no sleight in casting was of the least avail. They seemed impelled by mere exuberance of spirits. Sometimes I could see insects moving about in their neighborhood; but oftener nothing whatever appeared to justify or excuse their tantalizing friskiness. The novel spectacle, however, was entertaining, and was kept up for several hours without intermission. It is possible that some sort of fly would have lured them, but as nothing I had proved a success, I could only watch and wait. I tried to "jig" them—that is, to strike them with my hook while they were leaping, but I only succeeded in scratching the side of one of them as he was returning to his native element. This tantalizing sport continued so long that I had become weary of it, and I was ready to retire when one of the "gay gamboliers" took compassion upon me, and struck at my fly with such spirit as convinced me that I had some lively work before me. He was evidently quite as much surprised and startled as I was when he found himself under arrest. For when he first felt the sting of the hook he held himself as motionless as a log, as if cogitating upon the probable cause of the new sensation. But his cogitations were of short duration. Before I had time to up anchor and get properly braced for the encounter, he concluded to "go," which he did in the handsomest manner possible. He confined

himself, however, to the pool, shooting back and forth with a rapidity and frequency which rendered it very difficult to keep a taut line upon him. I supposed, of course, that the disturbance would put

stop to the leaping which had been in progress through the entire morning. But it did nothing of the kind. While I was busy with my fish others were as busy jumping as before, and they continued to jump, often within a few feet of my canoe, during the whole of the protracted struggle. After a half hour's sulking, and a few vigorous attempts to break loose, he quietly succumbed. He was of medium weight-eighteen pounds—but he was only the forerunner of two others of more stately proportions that were brought to gaff before the going down of the sun.

The pool directly at the Forks - the intersection of the "salmon" and the "lake " branches of the river should, from its position, be the very best between tide-water and the Falls. But it is not, probably because the pool itself changes with every spring freshet. Three of us had tried it faithfully in vain, and voted it barren, when DuN demonstrated his superior skill or luck by taking four fine fish from it after all the rest of us had utterly failed. It was neither the first nor the last time that his unwearied patience had its reward; and it was his patience quite as much as his skill which enabled

him to generally lead all of us in the count. An essay on the advantages of this virtue, in every department of life, would be appropriate just here. But it would be a work of supererogation so far as my readers are concerned; for those who have followed me thus far through these rambling notes must possess the virtue in superabundance.

We had studied salmon pools in all their aspects, externally their surroundings, their apparent depths, their currents, their counter-currents, their eddies and the particular spots within their circumference where salmon would be most likely to congregate. But we had never been able to peer down into their hidden depths to see the fish in their favorite haunts. To be sure, in passing up and down the river, now and then one would cross the vision like a silver ray. But, as a rule, they never came into view, even where we knew they lay in great numbers within easy cast. they were hidden by the ripples rents and by the dark depths of the water, as securely as if they were "in the deep bosom of the ocean buried." There was but one mode by which we could obtain the view we coveted, to wit: by the use of the flambeaux, which the Indians use in their night-spearing forays, and by which, properly placed in the canoe, the water, to its lowest depths, becomes perfectly illuminated, and every object, to

During the day caused by the cur

the tiniest pebble, is as clearly revealed as if it lay in the palm of your hand. But the use of the flambeaux is strictly prohibited by the laws of the realm. Aware of this, we took the precaution on coming in to secure a permit from the Warden to make a survey of the pools by torchlight, under pledge that we would destroy no fish during the process. As our object was simply to see the fish in their native element, and perhaps thereby learn something of their habits, we cheerfully gave the pledge and honestly intended to keep it.

The night chosen for this novel excursion was the last of our sojourn at the Forks. It was pitchdark, and when our six canoes put out in Indian file, illuminated by a dozen flambeaux, the spectacle was exceedingly picturesque. The dense forest loomed up grandly in its impenetrable vastness. The surface of the river seemed a bed of molten silver, and the Indians, as they stood up with setting pole or paddle, looked weird and ghost-like. Starting from the upper pool, we floated down more than a mile, salmon at every step showing themselves, shooting hither and thither, aroused from their repose by the unusual spectacle. Scores of fish were seen in pools where we had cast in vain; and even in shallow, swift water, where we never thought of casting, they appeared in large numbers. So long, however, as we continued to

float with the current, the view was unsatisfactory, except in revealing an abundance of fish. We could get no quiet look at them; they appeared and disappeared like a flash. We, however, had as favorable an opportunity as we could desire when we passed into the still water of "Lazy Bogan "a bayou at the head of the very best pool on the river. This bayou is full of deep holes, with clear sandy bottom. Each of these still pools was filled with salmon, and as we held our boat above them, we could see them perfectly, gracefully moving about and with such deliberation as to afford us just the view we desired. We saw in this still water, where they are not supposed to ordinarily resort, at least fifty, of all sizes, ranging from ten to forty or fifty pounds. It was a sight worth a journey hither, and it will never be forgotten.

I said we gave our pledge that no fish should be killed during our survey. In starting out we peremptorily enjoined our guides not to strike at the fish, under penalty of our gravest displeasure; and they promised. But they did not keep their promise. The moment the schools of fish appeared they became wild with excitement, and, in spite of our constant reminders, they would strike out with gaff and pike-pole in a perfect frenzy of delight. They kept up a constant shout of "There they go!" "Salmon!" "See