96 
THE GOLDEN RIVES. 
As we uncovered reach after reach the stream 
got faster. Rocks began to appear and rapids, 
and we had to pick our way. Pedroso steered 
inshore, and punted with his paddle along the 
steep bank. Soon he could get no further; he 
stepped out, rammed the paddle into the sticky 
mud, and tied the painter to it. We had 
arrived at our fishing ground. 
As may be imagined, apprehension and 
oppression vanished as soon as there was 
occasion for action. 1 took up the rod and 
looked round. We were at the tail of a racing 
stream which reached as far up as you could 
see. Just below us, some distance out, a rock 
projected, with the water packed like a bolster 
above it, and a long eddy below. Beyond it, 
the river ran strong and deep. We were, at 
this time, in the middle state of our knowledge 
of dorado fishing. We knew what sort of water 
they were not in : we knew also, in a sense, 
what sort of water they were in : but our know¬ 
ledge was too general and not sharply defined. 
It is not enough to know that fish are in the 
strong streams; you must get an eye for country, 
which comes only from experience. Then you 
will be able to tell exactly which streams they 
will inhabit and what part. Knowing what I 
know now, I should not have expected much 
where we were, with faster water close above. 
So it proved. The current and eddy, carefully 
fished, produced only one pull from one small 
