
FISH AND FISHING. 
RICKEREL VERSUS SNAKE, , 
We had been fishing, with varied success, 
for some time, and were resting, when the 
still surface of the lake was broken by the 
appearance of a large water snake, its head 
raised about a foot above the water line. 
“A regular Coney Island sea serpent!” 
said Charley, as he calied my attention to 
it. We watched it a few moments as it 
moved swiftly toward a neighboring marsh. 
Suddenly there was a swirl, the water fairly 
boiled and the golden sides of a pickerel 
shone for an instant, then disappeared, to- 
gether with his snakeship. 
While we were wondering at the occur- 
rence, the snake again came to the surface 
and started frantically shoreward. Again 
the water lashed into fury. This time Mr- 
Pickerel missed and the snake seemed to re- 
double his efforts; but it was only a mo- 
mentary respite, and the snake was again in 
the jaws of his foe. He shot out his forked 
tongue and struck viciously at his captor. 
A second disappearance and that time the 
water snake, minus half his length came to 
view and struggled feebly. Then, like a 
crowd of human vampires who watch for a 
victim in distress, a school of small perch 
attacked the mangled remains and pulled 
them hither and thither. 
“Guess those fellows 
trust,” said Charley. 
The foregoing is just another example of 
the voraciousness of the pickerel, of which 
every desciple of the rod is fully aware. 
The snake was over 4 feet in length while 
the fish would probably have weighed 4 
pounds. The instinct of self preservation 
told us to go home before his lordship 
tackled the boat, and we did. 
Gorden Wrighter, Kingston, N. Y. 
On receipt of the foregoing I wrote Mr, 
Wrighter as follows: 
Do you really mean your snake story is 
true, or are you only jollying the other 
fellows? It sounds straight enough up to 
the point where you say the pickerel bit 
the snake in 2. Even that part of it might 
be true, but I scarcely believe a small pick- 
erel could bite a 4 foot snake in 2. His 
teeth are not set for cutting. They straggle 
about in his mouth, ‘and scarcely any 2 of 
them come together so they could cut. 
We often hear stories of pickerel cutting 
a snell or a line as if it had been cut with 
a knife, but that is all rot. The fish breaks 
the snell or line, but does not cut it. 
The second part of your story, about the 
perch attacking the front half of the snake, 
would also be questioned, and even ridi- 
culed by many people. It might be true, 
have formed a 
217 
but I should like to know more aboutit be- 
fore printing. Will you kindly tell me the 
full name and address of your friend who 
was in the boat with you? 
Here is his reply to my letter: 
I do not blame you for questioning the 
veracity of my fish-snake story as | was 
fully aware when I sent it in, that it would 
be generally doubted. I have been a con- 
stant reader of RECREATION since its early 
issues, and appreciate the fact that its ob- 
ject is not to fill its pages with any Jules 
Verne flights of imagination. The story is 
positively true and | am willing to make a 
sworn statement to that effect. The man 
in the boat with me was Chas. L. Wrighter, 
of Thompson, Pa., a brother of mine, and 
as this is all in the family I request you to 
write the postmaster or any well known 
business man of that place, if you see fit, 
as to the reputation we both bear for truth- 
fulness. I have been a close student of 
fish and their habits and I sent the story 
just as an example of the voraciousness of 
the pickerel. Mind you I do not say the 
pickerel consumed the other half of the 
snake. As to that I do not know. I do 
know that the front half came to the sur- 
face and was immediately surrounded by 
an army of small perch. 
I heartily endorse your care in investi- 
gating the truth of what you publish and 
_ wish all editors of sportsmen’s publications 
were as careful. 
Gordon Wrighter, Thompson, Pa. 

RAILROADING A TROUT. 
There is scarcely an angler. in New 
Brunswick who does not know Mr. John 
Stewart, the genial and loquacious travel- 
ing freight agent of the Canadian Pacific 
railway. Mr. Stewart makes his home at 
Woodstock, and there is not a trout stream 
or a salmon pool between Temiscouata lake 
and the St. Croix river that he has not 
soundly whipped. He is without a doubt 
one of the most enthusiastic and successful 
anglers in Eastern Canada, which does not 
imply that he possesses any of the instincts 
of that unpleasant creature so aften de- 
picted in REcrEATION, the fish hog. 
Mr. Stewart’s duties take him to different 
parts of the Province, and not long ago he 
was present at an informal meeting of the 
Fredericton Tourist Association, a wide 
awake organization composed of leading 
business men of the city, who do a great 
deal to assist American sportsmen and tour- 
ists. During the evening the conversation 
