age salmon fisherman. The masca- 
longe is not a fish that is constantly on 
the feed, so that of necessity the an¬ 
gler’s proverbial patience is often called 
into play till the right time comes, 
when plenty of strenuous work makes 
up for loss of time. There are periods 
when it will refuse to strike the lure 
for two or three days, then all at once, 
as if orders were given along the line, 
it starts in right merrily. No flies or 
insects of whatever size will tempt it; 
the food must be solid flesh, be it fish, 
bird, or beast, and these must be alive, 
for in nearly every instance the masca- 
longe will only swallow the bait when 
alive. Many instances are recorded 
whereby this fish, because of its savage 
ferocity, has come to an untimely end 
by an ill-mannered gulp of a whole 
fish too large to swallow. 
In the bed of a drained-off lake was 
found the skull of a mascalonge with a 
swan’s skull inside of it, and the teeth 
were locked in the bone, showing that 
the strong, powerful bird had been at¬ 
tacked during a time when its head 
was under water, and possibly in the 
fierce battle that must have ensued 
each combatant drowned the other. 
The fish was supposed to have been 
about seventy pounds in weight. An¬ 
other case on record is that of a five- 
pound fish being found dead, apparent¬ 
ly choked by 
the partly- 
swallowed 
body of an¬ 
other fish of 
three pounds. 
So voracious is 
the masca¬ 
longe that it 
will devour 
any living 
thing that 
icomes within 
its visiom. 
Full - grown 
bull - frogs, 
good - sized 
ducklings, 
small aquatic 
birds, as well 
as many water 
mammals, be¬ 
come an easy 
prey to its 
yawning sep- 
ulchre of a 
mouth. For¬ 
tunate it is, in¬ 
deed, that this 
assassin is not 
of a roving 
disposition, for 
if it were, few, 
if any, fish, in- 
GAFPING A THIRTY-POUND MASCALONGE 
frightened at the sight of this ugly- 
looking monster that they would drown. 
In a picture which I send you [for 
which we regret that we have not 
S p ace . —Ed.] I have drawn the head 
of a mascalonge, pike and pickerel, 
showing the comparative size of each, 
and how similar they are in general 
characteristics: the long snout, the 
snake-like eyes, and cruel jaws, which 
contain (particularly in the two large 
species) side tusks shaped like those of 
a boar. Sometimes in a very large 
specimen these are over an inch long. 
It will be perceived that the head of the 
mascalonge is long and flat, with jaws 
that can be opened wide enough to 
swallow a fish as large as itself. The 
lower jaw protrudes beyond the upper, 
giving the remarkable savage aspect of 
a bull-dog with the teeth pointing in¬ 
ward; when this closes on its prey, 
there is no opportunity for escape, so 
it is not surprising that all fish flee in 
terror from its path. Its habit is to 
choose a likely spot, partly hidden by 
the lily pads or pickerel weed, invari¬ 
ably near the run-way for other fish, 
where this water-wolf makes its home, 
a"nd any intruder daring to approach 
has to encounter a battle in which one 
or the other is gashed and ripped in a 
way that can scarcely be imagined. 
Here it hides in solitary grandeur; not 
Page 484 
eluding its 
own kind, 
would be left 
to bear it com¬ 
pany. At rare 
intervals does 
it move from 
its lair, then 
all other fish, 
big and little, 
flee from the 
tyrant as if 
from plague. 
There are 
stories told of 
this fish hav¬ 
ing carried 
away young 
Indian chil¬ 
dren while 
bathing near 
the shores of 
the Canadian 
lakes. No au¬ 
thentic case 
can be cited, 
however, with¬ 
in the memory 
of man; but it 
is quite possi¬ 
ble, indeed 
likely, very 
THERE IT STANDS IN SOLITARY GRANDEUR PARTLY HIDDEN BY 
THE WEEDS. 
young children 
would be so 
