11ECREA TION. 



297 



and were almost oppressive in the atten- 

 tions which they showered on even the 

 most indifferent bait. Our boat was a 

 rickety, cranky affair, and not at all 

 adapted to carrying four men during 

 the excitement of a perch soiree. So 

 we built a raft out of cedar logs, and 

 anchored it with a stone and a long 

 strip of bark at the edge of the bed of 

 rushes, where the fish most did con- 

 gregate. By putting two men on the 

 raft we were able to keep right side up 

 in spite of the perch. 



The Brule river, a famous trout 

 stream, ran close to the railroad " right- 

 of-way" at the point where we took the 

 trail to the lake. So it was an easy 

 matter for us to show a sportsmanlike 

 appreciation of the presence of salmo 

 fontinalis by going there. We made 

 several trips, each time with gratifying 

 results. I remember one day in par- 

 ticular, when three of us stood about 

 20 feet apart, knee-deep in the swirling 

 water, with the bright sun on our backs, 

 and in defiance of all precedent, caught 

 a score of fine troat, almost within 

 reach of the tips of our rods. The 

 fish did not seem, in their eagerness to 



catch the flies, to mind our presence 

 any more than if we were so many logs, 

 or bumps on logs. 



The episode of the deer and the 

 Indian, on the day of our arrival, had 

 filled us with a desire to have the chance 

 the Indian had had, with a view to 

 more successful results. I was par- 

 ticularly anxious to see how a deer 

 looked through the sights of a rifle, 

 never having observed one under those 

 circumstances. We had with us one of 

 those lethal devices known as a head- 

 light, and we were not above using it. 

 The flies were very bad in the woods, 

 and every night the deer were down 

 among the lily pads, cooling their 

 slim legs in the water, and enjoying a 

 pleasant siesta. It is a simple matter 

 for a man with a headlight, and with no 

 respect for the higher rules of the 

 sportsman's code, to get into verv close 

 relations with the "dappled fools," while 

 they are in or near the water. It is 

 rather a weird business, paddling for 

 deer in this way, and very tiresome 

 withal, for you must keep perfectly 

 still, and cannot stretch your legs and 

 give a good hearty yawn as you are con- 



ON THE BRULE. 



