Oct. 38, 1886.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



269 



A MODEST FISHERMAN. 



IN the record of sport for the year now drawing to a 

 close, it is doubtml if there is an event more interest- 

 ing than the capture of the largest salmon ever caught by 

 a fly-fisherman. In order that some permanent record of 

 the acliieveuTent may be preserved, and the occasion fitly 

 marked, the accompanying engraving has been prepared, 

 and as Mr, Dun is himself too modest to boast to the 

 public of his great good fortune in fishing, the under- 

 signed, as bis friend and partner, ventures to tell the 

 story as gleaned from time to time from his own lips. 



The size of the fisli, as will be seen from the accompanying 

 engraving, is imusual, but its shape and propoi-tions were 

 so perfect that its great weight and real magnitude were | 

 hardly at the moment appreciated. It was only by com- 

 parison with other fisl) , or with other objects, that its real 

 extent could be estimated, and especially after its arrival 

 in NoAv Yorlr, when it was hung up, and in that position 

 its length compared with the height of ordinary individ- 

 uals, did the real size 

 of th is splendid speci- 

 men dawn upon the 

 mind of tlie ob- 

 server. With the 

 object of conveying 

 the impression thus 

 made to the reader, 

 the engraving fur- 

 nishes objects by 

 which a smiilar com- 

 parison can be insti- 

 tuted, and an idea 

 formed of the real 

 size of the fish. For, 

 as Agassiz says, 

 "comparison is at 

 the bottom of all 

 philosophy," and in 

 the case of fish 

 stories, somehow, 

 one needs all the 

 adventitious aids 

 possible, not only to 

 confirm one's ver- 

 acity, but to make it 

 cleai- that the fish 

 referred to was the 

 best and biggest fish 

 ever caught. If one 

 can't get the credit 

 of telling the biggest 

 and best fish story 

 of the year, why 

 what is the use of 

 being a story teller 

 at all? 



The subject of this 

 story,however,needs 

 very- little embellish- 

 ment. He speaks 

 for Imnself in the 

 magnificent weight 

 of 541bs. , and in pro- 

 portions that need 

 no enlargement. 

 The catch was made 

 under tlie folloAving 

 circumstances: 



Ml". R. a. Dun, of 

 New York, who is 

 the well-known 

 head of the great 

 Mercantile Agency 

 which bears Ms 

 name, has been for 

 yeai'S an ardent fish- 

 erman. Sharing as 

 ho does wit!) Lord 

 Lansdowne, the 

 Governor-General of 

 Canada, the lease of 

 the Case ape di a 

 River, in the Prov- 

 ince of Quebec, and 

 being also a member 

 of the Restigouche 

 Salmon- Club, of 

 Metapedia, he has 

 had the best oppor- 

 tunities for j)ursuing 

 the gentle art. Last 

 June he had camped 

 on the Grand Casoa- 

 pedia with his good 

 wife— as the only 

 and best companion 

 he cared, to have — 

 and amid many dis- 

 couraging reports 

 commenced to fish. 

 His experience of the 

 fii'st week would 



have been suflicient to dishearten most men, for throtigh- 

 out the six days of constant and persistent whipping of 

 the stream, not a single rise was vouchsafed. On the 

 eighth day, however, he was rewarded by a 28-pounder, 

 and the following three days had great good luck, secur- 

 ing five fish ranging from 25 to 341b3., and on the last day 

 the 54-pounder— the subject of this communication. 



On the last day the morning was gloomy and the ]3ro3- 

 pect seemed uncertain, for though casting his fiy perhaps 

 a thousand times without a rise, it began to look as if luck 

 had departed, so that lunch time arrived and not a sign. 

 Undiscom-aged, however, in the late afternoon another 

 effort WAS made. Commencing at the top of a large pool, 

 he BloAvly fished its upper edge, when at a distance of 200 

 yards he saw a rise of a huge fish to a natm-al fly, which 

 created a great commotion in the water. In a moment 

 he and his guide felt that the opportninity had come, and 

 if skfil, good luck and good judgment availed, they would 

 soon be made the happy possessors of a great catch. 

 Marking the lines on either side of the river with the eye. 

 they quietly floated down to the spot, in the meantime, 

 hoAvever, much to then surprise, having a rise and cap- 

 turing a 23-pounder. Approaching the spot where tlie 

 big fish had risen, Mr. Dun very cautiously and waiily 

 threw out with a good long cast a silver-gray fly, and with 



breathless interest awaited the result. In almost an instant 

 the huge fellow came up to it like a tiger, and with a 

 Itmge canght the hook and was off in a moment. Plenty 

 of line Avas of course afl'orded him, but the anchor was 

 ordered up and tlie boat piit for the right hand shore, 

 wlioro til ere was some good eddy water. The great fish 

 toolc a long run, most fortunately up streann, but up to 

 this time had not shown himself. He Avas played hard, 

 and brought up at one time almost withiii reach of the 

 gafl!, but with a sudden and noble effort for fi-eedora he 

 took anotlier lunge, and with a leap out of the water in 

 Avhich he showed Ids whole proportions, he made up stream 

 again with tremendous force, causing the reel to whiz, 

 and taxing line and rod and single catgut to their utmost. 

 Mr. Dun was, however, equal to the great occasion, and 

 with a coolness and skill greatly to be admired, held his 

 prize well in hand. The si^e of the fish, a seeming mon- 

 ster, he says, well nigh frightened him. He had heard of 

 hunters being attacked with "buck fever" at sight of their 



FIFTY-FOUR POUND SALMON. 

 Killed by Mr. Ti. G. Dun, of Kew Yor"&, on Cascapedia River, Canada, .Tune, 1886. Drawing from a photograph. 



first deer, ajid though he had caught hundreds of salmon, 

 his feelings were akin to this sense of paralysis, for he 

 never had had so large a fish, and his anxiety and desire 

 to gaff him may well be imagined. He was as tender as 

 an anxious mother to save her offspring, and yet as firm 

 as a stern father determined to have his way. " Gradually 

 the line was reeled up, and the reluctant monster drew 

 near tlie boat, where anxiety and nervousness were again 

 extreme because of the inexperience and evident fright 

 of the attendant. At tlie word of command, however, 

 the green gafl'er let drive, but in a most awkward man- 

 ner. Fortunately the non went deep and a firm hold was 

 secured, and then came the tug of war, for it then became 

 a struggle whether the fish was to come into the boat or 

 the galfer into the water. But after a few strong adjec- 

 tives from the fortunate fisherman, and a threat that 'the 

 gaffer would be killed if he failed, the great salmon was 

 at length puUed to the side of the canoe and safely cap- 

 tm-ed. 



The time seemed long from the first rise, and the ex- 

 citement and pleasure of the chase croAs-ded into short 

 space what .seejiied to be hom-s; but comparing notes it 

 was found that barely half an horu- had passed since the 

 struggle began and victory had been achieved. The 

 victory was a signal one, for the 54-pounder, lying in 



the bottom of the boat, was the largest salmon ever 

 caught by a fly in these waters, famous for their great 

 fish. 



Mr, Dun had caught many big fish. True, as a fisher 

 of men, who in their turn had caught fish, he had 

 been successful. As Ms guest, his friend, ex-Pres- 

 ident Arthur, in the same river, had caught a 48- 

 pound er, in those palmy days when the good General 

 enjoyed perfect health, and when, among other good 

 things, l;hose two warm friends had the companionship 

 of ex-Senator Conkling, a pleasure as rare and as enjoy- 

 able as it would be possible to have, in camp or out of it. 

 But this was all past and gone. The sick General was 

 languishing on the sea shore, and a great wall had grown 

 up between him and the Senator, which rendered im- 

 possible such happy meetings in the camp of a friend on 

 a salmon river. But Mr. Dun had got his fish, and would 

 fain be consoled, and his consolation was found in one 

 fact, and that was that though there were scales in the 



vicinity, there were 

 none large enough 

 to weigh his catch. 

 The utmost that the 

 weights would show 

 was fifty pounds, 

 and as the fish 

 pulled them up to 

 the beam, Mr. Dun 

 modestly concluded 

 that one pound 

 more might, with 

 propriety, be added. 

 H e n c e', he tele- 

 graphed his friends 

 that his salmon 

 weighed fifty-one 

 pounds. He might; 

 just as well have said 

 sixty pounds, but he 

 was sufficiently con- 

 scious of his great 

 victory to stick to 

 the safe side, as he 

 invariably does in 

 other matters, and 

 the result was — as it 

 usually is— all the 

 more gratifying. 

 For when the salmon 

 reached New York, 

 and was sent to the 

 Merchants' Club, on 

 Leonard street, it 

 weighed fifty-four 

 pounds, and Mr. 

 Dun's modesty was 



E raised equally with 

 is thoughtful liber- 

 ality in sending for- 

 ward his fish so that 

 his neighbors and 

 friends might par- 

 take of it. 



The rod used on 

 the occasion was a 

 split bamboo, made 

 by Leonard. Its 

 length was IS^ft. 

 The line was a No. 3 

 oiled silk, with a 

 single gut. The 

 great strength and 

 reliability of this 

 delicate outfit was 

 clearly shown in the 

 capture of a fish so 

 weighty and power- 

 ful; and the wonder 

 is that, with a single 

 strand of catgut, he 

 was not lost. But 

 experience, coolness 

 and skiU were suc- 

 cessful, with perfec- 

 tion in tackle. The 

 fly used was a silver- 

 gi-ay No, 1, not un- 

 like a silver-doGtor. 



And now, having 

 told the story of my 

 friend's achieve- 

 ment, it only re- 

 mams for me to say 

 that, as he is the 

 champion fisher of 

 salmon for 1886, he 

 can claim as his 

 partner the cham- 

 pion wolf-killer of 

 Canada, the under- 

 signed having, in 

 October, 1873, shot 

 in less than five minutes four huge wolves, entitling him 

 to a lx)untyfrom the Canadian Government of $24. This 

 amount his guide invested in a cooking stove that is doing 

 good service to this day. So, having two partners in one 

 firm who have thus distinguished themselves, must be 

 the excuse for thus occupying so large a space in your 

 most excellent paper. " Eeastus Wiman. 



New York, October, 1886. 



[Accurate measurements of the fish were as follows : 

 Length, Mt. 6in. Ghth, 2ft. 4in. Width of tail, 14in. 

 It was withal a perfect fish as to shape and condition.] 



Nessmxtk's Poems.— The blaidc form reprinted for the 

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 Several correspondents have suggested that the roU of 

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