The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1883-08-09
My First Trout.


how many-only that | was a boy of
State paradisiac in the eyes of good lzaak
Walton's scenery. If mention Lincoln
county, | wonder if there viii be any
reader Of Forest and Stream whose mem
ories will 90 back to some one Of those
beautiful streams which tumble into river
or bay, and from whose amber pools he
has lureG many Il beautiful trout, and,
perhaps, single out the very "mll brook
| have in mind between Sheepsc0t and
Damarlscotta rivers.
Those We're sch0olboy days, and with
two or three companions, | was accus-
toned to trudge three mile walk in the
summer and autumn months to the
academy | say trudge, but not because
it was wearisome, for lively boys we We're
and could enter without thought of be-
ing tired into whatever play was going
on during the hour, or half hour, we
arrived before school, but simply because
we walked and rarely had the favor of
ride 1t was not a dreary road either
sufficiently up hill and down-mostly
! through the woods. And what does q
country boy like better than the woods
What sights are more beautiful to him
than the shady vistas, and what sounds
more inspiring and homelike than the
twittering of birds, chattering of squirrels.
drumming of partridges and bubbling of
brooks? Sometimes his most delightful
holiday is when he receives carte blaRcAc
for u tramp in the woods and with
knife in one pocket for the spruce gum,
and 4 piece Of tWine anG fish hook in
another for club, or possible trout, he is
oft following the rough track of some
winter road, or tracing the course of an
uneXpored brook.
1t was in one Of these morning walks
to school that dalied at the mill brook
and caught that first trout 1t happened
that particular morning that my com
panions were detained, and was alone.
When the brook was reached knew tlrat
| was early and had time to bait the
chubs little. But how should it be
done had not brought along the
tWine and fish hook, nor had any bait,
without trcspassng upon my dinner of
buttered biscuits, and as to the latter,
knowing nothing then of good lzaaks
devices, | doubt whether it would ever
have occurred to me to commit the
trespass. The tape string of my dinner
bag suggested a line and bent pin
provided the hook, while for bait | turned
over the stones till | found a worm.
which chanced to be one of the great
white ones with black heads which farm
ers 50 commonly find in their potato
hills With this primitive apparatus
was speedily enjoying myself prone on
the planks Of the bridge, trying to Jerk
out the chubs, which found the tempting
morsel too large for their mouths. Sud
denly the crowd of clubs darted away in
every direction, and in their place was
one large fish eight or ten inches long.
1t was apparitiOn like, SO suddenly
was he there Would he take the bait
| was in tremor Of hope and eApccta-
ton. NO. he was away, after moment
OF posing in the water, as suddenly as
he had come and was left in disappoint-
ment to try to toll back my chubs. But
no; again. Before the chuhs could
gather, the apparition had returned,
sized the bait, and with vigor Of arm
sufficient for a greater feat was shot out,
| know not how, far upon the roadside
1t was a case Of "retlcN action which
would have delighted DR.. Carpenter
That was my first trout. | had never
seen one before, but as | hastily got my
hands upon it and saw its golden sides
and vermillion spots, | needed no one to
tell me what it was And the triumph,
the eXultation Of that moment need not
describe. The feeling has not been sur
passed any time these latter years when
Il far larger trout had taken nv tv and
made my rod buckle and thrill through a
protractcd play in large waters. 1t was
triumph enough for once, and forthwith
| FASTENED on and begged of the farmers
wife at the first house to keep it for me
till returned after school, when had
the pleasure Of bearing my trophy home
and with it two more of the same sort
and Size caught with the same tape string
and pin hook. Forest and Stream.