110 THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 
Stripped to overalls and undershirt and wading shoes, these men go 
into battle. 
These experienced anglers were much disappointed because we 
found no fish during the day of more than six pounds’ weight. They 
purposed a journey twenty or thirty miles higher up the river the fol. 
lowing day, where they knew water that held abundance of ten and 
twelve pound fish. ‘‘That’s the game!’’ explained one of them. ‘‘ When 
you get one of those fellows you will know you have had a fight.’’ 
In play on the rod when actually hooked the steelhead is a com- 
bination of all the artfulness, courage and strength that exist in fish 
make-up. He will rush like a muskellunge, tug like a black bass, sulk 
or rush like a salmon, and leap like a trout. A favorite maneuver on 
his part seems to be a sullen shaking of the head—you feel a continuous 
series of short, savage jerks at the line as he tries to get line enough 
for a burst out into the heavy water, where he knows the current 
against his side will give him added leverage against the rod. 
He will always fight remote from the angler—fifty, sixty, seventy- 
five feet; so that in the dim light of evening, when the sport is best, 
it is often, difficult to see clearly what the fish is doing, even when he 
jumps—only out at the end of that tense strand of silk one feels some- 
thing savage, fearless, courageous. Take this feeling with that inspired 
by the roaring river, and the angler is not always sure whether he is 
the pursued or the pursuer. 
Thousands of men have killed their salmon skillfully, comfortably 
and enjoyably; but you must number in less than hundreds the fly- 
fishermen who have ever killed their steelheads, fair and square, heel 
and toe, pull devil, pull baker, midstream casting, waist-deep. 
AN EASTERN OREGON BADGER GAME 
By WARDEN I. B. HAZELTINE, Canyon City, Oregon 
Mr. C. L. Parrish, a stockman of the Izee section in Grant County, 
relates the following which tends to show that old Mr. Owl is not the 
only inhabitant of the wilds which should have all the eredit for 
wisdom. 
He states that while riding over the range one day last summer, 
his dog, which had followed him, engaged in conflict with a badger. 
The animal secured a good grip on the nose of the dog and commenced 
backing, the dog being unable to get away, and a hold of his own, had 
necessarily to follow as captive. 
Mr. Parrish became interested in the one-sided battle and waited 
to see the outcome. He noticed that the direction in which the badger 
was going, or backing rather, was directly in line with a hole in the 
ground, or den, which was to all appearances the goal. To reach this 
place, however, a ditch or cut of some length had to be crossed, and 
Mr. P. wondered just what would happen when this would be encoun- 
tered. He had not long to wait, as the conflicting pair soon reached 
and crossed the ditch without change of advantage on either side. The 
badger soon reaching his den, backed into the entrance, let go his hold 
on the nose of the dog, and with a farewell bow, retreated into the 
depths. The dog barked his challenge in vain and it was evident that 
re Badger did not intend to take any further chances that day at 
east. 
