A DAY WITH MUSKALONGR IN CANADA, 



433 



the rod and it yielded to the strain in 

 graceful ellipse. Away he went down 

 stream, pulling the boat after him as if it 

 was drawn by a stout pony. The strain 

 was too great and he hurled himself de- 

 fiantly out of the water, the embodiment of 

 untamed fury and piscatorial ferocity. 



'"Mon Dieu! Mon Dieul but he is de 

 bigges' fader of dem all ! Nex' tarn he come 

 he eat up your leetly string and feedle 

 steeck and laf at Yankee man from State ! 

 Brissette mek him cool , off and go 'iong 

 home wid him for sure." 



"Just wait a little, Brissette, and see 

 what the Yankee man and his fiddlestick 

 will do. He'll cool him off all right." 



Down to the bottom went the 'longe to 

 sulk. A few gentie turns of the reel and 

 like a flash out again came the tiger of the 

 waters, shaking his head to free himself 

 from the cruel barb ; but the multiplying 

 reel and the resiliency of the split bamboo 

 rod gave him no slack line and consequent- 

 ly no chance to escape. 



"Sapristi, but I nevaire see like dat be- 

 fore me ! One leetly feedle string and one 

 leetly feedle steeck mek hold mos' bigges' 

 'longe as ever was." 



"Oh ! I'll show you before I get through 

 what the little fiddle string and the little 

 fiddle stick will do." 



Meanwhile his royal majesty made an- 

 other drive away from the boat with great 

 speed and power. To the resistance of 

 the drag on the wheel I added the pres- 

 sure of rrpr thumb on the line, but he never 

 ceased in his flight until he had taken out 

 some 40 or 50 yards of line. He then 

 started on a circuit' of the pool, which I 

 endeavored to check by giving him the butt 

 of the rod and by reeling in whenever for 

 a moment he desisted from pulling and 

 tugging. Twice during the circuit he es- 

 sayed the aerial act, but with less im- 

 petuosity and violence. It was easv to 

 see that the severe strain of the rod was 

 telling on his strength. He turned about 

 and made another wild rush as if to pass 

 underneath the boat, but reeling in quick- 

 ly and putting pressure on the rod I frus- 

 trated his plan and prevented the line from 

 getting entangled with the oars, as would 

 otherwise probably have been the case. 

 That seemed to infuriate him anew and 

 again he essayed to leap out of the water 



as his only hope of escape; but he was 

 unable to force more than his head and 

 back above the surface of the water. 



Alas ! good fighter ! Alas ! mighty war- 

 rior ! All danger is past and it is only a 

 question of patience, care, and time before 

 your royal sway is at an end. 



The right was fast and furious, permit- 

 ting of no conversation nor idle banter. 

 Brissette, while carefully managing the 

 boat, did not for an instant cease to regard 

 the, to him, unequal contest with an in- 

 tensity of interest bordering on enthusiasm 

 and amazement. 



"Ah ! Brissette," I ventured at last, "see 

 the big fellow is getting tired. Now what 

 do you think of the fiddle string and the 

 little fiddle stick?" 



"Bah gosh ! feedle string and feedle 

 steeck all right when Yankee man play de 

 feedle. Bah gosh ! I nevaire see like dat, 

 me." This by way of compliment and 

 praise, for your Frenchman is nothing if 

 not polite and complimentary. 



"Thank you, Brissette, but we haven't 

 got him into the boat yet." 



"For sure, our 'longe! I jomp in wataire 

 and pull him on shore." 



"Well, not just now, Brissette. He is 

 cooling down all right, and when all the 

 fight is out of him I will lead him around 

 to the edge of the boat. Then you can 

 slip your thumb and fingers into his gll's 

 and lift him in." 



Ten minutes more passed and the strug- 

 gle was at an end. The fierce fighter 

 could be led about as gently as a finger- 

 ling. I reeled in the line. As the 'longe 

 neared-the gunwhale the hand of Brissette 

 laid firm hold on the gills and soon the 

 monster was writhing on the bottom of 

 the boat. A merciful blow at the base of 

 the skull ended the struggle and Brissette 

 pulled for the shore. 



As the shadows of evening gathered, a 

 proud procession moved through the vil- 

 lage street, to the surprise and wonder- 

 ment of passers by, who were generous 

 with congratulations and praise. At last 

 the village store was reached and the 

 scale registered 28*4 pounds as the weight 

 of our prize. I returned to my home with 

 pleasant recollections, well content to have 

 spent the day on Pike river with old Bris- 

 sette. 



Parke — I believe in letting my son see 

 life, so the other day I took him through 

 a gambling hell. 



Lane — I did practically the same thing; 

 I took mine across the water in an ocean 

 steamer. , 



