, and terrible teeth, his long, 

 narrow body, large fins, and broad tail, and above all, his 

 fierce, gleaming, savage eye, marked him as the undis- 

 puted master of the fresh waters. His enormous size and 

 prodigious strength, the latter exemplified by his nearly 

 springing over the gunwale, indicated that he had no 

 match even in our extensive lakes, while his merciless 

 ferocity, that would spare neither large nor small, friend 

 nor foe, was but too apparent. His weight, as afterward 

 ascertained, was thirty-five pounds, and his length was 

 excessive proportionally to other fish. Although he 

 fought well, he had not exhibited in the water the vigor 

 he did out of it. Now that his fate was sealed, he lashed 

 about, struggled and flounced as though his capture had 

 just commenced, and scarcely showed an intimation of 

 approaching death or surrender. "It appears to be a 

 peculiarity of the pickerel family that they exhibit their 

 courage and strength too late, waiting till they are man- 

 acled before they fairly rouse themselves to the emer- 

 gency. Their efforts consequently afford little pleasure 

 to the sportsman or profit to themselves. 



Having captured the master spirit of the stream, we 

 did not wish any of his smaller brethren, and while he 

 was dying we wound up the hand- line and removed the 



