6o 



RECREATION. 



the instant of sunset ; the one arm car- 

 rying the hot sun, the other the hordes 

 of mosquitoes, and as one goes down 

 the other must come up. The ladies 

 had, fortunately, brought along some 

 paste to keep off these little fiends and 

 so did not suffer greatly from them. We 

 could not say wherein the charm of the 

 paste lies. Whether its application to the 

 fair skin so changes the countenance that 

 the mosquito is frightened away I do 

 not know ; but I am convinced that it 

 does not improve the appearance of the 

 wearer. It did seem that after the sun 

 had set the insects were just as attentive 

 and ardent — but the ladies said they did 

 not actually bite. Of course the raos- 

 quitos, with their little eyes, could not see 

 the faces of their victims, but we did. 



Another day brought us to Mani- 

 towish lake and our camping ground. 

 True, it rained some, but a little rain 

 does not hurt the fishing. About noon 

 the wind shifted and came in strong 

 from the nor'west, a good brisk breeze. 

 That was just what we wanted. We 

 had loafed about the camp all morning 

 napping and yawning, because we knew 

 the fish would not bite. Billy was 

 there and while we sat looking over the 

 lake Charley Crane pulled himself 

 together and said, 



"Well, Jim, old boy, what do you say 

 to trying the longe this afternoon ?" 



"I'm with you," was the reply. Jim 

 took the oars, Charley seated himself 

 aft and we pulled out. The wind rip- 

 pled the lake and the water was just right. 

 We pulled over the bar and back again, 

 but no strike. The sun was dipping low 

 and we were about ready to take in the 

 tackle. Several times the fine silk line 

 had been reeled in and the kinks gotten 

 out of it, in order that it might be ready 

 for business when it came our way. 



"Before we go in, Jim, let's try it 

 right out from the island." 



We had taken some bass there the 

 day before and thought we might at 

 least hook a few more of these. We 

 were off the point and heading for the 

 main land when Charley shouted, "Hold 

 on, Jim ; I have hooked the bottom of 

 of the lake." We backed water but not 

 for long. There was a swish and whiz. 

 Out flew the line, making the reel fairly 

 sing as the longe lit out, for longe it 

 proved to be. Two, three, four hun- 

 dred feet of line were out in a flash. 



"Back her, Jim ; I have only a little 

 more line left and he is a 'dandy'." 



Back went the boat and the line was 

 taken in. Yard by yard came, and 

 away out there was the big fish, the 

 line taut, the rod almost double. Still 

 we were backing on him. There was 

 a great, boiling, bubbling eddy in the 

 water, and a humming of the reel as it 

 payed out the line or took it in. Now 

 he sounded ; then he came up and start- 

 ed again on the race, we after him. 

 Then there came a lull and we reeled in, 

 getting nearer and nearer to the game. 



"Steady, steady, Charley. Don't let 

 your hand shake so much, or you'll 

 lose him. Bring him alongside till I 

 get a shot at him. Give me your 

 revolver. We can never land that fel- 

 low alive." 



He was now within a few yards of the 

 boat and looked a whale. 



"Hold on, Jim ; don't shoot till I turn 

 him. My line is over his gills and you 

 may cut it if you shoot now." 



So saying Charley tried to roll the 

 fish over, but no ; the fish was not 

 used to that kind of rolling. He took 

 the bit in his teeth and started off. He 

 went through the lily pads and reeds 

 like a deer through dry brush, the line 

 following in the wake. He had got his 

 second Avind and it seemed, now, as if 

 he would never tire. However, by and 

 by, he stopped and we reeled him in 

 again, gradually drawing him well up to 

 the boat. Jim stowed away the oar and 

 got the revolver ready. It was only a 

 little .22, but that was large enough. The 

 longe came up alongside and this time 

 the line was free. Charley was trem- 

 bling with excitement, but he held taut- 

 There was a modest report and a little 

 puff of smoke. The longe rolled over 

 and dyed the water with a crimson 

 stream, flowing from a small hole in 

 the gill cover. We edged over toward 

 him and, taking him by the eyes, 

 hauled into the boat a veritable prize. 

 He was nearly five feet long and weighed 

 43J pounds. He was the biggest take 

 of the season. This affair was all due 

 to an error in judgment on the part of 

 the longe. He thought the bit of re- 

 volving metal was a fish. He wanted 

 it, and got it. He struck at it and the 

 strike was fatal to the muskalonge. Some- 

 thing over a hundred perished that sum- 

 mer, in this lake, from a similar delusion. 



